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COO of VMETRO comments on high margins and profitability in Wall Street Transcript interview Full article published: 06/17/2002    


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This interview is a small excerpt from a comprehensive interview published in The Wall Street Transcript as part of the Technology Sector, available at (001-212-952-7433) or http://www.twst.com/sectors/techno.html

TWST: Can we begin with a historical sketch and quick overview of the important milestones for VMETRO?

Mr. Mechin: The company was founded in 1986 based on an original idea of providing Bus Analysers to the embedded real-time computer market. At that time it was a brand new concept dedicated to the VMEbus standard. The same year, the company established a subsidiary in Houston, Texas to cater to the US market. The VMEbus is widely used in the Electronic Defense industry and the US market is the largest market place for our products. In 1988, we launched a second generation of VMEbus Analyzer. In 1990 we decided to establish our own distribution network in Europe and started in France, opening VSYSTEMS SA, followed by VSYSTEMS GMBH, in Germany (1991) and VSYSTEMS SRL in Italy (1992). In 1992, we launched a third generation of the VMEbus Analyzer. To give you some more milestones, in 1994, we opened VSYSTEMS AB, our subsidiary in Sweden. In 1995, we launched the first generation of the PCI Bus Analyzer. We are a technology driven company and we are creating value for our customers, bringing onto the market place products that implement the latest available technology. We are following the technology trends and we aim to deliver Analyzers for new buses as they enter in the market. In 1996, we launched a completely new product line, offering to the real-time computer market electronic devices to perform very high speed data Input and Output (I/O). That product line called MIDAS was based on VME board carriers incorporating all kinds of I/O functionalities using the latest available technology. MIDAS products immediately encountered a large endorsement from the market place boosting the company revenue with a compound growth up to 30% over the last 5 years. Thanks to our MIDAS product line, VMETRO is participating in large Radar, Sonar, Signal Intelligence defense projects together with the biggest Electronic System integrators.

TWST: Can you sketch a quick picture of your clients?

Mr. Mechin: Most of our clients are the largest electronic system integrators like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrup Grumman, Boeing in the USA, but also Thales Group, EADS, Ericsson in Europe as well as Toshiba, NEC in Japan. We provide them with high performance electronic cards that are integrated in their real-time computers that are usually used in Radar, Sonar, SIGINT (Signal Intelligence) or ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) systems. End users are mainly from the Department of Defense especially the US DoD.

TWST: Can you comment on the market area you are operating on in terms of size and potential?

Mr. Mechin: That’s a little bit difficult. VMETRO builds advanced electronic equipment based on leading edge technology, as such we are operating in technological niche markets. But, the defense market we are addressing is huge. Our business growth is connected to the Department of Defense spending which will amount, for instance, to more then USD 300 Billion this year in the US alone. Our products are mainly utilized in Defense intelligence systems which are key elements of the “war against terrorism” or “home land protection” program. We expect these domains to become a key part of the US military founding. VMETRO Year 2001 revenue was approximately USD42 million. I cannot answer more precisely.

TWST: When you look back to the year 2001, what significant strategic moves were made?

Mr. Mechin: Last year was a transition year for us. We enjoyed historical revenue based on existing product sales confirming the competitiveness of our products and also our strong sales presence on the market place. In the meantime we have invested a lot in research and development. The R&D investment effort is still in progress and we will get the return on that investment later this year and in the coming years.

TWST: How is the investment community responding to VMetro?

Mr. Mechin: Our investors know us very well. I am at all times impressed by the efforts done by the financial community to understand our business and our company. On our side we are taking special care of our financial communication and VMETRO management is dedicating a significant amount of time to that task. We have strong commitment from home based investors and we also enjoy attention from investors in London and Paris and other European countries.

TWST: What would you highlight about your company if you were talking directly to an investor?

Mr. Mechin: We have a high margin, high profitability business. We have been doing so since the beginning of the company and this is one of the main objectives of our strategy. We are of course a profitable company Our financial situation is very healthy. A quick look at our balance sheet will show you that we have no debt and a lot of cash. We are prepared for acquisition. The path for growth is paved. The company has a strong market presence thanks to its fully controlled sales organization and also to the strong customer relationship we have developed. Significant R&D investments have been made to launch new generation products.


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This interview is a small excerpt from a comprehensive interview published in The Wall Street Transcript on 06/17/02. For more information call (212) 952 7400. The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse any of the comments made by interviewees, and does not make stock recommendations.

Copyright 2002, Wall Street Transcript Corp.

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