Waterloo Tech Digest - January 9, 2007
Compiled and written by
Gary Will
gary@garywill.com
In this issue:
2006: Lawsuits, acquisitions, and even an IPO; RDM top stock
As was the case in 2005, the most widely-covered story out of Waterloo Region in 2006 was the patent infringement battle between RIM and NTP, and RIM's US$612 million settlement. While a cheque that size will take a chunk out of anyone's bank balance, RIM still ended the year with US$1.3 billion in cash, was generating almost a quarter-billion dollars from operations each quarter, and aw its market value climb by $13.3 billion over the year.
RIM's wasn't the only high-profile patent suit involving a company from this region. Desire2Learn ended the year involved in a dispute with its major competitor, who filed an infringement suit in July. The case will likely continue for months to come.
Another big news story was Sandvine's IPO and listing on AIM and TSX. It was the first significant IPO in this area in eight years and immediately gave the company a market value of about $250 million. A second IPO had been expected by year-end, as ATS planned to take its Photowatt subsidiary public. It didn't happen in 2006, and is now planned for 2007.
Open Text's half-billion-dollar acquisition of Hummingbird was another story that received national and international coverage. Descartes made its first two acquisitions in five years, after completing its first profitable year as a public company.
On the stock market, the winner in 2006 was RDM, whose 365% gain was the best calendar year performance since RIM's 551% jump in 1999. Shares in Com Dev and RIM also had impressive gains, nearly tripling and doubling their value, respectively.
Stock performance for 2006:
RDM [TSX: RC] +365%
Com Dev [TSX: CDV] +185%
RIM [TSX: RIM] +94%
Virtek [TSX: VRK] +56%
Open Text [TSX: OTC] +45%
--S&P TSX VENTURE INDEX +34%
ARISE [TSXV: APV] +32%
Navtech [OTCBB: NAVH] +20%
Descartes [TSX: DSG] +17%
--S&P TSX COMPOSITE INDEX +15%
TurboSonic [OTCBB: TSTA] +5%
Dalsa [TSX: DSA] 0%
===============================
ATS [TSX: ATA] -22%
MKS [TSX: MKX] -23%
Biorem [TSXV: BRM] -56%
SlipStream was acquired, but stayed in town as part of RIM. Atria was spun out from its utility company parents, and Global Beverage Group/GBG was acquired by a 3M subsidiary. GBG CEO Ted Hastings joined Geosign, a privately-held company that seems to have had a strong year, and now operates 150 websites. RSS Solutions was also acquired, although at a price below what its investors had put into it. EVER America was acquired by Toronto's Versa Systems.
LiveHive raised $1.8 million in funding, Covarity received $3.3 million, and We-Create, Sonami, and RapidMind all disclosed rounds of funding through the year. RapidLabs received money from IRAP, and is expected to close a VC round soon. ARISE also raised funds and got to find out what it's like to run a business with money in the bank, although it was starting to run a little light by year-end. Tech Capital Partners announced at the beginning of the year that it had raised another $10 million, bringing its capital under management to $95 million.
Virtek reported its first annual profit in five years. Sirific unveiled its first major product. Christie continued to grow the number of theatres using its digital projection technology.
Year-end market capitalization
in millions, using outstanding shares
(year-over-year change in parentheses):
1. RIM ----- $27,530 (+$13,323)
2. Open Text ----- 1,173 (+373)
3. ATS ----- 661 (-190)
4. Com Dev ----- 435 (+299)
5. Dalsa ----- 242 (+3)
6. Sandvine ----- 233 (n/a)
7. Descartes ----- 199 (+50)
8. MKS ----- 103 (-14)
9. RDM ----- 84 (+66)
10. Virtek ----- 30 (+11)
11. TurboSonic ----- 18 (-2)
12. Biorem ----- 17 (-16)
13. ARISE ----- 16 (+11)
14. Navtech ----- 15 (+1) **
** Navtech market cap does not include shares that will be issued as part of its financing of the EAG acquisition in 2005.
