Kopin Provides Business Update

8/8/17

WESTBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), a leading developer of innovative wearable computing technologies and solutions, today provided an update on its business initiatives and reported financial results for the second quarter of 2017, ended July 1, 2017.

“We made very good progress in many areas in the second quarter, and we are actively working with multiple tier-one customers,” said Dr. John CC Fan, CEO of Kopin. “We believe the commercial AR/VR opportunities are beginning to materialize. We have experienced very strong interest for our 2k x 2k LightningTM OLED displays and related optics, and we have made great progress in production readiness of our Lightning OLED displays with our foundry partners BOE and OliGHTEK. In addition, the recent announcements by Google about its second-generation Glass intended for industrial applications has furthered the momentum of AR headsets. Kopin’s displays and optic products are designed for these rugged applications.

“We also had a solid quarter in our military business. The four major production programs in our military business, including the F-35 pilot helmets, the Family of Weapon Sights Programs (Individual and Crew), and our VR optical system for armor vehicle simulation and training headsets, are all ramping and should have a very significant impact on our revenues in the second half of 2017 and in 2018.

“In our consumer segment, we have completed shipment of the first generation of SOLOSTM, our health and fitness AR glasses. The initial customers have been passionate about SOLOS and we have received excellent feedback from them. We expect to have the second generation of SOLOS on sale by the end of 2017.

“Finally we are making very good progress in our WhisperTM audio technology. In the second half of the year we expect to see the introduction of five new AR/VR headsets, of which two are Kopin systems and three are customer products. Of the five, four will feature our Whisper chip. In addition, we have made great progress in extending our Whisper technology from near-field to far-field applications. Early tests have shown the far field use matches the superior advantages in noise cancellation, voice quality, and speech recognition achieved in the near field application.

“On the strength of these new products and our current programs, we are optimistic about the revenue growth for the balance of the year and beyond. We anticipate revenues in the second half of 2017 will increase by approximately 70% as compared to the first half of 2017. Careful deployment of our financial resources, as always, remains a key priority. We ended the quarter with $85 million in cash and no debt, providing sufficient capital to monetize and commercialize our investments.

“In summary, we have successfully completed the first phase of technology and product development. We are now entering the harvesting and growth phase, and we are actively increasing sales and marketing efforts. All the cylinders are now working,” concluded Dr. Fan.

Second Quarter Financial Results

Total revenues for the second quarter ended July 1, 2017 were $5.9 million, compared with $4.4 million for the second quarter ended June 25, 2016.

Research and development (R&D) expenses for the second quarter of 2017 were $4.7 million compared to $4.1 million for the second quarter of 2016.

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses were $5.2 million for the second quarter of 2017 compared to $4.3 million for the second quarter of 2016, reflecting an increase in amortization of intangible assets, accrual of contingent earn out and professional fees. Included in SG&A is incremental SG&A expense of $0.5 million from the Company’s acquisition of NVIS, which was completed in the first quarter of 2017.

Net loss for the second quarter of 2017 was $7.3 million, or $0.10 per share, compared with net loss of $3.2 million, or $0.05 per share, for the second quarter of 2016. The second quarter of 2016 included a $7.7 million gain on the sale of our Korean subsidiary

During the second quarter of 2017 we had 9 patents granted and filed for 2 new applications. Overall we have over 300 patents and patents pending, almost all of which are related to wearable applications.

As of July 1, 2017 Kopin had approximately $85 million in cash equivalents and marketable securities, and no long term debt.

All amounts above are estimates and readers should refer to our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 1, 2017, for final disposition.

About Kopin

Kopin Corporation is a leading developer and provider of innovative wearable technologies and solutions for integration into head-worn computing and display systems to military, industrial and consumer customers. Kopin’s technology portfolio includes ultra-small displays, optics, speech enhancement technology, system and hands-free control software, low-power ASICs, and ergonomically designed smart headset reference systems. Kopin’s proprietary components and technology are protected by more than 300 global patents and patents pending. For more information, please visit Kopin’s website at www.kopin.com.

Recent Deals

Interested in advertising your deals? Contact Edwin Warfield.