Plantronics Press Room » US/Financial

Plantronics Announces Second Quarter Fiscal 2010 Results

inolan — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:04:00 +0000

Second Quarter Revenues and EPS Exceed Guidance; Company Achieves Targeted Gross & Operating Margins

SANTA CRUZ, CA - October 27, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced second quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues of $167.4 million compared with $216.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Net revenues were above the previously provided guidance of $155 million to $160 million. Plantronics’ GAAP loss per share was $0.02 in the second quarter of fiscal 2010, primarily due to non-cash asset impairment charges, compared with diluted earnings per share of $0.36 in the same quarter of the prior year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 were $0.40 compared with $0.44 in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and were greater than the previously provided non-GAAP guidance of $0.27 to $0.32. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings (loss) per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2010 includes a $15.6 million impairment charge, net of tax on our Audio Entertainment Group (”AEG”) long-lived assets, restructuring and other related costs, purchase accounting amortization and the cost of stock-based compensation.

Plantronics also announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on December 10, 2009 to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 20, 2009.

“Revenues were above expectations as we experienced stable demand in our Office & Contact Center business and increased demand in our consumer markets. Our improved cost structure allowed us to achieve our long-term targeted gross and operating margins at the current revenue level,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. “Our new corporate organizational structure along with the pending sale of Altec Lansing, our AEG segment, will produce better and more efficient corporate alignment to target our top market opportunity, Unified Communications (”UC”), providing an excellent earnings growth opportunity ahead as UC adoption becomes more substantial”.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Gaming and Computer & Clarity)

Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

Second quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues of $144.4 million decreased 26% compared with $195.3 million in the prior year quarter, but increased 2% from $141.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. General economic weakness led to declines in net revenues in all major geographies and most product groups compared with the prior year quarter. Revenues in the U.S., Asia Pacific and Latin America regions improved sequentially.

Office and Contact Center net revenues were $93.5 million, a decrease of 22% from $119.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 and a sequential decrease of 3% from $95.9 million in the prior quarter. Bluetooth headset net revenues were $33.3 million, a decrease of 42% from the year ago quarter of $57.4 million, and a sequential increase of 10% from $30.3 million. The prior year quarter was stronger in part due to higher demand driven by hands-free legislation in California and Washington states which was partially offset by higher average selling prices in the second quarter of fiscal 2010. The Discovery 975 Bluetooth headset, introduced during the quarter, received positive editorial and consumer reviews and is now available through a number of top consumer electronics retailers.

Gross margin in the second quarter of fiscal 2010 was 48.7% compared with 47.9% in the second quarter of the prior year. The improvement was primarily due to a favorable product mix, lower freight costs, and lower requirements for excess and obsolete inventory provisions, partially offset by higher manufacturing costs as a result of lower production volumes.

Actions taken by the Company earlier this calendar year continued to have a beneficial effect, with operating expenses down by 22% from $55.6 million in the prior year quarter to $43.6 million in the current quarter. As a result of the leaner cost structure, operating income was $26.7 million resulting in an 18.5% operating margin. While these results were down from the second quarter in the prior year, the results are within the Company’s long term target model for this business.

The Company continues to believe that the implementation of UC technologies by large corporations will be a significant long-term driver of office headset adoption, and, as a result, a key long-term driver of revenue and profit growth. Our UC portfolio continued to enjoy strong customer and partner reception. The Company expects that there will be a significantly higher level of growth in UC enabled products compared to headsets for desk phones in the future, and continues to believe that revenue from headset sales related to UC will be material to the Company beginning in fiscal 2011.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Docking Audio, PC Audio & Other)

Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

Second quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues of $23.0 million increased 7% from $21.5 million in the prior year quarter driven by higher sales of Docking Audio products in all major geographies, and were up 21% sequentially from $19.0 million in the prior quarter. In addition, we experienced higher PC Audio sales in Asia and EMEA, which were offset by lower PC Audio sales in the U.S.

Gross margin increased to 20.9% from 9.0% as a result of improved product mix and margins along with lower requirements for excess and obsolete inventory provisions. This was partially offset by higher freight charges, royalty costs and other manufacturing costs.

Operating expenses declined by 12% from $6.5 million in the prior year quarter to $5.7 million in the current quarter, and the operating loss decreased from $4.6 million in the prior year quarter to $0.9 million in the current quarter.

On October 2, 2009, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement to sell Altec Lansing, its AEG segment, to an affiliate of Prophet Equity LP, a Southlake, Texas based private equity firm (”Prophet”). On October 23, 2009, the Company and Prophet entered into a letter agreement which amended the Asset Purchase Agreement to provide that the closing date for the sale of the AEG segment will be extended to not later than December 1, 2009.

Subsequent to the closing of the sale of the AEG segment, the Company will report all future and historical AEG segment results as discontinued operations in its financial statements beginning in the third quarter of fiscal 2010.

Business Outlook

Continuing Operations (Excludes Audio Entertainment Group business segment due to pending sale expected to be completed no later than December 1, 2009)

The following statements are based on current expectations. As described in “Safe Harbor” below, many of these statements are forward-looking. Actual results are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from the forward-looking statements.

Plantronics has a “book and ship” business model whereby it ships most orders to customers within 48 hours of its receipt of those orders, and, therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues. The Company’s business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders it expects to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize. With continuing uncertainty resulting from the global economic conditions, the Company’s business remains difficult to forecast. The December quarter tends to be characterized by an increase in incoming sales orders during October which diminishes in December.

Net revenues in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 are expected to be higher than the second quarter of fiscal 2010 and the third quarter of fiscal 2009, primarily based on the fact that the December quarter has historically been a stronger quarter than the September quarter and the current bookings trend supports our belief that revenues will be in the ranges below.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following range of financial results for continuing operations (excludes AEG due to the pending sale expected to be completed no later than December 1, 2009) for the third quarter of fiscal 2010:

Net revenues of $155 million - $160 million;
Non-GAAP operating income of $26 million to $29 million;
Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.38 - $0.42;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be approximately 26%;
The EPS cost of stock-based compensation to be approximately $0.05; and
GAAP earnings per share of $0.33 to $0.37.

If these results are achieved, the performance compared with Q3 Fiscal 2009 would be revenue growth of approximately 2% to 5% and Non-GAAP operating income growth of 189% to 222%.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its third quarter fiscal 2010 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the third quarter fiscal 2010 will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Actual Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss second quarter fiscal 2010 results. The conference call will take place Tuesday, October 27th at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #22257821 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics website for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Plantronics excludes non-recurring transactions and non-cash expenses and charges such as restructuring and other related charges, certain tax credits and the release of certain tax reserves, stock-based compensation expenses related to stock options, awards and employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization and impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate. Plantronics excludes these expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because Plantronics does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating results and are not considered as part of its target operating model. Plantronics believes that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity, and helps investors compare actual results to its long-term target operating model goals. Plantronics believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) implementation of UC technologies by large enterprises as a significant driver of headset adoption, and, its effect on our revenue and profit growth; (ii) our products, including the Discovery 975 and the Savi Office and Savi Go headsets; (iii) revenue from headset sales related to UC and its materiality to the Company beginning in fiscal 2011; (iv) growing adoption and deployment of UC in general and our expectation that this will be advantageous for headset sales; (v) seasonality during the December quarter and its effect on our financial results; (vi) our estimates of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2010, including revenue and earnings per share; (vii) our estimated tax rate for the third quarter of fiscal 2010; (viii) our estimated stock-based compensation expense for the third quarter of fiscal 2010; (ix) the anticipated closing of the sale of the AEG segment no later than December 1, 2009, as well as other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated are:

economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers;
the effect of restructuring actions on GAAP results;
our ability to realize our UC plans and to achieve the financial results projected to arise from UC adoption could be adversely affected by the following factors: (i) as UC becomes more widely adopted, the risk that competitors will offer solutions that will effectively commoditize our headsets which, in turn, will reduce the sales prices for our headsets; (ii) our plans are dependent upon adoption of our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft, Avaya, IBM and Cisco, and we have a limited ability to influence such providers with respect to the functionality of their platforms, their rate of deployment, and their willingness to integrate their platforms with our solutions; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically complex and this may delay or obstruct our ability to introduce solutions to the market on a timely basis and that are cost effective, feature rich, stable and attractive to our customers; (iv) as UC becomes more widely adopted we anticipate that competition for market share will increase, and some competitors may have superior technical and economic resources, and (v) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate;

failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;

further impairment losses on the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill could be recognized if it is determined the value is not recoverable which would adversely affect our financial results;

volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have and could negatively affect our profitability and/or market share;
the consummation of the sale of the AEG segment is subject to certain closing conditions which may not be met and, in the event the sale does not close, our business may be materially and adversely affected;
in the event the sale of the AEG segment is consummated, the effects of the sale, including the level of cash flow and the timing of the receipt of any cash flow resulting from such sale are uncertain; and
additional risk factors including: interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, and problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico, and unexpected delays and uncertainties affecting our ability to realize targeted expense reductions and annualized savings by outsourcing the manufacturing of our Bluetooth products in China to GoerTek, Inc.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed May 26, 2009, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

Summary Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
Summary Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations by Segment
Unaudited GAAP to Non-GAAP Statements of Operations Reconciliations for the three and six months ended September 30, 2009 and September 30, 2008
Summary Unaudited Statements of Operations and Related Data on a Non-GAAP Basis

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a world leader in personal audio communications for professionals and consumers. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers unparalleled audio experiences and quality that reflect our nearly 50 years of innovation and customer commitment. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100 and is the headset of choice for air traffic control, 911 dispatch and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, the logo design and Savi are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth name and the Bluetooth trademarks are owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and are used by Plantronics, Inc. under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Plantronics Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2010 Results

inolan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:00:37 +0000

First Quarter Revenue and EPS Exceed Guidance; Significant Improvement in Gross and Operating Margins

SANTA CRUZ, CA - July 28, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced first quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues of $160.1 million compared with $219.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Net revenues were above the previously provided guidance of $145 to $150 million. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.22 in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 compared with $0.42 in the same quarter of the prior year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 was $0.36 compared with $0.47 in the first quarter of fiscal 2009, but were greater than the previously provided non-GAAP guidance of $0.08 to $0.12. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP operating income and earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 includes restructuring and other related costs, purchase accounting amortization and the cost of stock-based compensation.

“We are encouraged that net revenues for all major product groups were stronger than we had forecasted, particularly in our Office and Contact Center business. Demand appears to have stabilized and is greater than the level we anticipated when we implemented company-wide cost reductions in the last fiscal year. With our streamlined cost structure, we were able to achieve higher gross and operating margins on a lower revenue base in comparison to the same quarter a year ago,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. “Unified Communications (”UC”) deployments continue at a healthy rate and we are experiencing increased levels of trialing and deployment activity for our headsets and other UC solutions.”

“The combination of our good profitability and successful efforts to reduce inventory led to the generation of nearly $38 million in cash flow from operations. As a result, our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investment balance grew to over $250 million,” added Barbara Scherer, SVP Finance and Administration & CFO.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Gaming and Computer & Clarity)

Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

First quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues of $141.1 million decreased 29% compared with $198.5 million in the prior year quarter, but increased 10% from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. General economic weakness led to declines in net revenues in all major geographies and most product groups compared with the prior year quarter; however, most major product groups and geographies improved sequentially.

Office and Contact Center net revenues were $95.9 million, a decrease of 22% from $122.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. However, net revenues for the current quarter increased 12% sequentially from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Bluetooth headset net revenues were $30.3 million, a decrease of 45% from the year ago quarter of $55.2 million, and a sequential increase of 6% from $28.7 million in the prior quarter. The decline from the prior year quarter is attributable to a stronger first quarter in the prior year which was driven in part by hands-free legislation in California and Washington. The recently introduced Voyager Pro Bluetooth headset continued to receive positive editorial and consumer reviews and is now available through a number of top consumer electronics retailers.

Gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 was 49.0% compared with 45.4% in the first quarter last year. The improvement was primarily due to a greater mix of higher margin Office and Contact Center revenue in addition to higher Bluetooth product margins.

Operating expenses declined by 22% from $56.6 million in the prior year quarter to $43.9 million in the current quarter and were lower in all functions. Operating income decreased to $25.2 million from $33.5 million; however, the operating margin increased to 17.9% compared with 16.9% in the prior year quarter.

The Company continues to believe that the implementation of UC technologies by large corporations will be a significant long-term driver of office headset adoption, and, as a result, a key long-term driver of revenue and profit growth. Our first products designed specifically for UC, the Savi Office and Savi Go headsets, enjoyed strong customer and partner reception and began shipping in the first quarter. The Company believes that revenue from headset sales related to UC will be material to the Company beginning in fiscal 2011.

“In addition to winning important enterprise customers in UC, we continue to see growing adoption and deployment of UC in general, which we expect will be advantageous for headset sales,” stated Kannappan. “Most Fortune 500 accounts that we are working with are in some stage of test, trial, or evaluation of UC.”

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Docking Audio, PC Audio, Other)

Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

First quarter fiscal 2010 net revenues of $19.0 million decreased 8% from $20.6 million in the prior year quarter driven by lower PC Audio product sales in the United States and Asia. PC Audio product net revenues were lower primarily as a result of an older product portfolio which was being phased out during the first quarter of fiscal 2010 and replaced with a more competitive offering. The Docking Audio product line revenue held up well compared to the year ago quarter on the strength of the refreshed product portfolio.

Gross profit remained consistent between the periods at $2.6 million while gross margin increased slightly from 12.7% in the prior year quarter to 13.8% in the current quarter. The increase was due to material cost reductions and lower freight costs partially offset by higher promotional activities due to customer mix.

Operating expenses declined by 26% from $7.1 million in the prior year quarter to $5.2 million in the current quarter, and the operating loss decreased from $4.4 million in the prior year quarter to $2.6 million in the current quarter.

Business Outlook

Plantronics has a “book and ship” business model whereby it ships most orders to customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and, therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues. The business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders the Company expects to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize. With continuing economic uncertainty, the Company’s business remains more difficult to forecast than it was historically. The September quarter tends to be characterized by a slowdown in incoming purchase orders during July which intensifies in August, but historically picks up strongly at the beginning of September. This pattern tends to be particularly true in our higher margin Office and Contact Center business. This historical trend is included in our model for forecasting the second quarter net revenues; however, if this trend does not reoccur in the current year, we may not be able to achieve our forecasted net revenue levels.

Net revenues in the second quarter of fiscal year 2010 are expected to be flat to slightly below first quarter of fiscal year 2010 primarily based on the fact that the September quarter has tended to be a bit weaker than the June quarter for ACG.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following range of financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010:

Net revenues of $155 - $160 million;
Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.27 - $0.32;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be approximately 27%;
The EPS cost of purchase accounting amortization of approximately $0.01;
The EPS cost of restructuring of approximately $0.04;
The EPS cost of stock-based compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.05; and
GAAP earnings per share of $0.17 to $0.21.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its second quarter fiscal year 2010 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the second quarter fiscal year 2010 will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Actual Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss first quarter fiscal 2010 results. The conference call will take place Tuesday, July 28 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #12172987 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics website for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) implementation of UC technologies by large enterprises as a significant driver of headset adoption, and, its effect on our revenue and profit growth; (ii) our products, including the Voyager Pro and the Savi Office and Savi Go headsets; (iii) revenue from headset sales related to UC and its materiality to the Company beginning in fiscal 2011; (iv) growing adoption and deployment of UC in general and our expectation that this will be advantageous for headset sales; (v) seasonality during the September quarter and its effect on our financial results; (vi) our estimates of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2010, including revenue and earnings per share; (vii) our estimated tax rate; (viii) our estimated stock-based compensation expense; (ix) our estimated purchase accounting amortization, as well as other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers;
the effect of restructuring actions on GAAP results;
our ability to realize our UC plans and to achieve the financial results projected to arise from UC adoption could be adversely affected by the following factors: (i) as UC becomes more widely adopted, the risk that competitors will offer solutions that will effectively commoditize our headsets which, in turn, will reduce the sales prices for our headsets; (ii) our plans are dependent upon adoption of our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft, Avaya, IBM and Cisco, and we have a limited ability to influence such providers with respect to the functionality of their platforms, their rate of deployment, and their willingness to integrate their platforms with our solutions; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically complex and this may delay or obstruct our ability to introduce solutions to the market on a timely basis and that are cost effective, feature rich, stable and attractive to our customers; (iv) as UC becomes more widely adopted we anticipate that competition for market share will increase, and some competitors may have superior technical and economic resources, and (v) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate;

failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;

further impairment losses on the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill could be recognized if it is determined the value is not recoverable which would adversely affect our financial results;

volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have and could negatively affect our profitability and/or market share; and
additional risk factors including: interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, and problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico, and unexpected delays and uncertainties affecting our ability to realize targeted expense reductions and annualized savings through implementation of our plan to outsource the manufacturing of our Bluetooth products in China to GoerTek, Inc.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation^® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, the logo design, Savi, Sound Innovation, Volume Logic and AudioIQ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth name and the Bluetooth trademarks are owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and are used by Plantronics, Inc. under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

inolan — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:00:02 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA-July 28, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on September 10, 2009 to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 20, 2009.

“We generated approximately $38 million in cash flow from operations in the first quarter of fiscal 2010. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, Volume Logic and AudioIQ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

inolan — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:00:50 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA-May 5, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on June 10, 2009 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 20, 2009.

“We generated approximately $39 million in cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 and nearly $100 million during the entire fiscal year. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2009 Results

inolan — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:00:23 +0000

Fourth Quarter Revenue and Operating Results Exceed Guidance

SANTA CRUZ, CA - May 5, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced fourth quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $146.8 million compared with $208.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. The Company’s GAAP operating loss for the quarter was $11.4 million compared with a GAAP operating income of $19.0 million in the fourth quarter of the prior year. The non-GAAP operating income for the quarter was $3.7 million compared with non-GAAP operating income of $25.7 million in the fourth quarter last year. Plantronics’ GAAP loss per share was $0.23 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 compared with diluted earnings per share of $0.36 in the same quarter of the prior year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the current quarter was $0.01 compared with $0.46 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP operating income and earnings per share for the current quarter includes restructuring and other related costs, purchase accounting amortization and the cost of stock-based compensation.

Net revenues for fiscal year 2009 were $765.6 million, a decrease of approximately 11% compared with $856.3 million for fiscal year 2008. The GAAP operating loss for fiscal 2009 was $81.2 million compared with GAAP operating income of $79.4 million in the prior year. Non-GAAP operating income declined from $107.6 million in fiscal 2008 to $70.3 million for fiscal 2009, a decrease of approximately 35%. The Company’s GAAP loss per share was $1.34 for fiscal year 2009 compared with diluted earnings per share of $1.39 in the prior fiscal year. The Company’s non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $1.02 for fiscal year 2009 compared with $1.80 in the prior fiscal year.

“We are beginning to see signs of stabilization in many parts of our business and are encouraged that demand for our products was stronger than we forecasted for the quarter. During the last several months, we took significant steps to reduce costs and improve efficiencies, and we now believe our cost structure is aligned with current market conditions,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. “We are entering fiscal year 2010 with a strong balance sheet, a lean cost structure and a better competitive position. We are committed to executing on our goals for fiscal year 2010 to win in Unified Communications and to improve profitability and return on invested capital from their current levels.”

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Gaming and Computer & Clarity)

Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

Fourth quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $128.1 million were down 31% compared with $185.4 million in the prior year quarter. General economic weakness led to revenue declines in all major geographies and product groups. Office and Contact Center revenue was $85.6 million, down 32%; Bluetooth headset revenue was $28.7 million, down 31%; and Gaming & Computer products revenue was $6.9 million, down 18%.

Gross margin in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 was 39.2% compared with 45.6% in the fourth quarter last year. The lower gross margin was primarily due to higher provisions for excess and obsolete inventory primarily from Bluetooth products, lower rates of factory utilization, and unfavorable foreign exchange impact offset in part by improved product margins. Operating expenses declined by 24% from $54.9 million to $41.9 million and were lower in all functions. Operating income decreased to $8.4 million from $29.7 million, and the operating margin was 6.5% compared with 16.0% in the prior year quarter.

The Company continues to believe that the implementation of Unified Communications (”UC”) technologies by large corporations will be a significant long-term driver of office headset adoption, and, as a result, a key long-term driver of revenue and profit growth. During the quarter, the Company disclosed that it expects an incremental revenue opportunity from Unified Communications of $350 million annually by fiscal 2015.

“We’ve had important wins in UC for large enterprise customers and continue to see growing adoption of UC,” stated Kannappan.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Docking Audio, PC Audio, Other)

Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

Fourth quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $18.7 million were down 20% from $23.4 million in the prior year quarter driven by continued global weakness in consumer spending, a product mix shift toward lower priced products in addition to a negative foreign exchange impact. As a result, all product line revenues were down versus the prior year quarter despite better product placements. Domestic revenues were down 5% while international revenues were down 34% as a result of weak international retail sales.

Gross margin declined from $4.5 million, or 19.4%, in the prior year quarter to $1.0 million, or 5.3%, in the current year quarter as a result of a product mix shift to lower margin products, reduced sales of previously reserved items and an unfavorable exchange rate impact.