And we said farewell to Dan Melymuk, hired as the first executive director of the Accelerator Centre in 2005. He wasn't able to make it to the formal launch of the facility in May, as he became seriously ill with cancer and died not long after.
[2]---------------------------------------------------------------
RIM growth accelerates as BlacBerry hits 7M subscribers
December 21, 2006
Even with annual sales now in the billions, RIM continues to grow rapidly. In the quarter ended December 2 (Q3 07), the company reported revenue of US$835.1 million -- up 49% from a year ago and 27% from the previous quarter. Earnings were US$176.0 million (US$0.93/share), up from US$140.8 million in Q2. These results are preliminary and may be changed following RIM's review of its option grants, but the company isn't expecting any significant changes will be made to the Q3 numbers.
With one quarter to go, RIM is on pace to have an annual profit in fiscal 2007 that will exceed the US$612 million it had to pay to NTP to settle the patent infringement lawsuit.
RIM hit the seven million subscriber mark for BlackBerry, with about 875,000 new subscribers added during the quarter. It is forecasting another 950,000-975,000 new subscribers this quarter.
RIM expects sales in the current quarter will be in the US$900-940 million range with earnings of US$0.92-0.99 a share. At the upper end of the range, that would give it a net income of about US$630 million for the year.
Operations generated US$215.3 million in cash during Q3, with another US$22.2 million raised through the sale of shares. RIM spent US$4.6 million in cash on acquisitions during the quarter. It ended Q3 with US$1.3 billion in cash, up US$155.4 million from the end of Q2.
RIM's in-house review of its past option granting processes continues. Two of RIM's directors, Kendall Cork and UW president emeritus Doug Wright, who sit on the company's compensation committee, have recused themselves from any further discussions of the audit committee relating to the review. Synnex Canada CEO Jim Estill is one of two directors who will continue to supervise the internal review.
It was also disclosed during December that RIM is suing Samsung over its use of the brand name BlackJack for its new BlackBerry-like smartphone. The product has been heavily featured in advertising from Cingular Wireless.
[3]---------------------------------------------------------------
Com Dev finishes record year; looks to expand U.S. presence
December 14, 2006
Com Dev ended one of the best years in its history with another solid quarter, reporting sales of $41.7 million and earnings of $5.3 million in the period ended October 31 (Q4 06). Revenue grew slightly from the previous quarter and was up 39% from a year ago.
The company's sky-high margins have dipped slightly -- which was expected -- and that resulted in a 3.5% sequential decline in gross profit. Operating expenses grew 14% from Q3, and the bottom line was back to Q2 levels after a jump to $6.4 million in the previous quarter.
For the year, Com Dev earned $21.2 million on sales of $153.8 million, which were up 24% from 2005. Segmented details haven't been released yet, but Com Dev says it was the civil and military segments that drove growth through the year, although the commercial segment accounted for 42% of new orders booked, down only slightly from 43% in 2005. Com Dev received $179 million in new orders in the year, up 35% from $133 million in 2005. Net income surpassed the $18.3 million the company earned in its previous golden era in 1997 -- the fiscal year of its IPO.
Com Dev ended the year with $25.7 million in cash, up $10.4 million from the end of Q3. Operations generated $13.3 million in cash in Q4, with another $1.9 million added through the sale of stock. It spent $4.7 million in cash on capital assets in the quarter -- accounting for more than two-thirds of its capital expenses for the year.
To improve its chances of winning business in the U.S., especially in the civil and military sectors, Com Dev is expanding its presence in California, adding engineering, finance, and management resources to what had previously been a sales office near Los Angeles.
Com Dev ended the fiscal year with 918 employees worldwide, adding 19 in the fourth quarter.
The company also announced that Roger Rusch has resigned from its board.
[4]---------------------------------------------------------------
Virtek's FOBA business rockets on Chinese deal, but earnings soft
December 14, 2006
Virtek's marking & engraving business has had its ups and downs over the three-and-a-half years since the company acquired majority ownership of Germany's FOBA in 2003. In the quarter ended October 31 (Q3 07), it was way up, with sales of $9.0 million, nearly double sales in same period last year, and up 55% from the previous quarter. It accounted for 58% of Virtek's revenue, up from 41% in Q2 and 31% in Q1.
