Audiovox: Mobile DTV for Next Year

share on:

There have been plenty of false starts for getting Mobile DTV off the ground, but Audiovox told analysts today that it will market Mobile DTV products (that allow digital broadcast TV in a moving vehicle) next year.

“Everybody involved [in Mobile DTV] is in the process of getting ready for next year…We are in the pre-launch stage.  We expect to see sales of mobile DTV in the U.S. some time next year,” said Pat Lavelle, CEO of VOXX (parent of Audiovox Electronics).

Audiovox said it has unique capabilities in receivers and it “plans to exploit that,” according to Lavelle.

It has aligned with MCV–one of two groups of broadcasters pushing Mobile DTV.  MCV includes NBC, Fox,  and ABC and CBS affiliates  and other  major TV station groups. It now has 91 stations on the air with Mobile DTV, reaching 55 percent of TV homes.  (The second broadcaster group is Mobile 500).

VOXX also reported that its sales were up for fiscal Q1  ending in May but it had a net loss for the period due to a patent litigation settlement and other fees related to the purchase of Hirschmann (antenna maker).

voxxMobile Electronics sales were down, mainly due to remote starters and the timing of certain OEM deals.  A Ford deal ended in the prior quarter but two new Ford contracts plus a Nissan contract begin in Q2, said the company.

VOXX had a charge of $8.4 million to settle a patent litigation suit with  MPEG-LA regarding its 2003 MPEG-2 Patent Portfolio License.

Overall sales for VOXX rose 17.4 percent to $194 million for the quarter compared to a year ago.

Electronics sales rose 15.5 percent to $152.8 million compared to $132.3 million a year ago. Hirschmann (acquired in March) accounted for all of the plus sales, or $36.6 million.

About $5.4 million in lost sales is due to the company’s de-emphasis of low margin products.

Accessories sales increased 24.8 percent over last year to $41.2 million.

Electronics represents 78.8 percent of VOXX sales, while the remainder is in accessories.

VOXX maintains its sales target of $900 million for the year and gross profit margins of 28 percent.

Source: VOXX, CEoutlook

Want to receive industry news? Sign up here
share on:

2 Comments

  1. Actually FloTV was pretty good, except that it was a pay service, and was not available in many locations.
    From what I heard in an MCV conference, this one is going to be free of charge, and available in most cities, all over the country. Plus, content will include live NBA and NFL.
    If the price is right, I’m going to get one!

Comments are closed.