Re: New Suits??? - Earnings
in response to
by
posted on
Nov 04, 2015 10:11AM
Intellectual Licenses for Electronics & Communications
Now we know why the stock is being punished today:
"It is well understood that the environment for patent licensing companies has been undergoing a number of changes that have significantly altered the performance and outlook for IP market participants," says WiLAN (NASDAQ:WILN) CEO Jim Skippen in the Q3 report. "Against this backdrop, WiLAN has chosen to make a number of difficult decisions regarding our staffing and resource allocation."
A restructuring was launched in October, and is expected to lower headcount by ~30% and annual cash operating expenses by $8M-$10M. As part of the effort, WiLAN is spinning out its R&D unit, and will keep a minority stake.
The annual dividend has been cut to C$0.05/share from C$0.21/share. WiLAN will now "focus its cash resources on monetizing its existing patent portfolio and acquiring other high quality patents," A quarterly dividend of C$0.0125/share will be paid on Jan. 6 to shareholders on record as of Dec. 15.
CEO Jim Skippen, who was previously planning to retire, has agreed to stay for at least three more years.
Estimated backlog is currently in a range of $190M-$225M. WiLAN ended Q3 with $95.6M in cash, and no debt.