American Superconductor Reports Fiscal 2004 First Quarter Results

American Superconductor Corporation has reported financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 ended June 30, 2003. Net revenues for the June 2003 quarter were $7.8 million, up 171% over net revenues of $2.9 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2003. The net loss was $8.4 million, or $0.39 per share, compared with a net loss of $10.8 million, or $0.53 per share, for the same period last year. AMSC received $17.2 million in new orders and contracts during the quarter. The company's total backlog of orders and contracts as of June 30 was $87.4 million, of which approximately $32 million is expected to be recognized as revenue over the remainder of fiscal 2004. American Superconductor ended the first quarter of fiscal 2004 with cash, cash equivalents and long-term investments of $12.1 million and no long-term debt. The company's use of cash in the first quarter was approximately $8 million. Cost Reductions Implemented: AMSC continues to execute on its plan to reduce its cash burn rate year-over-year. "We are continuing to drive to a cash burn rate of $13 million to $15 million for fiscal 2004, which would be significantly less than in previous years," said Yurek. "To help ensure we meet this cash burn rate goal for fiscal 2004, we have recently taken actions to further cut our operating and capital expenditures." In July, AMSC implemented reductions in its operating and capital budgets for fiscal 2004 by $5 million through the elimination of 34 positions including a reduction in force of 23 employees, or approximately 8% of the company's workforce. With this reduction in force, headcount has been reduced by 36% over the last 16 months. Also in July 2003, the company made cuts in controllable expenses and capital equipment purchases. AMSC expects to begin to fully benefit from these cost reduction measures in the third quarter of this fiscal year.