Kopin Provides Business Update and Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Operating Results

03/03/16

  • Company Enjoys Very Successful CES Event With 15 Companies
    Displaying Products With Kopin Components
  • Tier One Company Launches Health & Fitness Product With Kopin
    Wearable Technology at 2016 CES
  • Solos™ Smart Eyewear and Whisper Chip™ on Track for Summer
    Release
  • Wearables Revenue Doubled in 2015
  • Company Maintains Very Strong Financial Position

Kopin Corporation (KOPN),
a leading developer of innovative wearable computing technologies and
solutions, today provided an update on its business initiatives and
reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year
ended December 26, 2015.

“We made solid progress in 2015 in executing our wearables strategy,
with technology development, customer acquisition and product launches,”
said Dr. John C.C. Fan, President and CEO of Kopin. “We ended the year
with the leading headset manufacturers across enterprise, consumer and
military all offering wearable products based on our technology. Our
customers range from Rockwell Collins for military avionic helmets, to
Fujitsu for enterprise applications, and to Intel/Recon for consumer
applications. The headset products target second screen applications, as
in the case of Fujitsu’s repair and maintenance product, to augmented
reality (AR) applications, such as the F-35 fighter pilot helmet, and
virtual reality (VR) applications, such as First Person Viewers (FPVs)
used with drones. These FPVs are relatively new to the market but give a
hint of where virtual reality is going, as they provide the drone user
with a first person view.”

“We maintained our strong momentum into 2016 with a successful Consumer
Electronics Show (CES), highlighted by 15 customers demonstrating
products featuring Kopin wearable components. We also displayed our own
Solos product, an AR headset designed for competitive cyclists to
monitor their activities and enhance performance. Solos smart eyewear
provides the user with a see-through image of data being transmitted
from sensors, on or near the athlete or from the cloud. Solos also
demonstrates the vast progress we have made over the last few years.
When we introduced the Golden-i® in 2011, our first wearable headset for
enterprise applications, it weighed over 600 grams. Today Solos, with
similar functionality but designed for consumers, weighs approximately
60 grams and looks like a fashionable pair of sunglasses.”

“CES was also the first time we gave public demonstrations of the
Whisper™ technology, our speech enhancement technology. Since CES we
have been very actively engaging with Tier One companies on the Whisper
technology and our new Whisper Chip. This will be a very differentiable
product and would be used with many wearable devices as a well as other
applications. We believe voice will be the next touch and Whisper
technology will play a key role.”

“In 2015, our revenues from sale of products for the wearable market
doubled over 2014 to approximately $12 million. As more companies adopt
Kopin’s view that the headset is the next smartphone and voice will
someday replace touch, we expect more new customers and industries to
develop. We have been very active in new design-in activities, including
a product for public safety which our customer is expected to debut in
the second quarter of this year. Furthermore Solos and Whisper Chips are
on track for a summer release to provide additional revenue growth,
which until now has been based on our display and display modules. Now
our heavy lifting of technology and product development is finishing as
planned and we are entering the marketing and sales phases. With our
extensive patent portfolio, design wins with Tier One customers and our
strong balance sheet, we are very well positioned to take advantage of
the growing and potentially huge wearable market,” concluded Dr. Fan.

Fourth Quarter Financial Results

Total revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 26, 2015, were $4.6
million, compared with $10.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $7.0 million, or $0.11 per
share, compared with net loss of $5.3 million, or $0.08 per share, for
the same period of 2014.

Full Year Financial Results

Total revenues for the 12 months ended December 26, 2015, were $32.1
million, compared with $31.8 million for the fiscal year 2014.

Research and development expenses for 2015 were $17.6 million compared
with $20.7 million for 2014.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were $18.1 million for 2015
as compared with approximately $19.9 million for 2014.

Net loss for the 12 months ended 2015 was $14.7 million, or $0.23 per
share, compared with net loss of $28.2 million, or $0.45 per share, for
2014. Included in the 2015 results of operations was a $9.2 million gain
on the sale of investments. Included in the 2014 results of operations
was a $1.3 million write-down of investments.

