The Great Place to Work Institute evaluates employers in more than forty countries around the world, including Mexico, and defines a great place to work as “a place in which you trust people you work for, have pride in what you do, and enjoy the people you interact with.” According to the Great Place to Work Institute, this ranking is the result of a rigorous process that analyses and assesses the views of employees and the corporate culture. Inclusion in the rankings is a result of hard work and a concerted effort to create a healthy, harmonious and trustworthy working environment.

“We are honored to accept this award on behalf of Plantronics,” said Alejandro Bustamante, senior vice president of Operations at Plantronics. “We strive to create an environment in which our associates can take pride and feel respected, a community that is dedicated to helping each member succeed. This award is as much a testament to our employees as it is to Plantronics – together we have built a culture that is like family.  When our associates are happy and successful it directly impacts our customer satisfaction and overall operational efficiency.”

The Plantronics Mexico facility has been in operation for more than 40 years and has more than 2,000 employees. Plantronics Mexico employees are offered more than 200 programs and enrichment opportunities, programs include mass weddings at the Plantronics Mexico facility every Valentine’s Day, the employee business card program and educational opportunities that help employees further their education.

The Plantronics Mexico Team engages with the community on many levels including outreach to orphanages, donations to the community for natural disasters, reforestation efforts and education about recycling. They encourage employee and family involvement and support the Children’s Orchestra, The DARE Program and offer medical consultations to family members at their facility.

This year’s win is further validation of the facility’s longstanding reputation as a model of operational excellence and investing in the betterment of employees.  Winning this award confirms that Plantronics Mexico is the employer of choice in Mexico, validates the workplace culture and showcases the effort to create a healthy, harmonious and trustworthy working environment. This year, companies such as Google, Microsoft, Cisco, Pepsi Co and Dell also submitted for the same category in Mexico. A complete list of the rankings can be found here.

About the Great Place to Work Institute and Survey Methodology

The Great Place to Work Institute has more than 20 years of experience in evaluating companies’ culture and employee trust in management. The firm’s evaluation process includes a survey that is applied to all employees, a systems document that describes the implemented practices and processes, and a field visit by a team of experts to confirm the accuracy and maturity of the reported practices.

Plantronics Mexico - A Legacy of Excellence

Plantronics Mexico associates enjoy an environment that promotes a continuous process of innovation and creativity and are trained to prevent problems by proposing solutions to any potential risks they identify. Everyone contributes to quality processes to increase customer satisfaction, minimize rework, reduce cost, maintain production output, and uphold product excellence through their participation in work teams throughout the organization.

Plantronics Mexico is certified in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, CTPAT, FAST, PAPS, DOT and CHP. Plantronics Mexico has received numerous awards and commendations for its excellence in environmental matters, community work, customer satisfaction, and work safety Previous awards include the Mexico Quality, Mexico Export, Mexico Technology and Mexico Labor awards; the Federal Ministry of Labor’s Safe Industry Certificate; PROFEPA’s Clean Industry Certificate; the PROFEPA/CNIME Environmental Award (EPA/National Maquiladora Council); the 2005 Asia-Pacific International Quality Award; the 2005 Iberoamerican Quality Award; the 2005 Century International Quality Era Award; and the 2008 Latin American Quality award.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications®

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and Simply Smarter Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Plantronics Press Contact:

Karen Auby

(831) 458-7814

karen.auby@plantronics.com

The Top Workplaces are determined based solely on employee feedback. The employee survey is conducted by WorkplaceDynamics, LLP, a leading research firm on organizational health and employee engagement. WorkplaceDynamics conducts regional Top Workplaces programs with 37 major publishing partners and recognizes a list of Bay Area Top Workplaces 2013. Plantronics was selected based on the survey results that measured employee engagement, organizational health, satisfaction and strong culture.

Plantronics provides a cutting edge workplace environment where people are the most valuable asset. The company offers great benefits and the opportunity to create innovative products that allow people to simply communicate.  Employees feel valued, respected and supported, both personally and professionally. For more information about careers at Plantronics, please visit http://www.plantronics.com/us/jobs/

“At Plantronics, providing employees with the best workplace experience is our top priority and we are honored to be awarded as a 2013 top place to work in the Bay Area based on our leadership, career development, and values and ethics,” said Susan Lovegren, senior vice president of Human Resources at Plantronics. “Receiving this honor comes directly from the feedback of our employees, who are the strength of our company. This award further validates the emphasis we place on ‘smarter working’ which means providing people with the tools they need to be effective no matter where they happen to be working.”

