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CellStar takes financial hit from Asian exit

CARROLLTON, Texas-Cell-phone distributor CellStar Corp. reported a net loss for the third quarter related to the company’s recent decision to cancel an initial public offering in China and exit its Singapore and Filipino operations.

CellStar reported a net loss of $10.8 million or 52 cents per diluted share compared with net income of $1.4 million or 7 cents per share in the third quarter of 2003 and net income of $700,000 or 3 cents a share in the second quarter of 2004. The loss includes pre-tax expenses of $2 million related to the cancelled Chinese IPO and $3.8 million related to its exit from its other Asian operations.

Revenues for the quarter ended Aug. 31 were $277.7 million compared with $414.9 million in the third quarter of 2003 and $345.4 million in the previous quarter. The revenue decline was primarily in Asia and United States, said CellStar. The company’s decision to discontinue its business with Cricket Communications resulted in the U.S. decline, although that decline was partially offset by increased revenue from the company’s regional carrier customers due to new handset promotions.

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