THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030614
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines
nView Corp., facing a make or break situation, reported Thursday its first profitable year since 1991.
The Newport News maker of LCD projection devices posted a $2.5 million net income in 1994, the company reported Thursday. The company had a net loss of $660,000 in 1993 and a $2.4 million net loss in 1992.
Despite the apparent turnaround, Wall Street traders reacted skeptically: nView stock dropped nearly a point Thursday and finished at $7. George Shipp, an analyst with Scott & Stringfellow in Norfolk, said that reaction could have resulted from a relatively weak fourth quarter.
Net income for the fourth quarter was $670,533, but without a one-time tax benefit fourth quarter net income would have been $136,533.
``I don't want to say it was a great year - it was a good sales turnaround,'' Shipp said. ``The year, overall, was exactly what they needed: they needed some stability, they needed some profits, and they needed to come up with a plan.''
nView's products, which are used to project images from computer terminals and video equipment onto screens, have long been regarded as well-made.
But the company has proven less skillful at marketing its goods and controlling its operating costs. Eventually, that drained its earnings and most of its stock's value - and led to several internal shakeups. During one 13-month time frame, three high-level executives left the company.
Joel A. Carney, nView's chief operating officer, said the company accomplished two important goals in 1994: a corporate restructuring that reduced operating expenses; a strategic business plan for the future.
Shipp said 1994 was nView's year to survive, and it succeeded. This year the test will be whether the company can boost its sales.
``They lost some market share in '94 and the industry is growing remarkably,'' he said. ``They would like to be able to get that back.''
nView has already been making a push for new business. Early in January, the company introduced the BackBright Light Box, a display screen that attaches to the company's projection panels.
The light box, which comes priced at $545, supports full-motion video and color graphics. by CNB