EX-99.1 2 dex991.htm PRESS RELEASE DATED MARCH 3, 2008 Press Release dated March 3, 2008

Exhibit 99.1

LOGO

LEAPFROG ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2007 FINANCIAL

RESULTS

EMERYVILLE, California—March 03, 2008—LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:LF), a leading developer of technology-based learning products, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and the full year ended December 31, 2007. For the fourth quarter of 2007, the company reported net sales of $181.3 million and a net loss of $32.6 million, or $0.51 per share. For the full year 2007, the company reported net sales of $442.3 million and a net loss of $101.3 million, or $1.60 per share. At December 31, 2007, cash and investments totaled $104.4 million and inventories totaled $52.4 million.

LeapFrog President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey G. Katz stated, “Our results for 2007 met our expectations as weak sales of legacy products were only partly offset by sales of new products launched in the year. In addition, we invested in preparation for the launch of a wide range of new products that will begin shipping this summer. All of this led to a substantial loss for the year, albeit a much lower loss than last year. Looking ahead to 2008, LeapFrog has an outstanding lineup of new offerings in each of its major age-range categories. We are particularly enthused about the new Tag reading system, our first new reading platform since our LeapPad system was introduced, by the expansion of our successful gaming line with the Leapster 2 and didj handhelds and by the strongest content licenses we have launched in several years, which will include licenses for Lucasfilm’s Star Wars, among others.”

2007 Highlights

In 2007, LeapFrog successfully executed on the following initiatives to return the company to growth in 2008:

 

   

Assembled the senior management team with key hires in product development, marketing, finance, sales, engineering, and web commerce

 

   

Improved gross profit despite lower net sales

 

   

Reduced inventory by 28% and retailer inventory by approximately 20%

 

   

Maintained a healthy balance sheet, with cash and investments of $104.4 million and zero debt at December 31, 2007, to fund product development initiatives

 

   

Developed a broad product portfolio for launch in 2008, which the company expects will enable the Growth phase of its strategy to begin

 

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Full Year 2007 Financial Results

Net Sales

Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2007 were $442.3 million, compared to $502.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2006, a decrease of 11.9%. The decrease in net sales was driven primarily by lower sales of legacy products, which will be phased out by mid-2008.

Segment Results

Net sales from the U.S. Consumer segment totaled $312.9 million for the full year 2007 compared with $350.7 million for the full year 2006. Net sales from the International segment totaled $103.4 million for 2007 compared with $114.6 million for 2006. Net sales from the School segment (formerly known as SchoolHouse) totaled $26.0 million for 2007 compared with $37.0 million for 2006.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit improved to $173.3 million for the full year 2007 compared to $147.0 million for the full year 2006. Gross margin increased by 9.9 percentage points to 39.2% for 2007 compared to 29.3% for 2006 primarily due to lower charges for excess and obsolete inventories. Gross margin in 2007 includes a non-cash write-off totaling approximately $8.0 million related to required asset write-offs bringing unamortized FLY Fusion Pentop Computer assets to levels consistent with sales trends.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses totaled $274.5 million for 2007 compared to $271.7 million for 2006. Selling, general and administrative expense increased 7.4% year-over-year to $141.6 million for 2007 due to higher patent defense and settlement costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses also include approximately $1.2 million of costs related to the above-mentioned asset write-offs for the FLY Fusion line. Research and development expense increased 9.0% year-over-year to $59.4 million for 2007 due to investments in new products. Advertising expense decreased 15.1% year-over-year to $64.0 million for 2007, reflecting lower promotional spending than in 2006. The 2006 promotional spending drove reductions in LeapFrog’s and retailers’ inventories.

Provision for Income Taxes

Provision for income taxes was $3.7 million for 2007 compared with $26.6 million for 2006. Tax expense in 2006 includes $24.9 million of a valuation allowance relating to pre-2006 deferred tax assets, causing the higher negative effective tax rate in that year. The remaining tax expense relates primarily to taxes in non-U.S. jurisdictions.

Net Loss

Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $101.3 million, or $1.60 per share, compared to a net loss of $145.1 million, or $2.31 per share, for the year ended December 31, 2006. The lower loss is due to higher gross profit and reduced tax expense.


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Fourth Quarter 2007 Financial Results

Net Sales

Net sales for the quarter ended December 31, 2007 were $181.3 million, compared to $182.9 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2006. Lower sales of legacy products were largely offset by incremental sales from ClickStart, which was introduced in 2007, and higher sales of classic Leapster hardware and software.