The Bay Area News Group published the complete list of Top Workplaces on June 16. For more information about the Top Workplaces lists and WorkplaceDynamics, please visit www.topworkplaces.com and www.workplacedynamics.com.

For more information about Plantronics workplace philosophy, known as Smarter Working, please visit http://www.plantronics.com/us/solutions/smarter-working/

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications®

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and Simply Smarter Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Media Contact:

Karen Auby

Karen.auby@plantronics.com

831-458-7814

Jennifer Davis, applications engineer at Plantronics, will be speaking on stage during the kickoff event on Friday, May 31^st. The AT&T Mobile App Hackathon, which will take place in Palo Alto, is a three-day event that offers female attendees the opportunity to lead co-ed developer teams in creating new, innovative products.

“Plantronics is an advocate for women in developer roles and Jennifer will provide real-world examples of her experience developing applications that harness the power of contextual intelligence,” said Amy Huson, senior director of marketing at Plantronics. “We are thrilled to participate in this groundbreaking event by providing prizes and wearable technology like the Voyager Legend UC.”

Plantronics has strong ties to the developer community, having launched the Plantronics Developer Connection (PDC), which provides developers with the tools to bring aspects of a user’s physical world into applications, last year.

Sign up for the AT&T Mobile App Hackathon – Women in Technology event here: http://attwomenintechhack-eorg.eventbrite.com/#.

WHAT:

AT&T Women in Tech Hackathon, a three-day event produced by the AT&T Developer Program.This hackathon will provide women the opportunity to lead diverse teams of men and women developers to create new innovative products. The top three teams will receive valuable assistance in taking their ideas from concept to market and be featured during the Women Powering Technology Summit on June 2nd through 4th in Santa Clara, CA. http://developer.att.com/developer/forward.jsp?passedItemId=13401200

WHO:

Jennifer Davis, applications engineer at Plantronics

WHEN:

Friday, May 31^st at 6 PM PT – Sunday, June 2^nd at 6 PM PT

WHERE:

AT&T Foundry, 260 Homer Ave, Palo Alto, California 94301

Media Contact:

Karen Auby

Karen.auby@plantronics.com

831-458-7814

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications®

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and Simply Smarter Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

###

May 30, 2013 – Santa Cruz, Calif.,- The rate of innovation and adoption of new communication technology is growing at a rapid pace, challenging companies that sell communication solutions. Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) today announced the kickoff of new initiatives within its Connect Partner Program designed to enable authorized Connect partners to be more successful by providing them with education and increasing rewards.

“Our channel is one of our most critical assets and we respect and value their time and hard work.  Today we are unveiling three exciting programs designed to make our partners more competitive, better prepared and richer,” said Roland Rice, vice president of Channel Sales at Plantronics. “Deal registration, a world class learning management system and a new rewards program are designed to do just that.”

Connect Deal Registration - Program Helps ‘Seal the Deal’

This industry best practice program is designed to increase collaboration and provide discounts for the registration of new opportunities. Deal registration is typically a program in which a channel partner properly informs the vendor about an opportunity and is given priority for it. The Plantronics Connect Deal Registration program is designed to help partners ‘seal the deal’ by enhancing margins for appropriately notifying Plantronics of qualified opportunities.

Connect University –Training Program Helps Partners ‘Learn and Earn’

Knowledge is power. Partners are demanding improved online training from vendors. Plantronics is delivering with Connect University – a world class online Learning Management System (LMS) that offers professionally developed training curriculums, sales specializations and partner certifications. This program is designed to enable partners to better understand industry trends and solution selling techniques that will drive sales.

Connect Rewards – Incentive and Points Program Helps Partners ‘Reap the Rewards’

This new rewards program incents partners for selling Plantronics products, completing training, attending events or webinars and other activities. The online points program is designed to reward engagement as well as sales. Partners can redeem points online from a world class catalog of prizes including electronics, luxury branded products, fashion, home goods and more.

Connect Partner Program – Ever Improving World Class Program

The deal registration, training and rewards enhancements are additions to existing Connect programs including customer trial units, channel employee purchase discounts, event support and marketing development funds. The Connect Program, a critical platform for partners, includes a portal that provides sales and marketing resources in one easy to access place.

