PPT VISION, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2002 Results

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PPT VISION, Inc. PPTV today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 31, 2002. Net revenues for the fourth quarter were $2,184,000, which represents an increase of 8% over the third quarter ended July 31, 2002 and an increase of 5% over net revenues of $2,077,000 for the same period in fiscal 2001. The Company's net loss was $2,191,000 or 22 cents per share compared to a net loss of $1,741,000 or 32 cents per share for the same period in fiscal 2001.

For fiscal year 2002, net revenues declined 44% to $7,474,000 compared with $13,325,000 for the previous year. The Company's net loss was $6,875,000 or 90 cents per share compared to a net loss of $4,832,000 or 88 cents per share for fiscal year 2001.

‘‘The significant slowdown in capital spending throughout the manufacturing sector of the economy negatively affected our business in fiscal 2002,’‘ stated Mr. Joseph C. Christenson, President. ‘‘However, we are beginning to see an improvement in the business climate. We are pleased that we have seen two consecutive quarters of sequential revenue growth and I am optimistic that this may mean that we have seen the bottom of this extraordinary downturn. We believe that our new IMPACT™ 2D machine vision product and SpeedScan 3D™ machine vision product which resulted from our substantial new product development investment over the past years, together with improving capital spending in 2003 and beyond, will drive strong future growth at PPT VISION,’‘ concluded Mr. Christenson.

In view of the Company's focus on sales of newly introduced products and the lower revenue volume from recent historical levels, PPT recorded reserves in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2002 for excess and obsolete inventory and related commitments of $715,000. Excluding this charge, which was included in cost of sales, gross margins would have been 55% and 50% for the fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2002, respectively, versus 23% and 41%, respectively as reported.

‘‘While fiscal 2002 was an extremely challenging and very disappointing year for PPT in terms of revenue performance,’‘ Mr. Christenson continued, ‘‘there were a number of significant operational and financial achievements that make us optimistic about the future, including:

2D Business

• The introduction and first sales of our new IMPACT 2D machine vision
   product and its innovative software operating system, INSPECTION
   BUILDER™.
• The strong reception IMPACT received by our international distributors.
• Entering into several new distribution and integration partnerships
  with leading value-added resellers of industrial controls throughout
  the world.
• Sales of 230 systems in fiscal 2002, bringing our installed base of 2D
  systems to nearly 4,500.

3D Business

• Introduction and first sale of the PPT 861-SH™ for use in strip
  handling applications.
• Establishment of product development and OEM agreement with
  Electroglas, Inc.
• Receipt of several follow-on patents related to our patented SMI™ 3D
  inspection technology.

Financial

• Completion of our Shareholder Rights Offering, which resulted in
  $4.4 million of new investment in the Company.  As a result, PPT has
  $2.9 million of cash on hand at year end with no bank borrowings.

‘‘I want to recognize the contributions made by our talented employees in the accomplishments noted above and thank them all for their hard work during the past year. Because of their dedication, and the confidence of our investors and customers, we expect to achieve substantially improved financial results in fiscal year 2003 and beyond,’‘ concluded Mr. Christenson.

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PPT VISION, Inc. designs, manufactures, markets, and integrates 2D and 3D machine vision-based automated inspection systems for manufacturing applications. Machine vision-based inspection systems enable manufacturers to realize significant economic paybacks by increasing the quality of manufactured parts and improving the productivity of manufacturing processes. The Company's 2D machine vision product line is sold on a global basis to end-users, system integrators, and original equipment manufacturers (OEM's) primarily in the electronic and semiconductor component, automotive, medical device, and packaged goods industries. The Company's SpeedScan 3D™ sensor, incorporating the Company's patented high-speed Scanning Moire Interferometry™ technology is sold to original equipment manufacturers for specific applications. The Company's PPT861™ 3D scanning system, which uses the Company's SpeedScan 3D sensor, is an application-specific inspection solution targeted at inspection of leaded and bumped components in the semiconductor back-end manufacturing process, inspection of surface-mount electronic connectors, and inspection of components used in hard disk drives. The Company's Common Stock trades on the Nasdaq Small Cap Market tier of The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol PPTV. For more information, please see the PPT VISION, Inc. web site at www.pptvision.com.

Conference Call
The Company has scheduled a conference call for 10:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday, December 10th. In the conference call, the Company will discuss the results for the recent quarter and fiscal year as well as the Company's current initiatives and expectations with respect to future periods. The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet by World Investor Link's Vcall. To listen live, go to www.vcall.com .

A digitized replay of the fourth quarter and fiscal 2002 conference call will be available between 1:30 p.m. on December 10th and 11:59 p.m. on December 17th. To access the replay please use the following numbers: U.S. = (800) 475-6701 or International = (320) 365-3844; Access Code = 661622.

Forward Looking Statements
The discussion above contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties as described by PPT VISION's periodic filings. Actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to the following: changes in worldwide general economic conditions, cyclicality of capital spending by customers, PPT VISION's ability to keep pace with technological developments and evolving industry standards, worldwide competition, PPT VISION's ability to successfully develop custom sensors for its OEM customers, and PPT VISION's ability to protect its existing intellectual property from challenges from third parties and other factors. Additional information with respect to the risks and uncertainties faced by PPT VISION may be found in the section ‘‘Business’‘ under the caption ‘‘Important Factors Regarding Forward-Looking Statements’‘ contained in its filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2001 and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.