“The group achieved increased revenue from its telecommunication products and electronic learning products businesses in Europe, and improved net margins further, despite continued cost pressures," said Allan Wong, chairman and group CEO.

Revenue at the TEL business was $356.1 million, a slight decline of 0.9%. During the period, the business accounted for 48.5% of revenue.

The North American market was weaker than expected, VTech said, with revenue at $253.6 million, a decline of 12.5%, as the US cordless phone market slowed in the face of declining housing starts and fewer promotions by retailers.

However, the company’s branded business in North America continued to gain market share as consumers responded well to the DECT 6.0 range of cordless phones.

Revenue in Europe was $86.7 million, an increase of 43.3%. In Asia Pacific and other regions outside North America and Europe, revenue surged by 118.8% and 68.5%, to $3.5 million and $12.3 million respectively.

Revenue from the ELP business increased to $262.1 million, up 17.4%.

The contract manufacturing services business saw revenue decline by 11.7% to $115.9 million, representing 15.8% of group revenue. Europe remained the leading source of revenue, representing 45.9% of the total, followed by North America at 39.8% and Asia Pacific at 14.3%.

The CMS business is forecast to achieve growth for the full year; sales appear set to pick up in the second half, VTech said.

HIALEAH, FL – Contract manufacturer Simclar Inc. reported net income for the third quarter was $415,330, down 32.8% year-over-year.

Revenue for the quarter was $33.15 million, up 8% year-over-year.

Pre-tax income was $626,568, down about 39% compared to the same quarter in 2006. Escalating losses in North Carolina operations, poor financial results at the company’s Dayton, OH facility, and raw material shortages were the main factors contributing to the decline in earnings, Simclar said.

Chairman Sam Russell said, "The results for the third quarter were disappointing and we have quickly taken corrective actions. We recently announced the rationalization of our North Carolina sheet metal operations, which are being transferred to our facility in Mexico to take advantage of the lower costs and integration capabilities with PCBA, cable harness, and high-level assembly. We have also changed the general manager at our Dayton, OH plant as a result of that facility's poor trading performance. Material shortages had a particularly adverse affect on our backplane assembly operations; however, we are seeing improvements and, as of now, we do not anticipate any further disruptions from our material suppliers."

TORONTO – Adeptron Technologies Corp. reported a third-quarter loss of $1.12 million, including a one-time $460,263 restructuring charge for consolidation of its Markham manufacturing facilities.

San Bruno, CA – Worldwide Manufacturing USA Inc. announced record revenues for the third quarter of nearly $3 million, up 5.8% year-over-year.

This increase was the result of an increase in orders, the company said.

Revenues year-to-date were $8.45 million, up approximately 5% compared to the first nine months of last year.

Net income before tax for the third quarter was $137,553, a decrease of approximately 69%, the engineering firm and contract manufacturer said.

This was the result of an increase in public cost, as well as expenses associated with finding potential acquisitions for the company, Worldwide Manufacturing reported.

Year-to-date net profit before tax was $480,994, a decrease of approximately 15.7%.

Jimmy Wang, CEO of Worldwide, stated, "We continue to focus on acquisition targets as well as internal growth. The trend of record revenues continues."

PHOENIX – EMS provider Suntron Corp. reported net sales of $52.5 million and a net loss of $400,000 for the third quarter of 2007.

The results included charges of $200,000 for stock-based compensation and $100,000 for restructuring expenses.

Gross profit for the third quarter was $4 million, flat with the same period last year, and down 32% sequentially.

"Our focus on working capital management has helped us significantly reduce our bank debt to $6.4 million at the end of the third quarter of 2007," stated Paul Singh, president and CEO.

SIOUX FALLS, SD – Raven Industries Inc. reported record sales and earnings for its third quarter. Continued strong demand in the flow controls division drove an 8% increase in sales, to $61.8 million, the company said.

Third-quarter net income was $7.4 million, up 6% year-over-year.

Year-to-date, sales rose $175.6 million, up 6% compared to the same period last year.

Year-to-date net income was $21.8 million, an 11% increase year-over-year.

"The flow controls division capitalized on a strong agricultural market, with good acceptance of new products and solid demand across the entire product line. The electronic systems division and Aerostar also reported double-digit increases in revenues and operating income. These advances more than offset declines in the engineered films division, which were caused primarily by increased price competition in its markets and the lack of disaster film sales," said CEO Ronald M. Moquist.

DANBORO, PA – In an effort to protect its intellectual property rights, PennEngineering has served complaints on six fastener manufacturers attending the National Industrial Fastener Show/West in Las Vegas. 

The complaints were filed Nov. 13 in Federal District Court in Nevada.

PennEngineering has alleged these companies were exhibiting and offering for sale products that violate one or more of the company’s trademarks and patents. 

PennEngineering has asked a federal district court in Nevada to require these companies immediately cease and desist from infringing activities and award PennEngineering appropriate damages. 

SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Smartphone OS-based phones will grow at more than a 30% CAGR for the next five years globally, taking an increasing share of the overall phone market otherwise growing in single digits, reports In-Stat.

The unit volume of smartphones globally exceeds the unit sales for laptops, according to the research firm.

Users are experiencing significant value from their smartphones, In-Stat says. As a result, they are downloading more applications and generating higher usage as measured by average revenue per user for wireless carriers. 

“Because of the value users are finding, organizations are slowly taking ownership of smartphones and data applications used for business purposes,” says Bill Hughes, In-Stat analyst. “Rather than having overcomplicated reimbursement plans, more organizations are finding it more expedient and economical to treat wireless voice and data services as a business expense when they use smartphones.”

Research by In-Stat found the following: All smartphone OSs (other than the Palm OS) will grow at double digits during the next five years; a smartphone user who travels has twice the ARPU of a typical feature phone user; smartphone use will grow mostly from use as a laptop replacement, and as a tool to help manufacturers develop feature phones.

SAN JOSE, CA – Worldwide sales will surpass $321 billion in 2010 with a CAGR of 7.7% for the period between 2007 and 2010, the Semiconductor Industry Association today reported in its annual forecast of global semiconductor sales.

EL SEGUNDO, CA – Pricing has become the paramount concern for television makers, as the growing emphasis on achieving the lowest possible cost has brought wrenching changes to the competitive landscape and manufacturing structure of the business, says iSuppli Corp.

HONG KONG – Surface Mount Technology (Holdings) LTD. reported second-quarter revenue of HK $758,436, up 7% year-over-year.

Year-to-date revenue, ended Sept. 30, was HK $1.58 million, up 11.5% compared to the same period in 2006.

Gross profit for the second quarter was HK $108,773, an increase of 4.7% year-over-year, while gross profit in the first half of the year was HK $214,599, up 3.9%, the company said.

SMT said the growth in gross profit is lower than revenue growth mainly as a result of higher cost of sales resulting from higher raw material prices, wages, energy cost and depreciation charges.

US $1 = HK $7.7851

Flextronics will procure all stocks of Arima's subsidiaries in Japan, Texas and California, and the UK for an extra $59.5 million.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008, Arima said.

Currently, Arima's clients, including HP and Dell, contribute around 330,000-350,000 units to notebook shipments each month, said the company.

Flextronics should expand the production capacity up to 500,000 units initially after the take over, while mass production will begin in the later half of 2008, Arima stated.

No other terms of the agreement were disclosed.