Franklin Electronic Publishers

Franklin Electronic Publishers warned Wall Street yesterday to expect substantial losses in the fourth quarter and fiscal 1999, which ended in March. The news caused the Burlington company's stock, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, to fall 13 percent to $5.44 in very heavy trading. Normally, about 17,000 shares trade each day. Yesterday, more than 73,000 changed hands. The stock has taken a pounding all year. In January, it was trading around $11; lately, it has hovered in the $6 range.

With about 60,000 sold, Franklin Electronic Publishers' pocket-size computer has hardly taken the world by storm since its introduction a year ago. Even though it can search for and display vast amounts of data recorded on interchangeable, postage-stamp-size chips. Yesterday, the Mount Holly company said it thought it had found a potentially big new market for its Digital Book System (DBS). As a portable reference library for industry. Its first big customer is Allen-Bradley, a Rockwell International unit, which will give 4,500 DBSes - they cost just $100 apiece and are about the size of a calculator - to salespeople and customers.

Fourteen years ago, Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. was a struggling PC maker. Known then as Franklin Computer Corp., it saved itself from oblivion by developing a line of handheld electronic spell-checkers and dictionaries. Now, the company that helped create the market for electronic reading material wants to help shape that market's future. And that future, Franklin says, lies not just in reference books, but in electronic novels, newspapers and other types of content available for download on the Internet.

Franklin Electronic Publishers, a Burlington, N.J., company that makes handheld electronic reference books and organizers, may scale back its product line this quarter. In a statement issued with the company's second-quarter earnings yesterday, president and chief executive H. Andrew Cross said the company would reevaluate the products so that management can concentrate on the most profitable ones. The company earned $41,000 in the second quarter, compared with a gain of $1.5 million in the 1997 second quarter.

While Americans seem to have an unquenchable thirst for electronic products designed by the Japanese, the Japanese have put what amounts to a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval on something American. Seiko Instruments has signed a distribution agreement for the sale in Japan of the electronic reference products made by Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., based in Mount Holly, N.J. The products targeted for initial distribution under the Franklin lable include the Language Master LM-4000 Speaking Dictionary, the Speaking Ace and the Speaking Dictionary Companion, which use speech synthesis to pronounce English words.

Annual revenue rose in the latest fiscal year to $60.6 million from $52.2 million at Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., the Burlington maker of electronic handheld devices reported today. The company also moved into profitability, reporting earnings for the year ended March 31 of $2.5 million or 30 cents a diluted share, compared with a loss of $3.2 million, or 39 cents a share, the prior year. However, Franklin Electronic still laid off 10 percent of its U.S. workforce last month.

After three straight quarters of losses, Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. finally turned a profit in its fiscal 2000 second quarter, which ended in September. Revenues, however, dipped 5.6 percent. Most of the company's $9.75 million profit came from the sale of its Rex line of pocket-size electronic organizers, which occurred just days before the end of the quarter. The $13.25 million sale to Xircom Inc., a maker of computer peripheral equipment, gave Franklin a one-time gain of $8.07 million, or $1.03 a share.

Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., of Burlington, seems to be suffering the holiday blues. The company's stock has been hit by a heavy wave of selling, which has brought it from a high of $44.25 Dec. 5 to a close yesterday of $29.00, down 75 cents for the day. At one point yesterday, the stock traded as low as $26.75 a share. Volume was 135,100 shares, more than four times its daily average over the last six months. Franklin, which designs and publishes handheld electronic books, issued a statement yesterday, saying it knew of "no reason" for the activity in its stock.

When the world's largest publisher of electronic books vacates its rented headquarters in Westampton in the spring, it won't be moving too far - just two miles away to Burlington Township. The company is relocating down Route 541 - just far enough to shift the prestige of Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. from one municipality to another. Burlington Township Mayor Joseph Foy said he was glad the company had decided to stay in the county. "At least they didn't move to Pennsylvania or something," he said.