Connect Global Enhancements – A Phased Approach

Connect Deal Registration, Connect University and Connect Rewards are global programs with regional variances including implementation timing. These programs are only available to authorized Connect partners. For more information or to apply for the Connect Partner Program, please visit www.plantronics.com/partners

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications®

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

“At Plantronics, we are big League of Legends fans and players, so we are particularly thrilled to be the official headset partner of the League of Legends Championship Series,” said Chuck Frizelle, head of gaming at Plantronics. “Our headsets offer competitors a true esports tournament headset –designed to provide outstanding audio quality in the noisiest LAN environments, while fitting comfortably for marathon gaming sessions.”

“We wanted an official headset partner that produced a headset made specifically for esports professional gamers, while also offering quality headsets to our audience at all gaming levels and price points,“ said Dustin Beck, vice president of esports at Riot Games. “Partnering with Plantronics, we are able to provide an exceptional audio experience for our players throughout the Championship Series.”

Currently the world’s most played online game, League of Legends blends the speed and intensity of an RTS with RPG elements. Players form teams of unique, powerful champions and battle head-to-head across multiple battlefields and game modes. Throughout 2013, the best players on the planet will compete in the League of Legends Championship Series, a professional gaming league with teams from North America and Europe, featuring multiple regular season matches each week, and HD streaming broadcasts available globally for free.

Providing audio excellence across multiple fields, Plantronics Gaming offers a unique live environment esports headset. Working closely with Riot Games, Championship Series tournaments will exclusively feature Plantronics headsets designed to isolate noise from the thousands of dedicated League of Legends fans that come to experience live matches at events such as Gamescom, PAX Prime and the League of Legends World Championship.

At A Glance: Plantronics Gaming and the League of Legends World Championship Series Season 3

• Tournament participants will use Plantronics esports headsets throughout the series, including the Season 3 World Championship
• Gamers will be able to experience Plantronics retail headsets at the free-to-play LAN areas of various events including the Fall 2013 North American and European Championships
• Weekly North American and European matches will be broadcast online. More information can be found at Gamecom.Plantronics.com

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication to Bluetooth® headsets to gaming solutions, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and various mission critical applications for those on the frontline. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics is a registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About Riot Games

Santa Monica, California-based Riot Games aspires to be the most player-focused game company in the world. Established in 2006 by a couple of entrepreneurial gamers who believe player-focused game development can result in awesome games, Riot released its debut title, League of Legends, in 2009 to critical and player acclaim. For more info about Riot Games visit www.riotgames.com. Get started playing League of Legends at signup.leagueoflegends.com.

During the conference Holmlund will participate in the wearable technology and gadget workshop and will discuss the convergence of big data, cloud, analytics, and wearable tech and how it is poised to set business processes and communications on a trajectory of massive change. Understanding this coming disruption will be critical for developers and businesses alike, as together they strive to create applications for these new environments and interactions.

The Plantronics Developer Connection was launched last year providing developers with the tools to bring aspects of a user’s physical world into applications. “We are about to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Plantronics Developer Connection (PDC) and are excited to be a part of the inaugural Health:Refactored Conference. We will discuss wearable technology and the possibilities for improving lives through integrating our devices with health applications,” said Michael Holmlund, Developer Community Evangelist at Plantronics.

At the conference, visit the Plantronics booth to learn more about the Plantronics SDK and how developers are leveraging it to bring context into their applications.

WHAT:

Health:Refactored –a 2-day conference presented by Health 2.0 for developers and designers to learn and share the latest hacks, hone their skills, and make the necessary connections to thrive in the health industry. For more information on the conference, please visit http://www.health2con.com/events/conferences/health-refactored/

WHO:

Michael Holmlund, Developer Community Evangelist at Plantronics

WHEN:

Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 8:15 a.m.