The company believes that marking & engraving will be its primary driver of long-term growth, with sales expanding in North America and Asia-Pacific. Its traditional templating business, had a strong run recently with sales to the aerospace market, but much of the opportunity there has already been captured, and a slowdown in the U.S. home construction market along with competitive pressures have added to the squeeze being felt in templating. During the quarter, Virtek's marking & engraving business received a $2.5 million contract with a Chinese company.
Overall, Virtek reported sales of $15.4 million, up 42% from last year and 8% from the previous quarter. But even with all the added revenue, it wasn't enough to turn a profit, as Virtek lost $353,000, with an operational loss of $42,000. Marking & engraving reported net income of $268,000 -- a big improvement from a loss of $639,000 in Q2 -- but that was more than offset by a loss of $621,000 in templating. Templating sales were up 2% from last year, but down 24% from Q2. Costs
Virtek ended the quarter with a net cash deficiency of $158,000, a $224,000 improvement from the end of Q2. Operations generated $1.2 million in cash, although that is mostly attributable to an increase in accounts payable. Capital expenses were particularly high in the quarter, consuming $705,000 in cash. Virtek also spent $571,000 to reduce its bank debt, which stands at $3.0 million.
Despite back-to-back money-losing quarters, Virtek still had earnings of $896,000 over the first three quarters of the fiscal year, with sales up 24% from 2006.
[5]---------------------------------------------------------------
ARISE receives conditional funding approval, hires two VPs
December 12 & 21, 2006
ARISE says it has conditional approval from the German government for $19 million in grants and is eligible to receive another $18.6 million in refundable tax credits to go toward construction of a manufacturing facility in Bischofswerda. Now it just has to figure out how it can match those funds. ARISE has three years to complete the project. ARISE didn't specify the conditions that have to be met for it to receive the funding.
At the end of September, the company was down to $650,000 in cash. It is now hoping to raise up to $3 million through a warrant offering which will fund operations, but it will need a lot more money to proceed with its plans in Germany.
It has hired Gordon Jekubik as vice-president to oversee construction and operation of the German facility, among other tasks. Jekubik is a UBC grad who used to work for Microsoft Canada as director of business operations. Since then, he was CFO and COO of Lemontonic, the Toronto-based online dating company that was headed by former Yorkton analyst Mark Pavan. More recently, he was with Seattle-based Voxlogic, which developed a voice-powered 411-like service.
ARISE has also hired Jeff Dawkins as another vice-president and GM of its Waterloo-based silicon business.
[6]---------------------------------------------------------------
STOCK REPORT: RDM, Com Dev, RIM, Open Text save best for last
December 2006
Shares in RDM, Com Dev, RIM, and Open Text all hit their 2006 high points in December. RDM shares not only maintained their 75% gains from the previous month, they climbed another 22% in value, adding almost another $20 million to its market value. The Q4 results announced in November were good -- maybe not double-your-share-price good, but enough that investor confidence in the company has hit an all-time high.
For the month of December:
ARISE [TSXV: APV] +47%
RDM [TSX: RC] +22%
Biorem [TSXV: BRM] +16%
Open Text [TSX: OTC] +11%
--S&P TSX VENTURE INDEX +6%
Dalsa [TSX: DSA] +5%
Com Dev [TSX: CDV] +3%
TurboSonic [OTCBB: TSTA] +3%
MKS [TSX: MKX] +3%
--S&P TSX COMPOSITE INDEX +1%
Navtech [OTCBB: NAVH] 0%
Sandvine [TSX: SVC] 0%
===============================
Virtek [TSX: VRK] -2%
Descartes [TSX: DSG] -3%
RIM [TSX: RIM] -6%
ATS [TSX: ATA] -7%
RIM stock dipped in December, but not before setting a new record of $161.99 a share. Com Dev rose to $6.88 in intra-month trading. Early in the year, the stock traded for as little as $2.10.
ARISE shares put a dramatic end to their seven-month skid, trading at their highest level since July after the company announced that the construction of its manufacturing facility in Germany had received conditional approval for co-funding.