We have maintained our strong financial position. Kopin’s cash and
equivalents and marketable securities was $80.7 million at December 26,
2015 as compared to $90.9 million at December 27, 2014. In addition, on
January 15, 2016 we received $15 million as the final installment of the
sale of our III-V operation and investment in Kopin Taiwan Corporation.
Kopin has no long-term debt.

All amounts above are estimates and readers should refer to our Form
10-K for the year ended December 26, 2015, for final disposition.

Financial Results Conference Call

In conjunction with its year end 2015 financial results, Kopin will host
a teleconference call for investors and analysts at 5:00 p.m. ET today.
To participate, please dial (877) 709-8150 (U.S. and Canada) or (201)
689-8354 (International). The call will also be available as a live and
archived audio webcast on the “Investors” section of the Kopin website, www.kopin.com.

About Kopin

Kopin Corporation is a leading developer and provider of innovative
wearable technologies and solutions for integration into head-worn
computing and display systems to military, industrial and consumer
customers. Kopin’s technology portfolio includes ultra-small displays,
optics, speech enhancement technology, system and hands-free control
software, low-power ASICs, and ergonomically designed smart headset
reference systems. Kopin’s proprietary components and technology are
protected by more than 300 global patents and patents pending. For more
information, please visit Kopin’s website at www.kopin.com.

Kopin, Whisper, Solos and Golden-i are trademarks of Kopin Corporation.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release may be considered “forward-looking”
statements under the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include, without limitation,
statements relating to our statement that
FPVs give a hint of
where virtual reality is going; our expectation that Solos smart eyewear
and Whisper chip on track for a summer release; our belief that the
Whisper Chip will be a very differentiable product and used by many
wearable devices as a well as other applications; our expectation that
as more companies adopt Kopin’s view that the headset is the next
smartphone and voice will someday replace touch, we expect new customers
and industries to develop
including public safety applications
which are expected to debut in the second quarter of this year; our
belief that Solos and Whisper technology products will be in the market
by this summer to provide revenue growth which for now has been based on
our display and display modules; and our belief we are very well
positioned to take advantage of the growing wearable market . These
statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but
are not limited to, the following: Solos smart eyewear and Whisper chip
may not be ready for launch by the summer; the headset wearable market
may take longer to develop than we expect or it may not develop at all;
we may not obtain new customers; the public safety application may not
be available in the second quarter; and the final amounts in the
Company’s Form 10-K for the period ended December 26, 2015 may differ
from the amounts included in the release above;
it may take
longer than the Company estimates to develop products; the Company’s
products
 may not be accepted by the market place; there may
be issues that prevent the adoption or further development of the
Company’s wearable computing technologies;
 manufacturing,
marketing or other issues may prevent either the adoption or acceptance
of products; the Company might be adversely affected by competitive
products and pricing; new product initiatives and other research and
development efforts may be unsuccessful; the Company could experience
the loss of significant customers; costs to produce the Company’s
products might increase significantly, or yields could
 decline;
the Company’s customers might be unable to ramp production volumes of
their products, or the Company’s product forecasts could turn out to be
wrong; manufacturing delays, technical issues, economic conditions or
external factors may prevent the Company from achieving its goals; and
other risk factors and cautionary statements listed in the Company’s
periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the 12 months ended December 27, 2014, and the Company’s subsequent
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not
place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based
only on information currently available to the Company and only as of
the date on which they are made. The Company undertakes no obligation to
update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or
circumstances occurring after the date of this release.

       
Kopin Corporation
Supplemental Information
(Unaudited)
 
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
 

December 26, 2015

December 27, 2014

December 26, 2015

December 27, 2014

Display Revenues by Category (in millions)
Military Applications $ 1.2 $ 6.0 $ 10.2 $ 14.3
Wearable Applications 1.7 1.4 12.3 6.2
Industrial Applications 1.1 0.9 4.0 3.7
Consumer Electronics Applications 0.4 0.4 1.7 2.8
Research and Development   0.2   1.9   3.9   4.8
Total $ 4.6 $ 10.6 $ 32.1 $ 31.8
 