WHERE:

Computer History Museum (the Alpha Room)

1401 North Shoreline Boulevard

Mountain View, California 94043

Media Contact:

Karen Auby

Karen.auby@plantronics.com

831-458-7814

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications®

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and Simply Smart Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SANTA CRUZ, CA - May 7, 2013 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 results. Highlights of the quarter include the following (comparisons are against the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012):

• Net revenues were $204.2 million, an increase of 15% compared with $177.6 million.
• GAAP gross margin was 52.0% compared with 53.6%; non-GAAP gross margin was 52.3% compared with 53.9%.
• GAAP operating income was $36.9 million; non-GAAP operating income was $41.9 million as compared to $32.0 million and $36.2 million, respectively.
• GAAP diluted earnings per share (”EPS”) was $0.67, an increase of $0.12, or 22%, and within our guidance of $0.63 to $0.67.
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.71, an increase of $0.09, or 15%, and within our guidance of $0.68 to $0.72.

Net revenues for fiscal year 2013 increased 7% to $762.2 million compared with $713.4 million for fiscal year 2012. Our GAAP diluted EPS increased by 3% to $2.49 for fiscal year 2013 compared with $2.41 in fiscal year 2012. Non-GAAP diluted EPS for fiscal year 2013 increased by 5% to $2.77 compared with $2.65 in fiscal year 2012. The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP EPS for fiscal year 2013 consists of stock-based compensation charges, restructuring and other related charges, all net of the associated tax impact, a tax benefit from the expiration of certain statutes of limitations, and the retroactive reinstatement of the U.S. federal R&D tax credit related to calendar year 2012.

A reconciliation between our GAAP and non-GAAP results is provided in the tables at the end of this press release.

“Our fiscal year revenues and earnings per share set records as we experienced continued growth in the Unified Communications (”UC”) market throughout the year. In the fourth quarter we experienced strong demand from China for Bluetooth headsets as a result of their recent enforcement of their previously enacted hands-free driving law, and some rebound in the global economy,” said Ken Kannappan, President & CEO (currently on a temporary medical leave). “Unified Communications (”UC”) momentum continues to build and it remains our largest growth opportunity.”

“We generated approximately $32 million in cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 and approximately $126 million for the full fiscal year. We grew our cash, cash equivalents and short and long term investments position to approximately $426 million while paying off our line of credit,” said Pam Strayer, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

OCC net revenues increased 9% to $142.7 million compared with $131.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 driven by the strength of our UC revenues. Net revenues from UC products, a subset of OCC, grew by 36% to $36.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $27.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Mobile net revenues were $49.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, an increase of 41% from $35.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 primarily as a result of strong demand related to the enforcement of the hands free driving law in China beginning in January 2013.

Dividend Announcement

We also announced that our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. The dividend will be payable on June 10, 2013 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 20, 2013.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on our current expectations and many of these statements are forward-looking. Actual results are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from our expectations.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we fulfill the majority of orders received within 48 hours of receipt of those orders. However, our backlog is occasionally subject to cancellation or rescheduling by our customers on short notice with little or no penalty. Therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues.

Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, particularly with continuing uncertainty in global economic conditions, and there can be no assurance that expectations of incoming orders over the balance of the current quarter will materialize.

Subject to the foregoing, we currently expect the following range of financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014:

• Net revenues of $198 million to $205 million;
• GAAP operating income of $33 million to $37 million;
• Non-GAAP operating income of $40 million to $44 million, excluding the impact of $7 million from stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation, and restructuring costs from GAAP operating income;
• Assuming approximately 43.8 million diluted average weighted shares outstanding:
  • GAAP diluted EPS of $0.56 to $0.62;
  • Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.68 to $0.74; and
  • Cost of stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation and restructuring costs to be approximately $0.12 per diluted share.

Please see our new Investor Relations Presentation available on our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

We have scheduled a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and full year fiscal year 2013 results. The conference call will take place today, May 7, 2013, at 2:00 PM (Pacific Time). All interested investors and potential investors in our 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 # 31670407 will be available until June 7, 2013 at (855) 859-2056 or (800) 585-8367 for callers from North America and at (404) 537-3406 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast in the Investor Relations section of our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir, and the webcast of the conference call will remain available on our website for one month.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

