PALO ALTO, CA -- H-P will license its photo-enhancing technology to Flextronics for use in camera-equipped cellphones. The deal is for five years; the companies did not diclose the royalty fees or other aspects of the agreement.

According to H-P, Flextronics will license the software for camera modules that capture images at 3 MP and above,. That segment is forecast to make up five to 13% of the more than 600 million camera phones expected to be shipped next year.

It is not clear whether the deal is exclusive to Flextronics .

"Flextronics is the ideal partner to harness the capabilities of H-P's digital-imaging technology to open new markets," H-P imaging and printer group vice president Tara Bunch said in a statement. "The agreement is a breakthrough for the booming camera-phone market because it will transform photos into higher-quality images and keepsakes to share and print."

In licensing the technology, H-P's goal is that more users will print the images -- ideally using H-P printers, ink and paper stock.

HIALEAH, FL -- EMS provider Simclar Inc. reported September quarter revenue of $30,653,658, up 85% from 2005. Net income was $617,868, up from $241,611. A portion of the growth was came from acquisitions.

Pretax income was $1 million, up from $396,084 last year.

VANCOUVER -- Northstar Electronics, a electronics contractor and OEM of sonar technologies, today reported third-quarter revenues climbed up 87% to $413,132, while the net loss from operations narrowed to $161,514.

Northstar CEO Dr. said, "We have taken measures to reduce salary and overhead expenses. These measures along with increased revenues have helped reduce the loss in the quarter to approximately 40% of the loss in the third quarter of 2005.

"During the quarter, we made good progress in our efforts to secure new contracts in defense and Homeland Security and anticipate concrete results shortly in several areas."

In the quarter, the company continued work on a Lockheed Martin contract for command and control consoles for submarines, on an a digital receiver for wireless underwater products, and on a sonar system for fisheries research.

RICHARDSON, TX -- TXP Corp., a provider of pre-manufacturing services for electronics manufacturing, today reported September quarter sales of $1.7 million and net income was $2.2 million.

The odd ratio was tied to a one-time revene gain in the third quarter 2005 and a large tax benefit in the just-completed period.

For the quarter net income included a non-cash gain of $2.7 million related to a change in the fair value of derivative financial instruments. TXP had net income of $405,000 in 2005.

Sales dropped $4.2 million from the quarter last year, when TXP booked $5.2 million from a one-time project with a single customer.

The operating loss was $215,000, down from income of $676,000 last year.

Total revenue year-to-date is $5.1 million, down from $8.5 million in 2005. The operating loss is $346,000, versus operating income of $332,000, and the net loss is $2.1 million, versus a net loss of $21,000 last year.

Excluding last year's one-time gain, core revenues rose 120% year-over-year and gross margin increased to 41% from 22% last year.

ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- Jabil Circuit Inc. will restate its 2005 financial reports as a result of a review of its historical stock options practices. The company said it intends to file any restated financial statements and its annual report for the year ended Aug. 31, 2006, "as soon as practicable."

The contract manufacturer is being investigated by the SEC over its past stock option grants.

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NEWPORT, UK - EVS International has relocated to Porchfield, Newport, UK. The facility is triple the size of the company’s previous separate facilities. The new facility houses all offices, the warehouse and workshop.   

 
 

 

TORONTO -- Electronics manufacturing services provider SMTC Corp. reported third-quarter net income of $6.1 million on revenue of $65.7 million for its third quarter ended Oct. 1, aided by $5 million in gains from one-time items. Last year, the company had earnings of $700,000 on sales of $64.6 million. Sequentially, net income was $1.3 million on $61.1 million in sales.

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MILPITAS, CA -- Solectron expects to meet or exceed its previous first-quarter revenue guidance of $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion. The EMS firm maintained its first-quarter earnings of 4 to 6 cents per share.

The announcement came despite a delay in implementation of a new supply chain management program with Cisco Systems.

SAN JOSE -- Electronics manufacturing services company Suntron Corp. has reached a confidential settlement with Applied Materials, the company said. Applied agreed to pay Suntron an undisclosed sum in exchange for certain Suntron inventory.

The companies also ended their other claims.

Suntron sued Applied in 2004, seeking damages related to more than $18 million in unused and obsolete inventory it had acquired to meet expected future demand from Applied.

In May, Suntron said that the Texas Supreme Court had cleared its litigation against Applied.

PALO ALTO, CA -- Agilent Technologies will acquire Acqiris SA, a Switzerland based manufacturer of high-speed digitizers and analyzers for commercial, industrial and government electronics. The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions. Financial details were not disclosed.

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ARLINGTON, VA -- Consumer electronics gifts will account for a quarter of all holiday gifts, with revenues rising 21% to $21 billion this holiday season, the Consumer Electronics Association said.

"The holiday outlook for our industry is a merry one," said director of industry analysis Sean Wargo. "Consumers' confidence in the economy is on the rise and the CE industry will benefit. CE gifts dominate a quarter of the overall holiday gift giving market. And consumers tend to shop with a 'one for you-one for me' mindset during the holiday season. As a result, gifts for others only account for about half of the volume of sales in the fourth quarter."

According to the survey, consumers will spend $195 on average for consumer electronics gifts.

"The upgrade cycle is driving a lot of this growth. Lured in by the declining prices on many new digital products, consumers are spending more for consumer electronics on average than they have in the past. An example of this is the MP3 player versus the portable CD player. The initial price for an MP3 player is higher than the initial price five or 10 years ago for a portable CD player," said Wargo.

For the second year in a row, the most popular item among adults to give or get is MP3 players. The rest of the top 10 list includes all types DVD players/recorders, digital cameras, laptops and PCs, televisions, video game systems, cellphones, camcorders and HDTV.

Topping the gift list, or what consumers actually plan to buy, this holiday season are digital cameras, cellphones, MP3 players, video game consoles, portable CD players, carrying cases, cordless phones, additional memory for digital cameras, laptops and clock radios.

Teen aged 12 to 17 selected MP3 players, video game consoles and computers.