Segment Results

Net sales from the U.S. Consumer segment totaled $128.0 million for the fourth quarter 2007 compared with $125.3 million for the fourth quarter 2006. Net sales from the International segment totaled $46.9 million for the fourth quarter 2007 compared with $48.1 million for the fourth quarter 2006. Net sales from the School segment totaled $6.4 million for the fourth quarter 2007 compared with $9.4 million for the fourth quarter 2006.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit increased 20.7% to $67.5 million for the fourth quarter 2007 compared to $55.9 million for the fourth quarter 2006. Gross margin for the three months ended December 31, 2007 increased by 6.7 percentage points to 37.3% in the fourth quarter 2007 compared to 30.6% in the fourth quarter 2006 driven by lower charges for excess and obsolete inventory and purchase order cancellations. The fourth quarter of 2007 includes an $8.0 million non-cash asset write-off for FLY Fusion assets as discussed above.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses totaled $97.6 million for the fourth quarter 2007 compared to $102.1 million for the fourth quarter 2006. Selling, general and administrative expense decreased 8.7% to $37.4 million for the fourth quarter 2007 primarily due to lower costs in the School segment. Research and development expense increased 13.5% year-over-year to $16.6 million for the fourth quarter 2007, primarily due to the level and timing of costs related to the planned new product launches for 2008. Advertising expense decreased 5.6% year-over-year to $41.4 million for the fourth quarter 2007, reflecting lower promotional spending than in 2006.

Net Loss

Including the fourth quarter non-cash write-off totaling approximately $9.0 million, or $0.15 per share, for FLY Fusion related assets, the company recorded a net loss of $32.6 million, or $0.51 per share, for the fourth quarter 2007, compared to a net loss of $46.0 million, or a net loss of $0.73 per share, for the fourth quarter 2006. The improved loss was driven by higher gross profit and lower operating expenses.

Balance Sheet

Cash and investments totaled $104.4 million at December 31, 2007, compared with $148.1 million at December 31, 2006. Inventories totaled $52.4 million at December 31, 2007, compared with $73.0 million at December 31, 2006.


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Outlook

LeapFrog’s expectations for full year 2008 results are:

 

   

New products introduced in 2007 and 2008 are expected to comprise approximately half of 2008 net sales

 

   

Net sales are expected to grow at an annual percentage rate in the mid-to-high teens.

 

   

Gross margin is expected to continue to improve

 

   

Selling, general and administrative expenses and research and development expenses are expected to decrease approximately 10%-15% year-over-year

 

   

Cash is expected to be approximately $100 million at year-end

 

   

The company expects a nominal loss for the year

 

   

Second half 2008 results are expected to show substantial improvement over second half 2007 reflecting the impact of new product introductions, while first half 2008 financial results are expected to be weaker than first half 2007

Conference Call and Webcast

LeapFrog will hold a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and full year 2007 financial results today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). The conference call will be webcast and can be accessed at LeapFrog’s investor web site at www.leapfroginvestor.com. To participate in the call, please dial (706) 634-0183. A replay of the Web cast will be available on these Web sites through March 3, 2009. A telephone replay is also available through April 3, 2008 at (706) 645-9291; I.D. No. 35541924.

The conference call webcast will also be distributed over Thomson’s Investor Distribution Network to both institutional and individual investors. Individual investors can listen to the call through Thomson’s Individual Investor Center at www.earnings.com or by visiting any of the investor sites in Thomson’s Individual Investor Network. Institutional investors can access the call via Thomson’s password-protected event management site, StreetEvents (www.streetevents.com).

About LeapFrog

LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. is a leading designer, developer, and marketer of innovative, technology-based learning products and related proprietary content, dedicated to making learning effective and engaging for all ages, at home and in schools, around the world. The company was founded in 1995 and is based in Emeryville, California. LeapFrog has developed a family of learning platforms that come to life with an extensive library of software titles covering important subjects such as phonics, reading, writing, math, music, geography, social studies, spelling, vocabulary and science. In addition, the company has created a broad line of stand-alone educational products for children. LeapFrog’s award-winning products are available in six languages at major retailers in more than 35 countries around the world. LeapFrog School’s multisensory products currently reach students in more than 100,000 classrooms across the United States. LeapFrog School is a business division of LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.


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NOTE: LEAPFROG, the LeapFrog Logo, CLICKSTART, TAG, LEAPPAD, LEAPSTER, DIDJ and FLY FUSION are trademarks or registered trademarks of LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc.

Forward-Looking Statements

Cautionary Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the timing, scope and success of future product launches, expected benefits of new products and services, anticipated 2008 financial results, including expected net sales, margins, expenses, profitability, cash flow and cash balances for 2008. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including risks related to the company’s ability to launch new products, services and features on time and at anticipated margin and profit levels, the acceptance by consumers, retailers and schools of the company’s new strategy related to Internet-connected products and related Internet services, including with respect to the LeapFrog Learning Path, the company’s ability to launch and operate its network infrastructure to support the new Internet-related business, and the effect of marketing on the sales of the company’s products and services. These and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the company’s SEC filings, including its 2006 annual report on Form 10-K filed on March 8, 2007, could cause the company’s actual results to differ materially from those discussed in this release. All forward-looking statements are based on information available to the company on the date hereof, and the company assumes no obligation to update such statements.

