http://www.capsystech.com/static.asp?path=5646

Monday, March 23, 2009

eCopy signs Chinese distributor

eCopy signed up a fairly large Chinese office equipment dealer as a distributor. Interestingly, they will be selling eCopy ShareScan along with Ricoh hardware. Good sign for the contiued diversification of eCopy, both in terms of hardware partners and geography.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Looking at TIS and Adobe numbers

Yes, Top Image Systems and Adobe are very much on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to publically traded document-imaging related stocks. Adobe is one of the largest software companies in the world with a very diverse portfolio that contains either a lot or a little bit of document imaging - depending on how you define the sector. And Top Image Systems (TIS) is very much a niche player, soley focused on image-based data capture (utilizing OCR), had annual revenue of around $30 million, and is very thinly traded on the Nasdaq. However, their financial reports shared a common theme: While the numbers may have looked bad at first glance, they were apparently better than what Wall Street was expecting... I think.

Both companies saw steep drop offs from the third quarter, but both also seemed prepared for this. Adobe saw its stock value rise 7% after reporting after seeng its revenue drop 12% and its earnings 29% from the previous year. Is this the first sign of an economic rebound. TIS situation was even more confusing as its revenue dropped 2% from the previous year and 23% from the third quarter, but a discontinuation of some lower-margin/unprofitable operations contributed to this, and all in all, TIS seems to have made money on the quarter, with a $5 million gain related to "financing income." Anyhow, I think you almost need to be a banker to understand what is going on in the market now, but my overall impression is that neither Adobe or TIS suffered as much as some other people in the fourth quarter, which is a good sign for our industry, as recently (the last week at least) macro-economic conditions seem to be on the rebound.

Alright, that's about it. But, if anyone can help me further understand this stuff, please post comments.

Ralph