Operating expenses declined by 33% from $8.5 million in the prior year quarter to $5.7 million in the current quarter; and the operating loss increased from $4.0 million to $4.7 million.

Business Outlook

Plantronics has a “book and ship” business model whereby it ships most orders to customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and therefore the Company cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. The business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders Plantronics expects to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize. With increasing economic uncertainty, the Company’s business is even more difficult to forecast than usual.

Revenues in the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 are expected to be similar to the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, ranging from slightly below to slightly above the reported net revenues of $146.8 million. Gross margins are expected to improve by several points sequentially, primarily as a result of lower provisions for excess and obsolete inventory. On January 14, 2009 and March 26, 2009, the Company announced a series of actions to lower its cost structure and improve efficiencies. The measures announced in the fourth quarter were expected to bring total non-GAAP operating expenses down to approximately $195 million in fiscal year 2010 and while the fourth quarter fiscal year 2009 run rate was slightly lower than that, the Company is continuing to target approximately $195 million in non-GAAP operating expenses in fiscal 2010.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following range of financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010:

Net revenues of $145 - $150 million;
Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.08 - $0.12;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be approximately 28%;
The EPS cost of purchase accounting amortization of approximately $0.01;
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.05; and
A small GAAP loss per share. GAAP loss per share is not estimable due to tax rate and restructuring charge uncertainties.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its first quarter fiscal year 2010 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the first quarter fiscal year 2010 will not be based on internal company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Actual Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss fourth quarter results. The conference call will take place Tuesday, May 5 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #86162125 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Plantronics excludes non-recurring transactions and non-cash expenses and charges such as restructuring and other related charges, certain tax credits and the release of certain tax reserves, stock-based compensation expenses related to stock options, awards and employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization and goodwill and long-lived asset impairment charges from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate. Plantronics excludes these expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because Plantronics does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating results and are not part of its target operating model. Plantronics believes that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity, and helps investors compare actual results to its long-term target operating model goals. Plantronics believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods.

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our restructuring plan, (ii) our expectations that our non-GAAP operating expenses will be approximately $195 million for fiscal year 2010, (iii) our objective to maintain our profitability, be cash flow positive, increase our return on invested capital, and increase our competitive position, (iv) our ability to continue to focus on certain strategic initiatives, (v) the future of UC technologies, including their implementation, growth in deployments, the effect on headset adoption, and our expectation that our revenue opportunity from UC will be $350 million annually by fiscal year 2015, (vi) our position in the UC market, (vii) our estimate of revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010, and our statement that revenues will be slightly down or slightly up and gross margins will improve, and (viii) our estimate of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 and related components of earnings (loss) per share, as well as other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated are:

Economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
Work disruptions, factory or other facility closures, border closures or delays, transportation interference or delays, or perceptions that our product may make people sick related to the H1N1 “swine flu” illness in Mexico or other places in the world;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
The bankruptcy of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers;
The effect of additional actions on GAAP results;

Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;

We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, additional impairment losses must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;

We have experienced volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, this volatility could negatively affect profitability and/or market share; and
Additional risk factors include: interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, and problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico, and unexpected delays and uncertainties affecting our ability to realize targeted expense reductions and annualized savings through implementation of our plan to outsource the manufacturing of our Bluetooth products in China to GoerTek, Inc.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed May 27, 2008, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

Summary Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
Summary Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations by Segment
Unaudited GAAP to Non-GAAP Statements of Operations Reconciliations for the three and twelve months ended March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2008
Summary Unaudited Statements of Operations and Related Data on a Non-GAAP Basis

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic fourth words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation^® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

###

Plantronics Announces Plan to Improve Bluetooth Profitability

inolan — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:00:25 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA – March 26, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced plans to outsource production of Bluetooth headsets to an existing supplier in China to improve profitability of its Bluetooth headset product line. The Company will also reduce costs in related R&D functions and take other measures to improve overall corporate profitability, resource allocation and return on capital. In total, approximately 670 positions, primarily in China, will be affected by today’s announcement. The plan will proceed in phases and is expected to be complete by October 2009.

“Our primary objectives are to remain profitable and cash flow positive through this economic downturn, while continuing to invest in Unified Communications which is the key to our long-term profitable growth,” said Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. “Mobile phones, smartphones and PCs are important platforms for Unified Communications and we have developed an excellent product line and strong market position around these platforms. However, our cost structure has been challenging, particularly in the current economic environment. We have carefully evaluated our alternatives and have decided to outsource production to GoerTek, Inc., an existing partner with capacity and a strong track record in Bluetooth products. Not only will this action improve profitability in the critical Bluetooth headset market, it will increase our return on capital significantly by decreasing our fixed asset base and increasing inventory turns.”

As a result of these initiatives, our manufacturing plant in Suzhou, China will be closed. Bluetooth R&D, supply chain management as well as sales, marketing and administrative support functions that are part of our Asia-Pacific hub will continue to be led from our Suzhou site until our facilities there can be sold and our associates relocated to nearby facilities better suited to their continuing responsibilities.

“I also want to acknowledge the outstanding quality, responsiveness and overall track record of our entire Suzhou team. The move to an ODM model now is driven by a critical need for economies of scale and is not in the least related to the performance of our plant or our team. In fact, they have performed excellently and helped us achieve the strong market position we have today,” Kannappan concluded.

Consistent with our goal to remain profitable through the economic downturn, we have scrutinized virtually every line item in our P&L. The measures announced in January coupled with additional expense reductions since then plus the initiatives announced today are targeted to bring our total operating expenses down to approximately $195 million in FY10. This compares to an annualized run rate of approximately $250 million in Q2 FY09. The transition of our Bluetooth headset manufacturing to an existing ODM partner with sufficient capacity is expected to reduce our product costs and take capital out of the business. Higher gross margins combined with operating expense reductions and a lower capital base are expected to set the stage for solid profitability for our Bluetooth headset product line. To achieve this level of future benefits, we expect to record incremental restructuring and other related charges of approximately $11 - $13 million in total consisting of approximately $6 - $7 million in non-cash charges for accelerated depreciation and asset impairments and $5 - $6 million in cash charges primarily related to employee termination benefits, VAT and duty recapture. We also expect to incur approximately $2 - $2.5 million of higher tax expense as a result of the changes in our China operations. Finally, we expect to receive cash proceeds from the sale of various assets but the timing and amount of such future proceeds is uncertain.

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our intent to outsource production of Bluetooth headset to an existing supplier in China, (ii) our plan to close our existing manufacturing facility in Suzhou; (iii) our expectation that we will eventually sell the facilities we own for cash proceeds, and relocate to smaller facilities better suited to the ongoing roles and responsibilities of our Suzhou team; (iv) our expectation that we will eliminate 670 positions globally and that this plan will be complete by October 2009; (v) our plan to increase return on capital; (vi) our expectation that we will incur approximately $11 - $13 million in related restructuring expenses, (vii) our expectation that we will obtain higher gross margins and achieve operating expenses of approximately $195 million in FY10 , (viii) our expectation that we will incur approximately $2 - 2.5 million of higher tax expenses; and (ix) our goal to retain our profitability and be cash flow positive generally and to attain profitability for the Bluetooth headset line. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, unexpected delays and uncertainties affecting our ability to realize targeted expense reductions and annualized savings through implementation of our outsourcing plan, our ability to sell the facilities that we currently own and the amount of money that we may receive from any such sale, our inability to sufficiently reduce our operational expenses, obtain higher gross margins and maintain our profitability levels, and our inability to accurately predict global economic conditions and its affect upon our performance, as well as other risks indicated in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed May 27, 2008, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html.

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic second words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

inolan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:01:56 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA-January 27, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on March 10, 2009 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 10, 2009.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Announces Third Quarter Results

inolan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 21:00:07 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA - January 27, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced third quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $182.8 million compared with $232.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted loss per share was $1.90 in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 compared with earnings per share of $0.39 in the same quarter of the prior year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the current quarter was $0.08 compared with $0.53 in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The Company took a $117.5 million non-cash asset impairment charge on the carrying value of some of its goodwill and long-lived assets exclusive of the $23.9 million related tax benefit. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share for the current quarter includes goodwill and asset impairment charges, purchase accounting amortization, restructuring and other related costs, the cost of stock-based compensation, and the release of tax reserves due to expiration of certain statutes of limitation.

“Worsening economic conditions affected all parts of our business and make us cautious about the outlook for fiscal 2010. As announced on January 14^th, we have taken significant steps to reduce our cost structure with the objective of being profitable and cash flow positive through this economic cycle while continuing to focus on core strategic initiatives such as Unified Communications. Our focus on inventory reduction in the December quarter resulted in a reduction of more than $25 million or approximately 16%, and enabled us to remain cash flow positive in the quarter,” said Ken Kannappan, President and CEO. “We’ve made progress in our consumer businesses by introducing competitive products, gaining market share and reducing costs. However, it’s clear that this economic cycle will require further actions to improve profitability and we are actively evaluating our alternatives,” Kannappan concluded.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results
(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Gaming and Computer, Other)
Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

Third quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $152.6 million were down 22.1% compared with $196.0 million, with weakness in all geographies and product groups other than our Clarity products. Office and Contact Center revenue of $101.7 million declined 22.4%, with office corded products revenue declining 21% while office cordless products revenue declined 24%. Bluetooth headset revenue was $33.6 million, down 22%, and Gaming & Computer products revenue was $8.5 million, down 18%.

Gross margin in the third quarter of fiscal 2009 was 40.1% compared with 46.2% in the year-ago quarter. The lower gross margin was due to poor overall factory utilization and lower Bluetooth gross margin as the result of higher warranty costs. Operating income decreased to $9.0 million from $35.4 million, and the operating margin was 5.9% compared with 18.1%. Operating expenses declined by 5.4% from $55.2 million to $52.2 million.

The Company continues to believe that the implementation of Unified Communications (UC) technologies by large corporations will be a significant long-term driver of office headset adoption, and as a result, a key long-term driver of revenue and profit growth. “Despite weak economic conditions, trial deployments of UC solutions and headsets continue to grow, with some evidence that the cost savings and productivity enhancements derived from UC are driving the expansion of existing deployments in both in the U.S. and Europe. This is encouraging, but further growth during the recession may be unlikely,” stated Kannappan.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results
(Docking Audio, PC Audio, Other)
Comparisons are to the Same Quarter in the Prior Year

Gross margin declined from $5.0 million to $1.1 million or 13.5% to 3.6% as a result of higher requirements for inventory provisions and makers’ claims, foreign exchange, and the overall composition of revenue. Relative to our internal plans and the related guidance for the quarter, the principal factors which caused the shortfall in gross profit were rework and expediting costs on a key product line, the negative impact of foreign exchange movements and the composition of revenue.

Operating expenses declined 28.5% from $8.3 million to $5.9 million. Despite the progress on the cost structure, the operating loss increased from $3.3 million to $4.8 million as a result of the lower gross margin.

Business Outlook

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders we expect to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize. With increasing economic uncertainty, our business is even more difficult to forecast than usual. On January 14, 2009, we announced a series of actions to lower our cost structure and improve efficiencies. These actions include a restructuring plan to reduce our worldwide workforce by approximately 18% in comparison to September 30, 2008, along with other cost cutting measures including management salary reductions and decreases in other operating expenses. As a result of the reduction in the worldwide workforce, we expect to record restructuring and other related charges, primarily for employee termination benefits, of approximately $7.7 to $8.2 million in total, of which $1 million was recognized in the third quarter. We expect the balance of $6.7 million to $7.2 million to be recognized in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Annualized savings from the cost reductions are expected to be over $50 million in fiscal 2010 compared with our annualized expenditure level in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. In addition, the Company plans an approximate 50% reduction in capital expenditures for fiscal year 2010.

Revenues in all portions of our business are expected to decline in the fourth quarter. Gross margins are expected to be under pressure due to lower production, a weak demand environment and competitive pricing in the Bluetooth segment. Non-GAAP operating expenses are expected to decline further in the fourth quarter as a result of the restructuring activities announced on January 14, 2009. In addition the company remains committed to managing expenses in line with its goal of remaining profitable and positive cash flow generation.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009:

Net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $125 - $135 million;
A Non-GAAP operating loss of $4 - $10 million;
A GAAP loss.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its fourth quarter fiscal year 2009 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the fourth quarter fiscal year 2009 will not be based on internal company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss third quarter results. The conference call will take place Tuesday, January 27 at 2:00 PM (PST). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #60282103 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Plantronics excludes non-recurring transactions and non-cash expenses and charges such as restructuring and other related charges, certain tax credits and the release of certain tax reserves, stock-based compensation expenses related to stock options, awards and employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization and goodwill and long-lived asset impairment charges from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate. Plantronics excludes these expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because Plantronics does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating results and are not part of its target operating model. Plantronics believes that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity, and helps investors compare actual results to its long-term target operating model goals. Plantronics believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods.

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our restructuring plan, (ii) our expectation that we will incur approximately $7.7 to $8.2 million in related restructuring charges and the timing of such charges, (iii) our expectation that we will realize annualized savings from cost reductions of over $50 million, (iv) our expectations regarding our capital expenditures, (v) our objective to maintain our profitability, be cash flow positive and increase our competitive position, (vi) our ability to continue to focus on certain strategic initiatives, (vii) further actions we may take to improve profitability, (viii) the future of Unified Communications technologies, including their implementation, growth in deployments and the effect on headset adoption, (ix) our position in the Unified Communications market, (x) our estimate of revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009, and (xi) our estimate of GAAP and Non-GAAP financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009 and related components of earnings per share, as well as other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated are:

All aspects of our business are difficult to predict, particularly in light of the current economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
We do not know how the market for each of our product groups will continue to be negatively affected as a result of the recession in the United States or global economy;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
The bankruptcy of additional distributors or key customers or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers;
Additional actions we take may affect GAAP results;
Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, additional impairment losses must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;
We have experienced volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, and in light of the uncertainties of the economy in the United States and around the world, which could negatively affect profitability and/or market share; and
Additional risk factors include: interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, and problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

Summary Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
Summary Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations by Segment
Unaudited GAAP to Non-GAAP Statements of Operations Reconciliations for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007
Summary Unaudited Statements of Operations and Related Data on a Non-GAAP Basis

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic third words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation^® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Announces Anticipated Third Quarter Results and Restructuring Plan to Reduce Costs

inolan — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 21:43:19 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA - January 14, 2009 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced that revenue and earnings per share for its third quarter of fiscal 2009 will be below previously provided guidance. The Company expects third quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues to be approximately $184 million compared with the prior guidance range of $205 to $220 million. The revised revenue estimate is primarily the result of lower than expected sales of Bluetooth headsets, but also reflects the impact of broad economic weakness across different product categories and geographies. The Company expects to report a GAAP loss per share of approximately $0.94 to $1.20, inclusive of a $60 to $80 million non-cash asset impairment charge on the carrying value of some of its goodwill and intangible assets. Non-GAAP earnings per share are expected to be in the range of approximately $0.11 to $0.12. Final earnings results for the third quarter will be announced on January 27, 2009.

The Company is undertaking a series of actions to lower its cost structure and improve efficiencies. These actions include a restructuring plan to reduce its worldwide workforce by approximately 18% in comparison to September 30, 2008, along with other cost cutting measures including management salary reductions and decreases in other operating expenses. As a result of the reduction in the worldwide workforce, the Company expects to record restructuring and other related charges, primarily for employee termination benefits, of approximately $7.7 to $8.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Annualized savings from the cost reductions are expected to be over $50 million. In addition, the Company plans an approximate 50% reduction in capital expenditures for fiscal year 2010.

“As global economic weakness persists, our key objectives are to remain profitable and cash flow positive, continue to invest in strategic initiatives such as Unified Communications, and to improve our profitability in our consumer businesses,” said Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. ”We believe that our strong financial position combined with ongoing strategic investments will allow us to emerge from this downturn in a significantly stronger competitive position,” Kannappan concluded.

Reconciliation of Estimated GAAP to Non-GAAP Earnings Per Share

The following GAAP items have been excluded from the third quarter fiscal 2009 Non-GAAP earnings per share estimate:

purchase accounting amortization of approximately $0.03;
restructuring and other related charges of approximately $0.02 ;
goodwill and intangible asset impairment charges of approximately $1.00 to $1.26;
equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.05; and
release of tax reserves due to expiration of certain statutes of limitations of approximately ($0.04).

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Actual Financial Results

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our restructuring plan, (ii) our expectation that we will incur approximately $7.7 to $8.2 million in related restructuring expenses and an impairment charge on goodwill and intangible assets of approximately $60 to $80 million, (iii) our expectation that we will realize annualized savings from cost reductions of over $50 million, (iv) our expectation that we will retain our profitability, be cash flow positive and increase our competitive position, (v) our estimate of revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2009, and (vi) our estimate of GAAP and Non-GAAP earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 as well as other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, unexpected delays and uncertainties affecting our ability to realize targeted expense reductions and annualized savings through implementation of the restructuring plan, inability to sufficiently reduce our operational expenses and maintain our profitability levels, inability to implement our strategic investments, inability to accurately predict global economic conditions and its affect upon our performance, lower than expected revenues during the third quarter of fiscal 2009, as well as other risks indicated in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed May 27, 2008, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html.

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic second words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation^® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

###

Plantronics Announces One Million Share Repurchase Program

inolan — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:00:23 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA-November 10, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced it had completed the 1,000,000 share repurchase program it authorized on January 25, 2008 and that its Board of Directors has authorized a new 1,000,000 share repurchase program. Under the new repurchase program, Plantronics will, from time to time, purchase shares of its common stock, depending upon market conditions, in open market or privately negotiated transactions.

“We have a consistent record of share repurchases, with over 21 million shares repurchased since fiscal 1997. We believe that our future cash flows will provide sufficient liquidity to support another share repurchase program. In addition, our cash and cash equivalents position of approximately $200 million as of September 27, 2008 combined with no outstanding debt, places Plantronics in a very strong financial position,” stated Barbara Scherer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Plantronics. “We purchase shares when we believe it will be strongly accretive to earnings per share to do so in comparison to alternative investment choices. Our Board of Directors believes that Plantronics stock presents an attractive investment for the Company and its stockholders,” she continued.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2009 Results

inolan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:01:57 +0000

Revenue In-line and Earnings per Share Exceeds Guidance;
Bluetooth Product Line Profitable on Strong Revenue Growth

SANTA CRUZ, CA - October 22, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced second quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $216.9 million compared with $208.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Revenues were within the guidance range of $210 to $220 million. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.36 in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 compared with $0.34 in the same quarter of the prior year. This compares to the GAAP EPS guidance issued on July 22, 2008 of $0.29 to $0.34. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the current quarter were $0.41 compared with $0.39 in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Earnings per share were greater than the previously provided non-GAAP guidance of $0.35 to $0.40. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share for the current quarter is primarily the cost of stock-based compensation.

“Overall profits were solid as strong Bluetooth sales at improved margins compensated for weakening enterprise market conditions and foreign exchange losses. We achieved the highest gross and operating margins in two years as a result of improved product margins and expense management, and we continue to target a long-term non-GAAP operating margin of 15% to 18%. Global economic conditions have become increasingly uncertain, but we remain in a very strong financial position with approximately $200 million in cash and equivalents and no debt. We can improve our position further by managing inventory much more tightly than we have in the past,” said Ken Kannappan, President and CEO.

“The strong market reception of our new Altec Lansing products has resulted in approximately 40% greater retail placements this fiscal year than the prior year, and we anticipate that these new higher margin products will account for a majority of our AEG revenue through fiscal 2010. We continue to believe that the fundamentals of the AEG turnaround are on track,” stated Kannappan.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Gaming and Computer, Other)

Second quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $195.3 million were up 7.9% compared with $181.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue growth compared to the year-ago quarter was driven by strong demand for Bluetooth headsets of $57.4 million, up 85% from the same quarter in the prior year, and Gaming & Computer products of $9.0 million, up 8.5% from the same quarter in the prior year. Office and Contact Center (OCC) revenues were $119.5 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009, down 9% from the year-ago quarter due to continued weakness in North American markets and declining sales internationally.

Gross margin in the second quarter of fiscal 2009 was 47.8% compared with 47.2% in the year-ago quarter. The higher gross margin was due to better factory utilization and stronger Bluetooth product margins, which were offset by a lower mix of OCC products and higher freight expense. Operating income increased 13.1% to $37.5 million, and the operating margin was 19.2% compared with 18.3% in the year-ago quarter.

The Company continues to believe that the implementation of Unified Communications technologies by large corporations will be a significant driver of office headset adoption, and as a result, a key long-term driver of revenue and profit growth. The Company has already introduced a number of headsets specifically designed for Unified Communications and intends to allocate a significant portion of research and development for future Unified Communications hardware and software solutions.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Altec Lansing)

Second quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $21.5 million were up 4.2% from $20.6 million in the previous quarter and down 20.9% from $27.2 million in the year-ago quarter. While net revenues were down from the year ago quarter, they were in line with our expectations. The year ago period included a large deal with a warehouse club that was not planned for this period. We also liquidated inventory on certain discontinued products in the year ago quarter.

Evidence of the progress of the AEG turnaround can be seen in the 26.4% reduction in operating expenses as compared to the prior year along with the positive gross margin due to reductions in manufacturing overhead and pruning of unprofitable products. These items contributed to the $3.5 million, or 36.5%, reduction in the operating loss in the current quarter of fiscal 2009 compared to the year-ago quarter.

