Ambient Corporation Reports Second Straight Quarter of Profitability, Increased Revenue

BOSTON, May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG), a pioneer in the development of smart grid communications infrastructure, today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2011, ended March 31, 2011. For the quarter, Ambient reported $12,006,483 in revenue and a gross profit of $5,205,513, compared to $1,683,925 in revenue and $542,887 in gross profit for the same period in 2010.

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The first quarter of 2011 also represents Ambient's second consecutive quarter of profitability, reporting $1.1 million in net income, compared to a $2.4 million loss in 2010. Net cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was $2,067,585.

"The positive performance affords us the opportunity to continue to build our engineering team. While keeping focus on the further enhancement of our core products and on the development of utility applications that we believe will drive the growth in this industry, we will also look to add key positions throughout the organization," said John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient Corporation.  "Our backlog at the end of the first quarter was in excess of $50 million. As we fulfill those commitments, we should continue to improve the financial fundamentals of the company, and continue on the path of healthy growth. We believe the outlook for opportunity in 2011 and into 2012 is very exciting."

The Ambient Smart Grid^® communications platform provides utilities with a standards-based, two-way communication infrastructure from which to launch current and new smart grid applications. Ambient's smart grid nodes provide a universal architecture that empowers utilities to choose the right applications for different segments of their customer base, while the AmbientNMS^® acts as an intelligent information dashboard for network monitoring. Using the platform, utilities instantly gain a level of visibility into their network operations previously unavailable, including basic applications such as outage tracking and energy loss detection.

Operations Highlights  

REVENUE. Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2011 were $12,006,483 compared to $1,683,925 for the corresponding period in 2010. Revenues for each of the 2011 and 2010 periods were attributable to the sales of products and maintenance to our primary customer. Revenues for the 2011 and 2010 periods related to the sales of products totaled $11,972,003 and $1,665,065 respectively. The increase in revenue during the 2011 period reflected an increase in the number of communication nodes delivered.

COST OF GOODS SOLD. Cost of goods sold for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was $6,800,970 compared to $1,141,038 during the corresponding period in 2010. Cost of goods sold included all direct costs related to manufacturing of products and consisted primarily of direct material. Cost of goods sold also included expenses related to the write down of inventory to the lower of cost or market.  The increase in cost of goods sold during the 2011 period reflected the increase in production to fill purchase orders placed by our primary customer as discussed above in REVENUES.

GROSS PROFIT. Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2011 was $5,205,513 compared to $542,887 for the corresponding period in 2010. The overall gross margins for the 2011 period increased to 43% compared to 32% during the 2010 period.  The increase in the gross margin percentage in the three month period ended March 31, 2011 compared to the corresponding period in 2010 was a reflection of the maturing of our product set, an enhanced ability to plan production and scale based on increased lead-time and transparency in the forecasting and purchasing process of our primary customer, and a stable and productive relationship with our contract manufacturer.

A more detailed description of Ambient's business, our results of operations and financial statements are contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 23, 2011.

About Ambient Corporation

Ambient designs, develops and markets Ambient Smart Grid^® communications technologies and equipment. Using open standards-based technologies along with in-depth industry experience, Ambient provides utilities with solutions for creating smart grid communication platforms and technologies. Headquartered in Newton, MA, Ambient is a publicly traded company (OTCBB: ABTG). More information on Ambient is available at www.ambientcorp.com.  

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial uncertainties and risks. These forward-looking statements are based upon our current expectations, estimates and projections about our business and our industry, and reflect our beliefs and assumptions based upon information available to us at the date of this release. We caution readers that forward-looking statements are predictions based on our current expectations about future events. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Our actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including but not limited to, our dependence on one key customer, our ability to raise additional capital when needed to support operations, the sufficiency of working capital, the timing and delivery of purchase orders and receipt of payment in respect thereof, the risk of market acceptance of new products and underlying technologies, the competitive market generally and in the smart grid market specifically, the success of our collaborative arrangements, changes in economic conditions generally and the smart grid market specifically, changes in technology, legislative or regulatory changes that affect us, and the risks and uncertainties discussed under the heading "RISK FACTORS" in Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement for any reason.

Ambient^®, Ambient Smart Grid^®, Communications for a Smarter Grid^®, AmbientNMS^®, and the Ambient logo are registered trademarks of Ambient Corporation with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

SOURCE Ambient Corporation