Companies with core operations outside the area:
Agfa-Gevaert [Brussels: AGFA] +8%
Sybase [NYSE: SY] +3%
Adobe [Nasdaq: ADBE] +2%
Automated Benefits [TSXV: AUT] 0%
===================================
NCR [NYSE: NCR] -0%
AMIS [Nasdaq: AMIS] -2%
McAfee [NYSE: MFE] -3%
Senesco [Amex: SNT] -4%
Google [Nasdaq: GOOG] -5%
Blue Coat [Nasdaq: BCSI] -6%
Ansys [Nasdaq: ANSS] -7%
Oracle [Nasdaq: ORCL] -10%
LSI Logic [NYSE: LSI] -16%
[6]--------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous Tidbits
Gary Will
gary@garywill.com
In this issue:
- 2006: Lawsuits, acquisitions, and even an IPO; RDM top stock
- RIM growth accelerates as BlacBerry hits 7M subscribers
- Com Dev finishes record year; looks to expand U.S. presence
- Virtek's FOBA business rockets on Chinese deal, but earnings soft
- ARISE receives conditional funding approval, hires two VPs
- STOCK REPORT: RDM, Com Dev, RIM, Open Text save best for last
- Miscellaneous tidbits from Dalsa, Descartes, Infusion, Photowatt, Desire2Learn, Sandvine
2006: Lawsuits, acquisitions, and even an IPO; RDM top stock
As was the case in 2005, the most widely-covered story out of Waterloo Region in 2006 was the patent infringement battle between RIM and NTP, and RIM's US$612 million settlement. While a cheque that size will take a chunk out of anyone's bank balance, RIM still ended the year with US$1.3 billion in cash, was generating almost a quarter-billion dollars from operations each quarter, and aw its market value climb by $13.3 billion over the year.
RIM's wasn't the only high-profile patent suit involving a company from this region. Desire2Learn ended the year involved in a dispute with its major competitor, who filed an infringement suit in July. The case will likely continue for months to come.
Another big news story was Sandvine's IPO and listing on AIM and TSX. It was the first significant IPO in this area in eight years and immediately gave the company a market value of about $250 million. A second IPO had been expected by year-end, as ATS planned to take its Photowatt subsidiary public. It didn't happen in 2006, and is now planned for 2007.
Open Text's half-billion-dollar acquisition of Hummingbird was another story that received national and international coverage. Descartes made its first two acquisitions in five years, after completing its first profitable year as a public company.
On the stock market, the winner in 2006 was RDM, whose 365% gain was the best calendar year performance since RIM's 551% jump in 1999. Shares in Com Dev and RIM also had impressive gains, nearly tripling and doubling their value, respectively.
Stock performance for 2006:
RDM [TSX: RC] +365%
Com Dev [TSX: CDV] +185%
RIM [TSX: RIM] +94%
Virtek [TSX: VRK] +56%
Open Text [TSX: OTC] +45%
--S&P TSX VENTURE INDEX +34%
ARISE [TSXV: APV] +32%
Navtech [OTCBB: NAVH] +20%
Descartes [TSX: DSG] +17%
--S&P TSX COMPOSITE INDEX +15%
TurboSonic [OTCBB: TSTA] +5%
Dalsa [TSX: DSA] 0%
===============================
ATS [TSX: ATA] -22%
MKS [TSX: MKX] -23%
Biorem [TSXV: BRM] -56%
SlipStream was acquired, but stayed in town as part of RIM. Atria was spun out from its utility company parents, and Global Beverage Group/GBG was acquired by a 3M subsidiary. GBG CEO Ted Hastings joined Geosign, a privately-held company that seems to have had a strong year, and now operates 150 websites. RSS Solutions was also acquired, although at a price below what its investors had put into it. EVER America was acquired by Toronto's Versa Systems.