Our AEG team is working hard to position the division to return to profitability, and we believe we are making considerable progress as reflected in the cost reductions from the year-ago quarter. A significant effort was made to refresh the product line with highly competitive products and all ten of our new products are now shipping.

Measuring Non-GAAP Results Going Forward

The Company has concluded that the most common industry practice for reporting non-GAAP results is to exclude purchase accounting amortization from Non-GAAP reporting as it is a non-cash charge that does not correlate or help explain quarterly operating performance. For Plantronics in total, the amortization of purchase accounting was approximately $2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2009, of which $1.5 million is recorded in the AEG segment. This compares to $2 million in Q2 fiscal 2008, of which approximately $1.8 million was recorded in the AEG segment. These largely fixed non-cash charges thus represent a significant percent of revenue and a larger percent of operating income for AEG. Thus, beginning with the non-GAAP guidance for Q3 included in this press release, we are excluding amortization of purchase accounting. When we report Q3 results, we will report on a basis comparable to how we developed the guidance and also provide all the non-GAAP measures for prior periods on a consistent basis.

Business Outlook

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders we expect to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize. With increasing economic uncertainty, our business is even more difficult to forecast than usual. The consumer related portions of our business are expected to grow in the third quarter and we expect enterprise revenues to decline given the global economic environment. We therefore expect gross margin will be lower in Q3 fiscal 2009 than it was in Q2 fiscal 2009 due to product and segment mix, but that it should be roughly comparable to Q3 a year ago. Sequentially, we are currently expecting revenues for ACG to be down and AEG revenue to increase significantly from Q2 fiscal 2009. Our consolidated guidance includes a range of results for AEG from a small loss to a small profit for the December quarter under the new non-GAAP measure. Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2009:

Net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $205 - $220 million;
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $0.25 - $0.33; and
GAAP consolidated tax rate to be between 16%-19%, which includes a benefit of approximately $800,000 due to the reinstatement of the R&D tax credit;
The EPS cost of purchase accounting amortization of approximately $0.02 - $0.03; and
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.05, resulting in
GAAP earnings per share of $0.19 to $0.27.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its third quarter fiscal year 2009 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the third quarter fiscal year 2009 will not be based on internal company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Wednesday, October 22 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #36991951 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

A new corporate presentation is available on the investor relations section of the corporate website www.plantronics.com.

Current Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Plantronics excludes non-recurring transactions and non-cash expenses such as stock-based compensation related to stock options, awards and employee stock purchases from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate. Plantronics excludes these expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because Plantronics does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating results and are not part of its target operating model. Plantronics believes that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity, and helps investors compare actual results to its long-term target operating model goals. Plantronics believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods.

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include: our target of a long-term Non-GAAP operating margin of 15 to 18%; our belief that AEG’s new higher margin products will account for a majority of our AEG revenue through fiscal 2010; fundamentals of the AEG turnaround are on track; our intent to reduce our inventory by managing inventory and turns much more tightly than we have in the past; the implementation of Unified Communications technologies by large corporations will be a significant driver of office headset adoption, and as a result a key long term driver of revenue and profit growth; our intent to allocate a significant portion of research and development for future Unified Communications hardware and software solutions; our expectation that AEG revenues will be up significantly sequentially; our targeting break even for AEG for the December quarter of the 2009 fiscal year and for the full fiscal year 2010; our belief that the consumer related portions of our business will grow in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009; and our estimates of net revenues, margins, tax rate and earnings for the third quarter of fiscal year 2009. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are based on current information and management judgment. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict, particularly in light of the current economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
We do not know how the market for office wireless headsets and products from our other product groups may be affected in the event of a recession in the United States or global economy;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;

Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;

The ability to achieve the turnaround of AEG is uncertain because:
- it is dependent upon our ability to more effectively research and implement features in our AEG products that consumers want and are willing to purchase;
- we must be able to meet the market windows for these products;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;

Product mix is difficult to estimate and standard margin varies considerably by product;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;

A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
We have experienced cost increases and volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, and in light of the uncertainties of the economy in the United States and around the world, we may continue to receive cost increases, which could negatively affect profitability and/or market share.
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss,” which are costly to defend and the results of litigation are not predictable ;
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used; and
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

Summary Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
Summary Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations by Segment
Unaudited GAAP to Non-GAAP Statements of Operations Reconciliations for the three months ended September 30, 2008 and September 30, 2007
Summary Unaudited Statements of Operations and Related Data on a Non-GAAP Basis

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic second words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation^® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

###

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

inolan — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:01:38 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA-October 22, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on December 10, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 10, 2008.

“We generated approximately $20 million in cash flows from operations in the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2009 Results

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:36:03 +0000

Surge in Bluetooth Headset Sales drive Record Audio Communications Group Revenue; Revenue and Earnings per Share Exceed Guidance

SANTA CRUZ, CA – July 22, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced first quarter fiscal 2009 net revenues of $219.2 million compared with $206.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Revenues were above the guidance range of $205 to $210 million. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.42 in the first quarter of fiscal 2009 compared with $0.31 in the same quarter of the prior year. This compares to the GAAP EPS guidance issued on April 29, 2008 of $0.26 to $0.30. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the current quarter were $0.45 compared with $0.37 in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. Earnings per share were greater than the previously provided non-GAAP guidance of $0.33 to $0.36. The differences between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share for the current quarter are primarily the cost of equity-based compensation and a $1.7 million tax benefit resulting from the expiration of the statute of limitations in certain jurisdictions on previous tax filings.

“Our June quarter results reflect strong Bluetooth headset demand primarily as a result of California and Washington adopting hands-free driving laws on July 1, 2008. Enterprise market conditions grew weaker in the U.S. and Europe as the slowdown in the U.S. financial services sector spread to other industries and geographies. Despite the higher mix of lower margin Bluetooth products, a significant improvement in gross margin on our consumer products compensated, resulting in a higher overall company operating margin and an operating profit increase of 25% from the same quarter last year,” said Ken Kannappan, President and CEO. “We are pleased with the better than expected retail placements for our soon to be announced Altec Lansing products. Overall, we remain optimistic about our long-term prospects and ability to enhance shareholder value,” stated Kannappan.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Computer, Clarity)

First quarter net revenues of $198.5 million were up 7% compared with $185.6 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue growth compared to the year-ago quarter was driven by strong demand for Bluetooth headsets of $55.2 million, up 52% from the prior year, and Gaming & Computer products of $9.6 million, up 48% from the prior year. Office and Contact Center (OCC) revenues were $122.8 million, down 7% from the previous year due to continued weakness in North American markets and flat sales in Europe.

Gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2009 was 45.2% compared with 46.6% in the year-ago quarter. The lower gross margin was due to a product mix shift, with substantially higher sales of lower gross margin Bluetooth headsets and a decline in higher margin Office and Contact Center headsets. However, the impact of this product mix shift was largely offset by substantial improvement in the gross margin on our Bluetooth products as well as some improvement in our OCC products. Operating income increased 0.6% to $33.0 million, and the operating margin was 16.6% compared with 17.7% in the year-ago quarter primarily as a result of the lower gross margin.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Altec Lansing)

First quarter net revenues of $20.6 million were down 1.4% from $20.9 million in the year-ago quarter. However, these results are not directly comparable as the year ago figures included approximately $1.7 million of PC & Gaming headset revenue which at that time was managed by AEG and sold under the Altec Lansing brand. Responsibility for all PC & Gaming headsets, regardless of the brand used, was transferred to ACG effective July 1 last year. Gross margin was 8.4% compared with negative 10.6% in the year-ago quarter and the division’s operating loss was $6.0 million compared with $10.8 million.

While the turn-around of this division remains heavily dependent on a refreshed product portfolio, other steps have been taken in the past year to return the division to profitability, including the consolidation of manufacturing operations, a reduction in headcount and other cost reductions. The focus on cost reduction enabled the division to operate on expenses 10% lower than the year-ago quarter. Placements of the new products for the Fall launch are going well and supply plans to meet the expected demand are in place. Plantronics continues to target profitability for the division by the December quarter of this calendar year and intends to introduce new products during the current quarter.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Our balance sheet is strong with $190.2 million in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30, 2008 compared with $163.1 million in the previous quarter.

First quarter fiscal 2009 cash flow from operations was approximately $34 million compared with $13 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2008. In addition, key metrics such as inventory turns were 3.7 in the current quarter compared with 3.6 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2008. In addition, key metrics such as days sales outstanding were 54 days in the current quarter compared to 53 days in same quarter of the prior fiscal year.

Business Outlook

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders we expect to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize. With increasing economic uncertainty, our business is even more difficult to forecast than usual. The September quarter tends to be characterized by a slowdown in incoming purchase orders during July which intensifies in August, but historically picks up strongly after Labor Day. This pattern tends to be particularly true in our highest margin office and contact center business. This trend has begun to manifest itself in the current quarter, and we need the historical pick up in September to recur to achieve the revenue levels we are forecasting. Sequentially, we are currently expecting revenues for ACG to be flat to down, and AEG to increase somewhat in the second quarter. Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2009:

Net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $210 - $220 million;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be between 23%-24%;
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $0.35 - $0.40; and
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.06, resulting in
GAAP earnings per share of $0.29 to $0.34.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its second quarter fiscal year 2009 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the second quarter fiscal year 2009 will not be based on internal company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, July 22 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #20286967 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

A new corporate presentation is available on the investor relations section of the corporate website www.plantronics.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include our profitability target of the December 2008 calendar quarter for our AEG business; our intention to introduce new AEG products during the current calendar quarter; our ability to timely supply new products to the market place to meet demand for our new AEG products; our estimates of net revenues, margins, operating expenses, tax rate and earnings for the second quarter of fiscal year 2009. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are based on current information and management judgment. Plantronics does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or otherwise.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict, particularly in light of the current economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
We do not know how the market for office wireless headsets and products from our other product groups may be affected in the event of a recession in the United Statesor global economy;
We have experienced cost increases from our suppliers and in light of the cost of oil, food supplies and other products in the United States and around the world, we may continue to receive cost increases, which could negatively affect profitability and/or market share.
The ability to achieve the turnaround of AEG is uncertain because:
- it is dependent upon our ability to more effectively research and implement features in our AEG products that consumers want and are willing to purchase;
- we must be able to meet the market windows for these products;
- we must be able to retain or obtain the shelf space for these products in our sales channel;
- we must retain or improve the brand recognition associated with the Altec Lansing brand during the turnaround;
- our ability to successfully complete the restructuring and consolidation activities and the financial impact that such actions may have is difficult to predict;
- there is a risk that the consolidation of the AEG Asian operations may cost more than we currently expect. There is also a risk that the savings that we currently predict may not materialize and that the timing of costs and benefits may be different than what we currently expect. If the cost of consolidation is more than we currently anticipate or the savings that we currently anticipate from these activities do not materialize, our future financial results may be adversely affected; and
- Failure to achieve any of these objectives may adversely affect our financial results;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Product mix is difficult to estimate and standard margin varies considerably by product;
Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss,” which are costly to defend and the results of litigation are not predictable ;
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used; and
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

###

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

admin — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:32:55 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA–July 22, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on September 10, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 8, 2008.

“We generated approximately $34 million in cash flows from operations in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2008 Results

admin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:43:19 +0000

Fourth Quarter Revenue and Earnings Exceed Guidance; Fiscal 2008 Operating Income Grows 38%

SANTA CRUZ, CA – April 29, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced fourth quarter net revenues of $208.7 million compared with $194.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Plantronics’ GAAP earnings per share on a fully diluted basis were $0.36 for the fourth quarter compared with $0.21 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter were $0.43 on a fully diluted basis. Our results exceeded our previously provided guidance for the fourth quarter which was for revenues of $195 to $205 million, GAAP earnings per share of $0.17 to $0.24 and non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.24 to $0.32. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share is primarily the cost of equity-based compensation.

Net revenues for fiscal year 2008 were $856.3 million, an increase of 7% compared with $800.2 million for fiscal year 2007. GAAP operating income grew to $79.4 million from $57.4 million. Non-GAAP operating income grew to $99.5 million from $72.5 million, an increase of 37%. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.39 for fiscal year 2008 compared with $1.04 in the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.69 for fiscal year 2008 compared with $1.26 in the prior fiscal year.

“Our revenue, profitability and competitive position improved in fiscal 2008 as the result of a strong product portfolio and our focus on corporate efficiency,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO of Plantronics. “Our improving results reflect the focus we’ve had on increasing profitability across the organization and that our concerns of economic weakness were not as great as we had anticipated in the fourth quarter. We ended the fiscal year on a strong note due to healthy demand from international markets, which offset the challenging economic conditions in the financial services sector in North America. We believe that we have the right products under development to continue to improve prospects for growth and profitability. In addition, we believe Unified Communications technologies are gaining momentum and will act as a catalyst to increase headset adoption,” he continued. “We expect profitability to improve modestly in fiscal 2009 despite a weak business climate. The markets we serve provide excellent prospects for growth especially when the US economy is stronger and our long term business model remains intact.”

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Computer, Clarity)

Net revenues for our ACG segment of $185.4 million for the fourth quarter were up 7% compared with $173.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. For fiscal year 2008, revenues were up by 11% from $676.5 million to $747.9 million. This growth was driven by strong demand for Bluetooth headsets for the mobile market and increases in sales of office wireless, computer and gaming headsets, and the Clarity line of products. The growth in these products was partially offset by a decline in revenues from corded products for the Office & Contact Center and mobile markets.

Revenue from office wireless products was up 3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007 and down slightly sequentially, while revenue from professional grade corded headset revenues was down 5% compared with the fourth quarter of 2007 and down 8% sequentially. Bluetooth headset sales for the fourth quarter were up by 40% from a year ago.

Gross margin in the fourth quarter was 45.5% compared with 45.1% in the fourth quarter of 2007. Among the factors driving gross margin higher from the fourth quarter of 2007 was the positive impact of reducing costs on our Bluetooth mobile and office wireless products. Fourth quarter operating margin was 15.8% compared with 14.5% in the fourth quarter of 2007 due to the higher gross margin and slower growth rate of expenses.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Altec Lansing)

Fourth quarter net revenues of $23.4 million were up 8.8% from $21.5 million in the year ago quarter, primarily as a result of new product introductions driving an improvement in the docking audio segment, offset by a decline in PC audio sales. Fiscal year 2008 revenues were $108.4 million, down from $123.6 million in the prior year.

Gross margin was 15.6% compared with -5.4% in the year-ago quarter and the segment’s operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $5.5 million compared with $10.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2007.

We believe we are on track to meet the milestones for the launch of new products in the third quarter of fiscal year 2009. The introduction of new products is a key component for AEG to at least reach break-even in the third quarter and for AEG to be on the path to return to profitability and ultimately achieve its target business model.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Our balance sheet is strong with $163.1 million in cash and cash equivalents as of the end of the fiscal year compared with $103.4 million at the end of last year.

Fourth quarter cash flow from operations was over $28 million and fiscal 2008 cash flow from operations was over $102 million with key metrics such as inventory turns flat at 3.8 compared with 3.8 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007 and days sales outstanding at 57 days for the fourth quarter compared to 53 days in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2007.

Business Outlook

Net revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $205 - $210 million;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be approximately 23%;
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 to be in the range of $0.33 - $0.36; and
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.06, resulting in
GAAP earnings per share of $0.26 to $0.30.

Longer-term Business Model

During fiscal 2008, Plantronics achieved a non-GAAP operating margin of 11.6%, compared with an operating margin target range of 15 to 18%. The target non-GAAP operating margin range for ACG is 18 to 20% and for AEG is 5 to 10%. By reducing the losses in AEG, we expect to increase our overall operating margin in fiscal 2009 compared to fiscal 2008, but we do not expect to reach the target range. We do believe the business model remains intact and is achievable and that we can reach this range by fiscal 2011.

In fiscal 2009, we expect the economic environment in North America will be a challenge for our ACG segment, but we intend to continue to lower costs and work to improve our gross profit margin. We also intend to hold operating expenses fairly flat so that we can achieve some increase in operating profit even if revenue growth is weak.

In AEG, we expect to reduce our losses in fiscal 2009 from fiscal 2008. While we continue to believe that the right long-term target model is 5 to 10% operating margin for consumer audio businesses such as AEG, we do not expect to be within that range for fiscal 2009 and we do not expect to be profitable for the entire year. We aim to achieve the target range for AEG in fiscal 2011.

We believe the key drivers to achieve the longer-term business model include volume growth particularly as it relates to AEG, lower transformation costs, effective supply chain re-engineering and the utilization of common product platforms.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, April 29 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID # 20285343 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

A new corporate presentation is available on the investor relations section of the corporate website www.plantronics.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

SAFE HARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict, particularly in light of the current economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
We do not know how the market for office wireless headsets and products from our other product groups may be affected in the event of a recession in the United Statesor global economy;
The ability to achieve the turnaround of AEG is uncertain because:
- it is dependent upon our ability to more effectively research and implement features in our AEG products that consumers want and are willing to purchase;
- we must be able to meet the market windows for these products;
- we must be able to retain or obtain the shelf space for these products in our sales channel;
- we must retain or improve the brand recognition associated with the Altec Lansing brand during the turnaround;
- our ability to successfully complete the restructuring and consolidation activities and the financial impact that such actions may have is difficult to predict;
- there is a risk that the consolidation of the AEG Asian operations may cost more than we currently expect. There is also a risk that the savings that we currently predict may not materialize and that the timing of costs and benefits may be different than what we currently expect. If the cost of consolidation is more than we currently anticipate or the savings that we currently anticipate from these activities do not materialize, our future financial results may be adversely affected;
- Failure to achieve any of these objectives may adversely affect our financial results;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Product mix is difficult to estimate and standard margin varies considerably by product;
Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss”. While we believe these suits are without merit, the costs to defend against them could be high and the results of litigation are not predictable in any event;
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used; and
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed May 29, 2007, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

###

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

admin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:41:23 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA–April 29, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on June 10, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 9, 2008.

“We generated over $28 million in cash flows from operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Announces 1 Million Share Repurchase Program

admin — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:49:04 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA–January 25, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced a 1,000,000 share repurchase program. Pursuant to the Stock Repurchase Program, the Company will, from time to time, purchase shares of its common stock, depending upon market conditions, in open market or privately negotiated transactions.

Barbara Scherer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Plantronics, noted, “Plantronics continues to generate positive cash flow and we believe it is prudent to use a portion of this cash to increase shareholder value through the repurchase of our stock. We believe that our cash balance and future cash flows will provide sufficient liquidity to support another share repurchase program. We purchase shares when we believe it should be strongly accretive to EPS to do so in comparison to alternative investment choices. Our Board of Directors believes that Plantronics stock presents an attractive investment for the Company and its stockholders,” Scherer concluded.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2008 Results

admin — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:11:43 +0000

Revenues & Profits Increase on Continued Strength in all Major Businesses; Earnings per Share Exceed Guidance

SANTA CRUZ, CA - January 22, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced third quarter fiscal 2008 net revenues of $232.8 million compared with $215.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2007. Revenues were within the guidance range of $230 to $235 million. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.39 in the third quarter of fiscal 2008, which includes $2.9 million in restructuring and other charges related to the consolidation of manufacturing operations, compared with $0.32 in the same quarter of the prior year. This compares to the GAAP EPS guidance we issued on October 23, 2007 of $.32 to $0.37 and the subsequent announcement on November 28, 2007 that we expected to incur approximately $2.8 million in restructuring and other related charges during the quarter ending December 31, 2007 and that those charges would be expected to reduce GAAP EPS by $0.06 per share in comparison to the previously provided guidance from October 23rd.

Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the current quarter were $0.50 compared with $0.38 in the third quarter of fiscal 2007. Earnings per share were greater than the previously provided non-GAAP guidance of $0.37 to $0.42. The differences between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share for the current period are the cost of equity-based compensation and the restructuring charges.

“Our December quarter results reflect continued strength in our major product categories, with increased demand for our office wireless and consumer Bluetooth products; partially the result of robust market acceptance of our recently introduced Voyager 520, 815 and 855 models. We are making progress to return our Audio Entertainment Group to profitability as evidenced by the consolidation and restructuring announced in November and substantially completed this quarter, and by the reduction in the non-GAAP operating expenses compared to the year-ago quarter,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO of Plantronics. “Our Office and CallCenter product group performed well with net revenues up by 10.8%, driven by continued strength in markets outside of the U.S. While the U.S. portion of this product group grew by 6.2% from the same quarter in the prior year, it declined 6.1% from the September quarter to the December quarter,” Kannappan concluded.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Computer, Clarity)

Third quarter net revenues of $196.0 million were up 11.0% compared with $176.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue growth compared to the year-ago quarter was driven by demand for wireless products, with office wireless and mobile Bluetooth each up approximately 15%. In addition, certain PC headsets formerly classified in AEG are now included in ACG.