Contact Information:

 

Investors:

   Media:

Eileen VanEss

   Jaeme Sines Laczkowski

Investor Relations

   Corporate Communications

(510) 420-5361

   (510) 596-3497


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LEAPFROG ENTERPRISES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

     December 31,  
     2007     2006  

ASSETS

    

Current assets:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 93,460     $ 67,314  

Short-term investments

     10,925       80,784  

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $97 and $785 at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively

     136,627       141,816  

Inventories

     52,415       73,020  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     20,427       23,339  

Deferred income taxes

     3,405       1,156  
                

Total current assets

     317,259       387,429  

Property and equipment

     34,017       27,794  

Deferred income taxes

     213       148  

Intangible assets, net

     24,512       25,933  

Other assets

     4,152       9,137  
                

Total assets

   $ 380,153     $ 450,441  
                

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

    

Current liabilities:

    

Accounts payable

   $ 46,868     $ 46,720  

Accrued liabilities and deferred revenue

     67,281       50,001  

Income taxes payable

     93       724  
                

Total current liabilities

     114,242       97,445  

Long-term liabilities

     22,438       19,034  

Stockholders’ equity:

    

Class A common stock, par value $0.0001; 139,500 shares authorized; shares issued and outstanding: 35,782 and 35,455 at December 31, 2007 and December 31, 2006, respectively

     4       4  

Class B common stock, par value $0.0001; 40,500 shares authorized; shares issued and outstanding: 27,614 at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively

     3       3  

Treasury stock

     (185 )     (185 )

Additional paid-in capital

     353,857       343,310  

Accumulated other comprehensive income

     4,036       3,122  

(Accumulated deficit) retained earnings

     (114,242 )     (12,292 )
                

Total stockholders’ equity

     243,473       333,962  
                

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 380,153     $ 450,441  
                


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LEAPFROG ENTERPRISES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

     Three Months Ended
December 31,
    Twelve Months Ended
December 31,
 
     2007     2006     2007     2006  

Net sales

   $ 181,306     $ 182,871     $ 442,271     $ 502,255  

Cost of sales

     113,761       126,933       268,965       355,221  
                                

Gross profit

     67,545       55,938       173,306       147,034  

Operating expenses:

        

Selling, general and administrative

     37,389       40,938       141,628       131,928  

Research and development

     16,636       14,651       59,371       54,475  

Advertising

     41,403       43,844       64,013       75,441  

Depreciation and amortization

     2,149       2,711       9,464       9,853  
                                

Total operating expenses

     97,577       102,144       274,476       271,697  
                                

Loss from operations

     (30,032 )     (46,206 )     (101,170 )     (124,663 )

Interest expense

     23       9       111       97  

Interest income

     (1,348 )     1,585       4,560       7,186  

Other (expense) income, net

     (751 )     (470 )     (871 )     (907 )
                                

Loss before provision for income taxes

     (32,154 )     (45,082 )     (97,592 )     (118,481 )

Provision for income taxes

     401       927       3,723       26,611  
                                

Net loss

   $ (32,555 )   $ (46,009 )   $ (101,315 )   $ (145,092 )
                                

Net loss per common share:

        

Basic and Diluted

   $ (0.51 )   $ (0.73 )   $ (1.60 )   $ (2.31 )

Shares used in calculating net loss per common share:

        

Basic and Diluted

     63,422       63,033       63,361       62,818  


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LEAPFROG ENTERPRISES, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

 

     Twelve Months Ended December 31,  
     2007     2006  

Net loss

   $ (101,315 )   $ (145,092 )

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:

    

Depreciation

     18,189       16,285  

Amortization

     1,421       1,641  

Unrealized foreign exchange (gain) loss

     2,448       427  

Loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment

     287       —    

Provision for doubtful accounts

     286       (306 )

Deferred income taxes

     (1,841 )     25,999  

Stock-based compensation

     9,511       7,303  

Investment accretion on commercial paper

     (836 )     —    

Unrealized loss on investment

     2,476       —    

Other

     (283 )     (847 )

Other changes in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Accounts receivable

     4,904       116,237  

Inventories

     20,605       96,052  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     2,912       (2,578 )

Other assets

     4,986       (2,361 )

Accounts payable

     148       (27,609 )

Accrued liabilities and deferred revenue

     17,280       5,776  

Long-term liabilities

     2,297       (136 )

Income taxes payable

     (631 )     (390 )
                

Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities

     (17,156 )     90,401  
                

Investing activities:

    

Purchases of property and equipment

     (24,699 )     (20,318 )

Purchases of investments

     (460,329 )     (509,395 )

Sale of investments

     527,949       452,261  
                

Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities

     42,921       (77,452 )
                

Financing activities:

    

Proceeds from the release of restricted cash

       150  

Purchases of treasury stock

     —         (37 )

Proceeds from the exercise of stock options and employee stock purchase plan

     1,915       4,059  
                

Net cash provided by financing activities

     1,915       4,172  
                

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

     (1,534 )     1,771  
                

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

     26,146       18,892  

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     67,314       48,422  
                

Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 93,460     $ 67,314