LiveHive raised $1.8 million in funding, Covarity received $3.3 million, and We-Create, Sonami, and RapidMind all disclosed rounds of funding through the year. RapidLabs received money from IRAP, and is expected to close a VC round soon. ARISE also raised funds and got to find out what it's like to run a business with money in the bank, although it was starting to run a little light by year-end. Tech Capital Partners announced at the beginning of the year that it had raised another $10 million, bringing its capital under management to $95 million.
Virtek reported its first annual profit in five years. Sirific unveiled its first major product. Christie continued to grow the number of theatres using its digital projection technology.
Year-end market capitalization
in millions, using outstanding shares
(year-over-year change in parentheses):
1. RIM ----- $27,530 (+$13,323)
2. Open Text ----- 1,173 (+373)
3. ATS ----- 661 (-190)
4. Com Dev ----- 435 (+299)
5. Dalsa ----- 242 (+3)
6. Sandvine ----- 233 (n/a)
7. Descartes ----- 199 (+50)
8. MKS ----- 103 (-14)
9. RDM ----- 84 (+66)
10. Virtek ----- 30 (+11)
11. TurboSonic ----- 18 (-2)
12. Biorem ----- 17 (-16)
13. ARISE ----- 16 (+11)
14. Navtech ----- 15 (+1) **
** Navtech market cap does not include shares that will be issued as part of its financing of the EAG acquisition in 2005.
And we said farewell to Dan Melymuk, hired as the first executive director of the Accelerator Centre in 2005. He wasn't able to make it to the formal launch of the facility in May, as he became seriously ill with cancer and died not long after.
[2]---------------------------------------------------------------
RIM growth accelerates as BlacBerry hits 7M subscribers
December 21, 2006
Even with annual sales now in the billions, RIM continues to grow rapidly. In the quarter ended December 2 (Q3 07), the company reported revenue of US$835.1 million -- up 49% from a year ago and 27% from the previous quarter. Earnings were US$176.0 million (US$0.93/share), up from US$140.8 million in Q2. These results are preliminary and may be changed following RIM's review of its option grants, but the company isn't expecting any significant changes will be made to the Q3 numbers.
With one quarter to go, RIM is on pace to have an annual profit in fiscal 2007 that will exceed the US$612 million it had to pay to NTP to settle the patent infringement lawsuit.
RIM hit the seven million subscriber mark for BlackBerry, with about 875,000 new subscribers added during the quarter. It is forecasting another 950,000-975,000 new subscribers this quarter.
RIM expects sales in the current quarter will be in the US$900-940 million range with earnings of US$0.92-0.99 a share. At the upper end of the range, that would give it a net income of about US$630 million for the year.
Operations generated US$215.3 million in cash during Q3, with another US$22.2 million raised through the sale of shares. RIM spent US$4.6 million in cash on acquisitions during the quarter. It ended Q3 with US$1.3 billion in cash, up US$155.4 million from the end of Q2.
RIM's in-house review of its past option granting processes continues. Two of RIM's directors, Kendall Cork and UW president emeritus Doug Wright, who sit on the company's compensation committee, have recused themselves from any further discussions of the audit committee relating to the review. Synnex Canada CEO Jim Estill is one of two directors who will continue to supervise the internal review.
It was also disclosed during December that RIM is suing Samsung over its use of the brand name BlackJack for its new BlackBerry-like smartphone. The product has been heavily featured in advertising from Cingular Wireless.
[3]---------------------------------------------------------------
Com Dev finishes record year; looks to expand U.S. presence
December 14, 2006
Com Dev ended one of the best years in its history with another solid quarter, reporting sales of $41.7 million and earnings of $5.3 million in the period ended October 31 (Q4 06). Revenue grew slightly from the previous quarter and was up 39% from a year ago.
The company's sky-high margins have dipped slightly -- which was expected -- and that resulted in a 3.5% sequential decline in gross profit. Operating expenses grew 14% from Q3, and the bottom line was back to Q2 levels after a jump to $6.4 million in the previous quarter.
For the year, Com Dev earned $21.2 million on sales of $153.8 million, which were up 24% from 2005. Segmented details haven't been released yet, but Com Dev says it was the civil and military segments that drove growth through the year, although the commercial segment accounted for 42% of new orders booked, down only slightly from 43% in 2005. Com Dev received $179 million in new orders in the year, up 35% from $133 million in 2005. Net income surpassed the $18.3 million the company earned in its previous golden era in 1997 -- the fiscal year of its IPO.
