Patriot Scientific Corporation (Patriot Scientific) results for the three months and nine months ended February 29, 2008.
In the nine months ended February 29, 2008, Patriot Scientific received cash distributions from Phoenix Digital totaling $16.7 million and
cash distributions from Phoenix Digital in the three months ended February 29, 2008, were $9.0 million.
In the three months ended February 29, 2008, Phoenix Digital's (the partnership) revenue from technology license
agreements was
approximately $27.9 million and in the nine months ended February 29, 2008, Phoenix Digital's revenue from technology license
agreements was approximately $48.9 million. After operating expenses of
approximately $16.0 million and interest income of $177,281,
Phoenix Digital's net income in the nine months ended February 29, 2008, that is
divided 50/50 between TPL and Patriot Scientific, was
approximately $32.7 million and Patriot Scientific's share for the three-month period was approximately $11.7 million.
The major unanswered question is whether or not the gross revenue of $27.9 million received by Phoenix
Digital for the three months
ended February 29, 2008, includes the December settlement for the granting by TPL of rights under the Moore
Microprocessor Patent
Portfolio to NEC Electronics America, Toshiba, Matsushita, and JVC and their respective subsidiaries in the form of license agreements.
If in fact the $27.9 million does include this January settlement, it appears that the licenses granted in the three months
averaged out to
be $ 1.8 million per license.
Patriot Scientific's balance sheet as of February 29, 2008, shows cash and short-term
investments totaling $23.2 million, compared with
$26.0 million as of February 28, 2008. As of February 29, 2008, current assets were $25.6
million and current liabilities were $4.6
million, including $4.0 million income tax payable. Patriot Scientific utilized cash of $5.8 million to
buy back, 5,698,821 shares of its
common stock at an average price of $0.534 per share.
SUMMARY
We, as well as many investors, were anxiously awaiting the release of the results for the three months
ended 2/29/2008, and the low
dollar volume of license revenue falls way short of investors' and our expectations. This short-fall was reflected in
Patriot Scientific's
stock price, today April 10, 2008, that opened at $0.42 and by 10:00 AM EST, and quickly traded down into the mid $0.30's on
heavy
volume. Considering there were either 12 licenses granted (or 15, if
the December settlements from the trial were included), this net
income works out to be approximately $450,000 to $550,000 per license granted.
In addition, the release graphically illustrates the status of Patriot Scientific. As a passive partner in the joint venture
with Technology
Properties Limited (TPL), Patriot Scientific is entirely dependent on the success or failure of the licensing and prosecution efforts of TPL
on behalf of the joint venture. Further, Patriot Scientific has no control over the amount per license being granted by TPL or Phoenix
Digital's operating expenses. This situation points up the need for Patriot Scientific to utilize its cash for acquisition of revenue and
earnings producing companies. Finally, the lack of transparency that has
evolved with the TPL partnership creates a situation where
investors are forced to estimate the dollar value of licenses granted, even after SEC filings.