VoIP is hitting its stride as both a technology and an investment13 January 2005
Highlights from the January 11th Featured Expert column by Judy Alster includes:
Now, although some problems still loom, VoIP is really hitting its stride as both a technology and an investment. Businesses are probably deriving the biggest financial benefits from its lower costs, network convergence and vastly-increased flexibility. The percentage of companies using VoIP grew from 3% in 2003 to over 11% last year, says one study. Out of 254 recently polled senior executives, 43% are currently using, testing or planning to implement VoIP within the next two years. Customer call centers are becoming especially devoted clients. VoIP's major benefit for call centers is its support of agents regardless of their physical locations, a feature that lets centers, particularly those with global 24-hour service, locate and scale their operations with endless flexibility.
AudioCodes Ltd.: AudioCodes makes the building blocks for transmitting voice, data and fax over packet networks; its products and technologies go into the equipment and systems that connect traditional telephone networks with the new voice infrastructure.
Third-quarter revenue was up more than 20% from the second quarter and a satisfying 95% over the previous year's quarter. In a second consecutive positive-earnings quarter, income was $1.6 million or four cents a share, up from a mirror image loss of $1.6 million or four cents per share the year before. It was the first full quarter of revenue after the acquisition of Ai-Logix, a company specializing in call logging and recording and an obviously smart buy. AudioCodes is solidly positioned to capitalize on the shift toward packet networks and voicedata convergence.
DSP Group, Inc. is a fables semiconductor company -- a chip producer who doesn't have its own fabrication plant but outsources manufacturing. It focuses on the short-range wireless communication market, providing home networking convergence for voice, video and data.
The company's third quarter was noteworthy, considering the inventory buildup and flattened revenue that affected much of the industry last year. Despite revenue down 2% at $46.2 million, income even without a $15 million asset-sale gain was up 1% to $9.8 million while earnings per share were up a penny to 33 cents. Operating margins were at a record 21%. DSP Group has no debt and plans to repurchase 2.5 million shares of its stock, having already repurchased 1.4 million shares last fall. The stock is trading at only 12 times earnings, low for the industry. The company has a unique niche and knows how to make money, and the stock is worth some serious consideration.
Source: Business Wire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Related Voip Articles
|