Gross margin in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 was 46.1% compared with 44.2% in the year-ago quarter. Among the factors contributing to the higher gross margin were cost reduction on our office wireless and Bluetooth mobile products and the impact of a weaker dollar. Operating income increased approximately 30% and operating margin was 17.8% compared with 15.2% in the year-ago quarter, primarily on the strength of the higher gross margin, though operating expenses as a percent of net revenue also decreased.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Altec Lansing)

Third quarter net revenues of $36.9 million were down 5.3% from $38.9 million in the year-ago quarter, primarily as a result of the PC headset line now being managed and reported as part of the ACG segment. During the quarter, we were pleased with the continued growth and acceptance of the iM600 docking station. Gross margin was 11.1% compared with 9.3% in the year-ago quarter and the division’s operating loss was $4.8 million compared with $5.8 million. In the third quarter of fiscal 2007, we incurred significant supplier claims which were not a factor in the current quarter.

While the turn-around of this division remains heavily dependent on a refreshed product portfolio, other steps are being taken to return to profitability, including the consolidation of manufacturing operations and other cost reductions. The focus on cost reduction enabled the division to operate on expenses 6.1% lower than the year-ago period. Plantronics continues to target profitability for the division by the December quarter of this calendar year.

During the quarter, Plantronics closed AEG’s manufacturing facility in Dongguan, China; initiated plans to shut down a related Hong Kong research and development, sales and procurement office; and consolidated procurement, research and development activities for AEG in a new Shenzhen, China site which we expect to begin using this quarter. The selling, general and administrative functions of AEG are being consolidated with those of ACG throughout the Asia-Pacific region. These steps are part of a strategic initiative designed to reduce fixed costs by outsourcing AEG manufacturing to the network of qualified contract manufacturers already in place.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Our balance sheet is strong with $170 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities compared to $103 million at the end of our last fiscal year in March 2007. Year to date cash flow from operations is over $74 million with key metrics such as inventory turns up slightly to 4.2 compared to 4.0 in the December year-ago quarter and days sales outstanding at 53 days compared to 55 days in the year-ago period.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders we expect to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize. Our incoming order rate tends to be low during the last two weeks of December and the first half of January in the ACG business and then rises significantly into February and March. This historical pattern has recurred thus far this quarter and we therefore must realize an increased incoming order flow for the balance of the quarter in order to achieve the revenue range we are projecting. In addition, we believe the order rate in January compared to the most comparable year-ago periods for our U.S. Office and Contact Center business is running below that of a year ago and that this is attributable to deteriorating economic conditions. With increased economic uncertainty, our business is even more difficult to forecast than usual. We are currently expecting revenues for ACG and AEG to decrease sequentially in the fourth quarter and for the non-GAAP AEG operating loss to be higher than the third quarter. Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008:

Net revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $195 - $205 million;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be approximately 24%;
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $0.24 - $0.32; and
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.05 - $0.06 and the EPS cost of AEG restructuring and related to be approximately $0.02, resulting in
GAAP earnings per share of $0.17 to $0.24.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its fourth quarter fiscal year 2008 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the fourth quarter fiscal year 2008 will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, January 22 at 2:00 PM (PST). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #20283787 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include our profitability target of December 2008 for our AEG business, the timing of the opening and successful consolidation of our AEG procurement, research and development activities in Shenzhen , China, the timing and successful ramp of outsourcing AEG manufacturing to the contract manufacturers and that the return to profitability of the AEG business can be achieved in great part based upon a refreshed product offering, and our estimates of net revenues, margins, operating expenses, tax rate and earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are based on current information and management judgment.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict, particularly in light of the current economic conditions in the U.S.;
Factors that could cause demand to be different from Plantronics’ expectations include changes in business and economic conditions;
We do not know how the market for office wireless headsets and products from our other product groups may be affected in the event of a recession in the United Statesor global economy;
The ability to achieve the turnaround of AEG is uncertain because:
- it is dependent upon our ability to more effectively research and implement features in our AEG products that consumers want and are willing to purchase;
- we must be able to meet the market windows for these products;
- we must be able to retain or obtain the shelf space for these products in our sales channel;
- we must retain or improve the brand recognition associated with the Altec Lansing brand during the turnaround;
- our ability to successfully complete the restructuring and consolidation activities and the financial impact that such actions may have is difficult to predict;
- there is a risk that the consolidation may cost more than we currently expect. There is also a risk that the savings that we currently predict may not materialize and that the timing of costs and benefits may be different than what we currently expect. If the cost of consolidation is more than we currently anticipate or the savings that we currently anticipate from these activities do not materialize, our future financial results may be adversely affected;
- Failure to achieve any of these objectives may adversely affect our financial results;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Product mix is difficult to estimate and standard margin varies considerably by product;
Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss”. While we believe these suits are without merit, the costs to defend against them could be high and the results of litigation are not predictable in any event;
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used; and
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

admin — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:10:16 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA–January 22, 2008 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on March 10, 2008 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 11, 2008.

“We generated over $32 million in cash flows from operations in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Reports Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2008 Results

admin — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:53:04 +0000

Revenues & Profits Increase on Office & Call Center Demand and Increase in International Sales; Earnings per Share Exceed Guidance

SANTA CRUZ, CA – October 23, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced second quarter fiscal 2008 net revenues of $208.2 million compared with $194.9 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Revenues were within the guidance range of $206 to $212 million. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.34 in the second quarter of fiscal 2008 compared with $0.26 in same quarter of the prior year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the current quarter were $0.39 compared with $0.32 in the second quarter of fiscal 2007. Earnings per share were greater than the previously provided GAAP guidance of $0.25 to $0.29 and non-GAAP guidance of $0.30 to $0.35. The primary difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share for the current period is the cost of equity-based compensation.

“Our most important long term objective has been to grow our office business and we were pleased with the increase in our office wireless revenues. International demand for office wireless accelerated and our new CS70N office system is being well received in the market. Our gross margin also improved as our focus on reducing product cost and increasing manufacturing effectiveness resulted in nearly three points of gross margin improvement in the ACG segment. Finally, we introduced and started shipping some important new Bluetooth, consumer entertainment and home office products in the second quarter. These new products have received an excellent reception from the market,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO of Plantronics.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results
(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Computer, Clarity)

Second quarter net revenues of $181.0 million were up 11% compared with $163.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue growth compared to the year-ago quarter was driven by demand for wireless products, with office wireless up by 28% from a year ago and mobile Bluetooth up 17% from the same period. The CS70N, introduced in May, contributed significantly to the growth in office wireless this quarter.

Gross margin in Q2 FY08 was 47.2% compared with 44.3% in the year-ago quarter. Among the factors contributing to the higher gross margin was cost reduction on our office wireless and Bluetooth mobile products. We also continue to achieve greater productivity and improved effectiveness in our manufacturing processes. Operating margin in Q2 FY08 was 18.3% compared with 15% in the year-ago quarter primarily on the strength of the higher gross margin.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results
(Altec Lansing)

Second quarter net revenues of $27.2 million were down 14.8% from $31.9 million in the year-ago quarter. While the turn-around of this division remains heavily dependent on a refreshed product portfolio, other steps are being taken to return the unit to profitability, including new management. The Company continues to target profitability for the division by the December quarter of next fiscal year.

The division’s gross margin was 0.4% compared with 16.9% in the year-ago quarter. Operating loss was $9.6 million in the quarter compared with an operating loss of $4.5 million in the same quarter of the prior year.

While results were lower than the year-ago quarter, revenues grew sequentially mostly on the strength of the iM600, the loss was reduced and the division performed slightly better than we anticipated. During the quarter, AEG also began shipping a number of new products; including the PT 7031 wireless home theatre sound system and PT 8050 wireless surround sound home theatre system.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

We are currently expecting revenues for ACG and AEG to increase sequentially in the third quarter and for the non-GAAP AEG operating loss to be lower than the second quarter. The consumer related portions of our business are expected to grow strongly in the third quarter and it is thus likely that gross margin will be lower in Q3 than it was in Q2 due to product and segment mix. We are also planning a number of sales and marketing programs in the third quarter, some of which were deferred from the second quarter, and are thus expecting to increase our operating expenses sequentially and in comparison to the year ago quarter. Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2008:

* Net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $230 - $235 million;
* Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be approximately 24%;
* The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.05 - $0.06;
* Non-GAAP earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $0.37 - $0.42; and
* GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0.32 to $0.37.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its third quarter fiscal year 2008 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the third quarter fiscal year 2008 will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, October 23 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #2596307 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Plantronics excludes non-recurring transactions and non-cash expenses such as stock-based compensation related to stock options, awards and employee stock purchases from: non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate. Plantronics excludes these expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because Plantronics does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating results and are not part of its target operating model. Plantronics believes that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity, and help investors compare actual results to its long-term target operating model goals. Plantronics believes that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods.

SAFE HARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

* Our operating results are difficult to predict;
* The ability to achieve the turnaround of AEG is uncertain because:
o it is dependent upon our ability to more effectively research and implement features in our AEG products that consumers want and are willing to purchase;
o we must be able to meet the market windows for these products;
o we must be able to retain or obtain the shelf space for these products in our sales channel;
o we must retain or improve the brand recognition associated with the Altec Lansing brand during the turnaround;
o Failure to achieve any of these objectives may adversely affect our financial results;
* We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;
* The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
* The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
* Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
* A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
* Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
* Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss”. While we believe these suits are without merit, the costs to defend against them could be high and the results of litigation are not predictable in any event;
* Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used; and
* Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

* Summary Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
* Summary Unaudited Condensed Statements of Operations by Segment
* Unaudited GAAP to Non-GAAP Statements of Operations Reconciliations for the three and six months ended September 30, 2007
* Unaudited GAAP to Non-GAAP Statements of Operations Reconciliations for the three and six months ended September 30, 2006
* Summary Unaudited Statements of Operations and Related Data

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

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Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

admin — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:47:21 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA–October 23, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on December 10, 2007 to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 9, 2007.

“We generated approximately $29 million in cash flows from operations in the second quarter of fiscal 2008. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2008 Results

admin — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:18:07 +0000

Revenue Grows on Strong Office & Call Center and Bluetooth Mobile Demand; EPS Exceeds Guidance

SANTA CRUZ, CA – July 24, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced first quarter fiscal 2008 net revenues of $206.5 million compared with $195.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Revenues were within our guidance of $205 to $210 million. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted earnings per share increased 24% to $0.31 in the first quarter compared with $0.25 in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.37 compared with $0.28 in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Earnings per share exceeded previously provided GAAP guidance of $0.20 to $0.23 and non-GAAP guidance of $0.26 to $0.29. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share for the current period is the cost of equity-based compensation.

“Our revenue performance during the first quarter of fiscal 2008 was driven by growth in our headset business, especially for office and contact center products. Enterprise demand remained healthy and our new product offerings have been well received. We also introduced a number of new mobile and consumer products targeting emerging opportunities such as music phones. Our operating margin grew as a result of a better product mix and improved efficiencies throughout the Company,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO of Plantronics.

“Our focus areas for fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2009 are to increase penetration in the office, upgrade existing customers with compelling new products, grow our Bluetooth market share while improving profitability, achieve a turnaround of the Audio Entertainment Group, and improve the overall profitability of the Company,” concluded Kannappan.

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Computer, Clarity)

First quarter net revenues of $185.6 million were up 13.3% compared with $163.7 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue growth compared to the year-ago quarter was driven by demand for wireless products, with office wireless up over 20% from a year ago and mobile Bluetooth up 27% from the same period. This growth was partially offset by slight declines in sales of computer and Clarity products.

Gross margin in Q1 FY08 was 46.6% compared with 43.3% in the year-ago quarter. Among the factors contributing to a higher gross margin compared to Q1 FY07 were an improved product mix, higher production levels and better absorption of fixed costs which includes increased utilization of our China manufacturing plant, and cost reduction on our Bluetooth mobile and office wireless products. Operating margin in Q1 FY08 was 17.7% compared with 13.7% in the year-ago quarter because gross margins were higher in Q1FY08 and operating expenses grew more slowly than revenues.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Altec Lansing)

First quarter net revenues of $20.9 million were down 33% from $31.3 million in the year-ago quarter. This business is in a turnaround and requires a significant product refresh to be competitive. We believe this will occur near the end of the next 18 months. Some positive signs for AEG in Q1FY08 included initial sales of the iM600 for docking audio and announcements of the Upgrader Series of headphones and the PT Series of wireless digital surround sound speakers designed for flat panel TV’s.

Given the early stage of the product transition, the division’s gross margins declined as a result of product margin erosion among the older products as well as provisions for excess and obsolete inventory and lower revenues. The gross margin in Q1 FY08 was negative 10.6% compared with 17.7% in the year-ago quarter.

Non-GAAP operating loss was $10.8 million in the quarter compared with an operating loss of $5.6 million in the same quarter of the prior year.

“Despite these results, we believe that a successful turnaround of the business is possible when we refresh the product offering and establish systems to introduce successful new AEG products thereafter at regular intervals. We expect sales to rebound and the targeted range of profitability to be restored within the next two years,” stated Kannappan.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. The September quarter tends to be characterized by a slowdown in incoming purchase orders during July which intensifies in August, but historically picks up strongly after Labor Day. This pattern tends to be particularly true in our highest margin office and contact center business. This trend has begun to manifest itself in the current quarter, and we need the historical pick up in September to recur to achieve the revenue levels we are forecasting. Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, and there can be no assurance that the incoming orders we expect to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize.

We are currently expecting revenues for AEG to increase sequentially and for the operating losses to be somewhat lower than the first quarter, but higher than Q2 last year. Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2008:

Net revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $206 - $212 million;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be approximately 24%;
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.05 - $0.06;
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $0.30 - $0.35; and
GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0.25 to $0.29.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its second quarter fiscal year 2008 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the second quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, July 24 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #2594540 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Plantronics excludes stock-based compensation related to stock options and employee stock purchases from: non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP effective tax rate. Plantronics excludes these expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because they are non-cash expenses that Plantronics does not believe are reflective of ongoing operating results. The Company believes that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding its performance and liquidity. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing the Company’s performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods.

SAFE HARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include our belief that a successful turnaround of our AEG business can be achieved with a refreshed product offering within the next 18 months, including a rebound in sales with a goal of approaching the range of AEG’s target operating model within the next two years, and our estimates of net revenues, margins, operating expenses, tax rate and earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2008. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are based on current information and management judgment.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict;
The ability to achieve the turnaround of AEG is uncertain because:
- it is dependent upon our ability to more effectively research and implement features in our AEG products that consumers want and are willing to purchase;
- we must be able to meet the market windows for these products;
- we must be able to retain or obtain the shelf space for these products in our sales channel; and
- we must retain or improve the brand recognition associated with the Altec Lansing brand during the turnaround;
- Failure to achieve any of these objectives may adversely affect our financial results;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Product mix is difficult to estimate and standard margin varies considerably by product;
Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss”. While we believe these suits are without merit, the costs to defend against them could be high and the results of litigation are not predictable in any event;
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used;
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

admin — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:06:05 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA – July 24, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on September 10, 2007 to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 10, 2007.

“We generated approximately $13 million in cash flows from operations in the first quarter of fiscal 2008 compared with $4.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Our Board of Directors is pleased to continue to return a portion of our cash flow to stockholders directly in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation^® is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2007 Results

admin — Tue, 01 May 2007 21:26:04 +0000

Strong Quarterly Cash Flow from Operations, Office Wireless Grew 28% compared with Q4 FY06

SANTA CRUZ, CA – May 1, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced fourth quarter net revenues of $194.7 million compared with $206.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Revenues were at the midpoint of previously provided guidance of $190 to $200 million. Plantronics’ GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.21 for the fourth quarter compared with $0.43 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $0.28 and exceeded the range of guidance the Company provided on January 22, 2007 which was $0.22 to $0.27. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share is primarily the cost of equity-based compensation.

Net revenues for the fiscal year ended March 2007 were $800.2 million, an increase of 7% compared with $750.4 million for the fiscal year ended March 2006. GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.04 for the fiscal year ended March 2007 compared with $1.66 in the prior fiscal year. Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share were $1.26 for the fiscal year ended March 2007 compared with $1.66 in the prior fiscal year.

“We are entering fiscal 2008 in a stronger strategic position than we entered fiscal 2007. We have a rich product portfolio slated to launch this year. Our marketing programs appear to be working as evidenced by the resumed growth in our office wireless products which grew 28% compared to Q4 last year. Additionally, our Bluetooth products for mobile are being well received given our growth of over 60% in fiscal 2007 compared to the prior fiscal year,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO of Plantronics.

“We are also well positioned for the convergence of voice and music. Altec is not performing well financially which is primarily the result of a current product portfolio that isn’t sufficiently competitive. However, we are confident in our ability to improve the Altec portfolio and ultimately be very competitive.”

Audio Communications Group (ACG) Non-GAAP Results

(Office & Contact Center, Mobile, Computer, Clarity)

Fourth quarter net revenues of $173.2 million were up 2.5% compared with $169 million in the year ago quarter. Revenue growth compared to the year ago quarter was driven by demand for wireless headsets, both for office applications and for mobile Bluetooth devices. Our OCC corded business was essentially flat compared to the fourth quarter a year ago. This growth was partially offset by declines in sales of corded mobile, computer and Clarity products.

Office wireless products were up 28% compared to the fourth quarter a year ago and 16% sequentially. After several quarters of relatively flat sequential results, growth resumed in Q3 and continued in Q4, bringing the fiscal year growth in this important category to 36% compared to fiscal 2006.

Gross margin in Q4 FY07 was 45.1% compared with 43.1% in the year ago quarter. Among the factors driving gross margin higher from Q4 FY06 were the positive impact of cost reduction on our Bluetooth mobile and office wireless products, and our improved product portfolio in Bluetooth mobile. Operating margin in Q4 FY07 was 14.5% compared with 14.3% in the year ago quarter due to the higher gross margin. The increase in gross margin was partially offset by higher sales and marketing expenses.

Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) Non-GAAP Results

(Altec Lansing)

Fourth quarter net revenues of $21.5 million were down 43% from $37.8 million in the year ago quarter. Our product portfolio has not been sufficiently competitive which has resulted in lost market share and profitability. This is the key factor affecting revenue as well as gross margin. While some new products, such as the iM600, have begun shipping and are being well received, the portfolio as a whole needs to be substantially refreshed. The portable product line has faced the most severe competition and declined the most, while the powered line has held up reasonably well from a revenue standpoint.

Gross margin in Q4 FY07 was -5.4% compared with 32.6% in the year ago quarter. Cost reductions over the year have been very limited while net realizable prices for AEG products have continued to decline. These factors account for approximately 24 points of the decline in gross margin. With lower volumes, fixed costs are a higher percent of revenue and account for approximately 8 points of the decline. Provision for excess and obsolete inventory, while not substantially higher than in the fourth quarter a year ago in dollars, amounted to 3 points of the decline given the lower revenue base on which it was recorded. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, we also classified within Cost of Goods sold certain expenses that were classified as G&A expenses in the year ago quarter to conform to the ACG presentation. While the dollar cost of these G&A expenses was approximately $400k, it resulted in 2 points of decline compared to the year ago quarter.

Non-GAAP operating loss was $10.5 million in the quarter compared to operating income of $1.7 million in the same quarter of the prior year. The non-GAAP measure excludes the impact of stock option expense of $0.3 million.

Sequentially, net revenues declined from $38.9 million to $21.5 million, which was larger than the seasonal impact previously expected. The lower volume contributed to the decline in gross margin. For example, fixed costs were flat sequentially but as a percent of revenue were up approximately 8 points sequentially. The reclassification of certain G&A expenses mentioned above contributed to a 2 point sequential decline. Product mix was less favorable and net realized prices slipped further, more than offsetting the benefit of no maker’s claims in Q4. The above factors were the primary reasons for the sequential decline in non-GAAP gross margin.

We have a multi-year plan to refresh and expand our Altec Lansing branded products, expand distribution and implement operational improvements to increase revenue and return to profitability.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2008:

Net revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $205 - $210 million;
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be in the range of 24-25%;
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.06;
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 to be in the range of $0.26 - $0.29; and
GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0.20 to $0.23.

Longer-term Business Model

During fiscal 2007, the Company achieved a non-GAAP operating margin of 9.1% compared with an operating margin target range of 15-20%. The target non-GAAP operating margin range for ACG is 18-20% and for AEG is 5-10%. In FY08, we expect to improve operating margin in ACG above the 14.6% achieved in FY07 but not reach the target range. In AEG, for the first half of fiscal 2008, we expect to incur losses of similar magnitude to that of the fourth quarter just ended, with smaller losses in the second half of fiscal 2008. While we continue to believe that the right long-term target model is 5-10% for consumer audio businesses such as AEG, we do not expect to be within that range for FY09. We are aiming to achieve that range for the second half of FY09 on the anticipated strength of products planned for that selling window. By FY10, we currently believe we can get within the target range for the fiscal year taken as a whole.

The key drivers for the Company to achieve the longer-term business model include volume growth particularly as it relates to AEG, improved product margins, higher utilization of our manufacturing facilities, lower transformation costs, effective supply chain re-engineering and the utilization of common product platforms.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its first quarter fiscal year 2008 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the first quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, May 1 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #6178075 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

We are reporting GAAP versus non-GAAP for equity-based compensation expense for the fourth quarter and year-to-date, and to isolate the earnings per share impact of an impairment charge relating to certain acquired intangible assets (Q4 FY07) and a non-recurring real estate transaction (completed in Q1 FY07) in fourth quarter and year-to-date results. In the fourth quarter, the difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share is the after-tax cost of equity-based compensation which was approximately $2.8 million or $0.06 per share and an impairment charge of approximately $500,000 after-tax or $0.01 per share relating to certain intangible assets recorded in connection with the acquisition of Octiv in fiscal 2006.