Com Dev ended the year with $25.7 million in cash, up $10.4 million from the end of Q3. Operations generated $13.3 million in cash in Q4, with another $1.9 million added through the sale of stock. It spent $4.7 million in cash on capital assets in the quarter -- accounting for more than two-thirds of its capital expenses for the year.
To improve its chances of winning business in the U.S., especially in the civil and military sectors, Com Dev is expanding its presence in California, adding engineering, finance, and management resources to what had previously been a sales office near Los Angeles.
Com Dev ended the fiscal year with 918 employees worldwide, adding 19 in the fourth quarter.
The company also announced that Roger Rusch has resigned from its board.
[4]---------------------------------------------------------------
Virtek's FOBA business rockets on Chinese deal, but earnings soft
December 14, 2006
Virtek's marking & engraving business has had its ups and downs over the three-and-a-half years since the company acquired majority ownership of Germany's FOBA in 2003. In the quarter ended October 31 (Q3 07), it was way up, with sales of $9.0 million, nearly double sales in same period last year, and up 55% from the previous quarter. It accounted for 58% of Virtek's revenue, up from 41% in Q2 and 31% in Q1.
The company believes that marking & engraving will be its primary driver of long-term growth, with sales expanding in North America and Asia-Pacific. Its traditional templating business, had a strong run recently with sales to the aerospace market, but much of the opportunity there has already been captured, and a slowdown in the U.S. home construction market along with competitive pressures have added to the squeeze being felt in templating. During the quarter, Virtek's marking & engraving business received a $2.5 million contract with a Chinese company.
Overall, Virtek reported sales of $15.4 million, up 42% from last year and 8% from the previous quarter. But even with all the added revenue, it wasn't enough to turn a profit, as Virtek lost $353,000, with an operational loss of $42,000. Marking & engraving reported net income of $268,000 -- a big improvement from a loss of $639,000 in Q2 -- but that was more than offset by a loss of $621,000 in templating. Templating sales were up 2% from last year, but down 24% from Q2. Costs
Virtek ended the quarter with a net cash deficiency of $158,000, a $224,000 improvement from the end of Q2. Operations generated $1.2 million in cash, although that is mostly attributable to an increase in accounts payable. Capital expenses were particularly high in the quarter, consuming $705,000 in cash. Virtek also spent $571,000 to reduce its bank debt, which stands at $3.0 million.
Despite back-to-back money-losing quarters, Virtek still had earnings of $896,000 over the first three quarters of the fiscal year, with sales up 24% from 2006.
[5]---------------------------------------------------------------
ARISE receives conditional funding approval, hires two VPs
December 12 & 21, 2006
ARISE says it has conditional approval from the German government for $19 million in grants and is eligible to receive another $18.6 million in refundable tax credits to go toward construction of a manufacturing facility in Bischofswerda. Now it just has to figure out how it can match those funds. ARISE has three years to complete the project. ARISE didn't specify the conditions that have to be met for it to receive the funding.
At the end of September, the company was down to $650,000 in cash. It is now hoping to raise up to $3 million through a warrant offering which will fund operations, but it will need a lot more money to proceed with its plans in Germany.
It has hired Gordon Jekubik as vice-president to oversee construction and operation of the German facility, among other tasks. Jekubik is a UBC grad who used to work for Microsoft Canada as director of business operations. Since then, he was CFO and COO of Lemontonic, the Toronto-based online dating company that was headed by former Yorkton analyst Mark Pavan. More recently, he was with Seattle-based Voxlogic, which developed a voice-powered 411-like service.
ARISE has also hired Jeff Dawkins as another vice-president and GM of its Waterloo-based silicon business.
