TeleCommunication Systems / TSYS

About TeleCommunication Systems

275 West St., Annapolis, Md. 21401
www.telecomsys.com | 410-263-7616 | Founded: 1987

Industry: Telecommunications | Category: Public Companies

TeleCommunication Systems last year lost money for the sixth straight year (since it went public in 2000) and decided to sell some assets to focus on its core government and commercial customers.
In a strategic shift, the company's board decided in December to seek a buyer for its "enterprise mobility" operations acquired in January 2004. That business had helped companies to manage wireless devices, such as Blackberrys; to send real-time financial information; and to track packages and confirm deliveries.
Timothy J. Lorello, TeleCommunication Systems' chief marketing officer, said the company had concluded it could not fund the investments for this division as well as those for the rest of its business.
"We needed to make a choice," he said. "We decided to focus back on our core wireless communications infrastructure."
Excluding the division to be sold, roughly half of the company's business comes from devising secure wireless communications systems for military, intelligence and law enforcement agencies. These offerings include backpack-size kits that set up secure communications for special operations forces as they hit the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The other half comes from designing software for commercial wireless operators that, among other things, allows them to send text messages and to locate wireless callers who dial 911. The company, which claims to route and deliver location information for half the wireless 911 calls in the nation, has used this expertise to help voice over Internet protocol firms connect to the thousands of call centers that receive emergency calls.
Lorello said the company's losses in recent years reflected its investments in developing its 911 services and its location technologies, an area in which it expects growth as people use mobile phones and other devices to get directions or find ATMs, gas stations or restaurants.
He said the company is likely to do some hiring in the region this year, particularly for employees to serve its government market, and he predicted that the company will break even this year.
"Our promise to the market is break-even," he said. "Our expectation is that we are going to try to better that."

Chairman and CEO: Maurice B. Tose

2005 Financial Data

Revenues: $102,153,000 | Net Income: $-11,467,000
Asssets: $90,572,000 | Earnings Per Share: $-0.30
Total employees: 653 | Local employees: 443