We believe this is appropriate to enhance an overall understanding of our comparative financial performance and our prospects for the future.

We also believe that our estimates of expense and the earnings per share impact from equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which we had not faced prior to the first fiscal quarter of 2007, including our estimates of the forfeiture rate, the impact on diluted shares outstanding pursuant to the Treasury Stock method, and the tax rate which will apply to the pre-tax expense. Therefore, we are also estimating earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis.

SAFE HARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results. We have completed our preliminary review of the intangible assets and goodwill remaining on our books from the Altec Lansing acquisition, and based on that preliminary review, do not believe these balances are impaired. However, if our assessment of our prospects for FY08, the recovery plan and the long-term business model were to change in a negative direction, we may need to recognize an impairment loss;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss”. While we believe these suits are without merit, the costs to defend against them could be high and the results of litigation are not predictable in any event;
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used;
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed June 5, 2006, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.05 per Share

admin — Tue, 01 May 2007 18:37:24 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA – May 1, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on June 8, 2007 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 18, 2007.

“We generated approximately $45 million in cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, which represents a quarterly record. For the entire fiscal year, we generated approximately $73 million in cash flow from operations,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Reports Q3 Fiscal Year 2007 Financial Results

admin — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:10:29 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA – January 22, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced third quarter revenues of $215.4 million, down from $222.5 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2006. Revenues from our Audio Communications Group (ACG) segment grew $15 million or approximately 9%, but were more than offset by a $22 million decline in our Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) segment compared to last year’s record December quarter. GAAP EPS was $0.32 compared to $0.52 in the third quarter of fiscal 2006 and non-GAAP EPS in the quarter just ended was $0.38. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share is the after-tax cost of equity-based compensation which was approximately $2.9 million or $0.06 per share.

Ken Kannappan, CEO and President, noted, “Revenues were slightly above the high end of our guidance range of $205 to $215 million while GAAP and non-GAAP EPS were above the ranges we estimated. Our range for GAAP EPS was $0.19 to $0.25 and non-GAAP EPS was $0.25 to $0.30. ACG performed more strongly than we anticipated while AEG underperformed, leading to consolidated operating results being slightly above our internal targets for the quarter. A lower tax rate due to Congress re-enacting the R&D tax credit and foreign exchange gains in other income were the key reasons EPS was well above the high end of our range despite revenues being just above the high end of our range.”

Significant accomplishments during the quarter include:

resumed growth in our wireless office headset products, with revenues up 11% sequentially and 28% year over year,
excellent customer response to our Bluetooth line of headsets for mobile phones, with revenues up approximately 40% sequentially and 60% year over year, and
lower transformation costs in our ACG segment helping stabilize gross margin sequentially in a quarter where it usually declines. (Transformation costs are the costs required to transform raw material into finished product. We have previously discussed our goal to reduce transformation costs.)

After a strong December quarter, we started the New Year with our best CES show ever, with outstanding feedback for our products, our roadmaps, our ability to partner with channels and our categories. We were honored with 6 CES Design Innovation Awards and our Discovery 665 won Best of Show from the Bluetooth SIG. We and our channel partners are excited about the long-term growth opportunities we are pursuing,” Kannappan concluded.

ACG Segment

Third quarter revenues of $176.5 million for the Audio Communications Group (ACG) were up approximately 9% in comparison to $161.5 million in the year ago quarter. Wireless headsets led the revenue growth, partially offset by declines in our other product lines.

Sequentially, third quarter revenues were up 8% or $13.5 million with growth coming from all product lines. The largest growth driver was demand for mobile headsets, particularly our Bluetooth line, with total mobile revenues up nearly $10 million. Our Office and Contact Center (OCC) revenue was up $2.5 million with the increase in wireless office products partially offset by a decline in professional grade corded headsets. Computer and Gaming product revenues were up 8% and Clarity was also up approximately 8%.

“The resumption of growth in wireless office revenues after three quarters of relatively flat sequential performance was encouraging though growth was strongly concentrated in EMEA,” said Kannappan. “We believe the growth in EMEA was primarily attributable to an effective marketing campaign but we also believe the growth may have been somewhat bolstered by distributors increasing their inventory. On the other hand, in the U.S. our retail and contract stationer channels had increased revenues from wireless office products offset by a decline in the U.S. commercial distribution channel. Our U.S. commercial distributors have reported to us total sell-through in excess of their total purchases from us, meaning that they reduced inventories. Thus, in total, we are reasonably comfortable that the sequential growth in wireless, though mixed geographically, represents underlying market growth and the resumption of a long term trend toward wireless in the office,” Kannappan concluded.

Non-GAAP gross margin was down 2.2 points compared to the year ago quarter, and down just .1 point sequentially. This result was better than our internal estimates for the December quarter which has a strong consumer focus, and is usually down sequentially from the September quarter. Headsets for mobile phones, which have lower gross margin than our other product categories, grew to 24.4% of ACG revenue compared to 18.6% in the year ago quarter. Primarily as a result of product mix, standard margin was down approximately 4 points. However, as a result of our focus on reducing transformation costs, manufacturing efficiency was much improved contributing approximately 3 points to gross margin compared to the year ago quarter. Finally, also compared to the year ago quarter, we had a higher provision required for inventory obsolescence (.7 pts).

Sequentially, lower requirements for inventory provisions and improved factory efficiency mostly offset the impact of less favorable product mix and higher freight costs. We also continued to make progress toward Bluetooth profitability, with gross margin on our Bluetooth headset products improving again.

As indicated in our October 24 guidance, we increased operating expenses in ACG, primarily in sales and marketing to fund current quarter campaigns and with the goal of driving continued growth in wireless office in the future.

As a result, non-GAAP operating income was $26.9 million or 15.2% of revenue compared to 16.2% in the year ago quarter, and 15% in the second quarter.

AEG Segment

Third quarter revenues of $38.9 million for AEG were down approximately $22 million from a record $61 million in the year-ago December quarter. Compared to the year ago quarter, portable product revenues were down 46% and powered product revenues were down approximately 13%. Increased competition and the cumulative reduction of market share in the MP3 accessories market drove the decrease in the portable category.

Sequentially, AEG revenues were up $7 million, or 22%, compared to $31.9 million in the September quarter. Growth was driven by the portable line, which was up 34% with powered up approximately 11%. December is traditionally the strongest quarter of the entire year for the AEG business which has a heavy consumer, and therefore seasonal pattern to its sales.

Although sales in the December quarter were within the range we had estimated for guidance purposes, they were less than the stretch target AEG was striving to achieve. That, coupled with a reduced outlook relative to earlier estimates for certain products on a go-forward basis, led AEG to cancel purchase orders on its suppliers. As a result of these requested cancellations, AEG faces claims for material the suppliers cannot cancel or resell and thus recorded approximately $3 million of related charges and $0.7 million in provisions for on-hand inventory.

The combination of low revenues and significant charges for claims related to cancelled purchase orders with its suppliers led to non-GAAP gross margin declining sharply sequentially from 18.5% to 10.5%. In the year ago quarter, AEG was operating solidly in its operating target model of 30-35%, with a gross margin of 31.3%.

Despite the continued sub-par financial performance of AEG, their channel relationships remain solid, the Altec Lansing brand remains strong and a much-needed product refresh cycle is underway. The efforts of our integrated sales team approach are bearing fruit with the T515 Bluetooth speaker and headset system for MP3 enabled cell phones placement at Cingular and six Altec Lansing products available at Office Depot since November. A strong focus on product development should result in improved financial results by the December quarter next year with a goal of significant progress toward the target operating model in the following year.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

Inventory decreased by $5.2 million from the September quarter with ACG inventory declining $1.3 million and AEG inventory declining $3.9 million. ACG inventory would have declined further but for growth in EMEA. Inventory turns improved from 3.4 in the September quarter to 4.0 in the December quarter. We currently expect overall inventory to decline further in the March quarter.

“With sales up 11% sequentially and the traditionally slower December collection quarter, accounts receivable grew $13.1 million compared to September but we maintained a 55 DSO on the strength of strong cash collections from our customers. Cash flow from operations was approximately $12 million. We reduced our line of credit by $4 million, paid $2.4 million in dividends and our total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments increased to $68.7 million from $60.1 million at the end of the September quarter,” said Barbara Scherer, SVP & CFO.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. In addition, the incoming order rate tends to be low during the last two weeks of December and during the first half of January in the ACG business and then rise significantly into February and March. This historical pattern has recurred thus far this quarter and we therefore must realize an increased incoming order flow for the balance of the quarter in order to achieve the revenue range we are projecting. There can be no assurance that the incoming orders we expect to receive over the balance of the quarter will materialize.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for Q4:

Revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $190 - $200 million with seasonal declines for both AEG and the consumer products within ACG
Increased operating expenses primarily to prepare for spring product launches
A foreign exchange loss in other income compared to the unusually large $1 million gain we had in Q3, resulting in a $1.3 million unfavorable swing in other income/expense.
Consolidated GAAP tax rate to be in the range of 18 - 21%
- Rate is higher when pre-tax profits are higher
- Rate is heavily dependent on the results of operations of AEG as losses in that group result in a lower consolidated corporate rate (whereas profits in AEG result in a higher consolidated corporate tax rate)
GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0.16 to $0.21
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $0.22 - $0.27

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its fourth quarter fiscal year 2007 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the fourth quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results
Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Monday, January 22 at 2:00 PM (PST). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #2586527 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from the United States and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

We are reporting GAAP versus non-GAAP for equity-based compensation expense for the third quarter and year to date, and to isolate the earnings per share impact of a non-recurring real estate transaction (completed in Q1 FY07) in Year-to-Date results. We believe this is appropriate to enhance an overall understanding of our comparative financial performance and our prospects for the future.

SAFE HARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Product mix is difficult to estimate and standard margin varies considerably by product;
Failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products;
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss”. While we believe these suits are without merit, the costs to defend against them could be high and the results of litigation are not predictable in any event;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results, and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed June 5, 2006, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

admin — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:06:49 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA – January 22, 2007 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on March 9, 2007 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 9, 2007.

“We are pleased to announce our Eleventh consecutive dividend payment to our stockholders,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Reports Q2 Fiscal Year 2007 Financial Results

admin — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 23:04:35 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. – October 24, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced second quarter revenues of $194.9 million, an increase of 13% from $172.2 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2006. Of the nearly $23 million in revenue growth, approximately $13 million was organic from communications headsets and $10 million was derived from Altec Lansing products. GAAP EPS was $0.26 compared to $0.28 in the second quarter of fiscal 2006 and non-GAAP EPS was $0.32. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share is the after-tax cost of equity-based compensation which was approximately $2.7 million or $0.06 per share.

Ken Kannappan, CEO and President, noted, “Revenues were in the middle of the $190 - $200 million range we estimated on July 25, 2006 while GAAP and non-GAAP EPS were above the ranges we estimated. Our July 25^th estimated range for GAAP EPS was $0.17 to $0.21 and non-GAAP EPS was $0.22 to $0.27. A stronger product mix and lower expenses were the key reasons EPS was above the high-end of our range despite revenues being in the middle of the range.”

“Significant accomplishments during the quarter include:

positive retail acceptance of Plantronics new family of mobile Bluetooth and gaming headsets,
first Bluetooth headsets made in our China facility, and
new development relationships with Microsoft and IBM that reinforce Plantronics vision for next generation unified communications,” Kannappan concluded.

ACG Segment

Second quarter revenues of $163 million for the Audio Communications Group (ACG) were up approximately 8% in comparison to $150.3 million in the year ago quarter. Office and Contact Center (OCC) and mobile headsets led the revenue growth, partially offset by declines in Computer, Gaming and Clarity product revenues. Within OCC, revenues from wireless office solutions increased over 35% compared to the year ago quarter while corded products were down slightly. Within mobile, Bluetooth products increased over 80% compared to the year ago quarter while corded products were down nearly 50%.

Sequentially, second quarter revenues were roughly flat with growth in OCC corded and Computer and Gaming products offset by a small decline in office wireless systems, a 7% decline in mobile product revenues, and a 1% decline in Clarity product revenues. The growth in professional grade corded headsets was a positive development in the second quarter after quarterly declines in the March and June quarters. The growth was broad-based geographically.

“While encouraging, we continue to believe that the overall trend for corded headsets over the next several years is flat to down slightly on an annual basis,” said Kannappan. “We believe such a trend is likely to continue as office professionals migrate to wireless headsets for their needs. Although there was a slight sequential decline in office wireless systems, bookings for this product category picked up strongly in the month of September and have continued at a good pace into October.”

Non-GAAP gross margin was down 1.2 points compared to the year ago quarter, but was up 1 point sequentially. Compared to the second quarter a year ago, product mix was unfavorable, but manufacturing efficiency within Plamex was much improved. On balance, the combination of these two factors accounted for an increase of 1.2 points. Offsetting that gain were higher provisions and other costs related to inventory compared to a year ago (1.4 pts), the cost of our China facility (.6 pts), and higher warranty costs (.4 pts).

Sequentially, the higher margin product mix and improved factory efficiency, both in Plamex and China, helped increase non-GAAP gross margin.

Given the weaker environment which we began to see in Q1, we reduced expenses and put in place additional cost control programs. Our actions resulted in non-GAAP operating expenses being reduced to levels slightly below the year ago quarter as well as down sequentially. We are encouraged by the results of our programs thus far and intend to continue our focus in this area, while balancing cost control with the need for investments in marketing and R&D.

As a result, non-GAAP operating income was $24.5 million or 15% of revenue compared to 13.6% in the year ago quarter, and 13.7% in the first quarter.

AEG Segment

Second quarter revenues of approximately $31.9 million for the Audio Entertainment Group were up slightly from $31.3 million in the June quarter. We believe the audio accessories market that Altec competes in grew a bit more than this in the September quarter, though data for the month of September is not fully available to us yet. However, we believe Altec lost some market share in the quarter in the portable segment but gained some share in the powered segment primarily attributable to new product introductions for the European market.

With sales continuing to be slow and many key product transitions now completed, a $1.5 million provision for potential excess and obsolete inventory was taken. The major item contributing to this was a product Altec had designed to work with a satellite radio product which was delayed, possibly indefinitely, by the FCC. The combination of low revenues and a significant charge for inventory reserves led to non-GAAP gross margin declining sequentially from 18.9% in the first quarter to 18.5% in the second quarter.

The efforts of our integrated sales team approach are beginning to bear fruit. For example, six of Altec’s products will be available at Office Depot starting in November.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

“As anticipated, our inventories increased but we were able to bring ACG inventories down somewhat, limiting the inventory growth to AEG products. Accounts receivable declined $3.1 million sequentially with DSO improving from 56 days to 55 days. Cash flow from operations was $11 million despite a $10.7 million reduction in accounts payable. We reduced our line of credit by $3 million, paid $2.4 million in dividends and increased our total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments by $1.6 million compared to the June quarter,” said Barbara Scherer, SVP & CFO.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues. In addition, the incoming order rate tends to be high during the first part of the quarter and then fall significantly after as we approach the holidays and calendar year-end. While we attempt to take these historical trends into account when forecasting revenues, there can be no assurance that the decline won’t be steeper than we’ve estimated and/or that the incoming orders we expect to receive in the first eight weeks of the quarter will materialize either.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for Q3 FY07:

Revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $205 - $215 million
Operating margins to improve sequentially in the AEG segment, but that the segment is still likely to run a GAAP operating loss in the third quarter given overall expected volumes and competition
Operating expenses to increase sequentially in ACG
Consolidated GAAP tax rate to be in the range of 25 - 27%
- Rate is higher when pre-tax profits are higher
- Rate is heavily dependent on the results of operations of AEG as losses in that group result in a lower consolidated corporate rate (whereas profits in AEG result in a higher consolidated corporate tax rate)
GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0.19 to $0.25
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $0.25 - $0.30

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its third quarter fiscal year 2007 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the third quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results
Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, October 24 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #6178394 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from the United States and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

We are reporting GAAP versus non-GAAP for equity-based compensation expense for the second quarter and year-to-date, and to isolate the earnings per share impact of a non-recurring real estate transaction (completed in Q1 FY07) in year-to-date results. We believe this is appropriate to enhance an overall understanding of our comparative financial performance and our prospects for the future.

SAFEHARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Product mix is difficult to estimate and standard margin varies considerably by product;
We have significant intangible assets and goodwill recorded on our balance sheet. If the carrying value of our intangible assets and goodwill is not recoverable, an impairment loss must be recognized which would adversely affect our financial results.
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products within our core contact center market and/or in the newer office, mobile, computer and residential markets;
Class action lawsuits are being brought against us and other Bluetooth headset manufacturers claiming “noise induced hearing loss”. While we believe these suits are without merit, the costs to defend against them could be high and the results of litigation are not predictable in any event;
The entry of new competitors which could be spurred by changes in the regulatory environment, particularly laws requiring the use of hands-free devices by drivers when using cellular telephones;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, failure to match production to demand, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, further terrorist acts, our nation’s response to terrorist attacks and the effects of these activities on capital and consumer spending, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on June 5, 2006, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

admin — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:53:30 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA – October 24, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on December 11, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 10, 2006.

“We are pleased to announce our tenth consecutive dividend payment to our shareholders,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

admin — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:34:42 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - July 25, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on September 8, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 10, 2006.

“We are pleased to announce our ninth consecutive dividend payment to our shareholders,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Reports Q1 Fiscal Year 2007 Financial Results

admin — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:31:48 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. – July 25, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced first quarter revenues of $195.1 million, an increase of 31% from $148.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2006. Of the $46 million in revenue growth, $31.3 million was derived from Altec Lansing products whose revenues are included in our Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) segment. GAAP EPS, which now includes the cost of equity-based compensation, was $0.25. Non-GAAP EPS was $0.28 in comparison to $0.44 in the year ago quarter.

The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share includes the after-tax cost of equity-based compensation which was approximately $3 million or $0.06 per share and a gain on sale of land we had owned in Maryland which added $0.03 to earnings per share. Since the sale of this property was uncertain, we did not include the expected gain in our May 2, 2006 earnings guidance. Thus, revenues and non-GAAP earnings per share were at the low end of the range we provided on May 2, 2006 at which time we estimated revenues of $195 - $205 million and non-GAAP EPS of $0.28 to $0.33 for the first quarter.

Ken Kannappan, President and CEO, noted, “We remain confident in our long-term market opportunities, though near-term conditions have weakened. We believe the weaker demand is primarily the result of macro-economic factors contributing to a slowdown in the markets we serve. In light of the current environment, we reduced the level of marketing expenditures otherwise planned for our first quarter. We believe these weak demand trends are likely to continue and we are focusing on improving effectiveness and reducing cost broadly.”

ACG Segment

First quarter revenues of $163.7 million were up 10% in comparison to the year ago quarter. Revenue growth was driven by headsets for mobile phones, up $8.9 million or 33% due to the success of our Plantronics-branded Bluetooth headsets. Almost equal in terms of dollar contribution to revenue growth was our Office and Contact Center (OCC) business, up $8.8 million or 8% versus the year ago quarter. Within OCC, revenues from wireless office headsets were up 53% while revenue from professional grade corded headsets were down 10% compared to a year ago. Computer, gaming and Clarity product revenues were all down versus a year ago.

Sequentially, first quarter revenues declined 3% as a result of a further decline in professional grade corded headsets and a 1% decline in revenues of office wireless headsets. Finally, mobile revenues were flat sequentially, with slight growth in Bluetooth headsets offset by a decline in corded products, and Clarity revenues were up 9%.

Non-GAAP gross margin was down 5.8 points compared to the year ago but was up 0.2 points sequentially. The decline in professional grade corded products was the most significant factor reducing gross margin compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2006. Other significant factors compared to the year ago first quarter were higher provisions for excess and obsolete inventory and freight costs. With inventories increasing and market conditions fluctuating rapidly, we continue to face challenges in these areas. There were other items that were slightly negative versus a year ago but those factors were more than offset by excellent component cost reductions particularly for Bluetooth products where margins improved compared to a year ago.

Non-GAAP gross margin improved slightly sequentially despite a less favorable overall product mix and higher warranty costs as a percent of revenue. Component cost reductions and better factory utilization offset the impact of mix and warranty cost.

Given the weaker environment which has been developing, we reduced the level of marketing expenditures we had planned for the first quarter and re-evaluated elements of the marketing campaign planned for the balance of the year. Based on our review, we re-allocated certain funds to shorter-cycle marketing programs that should yield a better return on investment in the near-term. We are continuing to evaluate the extent and types of marketing programs we will undertake for the balance of the year. In addition to the review of marketing programs, we initiated a broad cost reduction program.

AEG Segment

First quarter revenues of approximately $31.3 million were down 17% from $37.8 million in the March quarter. Based on Altec Lansing’s historical seasonality, we expected a revenue decline in the range of 5-10%. The actual 17% sequential revenue decrease was driven by weaker U.S. retail market conditions for iPod-related accessories. Significant promotional allowances were required to obtain sell-through and maintain placement. The slower growth in MP3 shipments than the industry had anticipated resulted in too many products competing for the same shelf space and consumer share of wallet. We believe these factors have not yet abated and that market conditions are likely to remain tough through the summer, and potentially into the fall.