[6]---------------------------------------------------------------
STOCK REPORT: RDM, Com Dev, RIM, Open Text save best for last
December 2006
Shares in RDM, Com Dev, RIM, and Open Text all hit their 2006 high points in December. RDM shares not only maintained their 75% gains from the previous month, they climbed another 22% in value, adding almost another $20 million to its market value. The Q4 results announced in November were good -- maybe not double-your-share-price good, but enough that investor confidence in the company has hit an all-time high.
For the month of December:
ARISE [TSXV: APV] +47%
RDM [TSX: RC] +22%
Biorem [TSXV: BRM] +16%
Open Text [TSX: OTC] +11%
--S&P TSX VENTURE INDEX +6%
Dalsa [TSX: DSA] +5%
Com Dev [TSX: CDV] +3%
TurboSonic [OTCBB: TSTA] +3%
MKS [TSX: MKX] +3%
--S&P TSX COMPOSITE INDEX +1%
Navtech [OTCBB: NAVH] 0%
Sandvine [TSX: SVC] 0%
===============================
Virtek [TSX: VRK] -2%
Descartes [TSX: DSG] -3%
RIM [TSX: RIM] -6%
ATS [TSX: ATA] -7%
RIM stock dipped in December, but not before setting a new record of $161.99 a share. Com Dev rose to $6.88 in intra-month trading. Early in the year, the stock traded for as little as $2.10.
ARISE shares put a dramatic end to their seven-month skid, trading at their highest level since July after the company announced that the construction of its manufacturing facility in Germany had received conditional approval for co-funding.
Companies with core operations outside the area:
Agfa-Gevaert [Brussels: AGFA] +8%
Sybase [NYSE: SY] +3%
Adobe [Nasdaq: ADBE] +2%
Automated Benefits [TSXV: AUT] 0%
===================================
NCR [NYSE: NCR] -0%
AMIS [Nasdaq: AMIS] -2%
McAfee [NYSE: MFE] -3%
Senesco [Amex: SNT] -4%
Google [Nasdaq: GOOG] -5%
Blue Coat [Nasdaq: BCSI] -6%
Ansys [Nasdaq: ANSS] -7%
Oracle [Nasdaq: ORCL] -10%
LSI Logic [NYSE: LSI] -16%
[6]--------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellaneous Tidbits
- Paul Van Bakel, Dalsa's CFO, submitted his resignation, which will be effective next week. He had been CFO since July 2003 and had previously worked at Dalsa from 1995 to 1999. Before that, he was the first Laurier alumnus to win the Canadian accounting gold medal -- a group that just grew to four members last month.
- The Record reports that Descartes is suing a former VP for fraud, breach of contract and misappropriation of trade secrets after he left the company to work for a competitor. Jeff Hill had been with Descartes in Atlanta since the company's acquisition of TranSettlements in 2001. He left to join nuBridges, a Descartes competitor in Atlanta, despite having signed a non-compete agreement. He had asked the court to rule that his agreement was unenforceable. The COO of nuBridges also used to work at Descartes. It's not the first time that Descartes has sued former employees, accusing them of violating non-disclosure, non-solicitation, and non-compete agreements (see April 2002 digest).
- An update on Infusion Development, the New York-based company which announced in May that it was opening a Waterloo-based incubator called Infusion Angels. Not long after the launch, the incubator concept was repackaged into a proposed Microsoft Innovation Centre that would open in Waterloo with the support of Infusion and showcase Vista, .NET and other new technologies. In the last few weeks, that has changed again -- slightly -- and the proposed site is now being called the Infusion Angels Innovation Centre.
- Photowatt Technologies, the ATS subsidiary that is being taken public, has filed an amended prospectus. The company now will now be spun off owing ATS $20 million.
- To no one's surprise, the judge in Texas denied Desire2Learn's request for a stay to give the USPTO time to reexamine the Blackboard patent before the patent infringement suit proceeds.
- Ken Taylor, CFO of March Networks in Ottawa, is now on Sandvine's board. Like Sandvine, March Networks has ties to Terry Matthews and went public on London Stock Exchange's AIM. Sandvine also announced that its technology is being used by Liwest Kabelmedien, the second largest cable operator in Austria, for its 40,000-subscriber broadband network.
posted by Gary Will at 12:00 AM