THE ELECTRONICS industry finds lots of seasonal reasons to introduce new products. Some of the most practical pop up just as students head back to school. Today, let's take a gander at a bunch. While most are pint-sized, they're also full-powered and practical. TAKES A LICKING, KEEPS ON TICKING: Athletic, outdoorsy types need a mobile phone that can survive the elements and the occasional fall from a pocket. If it's also loaded with cool features, so much the better. Created by Casio in the vein of its sporty G-Shock watches, and now available from Verizon Wireless, the second-gen G'zOne Boulder is just such a hearty and stylish communicator.

Annual revenue rose in the latest fiscal year to $60.6 million from $52.2 million at Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., the Burlington maker of electronic handheld devices reported today. The company also moved into profitability, reporting earnings for the year ended March 31 of $2.5 million or 30 cents a diluted share, compared with a loss of $3.2 million, or 39 cents a share, the prior year. However, Franklin Electronic still laid off 10 percent of its U.S. workforce last month.

Fourteen years ago, Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. was a struggling PC maker. Known then as Franklin Computer Corp., it saved itself from oblivion by developing a line of handheld electronic spell-checkers and dictionaries. Now, the company that helped create the market for electronic reading material wants to help shape that market's future. And that future, Franklin says, lies not just in reference books, but in electronic novels, newspapers and other types of content available for download on the Internet.

Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc., of Burlington, has struck a deal that gives a Hong Kong company, Group Sense International Ltd., 11 percent of Franklin's stock. The deal would allow Franklin's electronic books and other handheld devices to be designed, produced and sold in China and other nations. In exchange for its stock, Franklin will acquire about 5 percent of Group Sense and gain a valuable Asian distribution channel. At yesterday's closing price of $7.625 on the New York Stock Exchange, Group Sense's 11 percent stake in Franklin would be worth about $6.6 million.

After three straight quarters of losses, Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. finally turned a profit in its fiscal 2000 second quarter, which ended in September. Revenues, however, dipped 5.6 percent. Most of the company's $9.75 million profit came from the sale of its Rex line of pocket-size electronic organizers, which occurred just days before the end of the quarter. The $13.25 million sale to Xircom Inc., a maker of computer peripheral equipment, gave Franklin a one-time gain of $8.07 million, or $1.03 a share.

Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. has sold Rex after two years of mostly disappointing sales for the line of credit-card-size personal organizers. Xircom Inc., a maker of computer peripheral equipment, is paying $13.25 million for Rex, which last year contributed 15 percent of Franklin's sales. Franklin said it would record a gain of $8 million from the sale. Although it is divesting itself of the line, the Burlington Township company will continue to work with Rex - as a software provider.

Franklin Electronic Publishers is taking a detour from its traditional business strategy of developing software for its own pocket-size electronic books. Beginning next year, the Burlington company will offer a version of the Physicians' Desk Reference that can be read on Windows CE, Palm and Psion handheld computers. Yesterday, the company announced a deal with health-care publisher Medical Economics Co. that allows Franklin to make the book available for download from the Internet or on CD-ROM.

In the face of a big loss for the last fiscal year, Franklin Electronic Publishers Inc. says it has cut its staff by 15 percent and is evaluating whether to continue making REX organizers and distributing another new product, the Rocket eBook. In a statement released Tuesday evening, the Burlington company, best known for its line of electronic Bibles, dictionaries, and other reference books, said it lost $30.2 million in the year ended March 31. That is compared with a gain of $1.4 million the previous year.

Franklin Electronic Publishers warned Wall Street yesterday to expect substantial losses in the fourth quarter and fiscal 1999, which ended in March. The news caused the Burlington company's stock, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, to fall 13 percent to $5.44 in very heavy trading. Normally, about 17,000 shares trade each day. Yesterday, more than 73,000 changed hands. The stock has taken a pounding all year. In January, it was trading around $11; lately, it has hovered in the $6 range.

Franklin Electronic Publishers, a Burlington, N.J., company that makes handheld electronic reference books and organizers, may scale back its product line this quarter. In a statement issued with the company's second-quarter earnings yesterday, president and chief executive H. Andrew Cross said the company would reevaluate the products so that management can concentrate on the most profitable ones. The company earned $41,000 in the second quarter, compared with a gain of $1.5 million in the 1997 second quarter.