Promotional allowances reduce revenue and gross margin, and were the primary reason that the AEG segment realized a non-GAAP gross margin of 18.9%, well below our long-term target model range of 30-35% and down sequentially from 32.6%. As a result of lower revenues and a low gross margin, AEG had a non-GAAP operating loss of $5.6 million in the quarter.

During the June quarter, AEG completed development of four new products which will begin shipping in the September quarter and which have the potential to contribute meaningfully to AEG’s revenue over the next twelve months. The most prominent is the inMotion im500 released last week, an ultra-thin portable speaker system designed specifically for the iPod nano in both form and function.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

“As anticipated, our inventories increased substantially and in fact, increased somewhat more than anticipated given that AEG’s inventories also increased. Primarily as a result of inventory growth, our cash flow from operations was $4.5 million,” noted Barbara Scherer, SVP & CFO. “We paid our line of credit down by $9 million during the quarter and our total cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments decreased by $18.2 million in comparison to the March quarter.”

During the quarter, the Company repurchased the 175,000 shares that remained authorized for repurchase under our 17^th repurchase program. The total cost of the shares repurchased was approximately $4 million at a weighted average purchase price of $22.95. Over the last five fiscal years, we repurchased approximately 9.5 million shares for a total of $218 million. Our philosophy is to return cash flow and cash balances in excess of business requirements to stockholders in the form of share repurchases when expected to be strongly accretive and through regular quarterly dividend payments. Our level of cash and cash flow is not currently providing excess with which to make share repurchases and we believe it is not prudent to add financial risk to business risk, especially during a period in which market and industry conditions appear broadly weaker and visibility is more limited than ever. Thus, we do not plan to borrow or otherwise leverage the Company to repurchase stock. As we reduce inventory and improve inventory turns, and our overall cash and cash flow position improves, we will of course revisit the desirability of another share repurchase program. We remain committed to using excess cash and cash flow to drive stockholder value over the long term.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

Based on all of the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for Q2 FY07:

Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $190 - $200 million
- $160 - $165 million for ACG
- $30 - $35 million for AEG
Gross and operating margins to improve sequentially in the AEG segment, but that the segment is still likely to run a loss in the second quarter given that gross margin is unlikely to return to our target model given what we anticipate will continue to be an aggressive promotional environment.
Operating expenses, primarily for marketing, to increase sequentially in ACG
A small FX loss compared to an $800k FX gain in Q1
Consolidated GAAP tax rate to be in the range of 20 - 25%
- Rate is higher when pre-tax profits are higher
- Rate is heavily dependent on the results of operations of AEG as losses in that group result in a lower consolidated corporate rate (whereas profits in AEG result in a higher consolidated corporate tax rate)
GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0.16 to $0.21
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $0.22 - $0.27

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its second quarter fiscal year 2007 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the second quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results
Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, July 25 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #6178327 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from the United States and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

We are reporting GAAP versus non-GAAP for equity based compensation expense and to isolate the earnings per share impact of the real estate transaction. We believe this is appropriate to enhance an overall understanding of our comparative financial performance and our prospects for the future.

We also believe that our estimates of expense and the earnings per share impact from equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which we had not faced prior to the first fiscal quarter of 2007, including our estimates of the forfeiture rate, estimating the impact on diluted shares outstanding pursuant to the Treasury Stock method, and the tax rate which will apply to the pre-tax expense. Therefore, we are also estimating earnings per share for the second quarter on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis.

SAFEHARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include our estimates of revenues and earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2007. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are based on current information and management judgment.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products within our core contact center market and/or in the newer office, mobile, computer and residential markets;
The entry of new competitors which could be spurred by changes in the regulatory environment, particularly laws requiring the use of hands-free devices by drivers when using cellular telephones;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, failure to match production to demand, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, further terrorist acts, our nation’s response to terrorist attacks and the effects of these activities on capital and consumer spending, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Reports Q4 and Fiscal Year 2006 Financial Results

admin — Tue, 02 May 2006 23:45:09 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. – May 2, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced record revenues of $750 million for fiscal year 2006, an increase of 34% from $560 million in fiscal 2005. Of the $190 million in revenue growth, $121 million was the result of the acquisition of Altec Lansing whose revenues are included in our Audio Entertainment Group (AEG) segment. For the year as a whole, operating income was $110.4 million compared to $126.6 million in fiscal 2005, and operating margin declined to 14.7% from 22.6% last year. Earnings per share were $1.66 in comparison to $1.92 in fiscal 2005. Non-GAAP earnings per share, which exclude the impact of purchase accounting charges related to the acquisition of Altec Lansing, were $1.79 compared to $1.92 in fiscal 2005.

Fourth quarter net revenues increased 40% to $207 million compared to $148 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, with $38 million of the $59 million in growth derived from Altec Lansing products. Plantronics’ diluted earnings per share were $0.43 for the fourth quarter compared to $0.51 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005. In total, revenues and earnings per share were within the range of guidance we provided on January 24, 2006. At that time, we estimated revenues for the fourth quarter to be within the range of $200 to $210 million and earnings per share to be within the range of $0.39 to $0.44. Operationally, gross and therefore operating margins were lower in our Audio Communications Group (ACG) segment than we planned due to the overall product mix and continued aggressive pricing in the intensely competitive Bluetooth mobile headset market, and higher requirements for excess and obsolete inventory.

As a result of the R&D that we are conducting in Mexico at our Plamex Design Center and tax incentives under the Maquiladora program that we qualified for, we had a lower effective tax rate in the quarter than we had anticipated. The effective rate of 24.5% for the quarter brought our full year rate to 27.9%. The lower tax rate in the quarter benefited EPS by approximately $0.02. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 also benefited from a lower effective tax rate than had prevailed during the first three quarters of fiscal 2005.

Non-GAAP earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, which exclude the impact of purchase accounting charges related to the acquisition of Altec Lansing, were $0.45 in comparison to $0.51 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005.

Ken Kannappan, President and CEO of Plantronics, noted, “Our market opportunities are favorable and demand for our brands remains excellent. For the year as a whole, our ACG segment grew 12.5% to $630 million on the strength of our wireless headset offerings both for the office and for Bluetooth mobile applications. Wireless office headset system net revenues exceeded $150 million in fiscal 2006, up from $72 million in fiscal 2005. This achievement was capped by the milestone of shipping our one millionth CS50 unit in the fourth quarter, a product that has been on the market only a little over two years.”

Bluetooth net revenues were up significantly for the fiscal year as a result of substantially strengthening our position in the Bluetooth mobile market with an award winning set of new products. For example, net revenues reached $28.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006, up 144% from $11.7 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005.

The strong growth in wireless office and consumer Bluetooth in fiscal 2006 was partially offset by a nearly 50% decline in sales of corded mobile headsets and flat sales of professional grade corded headsets for office and contact center applications. Growth in PC headsets was also strong, driven by the increasing use of VoIP by consumers whereas headsets for gaming consoles declined after an unusually strong showing in fiscal 2005. Altec Lansing, reported in our Audio Entertainment Group segment, contributed more than $120 million in net revenues, more than $10 million in GAAP operating income and more than $20 million in non-GAAP operating income during the roughly eight month period in fiscal 2006 since the acquisition closed.

“These categories are burgeoning because wireless communication and entertainment devices provide real value to people – the ability to multi-task, the ability to move about freely, the ability to enjoy high quality audio for music wherever you happen to be, and the fundamental ability to stay connected yet be free,” said Kannappan. “Lifestyle and workplace needs are changing, and mobility and convergence are two central causes of that change. The opportunities these changes provide are abundant and we’ve taken many steps to position ourselves to capitalize on those opportunities.”

Significant investments in fiscal 2006 included:

the $165 million acquisition of Altec Lansing for long-term positioning in the convergence of audio and entertainment;
approximately $11 million national integrated marketing campaign targeted at office wireless, the Company’s best long-term value creation opportunity;
construction of our China factory and design center with a building capital cost of $18 million and total overall project capital cost of $23 million, for lower cost, especially for consumer products;
$8 million for the acquisition of Octiv, now operating under the name VolumeLogic, to further strengthen our expertise in acoustics, DSP and sound excellence broadly; and
approximately $2 million in incremental R&D and other costs to make our European Union products RoHS compliant by the upcoming July 1, 2006 deadline.

These investments combined with mix and the volatile nature of competitive markets strained Company resources and led to challenges in execution which manifested themselves in the form of lower overall profits in fiscal 2006 than fiscal 2005. However, the Company was solidly profitable earning $81 million in net income and generating $78 million in operating cash flow.

“Profit performance was certainly lower than our expectations, yet we feel we made significant strategic progress over the course of the year and are better positioned for the future. These investments are not entirely behind us, and in fact we intend to increase marketing expenditures for the wireless office segment in fiscal 2007 to a total of approximately $19 million. That said, we plan to resume executing to a profitable growth strategy in FY07,” Kannappan concluded.

ACG Segment

Fourth quarter net revenues of $169 million were up 14% in comparison to the year ago quarter and were up 4.6% sequentially. Revenue growth compared to the year ago quarter was driven by demand for wireless headsets, both for office applications and for mobile Bluetooth devices. This growth was partially offset by declines in sales of our mobile corded, OCC corded, and Clarity products. Gross margin was down 6.9 percentage points which was lower by $1.1 million compared to the year ago quarter. The key drivers behind the decline in gross margin were:

Product mix and continued pricing pressure, especially on Bluetooth consumer headsets (~4 percentage points),
Higher provisions for E&O (1.3 percentage points),
Manufacturing variances in Plamex (0.8 percentage points), and
Manufacturing overhead in our China facility which is not fully utilized as production is in the early stages of ramping up (0.7 percentage points).

During the quarter, ACG completed development and launched a number of excellent new products. Reactions have been very positive to the new wireless office headset systems, including the SupraPlus Wireless, CS70, and Voyager 510S with WindSmart, and on the consumer side, the incorporation of DSP technology into the award-winning Discovery 645 headset.

AEG Segment

Fourth quarter net revenues of approximately $38 million were down from $61 million in the seasonally strong December quarter. We anticipated revenues to decline sharply in the March quarter based on Altec Lansing’s historic seasonality and the seasonality of most consumer audio companies. The sequential revenue decrease of $23 million or 38% was driven by declines in sales of the inMotion line of portable speakers for use with iPODs and other MP3 players as well as declines in powered speakers for use with PC’s. We believe our sales were down in line with overall industry sales and that our share position remained relatively stable in comparison to the December quarter. GAAP operating income was $1.7 million or 4.5% of revenues in the quarter compared to non-GAAP operating income of $3.6 million or 9.5% of revenues. The non-GAAP measure excludes the impact of purchase accounting charges of $1.9 million in the quarter.

AEG also developed a number of innovative new products, including the rugged iM9 portable iPOD speakers and the XM3120 speakers for XM-satellite based radio receivers.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Highlights

“Our earnings coupled with reductions in accounts receivable enabled us to generate cash flow from operations of approximately $32 million in the quarter bringing the full year total to $78 million,” noted Barbara Scherer, SVP & CFO of Plantronics. “We paid our line of credit down by $10 million during the quarter and increased our total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities by $18.5 million in comparison to the December quarter.”

Inventory was relatively flat in comparison to the December quarter with turns decreasing from 4.8 to 4.6. Accounts receivable declined by $8.2 million as a result of collections exceeding net revenues during a seasonally slow March quarter for Altec Lansing partially offset by growth in the ACG business and ACG receivables. During the quarter, we repurchased 26,500 shares of our common stock for a total of approximately $0.8 million at a weighted average purchase price of $28.82, and 175,000 shares of our common stock remain authorized for repurchase under the 17^th share repurchase program approved by the Board of Directors. Over the course of the fiscal year, 2,197,500 shares for a total of $70.4 million were repurchased at an average purchase price of $32.03. Stockholders received a total of $9.5 million in dividends during the course of the fiscal year.

“We remain committed to returning cash flows in excess of business requirements to stockholders in the form of share repurchases when they are expected to be strongly accretive and through regular quarterly dividend payments,” concluded Scherer.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. Our business is inherently highly difficult to forecast and the rapid growth of the more variable revenue streams increases the difficulty of projecting our results. Our bookings rate thus far in the quarter does not fully support the revenue forecast we are providing, and we are expecting at least some pick-up from the level of orders we have received to date.

In general, we have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to our customers within 48 hours of our receipt of those orders, and we thus cannot rely on the level of backlog to provide visibility into potential future revenues.

The below estimates for earnings in the first quarter include the ongoing purchase accounting charges from the Altec acquisition and our other ongoing purchase accounting charges from earlier acquisitions. Since these charges are expected to continue for many years, we will not be reporting GAAP versus non-GAAP comparisons related to these charges for future fiscal periods.

Our first quarter guidance includes the estimated impact of expensing stock-based compensation from the adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised), Share-Based Payment, (FAS 123(R)) and will be reflected in our operating results beginning with the first quarter of fiscal 2007, which commenced April 1, 2006. As result, we will begin reporting GAAP versus non-GAAP for stock-based compensation expense. We believe this is appropriate to enhance an overall understanding of our comparative financial performance and our prospects for the future. We also believe that our estimates of expense and the earnings per share impact from equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties which we have not faced before, including estimating the forfeiture rate, estimating the impact on diluted shares outstanding pursuant to the Treasury Stock method, and the tax rate which will apply to the pre-tax expense, among other factors.

Based on all of the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2007:

Net revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $195 - $205 million
- Within this estimate, we expect AEG net revenues to decline sequentially and for ACG net revenues to either decline somewhat or to grow slightly. Altec Lansing’s June quarter has historically been its lowest of the calendar year and we believe it is likely that this pattern will continue.
Non-GAAP consolidated tax rate to be in the range of 25-27%
The EPS cost of equity compensation pursuant to FAS 123(R) to be approximately $0.04 - $0.06
Non-GAAP earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2007 to be in the range of $0.28 - $0.33.
GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0.22 to $0.29

Longer-term Business Model. During fiscal 2006, we did not meet our goal of achieving a 20% operating margin on our ACG business, although we did come within the 15-20% operating margin target for the Company as a whole after excluding $5.5 million in certain non-recurring purchase accounting charges that affected AEG in the second and third quarters of fiscal 2006. Given recent trends in our business and industry, including a flat to down trend on revenues derived from professional grade corded headsets, the rapid growth of the Bluetooth consumer market with continued intense price competition and other factors such as generally shorter product life cycles, we are adjusting our long-term target business model to an operating margin goal of 15-18% for the total Company prior to the impact of option expensing pursuant to FAS123(R), although our execution and overall cost effectiveness must improve markedly from current levels to achieve this range.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its first quarter fiscal year 2007 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the first quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, May 2 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

SAFEHARBOR

Because forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are based on current information and management judgment, actual results could differ materially from those projected.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Demand overall for our products is difficult to forecast;
The mix of demand for each of our products is difficult to predict and unexpected mix makes margins difficult to forecast;
We may have inadequate inventory to meet the demand for particular products or we may acquire too much inventory for certain products. The latter issue increases the risk of future inventory write-downs;
Our operating results are highly dependent on the volume and timing of orders received during the quarter, which are difficult to predict. This is particularly true because we are also often presented with a significant number of transactions for large volumes of product that may materialize or fail to materialize in a particular period;
The foregoing difficulties are exacerbated in periods such as the present when a significant portion of our revenue is derived from new products and the difficulties of forecasting appropriate volumes of production are even more tenuous;
Pricing pressures in the market for our products can make margins difficult to project;
We must incur a large portion of our costs in advance of receiving firm sales orders because we must plan research and production, order components and enter into development, sales and marketing, and other operating commitments prior to obtaining firm commitments from our customers;
If our projections of the volumes of certain products are low, we incur significant expenses such as air freight, expediting and other manufacturing variances as we attempt to make up for the shortfall, which are difficult to forecast;
Fluctuations in currency exchange rates impact our revenues and profitability because we report our financial statements in U.S. dollars whereas a significant portion of our sales to customers and transactions with vendors are transacted in other currencies for which we may not completely hedge our risk New accounting pronouncements are occurring regularly and judgments for upcoming financial categorization may not always be accurately projected;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products due to economic or other factors beyond our control; and
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on May 31, 2005, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Altec Lansing, Clarity, Plantronics, Sound Innovation, and Volume Logic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

admin — Tue, 02 May 2006 23:41:20 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - May 2, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on June 9, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 19, 2006.

“We are pleased to announce our eighth consecutive dividend payment to our shareholders,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Files Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

chithra — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 05:04:15 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. – February 9, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) said that in connection with the preparation of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as of and for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2005, it recorded a reduction to income tax expense that was not reflected in its earnings press release of January 24, 2006. As a result of this change, income tax expense for the nine months ended December 31, 2005 was lower by approximately $3 million and net income was higher by the same amount. Specifically, net income for the nine months ended December 31, 2005 was $60.4 million or $1.24 per diluted share, rather than the $57.4 million and $1.18 per share as previously reported. For the three months ended December 31, 2005, net income was $25 million and $0.52 per share in comparison to $22.0 million and $0.46 per share, as previously reported.

The tax provision for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 includes the benefit from the reversal of $1.7 million of deferred tax liabilities relating to the purchase accounting for the Altec Lansing acquisition, which had not been included in our results in the earnings press release. Also included in the tax provision for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 is the benefit from the reversal of $1.3 million of deferred tax liabilities relating to the purchase accounting for Altec Lansing which should have been recorded in the second quarter of fiscal 2006, the effect of which was to increase third quarter net income by $1.3 million and earnings per share by $0.03 per diluted share.

This change to previously reported tax expense does not affect operating income or cash flow and does not reduce the amount of cash tax expense the Company has paid or expects to pay. As a result, the Company’s effective tax rate on a year to date basis for fiscal 2006 decreased to 29% from 32.6% as previously reported in our earnings press release of January 24, 2006. We now expect the ratio of tax expense to pre-tax income for the Audio Entertainment Group segment to be within a range of 40-44%, absent significant changes to its tax structure. Please refer to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended December 31, 2005 for additional information and complete financial statements.

SAFEHARBOR

This release contains a forward-looking statement within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include our belief that the ratio of tax expense to pre-tax income for the Audio Entertainment Group segment will be within a range of 40-44% going forward. This forward-looking statement involves a number of risks and uncertainties, and is based on current information and management judgment.

Among the factors that could cause the Audio Entertainment Group segment tax rate to differ from this estimate are:

Changes in our tax structure, especially as it relates to the Altec Lansing family of subsidiaries;
Changes in tax rates in jurisdictions in which we do business;
Changes in the deductibility of expenses for tax purposes; and
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions.

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, we’ve become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, VolumeLogic and Sound Innovation are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG Inc., and is used by Plantronics under license. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jon Alvarado
Treasurer and Director, Investor Relations
(831) 458-7533

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

chithra — Wed, 25 Jan 2006 05:05:12 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - January 24, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on March 10, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 10, 2006.

“We are pleased to announce our seventh consecutive dividend payment to our shareholders,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, we’ve become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Reports Record Revenues

chithra — Tue, 24 Jan 2006 19:10:19 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA – January 24, 2006 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today reported third quarter revenues of $222.5 million and earnings per share of $0.46, above the guidance it provided on November 1, 2005. Record revenues of $161.5 million were achieved by the Audio Communications Group (“ACG”) and revenues from the Audio Entertainment Group added $61 million to the total.

Audio Communications Group

ACG’s record revenues of $161.5 million were up approximately 7% from $150.6 million in the year ago quarter. Revenue growth was driven by our wireless office headsets which represented about 25% of total ACG revenues in comparison to approximately 13% a year ago. Demand for our office wireless headsets was up both in North America and also in EMEA. The Voyager 510S contributed to the increase, but the CS50 and CS60 product families also continued to grow and accounted for the majority of the growth, even in comparison to the September quarter.

On the strength of our new Bluetooth consumer headset line, revenues from Bluetooth headsets for cell phone applications were up sharply versus a year ago, though revenues from corded mobile headsets were down resulting in lower overall revenues from mobile headsets in comparison to the third quarter a year ago. Our line of Bluetooth headsets has enjoyed a good reception in the market and the Pulsar 590 and the Explorer 320 were both Best of Innovations award honorees at the International Consumer Electronics show. In addition, the Discovery 640 received the prestigious Industry Forum (iF) Design Award, a competition that critiques more than 2,000 products from 37 countries.

Finally, in comparison to a year ago, gaming and computer product revenues were down in comparison to the all-time high reached in the third quarter of 2005 which had been primarily driven by the exclusive promotion of a gaming headset for use with Halo 2.

Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer, noted, “The benefits of freedom and mobility continue to be validated, both by the growth in wireless office products, and the reception to our Bluetooth line of mobile headsets. Our branding and advertising campaign has increased awareness and consideration of Plantronics and we are cautiously optimistic about the results to date.”

Gross margins for the Audio Communications Group were approximately 46.4%, down from 50.1% a year ago but up from 45.5% in the September quarter and in line with our expectations. Relative to the year ago quarter, the principal reason for the decline was higher manufacturing costs, in part the result of expanding capacity for anticipated future growth and in part the result of yields and unit cost on new products not yet at target levels. Higher warranty costs and larger provisions for excess and obsolete inventory were the other key factors for the decline relative to a year ago, though warranty costs were stable relative to the September quarter and requirements for E&O were lower than the September quarter. Finally, in comparison to the September quarter, progress was made on improving yields and reducing manufacturing costs.