For the periods presented, we have excluded certain non-cash expenses and charges, net of tax, including stock-based compensation related to stock options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization, accelerated depreciation, restructuring and other related charges, and the retroactive reinstatement of the R&D tax credit, along with the tax benefits from the expiration of certain statutes of limitations from non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP diluted EPS. We exclude these expenses from our non-GAAP measures primarily because management does not consider them as part of our target operating model. We believe that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity and helps investors compare actual results to our long-term target operating model goals. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods; however, non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, gross margin, operating income, operating margin, the effective tax rate, net income, or EPS prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our estimates of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, including net revenues, operating income and diluted EPS; (ii) our estimates of stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation, restructuring and other related charges, and tax benefits from the expiration of certain statutes of limitation, as well as the impact of these non-cash expenses on Non-GAAP operating income and diluted EPS; and (iii) our estimate of weighted average shares outstanding for the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, in addition to other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. We do 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:

• Micro and macro economic conditions in our domestic and international markets;
• our ability to realize our UC plans and to achieve the financial results projected to arise from UC adoption could be adversely affected by a variety of factors including the following: (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 and strategic partners such as Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Avaya, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, and IBM, and we have a limited ability to influence such providers with respect to the functionality of their platforms or their product offerings, their rate of deployment, and their willingness to integrate their platforms and product offerings with our solutions, and our support expenditures may substantially increase over time due to the complex nature of the platforms and product offerings developed by the major UC providers as these platforms and product offerings continue to evolve and become more commonly adopted; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically complex and this may delay or limit 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 on a timely basis; (iv) our development of UC solutions is dependent on our ability to implement and execute new and different processes in connection with the design, development and manufacturing of complex electronic systems comprised of hardware, firmware and software that must work in a wide variety of environments and multiple variations, which may in some instances increase the risk of development delays or errors and require the hiring of new personnel and/or fourth party contractors which increases our costs; (v) because UC offerings involve complex integration of hardware and software with UC infrastructure, our sales model and expertise will need to continue to evolve; (vi) 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; (vii) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate; and, (viii) UC may evolve rapidly and unpredictably and our inability to timely and cost-effectively adapt to those changes and future requirements may impact our profitability in this market and our overall margins;
• failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts and materials to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
• volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have in the past and could in the future negatively affect our profitability and/or market share;
• fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
• with respect to our stock repurchase program, prevailing stock market conditions generally, and the price of our stock specifically;
• the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers;
• 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 that might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico; and
• seasonality in one or more of our business segments.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2012 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
• Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures
• Summary of Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures and Other Unaudited GAAP Data

View All

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and the logo design 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.

“The people and culture at Plantronics have been a significant competitive advantage for us for more than 50 years,” said Ken Kannappan, president and CEO, Plantronics. “Susan will be a strong champion focused on nurturing that dynamic and helping to ensure that our team has the skills necessary to successfully execute our short-term priorities and is prepared for what the future holds.”

“Plantronics has one of the most powerful cultures I have seen in the technology industry, providing the magic that has unified the company during its rich history,” said Lovegren. “I am honored to be chosen as a shepherd of this dynamic environment and am excited by what this team can achieve in a very compelling market.”

Lovegren joins Plantronics after seven years at Juniper Networks where she most recently served as a corporate vice president leading the company’s Global Business Aligned Human Resources team, which primarily served the executive leadership team at the company.  In that role, she was responsible for leading transformative change related to key company initiatives in addition to the annual process that drove the people agenda and the workforce and succession planning for the year. She also focused on overall organizational effectiveness to ensure a positive employee experience aligned with the culture and values of the company.

Prior to Juniper, Lovegren held several HR roles at Agilent technologies focused on building leadership capability within the company’s finance and legal organizations.  Through programs she implemented, she helped to shift the culture to support future-state business objectives. She also supported the company’s business development priorities, serving as the HR project manager for the due diligence and integration team engaged in four acquisitions and divestitures in a 12-month period.

Lovegren started her career at Hewlett-Packard, spending 16 years in various HR roles supporting a number of different businesses across the organization.  She holds a master’s degree in human resources management from Golden Gate University and a bachelor’s degree in communications from San Jose State University.  She is a member of various professional organizations including the Human Resources Forum in Silicon Valley and has received a number of industry awards including the Innovators Team Award in 2010 from the HR Symposium.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications®

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and Simply Smarter Communications are registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Santa Cruz, Calif. – April 19, 2013 – Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) will host an interactive employee Earth Day Fair April 22, 2013 on its Santa Cruz campus featuring food and beverage samples from local and organic vendors, ride-alongs in electric Tesla motorcar furnished by Ecology Action, and exhibits from local and national non-profit organizations.  For press only, Plantronics will also offer an open house as well as hosted tours of its state-of-the-art sustainable campus, which features Santa Cruz County’s largest solar panel and sun tube installation that offsets nearly 80 percent of the site’s utility bill, a smart irrigation system and an innovative recycling program.

