The results, beat concensus forecasts of EPS of $0.11.
The US remains the company's most important market, with a growing
sector share of 'tier one' companies. Retalix shares are a part of
the Israel High-Tech & Investment Report's Model Millennium Porfolio.
Net Income and Revenue Up at Orbotech
China Grants Comverse Access Licenses
The Ministry of Information and Industry (MII) has granted access
licenses to Comverse for its SMS and voicemail systems, making
Comverse the only overseas vendor to have this privilege. Comverse
submitted a comprehensive range of tests administered by the MII
Mobile Equipment Quality Test Center in order to be considered for
the MII access license. MII experts highly praised Comverse's
successful test results, including the functionality, reliability,
flexibility, and signaling performance of its products.
The prestigious MII accreditation follows announcements made in 1999
and 2000 that China Mobile Communications Corporation (China Mobile)
and China Unicom respectively, had placed Comverse on their list of
authorized vendors for SMS, reinforcing Comverse's status as the
leading mobile enhanced services provider in mainland China. Six
major mobile operators in China have deployed the Comverse ISMSC
system and have officially launched SMS to their customers. These
operators include Guangdong Mobile (GMCC), Shanghai Mobile, Liaoning
Mobile (LMCC), Hei Longjiang Mobile, Wuhan Mobile and Shanghai
Unicom.Comverse has been operating in China since 1993. The company
has offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with research and
development centers in Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
Analysts Comments on CHKP
Since the shares have seen a nice run up recently, and the company
reported a revenue "miss", some believe, the time has come to move to
the sidelines. For 2001, the expectationsEPS of $1.36 (no change) on
revenues of $647 million. For 2002, forecasts are for EPS of $1.79
on revenues of $862 million.
We continue to maintain CHKP in the IHTIR Model Millennium Portfolio.
Retalix Ltd. (Nasdaq:RTLX) announced it moved into profit in the
first quarter. Chief Executive Barry Shaked, in a conference call
with analysts predicted that revenues would increase by more than 50%
in 2001 to $55m. and that he expects the company to remain profitable
in 2001, but he refused to provide more specific projections.
He also said that the company would be seeking further acquisitions,
with available cash reserves of more than $26m. Retalix posted
first-quarter net income of $2.2 million, or diluted earnings per
share of $0.18, compared with a net loss of $276,000, or $0.03 per
share, in the same period a year ago.
First quarter 2001 revenues at Orbotech Ltd. (Nasdaq:ORBK) totaled
$104.9 million, an increase of 27% from the $82.3 million recorded in
the first quarter a year ago. Net income for the first quarter of
2001 was $21.0 million, or $0.65 per share (diluted), an increase of
30% compared to net income of $16.6 million, or $0.50 per share
(diluted), in the first quarter of 2000.
Comverse, a unit of Comverse Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMVT), has
become the first non-Chinese vendor authorized to sell both voicemail
and short message systems (SMS) to service providers in China.
Check Point Software (Nasdaq;CHKP) was dropped by Lehman Brothers to a
"Buy" from a "Strong Buy". Lehman lowered its price target on the
stock to $70 from $110, citing increased competition from firms like
Cisco (CSCO), recent pricing promotion, suggesting weaker customer
demand, the "absence" of CHKP in three recent major deals, and
bankruptcies in the service provider channel, which put revenue
growth at risk. After an initial sharp drop of nearly 10 per cent the
shares recovered in the sessions that followed the announcement. On
balance, analysts continue to maintain very positive ratings for
CHKP. While the company reported year-over-year revenue growth of
86%, to $145 million, and EPS of $0.32 - besting the Street's number
by $0.03 - Revenues came in $1 million below the consensus. This
brings into question one of technology's highest 2001 price-to-sales
valuations.