Ambient Corporation Reports Record Revenue for 2010

BOSTON, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambient Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: ABTG), a leader in smart grid communications infrastructure, today announced the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2010, reporting annual revenues of approximately $20.4 million, with a gross profit of $8.3 million, compared to $2.2 million in revenue and $357,000 in gross profit in 2009.

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Revenues in 2010 resulted from the continued deployment of the Ambient Smart Grid® communications platform.

"We planned for 2010 to be a year of significant growth for Ambient and, despite the fledgling smart grid industry, it did not disappoint, with the addition of 19 new employees and revenue growing to more than $9 million in the fourth quarter," said John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient.  "In 2010, the Ambient Smart Grid platform was instrumental to the build-out of the smart grid network in the state of Ohio helping to move the smart grid concept from vision to reality.  There is still a lot of work to do, and we look to continue the trends in 2011."

Operations Highlights  

REVENUES. Revenues for 2010 were $20,358,040, compared to $2,193,338, for 2009. Revenues for 2010 and 2009 were attributable to the sales of products, and maintenance to our key customer. Revenues for 2010 and 2009 related to the sales of products totaled $20,282,596 and $2,127,977, respectively. Revenues from the sale of software and services for 2010 and 2009 totaled $75,444 and $65,361, respectively. The increase in revenue during 2010 compared to 2009 reflects an increase in the number of communication nodes delivered as well as increased license fees recorded from the licensing of our AmbientNMS® software.

COST OF GOODS SOLD. Cost of goods sold for 2010 was $12,023,332 compared to $1,836,546 for 2009. Cost of goods sold included all costs related to manufacturing of our products and consisted primarily of direct material costs. Cost of goods sold also included expenses related to the write down of inventory to the lower of cost or market. For 2010 and 2009, cost of goods sold included an inventory write-off of $0 and $151,689, respectively, for excess, obsolete inventory. The increase in cost of goods sold during 2010 reflected the increase in production to fill orders placed by our customer as discussed above in REVENUES.

GROSS PROFIT. Gross profits for 2010 were $8,334,708, compared to $356,792 for 2009. The gross profit on product sales amounted to $11,177,367 during 2010 compared to $291,431 during 2009. The overall gross margins for 2010 increased to 41% compared to 16% during 2009. The increase in the gross margin percentage in 2010 compared to 2009 is a reflection of the maturing of our product offerings, an enhanced ability to plan production and scale based on increased lead-time and transparency in the forecasting and purchasing process of our 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 (OTC Bulletin Board: 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 that 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, 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 and AmbientNMS are registered trademarks of Ambient Corporation with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

SOURCE Ambient Corporation