Operating expenses were up $5.5 million versus the year ago quarter with the principal drivers being the $3.3 million spent during the quarter on our national advertising campaign partially offset by reductions in other marketing programs, and expansion of R&D. As a result of higher revenues and improved efficiencies in some areas, our total operating expenses increased by just 1.4 points to 30.4% of revenues despite the substantial increase in branding, advertising and demand generation activities and the $2 million increase in spending for new product development.

Audio Entertainment Group

Driven by strong sales of the inMotion™ portable audio line of products, Altec Lansing achieved record revenues of $61 million. (Revenues of Altec Lansing products account for all the revenues of the Audio Entertainment Group.) In accordance with purchase accounting, we recorded non-cash charges of approximately $4.2 million, including $3.3 million to cost of goods sold, and $0.9 million in S, G&A principally for amortization of intangible assets acquired. Including these non-cash charges associated with purchase accounting, the acquisition was accretive to earnings per share by $0.05 in the quarter.

“The transition to digital media, a key element of our Audio Entertainment strategy, continues to accelerate at a rapid pace. Digital music downloads grew 146% in 2005 vs. 2004. Apple sold 14 million iPods in the 4th quarter, 2-3 million more than the most optimistic forecasts, and demand for speakers for these digital players continues to grow with consumers choosing the Altec Lansing line in record numbers,” said Ken Kannappan.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

Our balance sheet is presented on a consolidated basis, including the assets and liabilities of both our principal business segments. Highlights for the quarter include that we repurchased 798,500 shares of stock for a total of $22.4 million, paid down $9 million on our line of credit and generated $8.5 million in cash flow from operations. Principally as a result of these factors, our cash and short term investments amounted to $58.2 million in comparison to $91.2 million as of September 30, 2005. We had strong cash collections, a full quarter of Altec Lansing revenues, and reduced our days sales outstanding to 51 in comparison to 60 for the September quarter. Inventory performance also improved from 4 turns in the September quarter to 4.8 turns in the December quarter as a result of a full quarter of Altec Lansing and a reduction of Altec Lansing inventory after a seasonally strong quarter for which they had built inventory in September.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current information and expectations. For the fourth quarter, we currently estimate that:

Revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 will be approximately $200 to $210 million in total bringing fiscal year revenues to approximately $744 to $754 million. We expect ACG revenues to increase modestly and AEG revenues to decline sharply. (AEG’s revenues are almost entirely derived from retail channels and the consumer audio business is highly seasonal with the December quarter being the strongest historically.)
Earnings per share for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 will be in a range of $0.39 to $0.44. We expect earnings from ACG to increase but to be offset by decreases within AEG. Included in these estimates is our expectation that we will incur $1.8 million in purchase accounting related charges for amortization of intangible assets acquired, against which no tax benefit is available. Based on our estimated range for the fourth quarter, full year EPS are expected to be in the range of $1.56 to $1.61.

Plantronics does not intend to update these estimates except by its next press release announcing its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2006 results which we plan to release on Tuesday, May 2, 2006. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the final outcome of the fourth quarter and the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, January 24, 2006 at 2:00 PM (PST). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #4413105 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

SAFEHARBOR

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Specific forward-looking statements include our estimates of revenues and earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are based on current information and management judgment.

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
If demand for iPod products decreases, demand for certain of our portable products could be negatively affected;

If Apple does not renew or cancels our licensing agreement, our products may not be compatible with iPods, resulting in loss of revenues and excess inventories which would negatively impact our financial results;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products within our core contact center market and/or in the newer office, mobile, computer and residential markets;

The entry of new competitors which could be spurred by changes in the regulatory environment, particularly laws requiring the use of hands-free devices by drivers when using cellular telephones;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, failure to match production to demand, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, further terrorist acts, our nation’s response to terrorist attacks and the effects of these activities on capital and consumer spending, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on May 31, 2005, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

chithra — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 05:12:37 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - November 1, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on December 9, 2005 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 15, 2005.

“We are pleased to announce our sixth consecutive dividend payment to our shareholders,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics

Plantronics Reports Results for Q-2 Fiscal 2006

chithra — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 05:11:23 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA – November 1, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today reported second quarter revenues of $172.2 million and earnings per share of $0.28, in line with the updated guidance it provided on October 2, 2005. These results are the consolidated results of the company including the revenues and earnings of Altec Lansing from August 18th, the date of its acquisition by Plantronics, to the end of the Company’s second fiscal quarter. With the acquisition of Altec Lansing now completed, we will also report results in two segments as well as consolidated Company performance. We are referring to the Plantronics headset and Clarity product groups as the Audio Communications Group and to the newly acquired business, and some directly related new initiatives that had been underway at Plantronics, as the Audio Entertainment Group.

Audio Communications Group

Revenues for the Audio Communications Group (“ACG”) amounted to $150.3 million, up approximately 15% from $130.2 million in the year ago quarter. Revenue growth was driven by our wireless office headsets which represented about 22% of total ACG revenues in comparison to approximately 10% a year ago. The point of sale data we receive from our U.S. commercial distributors indicated record sell-through for the quarter as a whole, with especially strong trends in the months of August and September, offsetting what had been a slow July. This channel primarily sells our office and contact center products to the enterprise market in the U.S. and we are encouraged by these figures which suggest strong overall end user demand. Revenues from Bluetooth headsets for cell phone applications were also up sharply versus a year ago, but were offset by declines in sales of corded headsets for similar applications.

Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer, noted, “Although it’s too early to measure increases in customer awareness or purchases in the office market as a result of our marketing campaign, we’re extremely encouraged by the response from our channel partners and other stakeholders to date. Separately, demand for Bluetooth headsets continues to be strong. Our new Bluetooth suite of products began shipping toward the end of the quarter. That was later than expected, but the response to the design and sound quality of the products has bolstered our approach to the consumer business and with improved operational efficiencies, positions us well in this area of the business moving forward.”

Gross margins for the Audio Communications Group were approximately 45.5%, down from year ago levels of 53.4%. There were many factors contributing to the decline. We have been increasing capacity to prepare for anticipated future growth. Consequently, one of the largest factors in our gross margin decline was an overall reduction in the efficiency of our manufacturing operations with higher fixed costs than a year ago on lower total production. This statement includes the impact of start-up costs in China, but we have also grown capacity in Mexico. Unit production was lower than a year ago due primarily to the decline in mobile corded headsets. The number of new products that our factory needed to ramp in the quarter was significant and yields have not hit target levels, further contributing to less than optimal manufacturing costs. Requirements for excess and obsolete inventory increased and the cost of our warranty obligations was higher than it was a year ago. Additionally, our mix was somewhat unfavorable with a decline in the percent of total revenue contributed by professional grade corded headsets. Finally, net prices on certain products were down versus a year ago as well and also contributed to the decrease in gross margin.

Operating expenses were up $11.9 million versus the year ago quarter with the principal drivers being the $5 million spent this quarter on our national advertising campaign, expansion of R&D and the $2 million benefit in the year ago quarter in connection with winning a litigation matter. Since the media portion of the ad campaign did not begin until August 29, we believe that any revenue increase from the campaign was very limited in this time period, though we continue to believe that the benefits of the campaign will at least be commensurate with the costs. As a result of the foregoing, operating expenses rose to 32% of ACG revenue from 27.8% in the year-ago quarter and operating margins were 13.6% versus an unusually high 25.6% in the year ago quarter.

Audio Entertainment Group

The revenue contribution from Altec Lansing for the period from close to the end of our second quarter was approximately $21.9 million, driven by strong sales of its portable audio line of products, and accounted for all of the revenues of the Audio Entertainment Group (“AEG”) in the second quarter. In accordance with purchase accounting, we recorded non-cash charges of approximately $4.1 million, including $2.3 million to cost of goods sold, $0.9 million for an in-process R&D write-off, and $0.9 million in S,G&A principally for amortization of intangible assets acquired. Including these non-cash charges associated with purchase accounting, the acquisition reduced earnings per share by $0.05 in the quarter. Excluding these non-cash purchase accounting items, the acquisition was accretive by approximately $1.6 million or approximately $0.03 per share. Management believes the pro forma EPS as it relates to the acquisition is an important measure because by excluding the non-cash purchase accounting items, some of which will be temporary in nature, an investor has better insight into the underlying operational results.

“I’m pleased not only with the financial performance of Altec Lansing since we closed the acquisition, but also grow more impressed with the recognition and reach of the Altec Lansing brand. We are working well as a team on the integration planning and continue to get positive reception from our channel partners on our combination,” said Ken Kannappan.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow

The Company’s balance sheet is presented on a consolidated basis, including the assets and liabilities of both our principal business segments. Of particular note is the increase in intangible assets and goodwill, which are the result of the acquisition of Altec Lansing. For further information on the items which make up these balances, please refer to our report on Form 8-K/A filed on October 18, 2005. We also now have a short term debt balance from our line of credit in the amount of $41.1 million. We used our line of credit to fund a portion of the purchase price for the acquisition given our working capital requirements and balance of offshore cash. Although we did not repurchase any stock during the quarter, after announcing a new program on October 2, 2005, we have purchased 460,000 shares and have 540,000 shares remaining authorized to be purchased.

On a consolidated basis, our days sales outstanding was 60 for the September quarter and we had approximately 4 inventory turns. These figures are not comparable with earlier periods as this is the first period which includes the assets and liabilities associated with the acquisition of Altec Lansing.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current information and expectations. For the third quarter, we currently estimate that:

Revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 will be approximately $195 million to $205 million in total;
Earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2006 will be in a range of $0.29 to $0.34. Included in these estimates is our expectation that we will incur a further $4.1 million in purchase accounting related charges during the quarter, against which no tax benefit is available.

Plantronics does not intend to update these estimates except by its next press release announcing its third quarter fiscal year 2006 results which we plan to release on Tuesday, January 24, 2006. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the final outcome of the third quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

We have been evaluating the potential to repatriate cash from offshore earnings and profits under the American Jobs Creation Act, and also evaluating borrowing offshore within that same context. Our analysis is not complete and we have not reached a decision. If, during the third quarter, we determine that we should repatriate offshore cash, we will be required to record the incremental tax expense associated with such a decision during the quarter even though we would not expect to be able to bring the cash back to the United States until the fourth quarter. The earnings estimates above do not include the impact of additional tax expense that would be due if we reached such a decision. If we proceed, our net income and earnings per share will be lower than the estimates above because of the higher tax expense.

SAFE HARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

Our operating results are difficult to predict;
The market for our products is characterized by rapidly changing technology, short product life cycles, and frequent new product introductions, and we may not be able to develop, manufacture or market new products in response to changing customer requirements and new technologies;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
The advertising campaign may not increase demand for our products or may not increase demand as much as we anticipate, or may increase demand for products that we are not prepared to produce within the lead-time required by customers;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products within our core contact center market and/or in the newer office, mobile, computer and residential markets;
The entry of new competitors which could be spurred by changes in the regulatory environment, particularly laws requiring the use of hands-free devices by drivers when using cellular telephones;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.
Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, failure to match production to demand, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico or in China, further terrorist acts, our nation’s response to terrorist attacks and the effects of these activities on capital and consumer spending, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on May 31, 2005, quarterly reports filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries

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About Plantronics

Plantronics Announces 1 Million Share Repurchase Program

chithra — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 05:23:09 +0000

Santa Cruz, California - October 2, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced a 1,000,000 share repurchase program. Pursuant to the Stock Repurchase Program, the Company will, from time to time, purchase shares of its common stock, depending upon market conditions, in open market or privately negotiated transactions.

Barbara Scherer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Plantronics, noted, “Plantronics continues to generate positive cash flow and we believe it is prudent to use a portion of this cash to increase shareholder value through the repurchase of our stock. Although our total cash balance is lower now than it was at the outset of the fiscal year due to the two acquisitions we have made as well as our significantly increased working capital requirements, we believe that our cash balance, availability under our line of credit, and future cash flows will provide sufficient liquidity to support another share repurchase program. We purchase shares when we believe it should be strongly accretive to EPS to do so in comparison to alternative investment choices. Our Board of Directors believes that Plantronics stock presents an attractive investment for the Company and its stockholders,” Scherer concluded.

About Plantronics
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Since then, we’ve become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, 911 dispatch, and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of Sound Innovation™ is the basis for every product we build for the office, contact center, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing, Clarity, and Volume Logic. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the statements in the second paragraph of this release that the Company continues to generate positive cash flow, repurchase of Company stock constitutes an opportunity to increase shareholder value, that future cash flows should provide sufficient liquidity to support another share repurchase program, and that the repurchase of our stock represents an attractive investment. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by any such statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: 1) failure to achieve the anticipated levels of cash generation due to lower sales, increased costs, higher inventories, slow collection of accounts receivable or other factors; 2) increases in the yield which could be obtained from alternative investment of the funds used to repurchase stock; and 3) an increased need for cash reserves beyond the levels presently anticipated, and 4) a reduction in availability under our line of credit and/or lack of other borrowing capacity. For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K filed on May 31, 2005, filings on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html . Plantronics disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this release.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

chithra — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 05:55:04 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - July 19, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on September 9, 2005 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 12, 2005. This is the fifth consecutive quarterly dividend the Company’s board has declared.

“We are pleased to announce that our continued strong cash generation gives us the ability to pay a dividend as a way to deliver value to our shareholders,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 4,500 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 18 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners.
Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics is a registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc. Bluetooth is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG Inc., and is used by Plantronics under license. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Plantronics Reports First Quarter Fiscal Year 2006 Financial Results

chithra — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 05:51:51 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - July 19, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced first quarter revenues of $148.9 million, an increase of approximately 13% from $131.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2005 and earnings per share of $0.44. These results were within the range of guidance the Company provided on April 26, 2005 which was for revenues of $148 - $153 million and earnings per share of $0.43 to $0.46.

Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer, noted, “Our foremost strategic objective is increasing adoption of headsets in the office. Customer satisfaction with wireless freedom remains outstanding and virtually all of our channel partners have now fully engaged in this opportunity. Revenues from wireless headsets in the office continued to grow reaching an annual run rate in the June quarter of over $120 million with shipments up about 9% sequentially. As we expected, the sequential rate of growth moderated, due to the near-100% participation of our channel. The potential for further growth lies in expanding customer awareness and driving new customers to our channels and we will launch our national marketing campaign tomorrow in New York, focused squarely on wireless for the office.”

“Other positive developments during the quarter include the 34% growth of our Gaming and Computer product group in comparison to the year ago quarter, aided by a refresh of our product line. Our international business was strong, up 24% versus the year ago quarter with strength in APLA and EMEA, and growth in all product lines,” concluded Kannappan.

Revenues were toward the low end of our guidance, with the shortfall primarily in our Office and Contact Center (OCC) products. Much of this was concentrated in Europe where wireless office revenue growth stalled amid slightly weaker economic conditions and a stronger dollar. For the company as a whole, revenues were also limited by delays in achieving volume shipment schedules on our new products. Gross margins came in at 49.1% versus our estimate of approximately flat in comparison to the 50% gross margin in the fourth quarter. The three principal factors contributing to the difference were the lighter contribution from OCC revenues, costs we incurred to prepare for production ramp on new products, and a return to warranty costs typical of levels a year ago but higher than recent trends had suggested. Despite the lower gross margins, operating margins were 19.8%, close to our target of 20%.

Barbara Scherer, SVP and CFO, said, “We repurchased 1,372,500 shares during the quarter at a total cost of $47.3 million, completing our 15th and 16th share repurchase programs. The cumulative effect of the recent share repurchase programs helped reduce the diluted share count from 50.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2005 to 49.3 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2006. Inventory management improved to 5.4 turns from 4.9 turns in the March quarter and 5.2 in the June quarter last year. However, our DSO increased to 54 days from 53 in the March quarter. We generated $35.9 million in cash flow from operations but our total cash and marketable securities balance decreased from $242.8 million at the end of fiscal 2005 to $212.2 million at the end of the June quarter, primarily due to cash used for stock repurchase of $47.3 million and capital expenditures of $10.4 million.”

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of our recently announced definitive agreement to acquire Altec Lansing.

We consider the trends in sell-through of our U.S. commercial distributors of office and contact center products an important indicator of demand. For the June quarter, this group of distributors reported to us an increase in sell-through of 32% in comparison to the June quarter last year, and a 4% increase sequentially. In comparison to a year ago, our analysis indicates that the largest driver in the increased sell-through was demand for the CS50, our wireless headset solution for the North American office market. Our level of revenues to this channel closely matched their level of reported sell-through, resulting in channel inventory levels remaining largely unchanged.

Our current expectations are:

Revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 to be in the range of $160-$165 million. Assuming we achieve $160 to $165 million in revenues, the growth vs. Q2 fiscal 2005 will be approximately 23% to 27%. In comparison to the first quarter of fiscal 2006, this level of revenues would result in a 7% to 11% sequential increase.
The risks and uncertainties in this revenue forecast are larger than we typically experience due to 1) uncertainties with respect to completing development and ramping new products in a timely manner to meet demand; 2) the inherent uncertainty with respect to the level of incremental demand which may be generated by our advertising campaign for wireless office headsets, especially since the media schedule begins August 29; and 3) a greater percentage of the total order flow in the September quarter historically comes in the third month. In particular, we have an unusually high number of important new products which we are planning to begin shipping in volume in August and September. Due to the combination of the marketing campaign and the timing of new product volume ship schedules in the second half of the quarter, we anticipate a revenue pattern in this quarter which will be unusually back end loaded.
Gross margins are expected to decline about 2 points sequentially. The primary factors driving this are 1) the impact of a stronger dollar on our Euro and GBP denominated revenues, 2) our current anticipation of relatively flat corded OCC business, and 3) absolute and relative growth in Bluetooth mobile and wireless office business.
Our advertising program is on schedule to launch this quarter and we anticipate that our total S,G&A expense will increase by an estimated $5.5 million in the September quarter. Most, but not all, of the anticipated increase is attributable to the marketing campaign.
As a result, we currently anticipate operating margins for the September quarter will be below our target model of 20%, and will likely be in the 16 – 17% range.
Earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2006 to be in the range of $0.39 - $0.43.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its second quarter fiscal year 2006 results which we plan to do on Tuesday, November 1, or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the second quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results
Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, July 19 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #6459983 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

SAFE HARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

The advertising campaign may not increase demand for our products or may not increase demand as much as we anticipate, or may increase demand for products that we are not prepared to produce within the lead-time required by customers;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products and achieve volume shipment schedules to meet demand;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products within our core contact center market and/or in the newer office, mobile, computer and residential markets;
The entry of new competitors which could be spurred by changes in the regulatory environment, particularly laws requiring the use of hands-free devices by drivers when using cellular telephones;
The demand for our wireless headset products may not develop as we anticipate and may lead to excess inventory and the inability to recover the associated development costs;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.

Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, failure to match production to demand, interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our principal manufacturing facility in Mexico, further terrorist acts, our nation’s response to terrorist attacks and the effects of these activities on capital and consumer spending, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees. For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K filed on May 31, 2005, filings on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries
The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 4,500 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 18 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Reminds Chicago Drivers to Keep Both Hands on the Wheel

chithra — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 05:56:39 +0000

Headsets Help Chicagoans Comply with New City Law

Chicago - July 5, 2005 – As of July 8, Chicago police will begin ticketing motorists who use hand-held mobile phones while driving in the city. For many, cell phone conversations while driving have become a way of life, but safety should always remain top priority. Plantronics (NYSE:PLT), makers of mobile headset devices, wants to help ensure motorists who drive in the city of Chicago are correctly and safely using headsets as the new law takes effect.

“There is a wide variety of headsets consumers can select from to comply with the new law,” said Libby Walikis, director of product management , Plantronics Inc. “Whether the headset is corded or wireless, or fits over-the-ear or under-the-ear, people can select a model that fits their specific wearing preference and lifestyle.” Libby offers these tips intended to keep Chicago drivers safer while on the road:

Choose a headset that is comfortable for you. Before you use it in the car, familiarize yourself with using your mobile phone and headset together.
Utilize your phone’s voice dialing or one-touch dialing features or dial the number in advance. If possible, place the call while stopped in traffic.
Position your headset before starting the car and keep your cell phone stored in an easily accessible location.
Avoid talking on the phone whenever possible, especially in heavy traffic or inclement weather.

Plantronics offers a wide variety of headsets with numerous wearing styles for Chicago drivers. Bluetooth-enabled headsets, such as the award-winning Plantronics M2500, are appropriate for commuters that want to have clear conversations without wires. The new Plantronics MX505 headset with WindSmart™ technology provides Windy City commuters and residents with reduced wind noise while talking on the phone. For a complete listing of Plantronics’ products and other cell phone tips, visit www.plantronics.com.

Plantronics recognizes that there are occasions when driving circumstances make talking on a mobile phone – handheld or hands-free – unsafe. In these instances, motorists should pull over or hang up to protect the safety of themselves, their passengers and others on the road. For more safety tips, visit the Plantronics website at www.plantronics.com

About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A Plantronics headset was used for Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” transmission from the moon in 1969. A publicly held company headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, with approximately 3,900 employees, Plantronics maintains offices in 20 countries. For more information, go to www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Files Annual Report on Form 10-K

chithra — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 06:02:21 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA - May 31, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) said that in connection with the preparation of its Annual Report on Form 10-K as of and for the year ended March 31, 2005, it recorded an adjustment to income tax expense subsequent to its earnings press release of April 26, 2005. This adjustment was to write-off a tax asset that was recorded in connection with the leveraged buy-out that occurred in September of 1988. Subsequent to the recording of the asset, it should have been recorded as a component of income tax expense as the related fixed assets were depreciated, impaired or sold which would have resulted in recognition over no more than the seven years subsequent to the 1988 leveraged buy-out. Management and the Audit Committee evaluated this write-off and determined that it was immaterial to prior years’ reported results and to the current year’s results, so the adjustment was included in income tax expense in fiscal 2005.