 
Stock-Based Compensation Expense
Continuing Operations
Cost of component revenues $ 109,000 $ 186,000 $ 730,000 $ 777,000
Research and development 107,000 194,000 777,000 967,000
Selling, general and administrative   142,000   892,000   1,639,000   3,084,000
$ 358,000 $ 1,272,000 $ 3,146,000 $ 4,828,000
 
 
Other Financial Information
Depreciation and amortization $ 279,000 $ 414,000 $ 2,139,000 $ 3,002,000
 
       
Kopin Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
 
Three Months Ended

Twelve Months Ended

December 26, 2015

December 27, 2014

December 26, 2015

December 27, 2014

Revenues:
Component revenues $ 4,428,880 $ 8,756,290 $ 28,163,118 $ 26,956,741
Research and development revenues   183,015     1,881,095     3,891,301     4,850,724  
4,611,895 10,637,385 32,054,419 31,807,465
Expenses:
Cost of component revenues 4,609,096 6,054,836 21,609,826 19,638,149
Research and development 3,878,820 5,680,298 17,631,413 20,736,021
Selling, general and administrative   4,081,531     4,974,597     18,134,580     19,908,020  
12,569,447 16,709,731 57,375,819 60,282,190
 
Loss from operations (7,957,552 ) (6,072,346 ) (25,321,400 ) (28,474,725 )
 
Other income (expense), net   895,439     635,267     10,500,776     10,378  
 

Loss before (provision) benefit for income taxes, equity loss in
unconsolidated affiliate and net loss from noncontrolling interest

(7,062,113 ) (5,437,079 ) (14,820,624 ) (28,464,347 )
 
(Provision) benefit for income taxes   (12,500 )   118,000     25,000     180,000  
 

Loss before equity loss in unconsolidated affiliate and net loss
from noncontrolling interest

(7,074,613 ) (5,319,079 ) (14,795,624 ) (28,284,347 )
 
Equity loss in unconsolidated affiliate       (126,568 )   (47,443 )   (386,442 )
 
Net loss before (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interest (7,074,613 ) (5,445,647 ) (14,843,067 ) (28,670,789 )
 
Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interest   113,557     143,401     149,651     458,745  
 
Net loss $ (6,961,056 ) $ (5,302,246 ) $ (14,693,416 ) $ (28,212,044 )
 
Net loss per share:
Basic $ (0.11 ) $ (0.08 ) $ (0.23 ) $ (0.45 )
Diluted $ (0.11 ) $ (0.08 ) $ (0.23 ) $ (0.45 )
 
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic   63,607,538     62,734,237     63,465,797     62,638,675  
Diluted   63,607,538     62,734,237     63,465,797     62,638,675  
 
   
Kopin Corporation
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
 

December 26, 2015

December 27, 2014

ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and marketable securities $ 80,710,780 $ 90,858,936
Accounts receivable, net 1,574,973 3,802,324
Inventory 2,512,473 4,081,886
Prepaid and other current assets 1,357,996 1,181,474
Note receivable   15,000,000      
 
Total current assets 101,156,222 99,924,620
 
Land, equipment and improvements, net 2,677,103 4,589,421
Goodwill and intangible assets 946,082 1,593,210
Property and plant, held for sale 819,263
Other assets 461,416 1,900,828
Note receivable       14,933,335  
 
Total assets $ 106,060,086     $ 122,941,414  
 
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 3,959,704 $ 5,503,734
Accrued expenses 4,702,574 5,870,719
Deferred income taxes 1,207,000 1,282,000
Billings in excess of revenue earned   1,407,566     586,471  
 
Total current liabilities 11,276,844 13,242,924
 
Lease commitments 298,463 311,187
 
Total Kopin Corporation stockholders’ equity 94,740,875 109,846,959
Noncontrolling interest   (256,096 )     (459,656 )
Total stockholders’ equity   94,484,779       109,387,303  
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 106,060,086     $ 122,941,414  
 

Kopin Corporation
Richard Sneider, 508-870-5959
Treasurer
and Chief Financial Officer
Richard_Sneider@kopin.com
or
Market
Street Partners
Joann Horne, 415-445-3233
JHorne@marketstreetpartners.com