Beleaguered Creative Technology’s 4Q net loss widens on lower US sales

“Singapore’s Creative Technology Ltd., which competes against Apple Inc. in the MP3 player market said Wednesday its fourth- quarter net loss widened to $19.3 million from $12.7 million a year earlier, due largely to lower sales in the U.S.,” Vladimir Guevarra reports for Dow Jones Newswires.

“Creative, which is delisting from the Nasdaq later this month, posted sales of $165.2 million for the quarter ended June 30, down from $230.9 million on year,” Guevarra reports.

“The company said in a statement that 30% of its revenue came from the Americas, down from 46% in the same period last year. Sales from Europe accounted for 47% of total revenue for the quarter, up from 37%,” Guevarra reports. “Sales from Asia and other regions made up 23% of revenue, up from 17%.”

“Creative said 57% of its revenue came from personal digital entertainment products, including MP3 players, down from 65% a year ago,; Guevarra reports. “For the full year, net profit was $28.2 million, compared with a net loss of $118.2 million in the previous year.”

“OCBC Investment Research analyst Carey Wong noted the full-year profit includes a $100 million payment from Apple for the use of Creative’s ZEN patent in arranging MP3 files,” Guevarra reports. “Excluding the payment, Creative would have reported a net loss of $53.8 million from its core operations, Wong said.”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Mike in Helsinki” for the heads up.]
&tSome “war” this turned out to be. So, what happens when that $100 million gift from Apple runs out, Creative? Better get crackin’ on those “Made for iPod” accessories!