As a result of this adjustment, income tax expense was increased by $2.7 million and net income for the year was $97.5 million or $1.92 per diluted share for the year ended March 31, 2005 and $26.1 million and $0.51 per share for the fourth quarter of the year, rather than the $100.2 million and $1.97 per share for the year and $28.7 million and $0.56 per share for the fourth quarter, as previously reported in the April 26, 2005 earnings press release. Further, the Company’s effective tax rate for fiscal 2005 increased from 23.1% as previously reported to 25.2% and the fiscal 2005 fourth quarter tax rate increased from 7.6% as previously reported to 16.2%. Please refer to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10K for additional information and complete financial statements.

About Plantronics

Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 3,600 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Reports Record Revenue and Earnings for Fiscal Year 2005

chithra — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 06:06:32 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - April 26, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced record revenues of $560 million for fiscal year 2005, an increase of 34% from $417 million in fiscal 2004. For the year as a whole, operating income was $126.6 million in comparison to $84.8 million in fiscal 2004, and operating margin was 22.6% compared to 20.3% last year. Earnings per share increased approximately 50% to $1.97 in comparison to $1.31 in fiscal 2004.

Ken Kannappan, President and CEO, noted, “Wireless, the convergence of audio and entertainment and Plantronics’ place in the market today gives us the unprecedented opportunity to apply our innovative technologies and designs to create compelling communications solutions. Our ability to innovate is evident in products like our wireless headsets, a family of solutions with the power to give people the freedom to communicate effectively wherever they are. As a result, our revenues from wireless headsets nearly doubled in fiscal 2005 compared to fiscal 2004. Our innovation is also apparent in the new family of Bluetooth products we announced at CeBIT & CTIA, which were met with an overwhelmingly positive response. Looking forward to fiscal 2006, we expect to see the growth trends in wireless continue, especially with the increased adoption of Bluetooth solutions in the U.S. and the convergence of entertainment, data and audio devices.”

“During the year, we also developed new products for gaming enthusiasts and participated in the growing but still nascent interactive gaming category. We increased our global presence and saw revenue grow in all the major geographies we serve. Our new products were well-received and contributed substantially to the $92 million increase in our office and contact center product revenues, to the $33 million increase in our mobile headset revenues and to the $16 million increase in our gaming and computer product revenues,” Kannappan concluded.

Fourth quarter revenues increased 22% to $147.8 million in comparison to $121.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004. Plantronics’ diluted earnings per share were $0.56 for the fourth quarter in comparison to $0.42 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004. Earnings per share benefited from a lower effective tax rate than prevailed during the first three quarters of fiscal 2005. Earnings per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004 also benefited from a lower effective tax rate than had prevailed during the first three quarters of fiscal 2004.

In total, our results for the fourth fiscal quarter were above the guidance we issued on January 18th, which called for revenues of $140 to $145 million, and earnings per share of $0.49 to $0.55. Operationally, gross and therefore operating margins were lower than our guidance due to the overall product mix as well as to the effect of inventory reductions. Revenues from mobile headsets were higher than we expected, though down sequentially as anticipated. Seasonality contributed to the sequential decline while the stronger performance than expectations was primarily the result of our success reducing inventories of current generation Bluetooth headsets. Revenues from the popular and still growing CS50 and CS60, and their variants, reached an annual run rate in excess of $100 million in the quarter.

Barbara Scherer, SVP and CFO, said, “During fiscal 2005, we exceeded our goal of making at least a 21% operating margin, ending the year at 22.6% with a fourth quarter level of 20.8%. We made progress on many fronts and saw our best year ever in terms of revenues from new products. Even with the start-up costs associated with our China factory and design center, our commitment to a major branding program and a significant increase in our planned level of R&D spend including the acquisition of Octiv Technologies, we believe an operating margin goal of 20% or better is reasonable for fiscal 2006 and probably beyond. I believe we are well-positioned for revenue and earnings growth over the long term.”

“We are pleased to report that we reduced inventory by $14.9 million during the quarter and achieved inventory turns of 4.9. Although we need and plan to make further improvements in our processes to improve turns, we believe a target of 5 turns remains reasonable for the balance of fiscal 2006. Our earnings coupled with reductions in inventory enabled us to generate cash flow from operations of approximately $45.9 million in the quarter bringing the full year total to $93.6 million. During the quarter, we were active under our 15th share repurchase program, repurchasing 770,100 shares for a total of approximately $28.5 million at a weighted average purchase price of $36.97, and completed the program during the first half of April. Since that time, the Board approved a further 1 million share repurchase program and we currently have 820,000 shares remaining authorized for repurchase under what is now our 16th share repurchase plan,” said Scherer.

“Finally, due to a number of factors, we had a very low effective tax rate in the quarter. We concluded the international tax planning work that we mentioned in our January 18 press release, and we concluded certain tax audits for prior fiscal years with our tax positions upheld. The combination of the international tax planning work and the favorable outcome of our tax audits led to an effective rate of 7.6% for the quarter, bringing our full year rate to 23.1%. While it is difficult to predict the rate for fiscal 2006 given the mix of tax jurisdictions in which we operate, we are currently estimating a rate of approximately 27%,” Scherer concluded.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

We consider the trends in sell-through of our U.S. commercial distributors of office and contact center products an important indicator of demand. For the March quarter, this group of distributors reported to us an increase in sell-through of 22% in comparison to the March quarter last year, and 7% growth sequentially. Our level of revenues to this group of distributors was modestly higher than their level of reported sell-through with channel inventory levels therefore remaining largely unchanged.

Based on all of the foregoing, we are currently expecting:

Revenues for the first quarter of fiscal 2006 to be in the range of $148 - $153 million.
Earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2006 to be in the range of $0.43 - $0.46.

Branding and Marketing Update: Headsets are becoming mainstream. To address this growing opportunity, it is important that we build and extend our brand. As noted in our January 18, 2005 press release, we intend to launch a national, integrated marketing campaign in fiscal 2006 focusing on wireless office products. Since January, we have modified the planned timing of the launch and the associated expenses. We did incur approximately $1 million in expense in Q4 and now expect to incur very little additional expense in the first quarter, with the bulk of the remaining $9 million to be spent in Q2 and Q3 of fiscal 2006.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its first quarter fiscal year 2006 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside Plantronics speculating on the progress of the first quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on internal Company information and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results
Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, April 26 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #2150394 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995:
Certain statements in this press release, including our expectation of a continued strong trend in our revenues from wireless headsets, our target for fiscal 2006 operating margins, the estimated tax rate for fiscal 2006, our current expectations and projections for revenues and earnings for the June quarter, our target inventory turns of 5, other statements under the caption “Business Outlook” above, and the timing and amount of expenses for our wireless marketing campaign, are forward-looking statements based on current information and expectations. Achievement of the results projected above is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

The demand for wireless headsets may not continue to develop as we anticipate and that could lead to lower or more volatile revenue and earnings, excess inventory and/or the inability to recover the associated development costs;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products within our core contact center market and/or in the newer office, mobile, gaming, computer and residential markets;
A slowing in national or international economic growth, resulting in a reduction in the overall level of demand for our products;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products;
The entry of new competitors which could be spurred by changes in the regulatory environment, particularly laws requiring the use of hands-free devices by drivers when using cellular telephones;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions;
A decrease in the liquidity of our customers caused by general economic conditions that may impact their ability to pay amounts due us;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.

Additional risk factors include: our ability to meet the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, including Section 404 which requires attestation by management and its independent registered public accounting firm on the internal control environment; changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers; price erosion; increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding; failure to match production to demand; interruption in the supply of sole-sourced critical components; continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans; failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect; failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes; the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations; problems which might affect our principal manufacturing facility in Mexico; problems which might affect the timing and/or the ultimate outcome of our development efforts in China; the loss of the services of key executives and employees; further terrorist acts; and our nation’s response to terrorist attacks and the effects of these activities on capital and consumer spending. For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K filed on May 26, 2004, filings on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries
The following related charts are provided:

About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 3,600 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

chithra — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 06:05:05 +0000

Santa Cruz, CA - April 26, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on June 10, 2005 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 10, 2005.

“We continue to perform well financially which is enabling us to return some of the cash flow generated to our shareholders in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 3,600 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Announces 1 Million Share Repurchase Program

chithra — Sat, 16 Apr 2005 06:08:07 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA - April 15, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that it had completed purchases under the stock repurchase program it announced on February 17, 2005. The Board of Directors also authorized a new 1,000,000-share program, the company’s 16th such program.

Pursuant to the Stock Repurchase Program, the Company will, from time to time, purchase shares of its common stock, depending upon market conditions, in open market or privately negotiated transactions. Barbara V. Scherer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Plantronics, noted, “Plantronics continues to generate positive cash flow and we believe it is prudent to use a portion of this cash to increase shareholder value through the repurchase of our stock. We purchase shares when we believe it should be strongly accretive to EPS to do so compared with alternative investment choices. Our Board of Directors believes that Plantronics stock presents an attractive investment for the Company and its stockholders.”

About Plantronics

Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the statements in the second paragraph of this release that the Company continues to generate positive cash flow, repurchase of Company stock constitutes an opportunity to increase shareholder value, and that the repurchase of our stock represents an attractive investment. There are important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by any such statements. These risks include, but are not limited to: 1) failure to achieve the anticipated levels of cash generation due to lower sales, increased costs, higher inventories, slow collection of accounts receivable or other factors; 2) increases in the yield which could be obtained from alternative investment of the funds used to repurchase stock; 3) an increased need for cash reserves beyond the levels presently anticipated, and 4) failure of adoption of headsets by office professionals and others to increase. For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K filed on May 26, 2004, filings on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html. Plantronics disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this release.

Plantronics is a registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Plantronics Announces 1 Million Share Repurchase Program

chithra — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 06:14:39 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. - February 17, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that it had completed purchases under its former stock repurchase program and has authorized a new 1,000,000-share program. Pursuant to the Stock Repurchase Program, the Company will, from time to time, purchase shares of its common stock, depending upon market conditions, in open market or privately negotiated transactions. Barbara V. Scherer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Plantronics, noted, “Plantronics continues to generate positive cash flow and we believe it is prudent to use a portion of this cash to increase shareholder value through the repurchase of our stock. We purchase shares when we believe it should be strongly accretive to EPS to do so compared with alternative investment choices.”

“Headsets have become mainstream; Plantronics alone shipped 22.5 million last year, up 64% from 2003. Despite that increase in the number of people using our products, adoption remains low and the addressable market opportunity remains compelling. We are thus optimistic about the long term opportunity for growth in our markets,” stated Ken Kannappan, President and CEO of Plantronics. Our Board of Directors believes that Plantronics stock presents an attractive investment for the Company and its stockholders,” Kannappan concluded.

About Plantronics

Forward-Looking Statements

Plantronics is a registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc. All other products or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

chithra — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 06:18:41 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. - January 18, 2005 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on March 10, 2005 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 11, 2005.

“We are pleased that our continuing strong financial position is enabling us to invest and grow the business and still return some of the cash flow generated to our shareholders in the form of a dividend,” said Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer.

About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 3,900 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics is a registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc.

Plantronics Reports Record Revenues for the Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2005

chithra — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 06:17:24 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. - January 18, 2005 – Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced record revenues for its third quarter of fiscal year 2005. Third quarter revenues increased approximately 40% to $150.6 million, in comparison to $107.6 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2004. Operating income increased to $31.8 million from $23.8 million, net income increased to $24.4 million from $17.6 million and diluted earnings per share improved approximately 30% to $0.48 from $0.37, in each case from the year-earlier quarter.

Ken Kannappan, President and CEO, commented, “Our results were within the range of the guidance we provided on October 19, 2004 which called for revenues of $147 to $152 million, and earnings per share of $0.45 to $0.48. As anticipated, revenues from our new gaming products contributed significantly to the sequential increase as did revenues from wireless headsets for office and mobile applications.”

“Globally, demand for headsets has increased in more diverse markets, such as wireless and entertainment — a fact underscored by the 40% growth in our revenues in comparison to a year ago. Revenues from our Office and Contact Center products were $92.5 million, up 38% vs. the year-earlier quarter. In comparison to the year-ago quarter, our CS50 and CS60 wireless headsets for office applications increased by $15 million and are now at an annual run rate of approximately $75 million,” said Ken Kannappan, President and CEO. “Wireless and entertainment, and the convergence of those two trends, are factors that bode well for the long-term growth of the headset industry. We participated in that trend in a more meaningful way in the December quarter than we had historically with the launch of our new gaming products; specifically our Gaming and Computer products contributed $15.3 million to revenues in the December quarter in comparison to $5.8 million in the year-ago quarter.”

At the recent International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas, Plantronics was recognized for innovation in design and technological advances and was the only headset maker to win a “Best of Innovation” award. “We were pleased with the recognition that our new Bluetooth headset system, the L510S, achieved. It is really the first wireless product that is truly a pleasure to wear. At about half an ounce in weight, it is comfortable, remarkably stable and looks good. It is very easy to use with either a Bluetooth enabled mobile phone or a land line phone, or both, and is scheduled to ship in Spring 2005. Beyond working to bring great new products to market, we are ever-vigilant about quality and are taking care to grow our infrastructure cost-effectively to meet the needs of the growing market for headsets. In that regard, we were thrilled to receive Mexico’s prestigious National Quality Award from President Vincente Fox for excellence in total quality management at our Plamex plant. In December, we also broke ground on our China facilities and expect to receive the keys by this time next year,” Kannappan concluded.

Barbara Scherer, SVP and CFO, said “In terms of working capital, our inventories increased further in the quarter although we did achieve an improvement in turns, to 4.0 from 3.7 in the September quarter. The increase in inventory was primarily for products which experienced significant increases in demand, however we need to reduce inventory levels going forward. Longer term, we believe that owning our own plant in China will enable us to reduce lead times from our supply chain and increase flexibility while still meeting the needs of the consumer marketplace. On a more immediate basis, we have also made an organizational change to increase our focus and global teamwork on inventory management. Our goals are to reduce our inventory balance in the March quarter and get back to 5 turns in the December quarter of fiscal 2006 while keeping our on time delivery at high customer service levels.”

“Given the increase in revenues, our DSO increased modestly to 54 days in comparison to 51 days in the September quarter and were flat in comparison to the December quarter a year ago. We generated $8 million in cash flow from operations in the third quarter and have generated $47.7 million on a year to date basis.”

Business Outlook
The following statements are based on current expectations. Many of these statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially.

We consider the trends in sell-through of our U.S. commercial distributors of office and contact center products an important indicator of demand. For the December quarter, this group of distributors reported to us an increase in sell-through of over 35% in comparison to the December quarter last year, and a 9% increase sequentially. We believe the number of weeks on hand of inventory in this channel was essentially unchanged.

We remain cautiously optimistic about the overall economic environment and demand for our products.

Our current expectations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005 are:

Revenues to be in the range of $140 - $145 million
Gross margins to increase to 53% - 54% as a result of a more favorable overall product mix.
Operating expenses to be approximately flat in dollars and to increase as a percent of revenue in comparison to the third quarter. We expect to incur approximately $1 million of expense in the March quarter as a result of the advertising campaign we plan to launch in the first quarter of fiscal 2006.
Operating margins to be in the range of 22.5% - 24%.
Tax expense to be lower than normal as a result of changes we are implementing in our offshore tax structure. We expect to record a net benefit for the fiscal year as a whole of $2 to $3 million in the fourth quarter which will reduce our tax provision by that amount for the quarter. This benefit will increase earnings per share by $0.04 to $0.06 per share.
In FY06, we believe the net effect of this tax restructuring will be a small reduction in our overall tax rate from an anticipated 28 - 29% without this reorganization to approximately 27 - 28% with the new structure in place.
Earnings per diluted share for the fourth quarter to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.49 before the anticipated tax benefit, and $0.49 to $0.55 inclusive of the tax benefit.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the quarter or to report progress toward these targets. Plantronics will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its next press release announcing its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2005 results or by other public disclosure. Any statements by persons outside of Plantronics speculating on the progress of the fourth quarter of the fiscal year will not be based on information endorsed or supported by Plantronics, and should be assessed accordingly by investors. The statements do not reflect the potential impact of any mergers or acquisitions that may be completed after the date of this release.

Factors Expected to Influence Fiscal 2006

Branding and Marketing: Headsets are becoming mainstream. For example, in calendar 2004, we shipped approximately 22.5 million headset tops, up 64% from 13.7 million headset tops in calendar 2003. Unit growth is being driven primarily by consumer demand, especially for wireless and entertainment applications. Even after excellent growth, worldwide adoption of headsets in the office market remains below 10%. We believe the opportunity to expand adoption is at hand and that Plantronics heritage and quality resonate with people. Our expertise in mission-critical applications for NASA, the FAA and the U.S. military has been built over many decades and we are applying that expertise in new ways to delight consumers. To address these large consumer markets, it is important to build and extend our brand. We intend to launch a U.S. advertising campaign with an expected total cost of approximately $10 million, with the bulk of the cost and benefits to impact FY06. We intend to launch the campaign in the first fiscal quarter of 2006 and to run it for approximately six months. We have tested advertising campaigns over the last several years, and although the results of advertising campaigns cannot be predicted, we believe that this campaign will at least break-even and we are hopeful that it will be accretive to earnings per share. If we believe the results of the campaign are proving valuable, we may extend it past the September quarter. Even if the campaign is break-even for the year as a whole, it is possible that it could be negative to earnings per share in the initial quarter of advertising.

Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation (FAS 123) – On December 16, 2004, the FASB issued the final FAS 123 rule governing accounting for stock-based compensation. Plantronics is obligated to adopt FAS 123 in its September 2005 quarter (which will be the second quarter of fiscal 2006) and plans to do so at that time.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results
Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss the contents of this release. The conference call will take place today, Tuesday, January 18 at 2:00 PM (PST). All interested investors and potential investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled starting time and refer to the “Plantronics Conference Call.” Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #2150280 will be available for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at (706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously web cast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the web cast of the conference call will remain available at the Plantronics Web site for thirty days.

SAFE HARBOR

Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected are:

A slowing in national or international economic growth, resulting in a reduction in the overall level of demand for our products;
The demand for our wireless headset products may not develop as we anticipate and may lead to excess inventory and the inability to recover the associated development costs;
The actions of existing and/or new competitors, especially with regard to pricing and promotional programs;
Variations in sales and profits in higher tax, as compared to lower tax, jurisdictions; the results of tax audits; reassessment of tax reserves, and tax refunds on our effective tax rate; and the results, timing and execution of our tax planning strategies;
A softening of the level of market demand for our products within our core contact center market and/or in the newer office, mobile, computer and residential markets;
The entry of new competitors which could be spurred by changes in the regulatory environment, particularly laws requiring the use of hands-free devices by drivers when using cellular telephones;
The inability to successfully develop, manufacture and market new products;
Fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and
Changes in the regulatory environment either as to headsets directly or as to the products, such as mobile phones, with which our products are used.

Additional risk factors include: changes in the timing and size of orders from our customers, price erosion, increased requirements from retail customers for marketing and advertising funding, failure to match production to demand, interruption in the supply of critical components, continuity of component supply at costs consistent with our plans, failure of our distribution channels to operate as we expect, failure to develop products that keep pace with technological changes, the inherent risks of our substantial foreign operations, problems which might affect our principal manufacturing facility in Mexico, further terrorist acts, our nation’s response to terrorist attacks and the effect of these activities on capital and consumer spending, and the loss of the services of key executives and employees. For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K filed on May 26, 2004, filings on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as recent press releases. These filings can be accessed over the Internet at: http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html

Financial Summaries
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About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 3,900 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide, Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics Declares Quarterly Dividend

admin — Tue, 19 Oct 2004 16:41:34 +0000

SANTA CRUZ, CA. - October 19, 2004 - Plantronics, Inc., (NYSE: PLT) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend is payable on December 10, 2004 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 12, 2004.

Ken Kannappan, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Plantronics’ Board of Directors initiated a dividend policy earlier this fiscal year as part of our ongoing effort to enhance shareholder value. Plantronics’ strong financial position provides us with the flexibility to return some cash directly to our shareholders in the form of a regular dividend while continuing to invest in growing our business.”

About Plantronics
Plantronics introduced the first lightweight communications headset in 1962 and is recognized as the world leader in communications headsets. A publicly held company with approximately 4,400 employees, Plantronics is the leading provider of headsets to telephone companies and the business community worldwide. Plantronics headsets are also used widely in many Fortune 500 corporations and have been featured in numerous motion pictures and high-profile events, including Neil Armstrong’s historic “One small step for man” transmission from the moon in 1969. Plantronics, Inc., headquartered in Santa Cruz, California, was founded in 1961 and maintains offices in 20 countries. Plantronics products are sold and supported through a worldwide network of authorized Plantronics marketing partners. Information about the Company and its products can be found at www.plantronics.com or by calling (800) 544-4660.