Taser International’s fourth-quarter profit jumped 77% on sales growth of 79%, but the results did not meet expectations.
Taser International reported that revenues for the year 2004 were a record $67.7 million, with operating income of $30.9 million, net earnings of $19.1 million and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.33, and $0.31, respectively. For the fourth quarter of 2004, revenues were a record $19.2 million, with earnings of $5.0 million and both basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.08.
Revenues increased by 78.6% and net income increased by 76.9% over the fourth quarter of 2003. As of December 31, 2004, the Company’s cash and investment balances were approximately $50 million, an increase of $34.2 million from December 31, 2003. During 2004, stockholder’s equity improved by 254% from $27.4 million to $97.1 million and total assets were over $105 million as of December 31, 2004.
“At the beginning of 2004, we predicted 100% top line revenue growth — a number which we significantly surpassed by year end,” said Rick Smith, CEO of TASER International.
“We are pleased to look back at a year where our growth exceeded expectations as our customer base embraced our life-saving technology. 2004 was a pivotal year for us and we are delighted with our operating performance and balance sheet strength at year-end. As we look forward to 2005, we see significant opportunities to continue to grow our core business, particularly in the international markets. While we see a certain degree of short term uncertainty, we remain optimistic about our long term business prospects and we continue to receive affirmation of the life-saving value of our products from our existing customers. We look forward to a challenging and exciting 2005 as we move into our new state of the art 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility and continue our mission to advance both the technology and deployment of the world’s leading non-lethal weapons. We would like to invite our customers and shareholders to celebrate this next chapter in the TASER story by attending our annual shareholder meeting in our new headquarters on April 22 at 12:00 noon,” concluded Mr. Smith.
murdok | Breaking eBusiness News
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