April 22^nd event highlights include:

Plantronics is also offering e-waste recycling from April 22^nd through the 29^th during which employees can discard old electronics such as PCs, TVs, VCRs, fax machines, cables, printers and cartridges, scanners, telephones, cellphones and microwave ovens.

When:

Monday, April 22, 2013

Press only:

Hosted tours: 10:00 – 11:30 am & 2:00 – 4:00 pm PT

Open house: Noon – 2:00 pm PT

Where:

Plantronics Headquarters

345 Encinal Street

Santa Cruz, California 95060

Why:

Plantronics is a pioneer in sustainability and is dedicated to operating conscientiously in all areas of business, including helping to develop and strengthen the community of Santa Cruz County. Plantronics is committed to global citizenship, which includes promoting environmental health, reducing our environmental footprint and being a socially responsible citizen.

Press RSVP:

Lerin O’Neill

Public Relations Manager

(831) 458-7595

lerin.oneill@plantronics.com

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications®

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and Simply Smart Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SANTA CRUZ, CA – April 14, 2013 –Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced that president and CEO Ken Kannappan will be taking a temporary medical leave of absence to address a treatable form of cancer, starting immediately.  He is expected to be on leave for approximately four months.  During this time, Ken will stay involved in directing the company to the extent practical. Plantronics CFO Pamela Strayer will serve as the acting CEO during Ken’s absence. He will remain a member of the board of directors during his leave.

“It is in my best interest and that of Plantronics that I take this time to focus on my health while Pam and the rest of our excellent executive team continue to execute our strategy,” said Ken.” I am committed to actively engaging in the business as my health permits and plan to return at the conclusion of my treatments.”

“We commend Ken and support his request to take this leave and wish him the best as he focuses on his health,” said Marv Tseu, chairman of the board, Plantronics. “The board has complete confidence in the strong management team that Ken has built. Pam and the team are well positioned to continue to implement the Plantronics strategy and run day-to-day operations.” 

Pam joined Plantronics in July 2012 as senior vice president and chief financial officer. She is responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial management in addition to managing the company’s IT, legal and investor relations organizations.

As previously scheduled, Plantronics will report fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 earnings on May 7, 2013.  

# # #

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) Mr. Kannappan will be taking a temporary medical leave of absence to address a treatable form of cancer; (ii) he will remain on the Board of Directors during his absence; (iii) that Ms. Strayer and the rest of the executive team will continue to execute on our strategy and implement day to day operations; and (iv) that Mr. Kannappan plans to return at the conclusion of his treatments; in addition to other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data.  We do 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:

• Micro and macro economic conditions in our domestic and international markets;
• 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) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically complex and this may delay or inhibit 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) our plans are dependent upon adoption of our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Avaya, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, and IBM, 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, and our support expenditures may substantially increase over time due to the complex nature of the platforms developed by the major UC providers as these platforms continue to evolve and become more commonly adopted;
• failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts and materials to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
• volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have and could negatively affect our profitability and/or market share;
• fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
• with respect to our stock repurchase program, prevailing stock market conditions generally, and the price of our stock specifically;
• the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers; 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 that might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2012 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.

Plantronics and the logo design 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. 

March 18, 2013 – Enterprise Connect – Orlando - Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) today announced that Frost & Sullivan has awarded the company a Visionary Innovation Award in recognition of the company’s accomplishments in the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) and Customer-Care markets. Frost & Sullivan defines Visionary Innovation as the ability to identify key Mega Trends and proactively address unmet needs with disruptive solutions that can greatly improve business performance as well as individuals’ work and personal lives

“Plantronics has been at the forefront of headset innovation since its inception. It has successfully aligned its product development roadmap with a number of Mega Trends and is highly deserving of Frost & Sullivan’s 2013 Visionary Innovation Leadership award,” said Elka Popova, Director, Unified Communication & Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan.  “Key to Plantronics’ success is its focus on software development and contextually-aware communications that enable its devices to react based on the user’s status, availability, location, and other contextual factors.”

“This award validates our impact on unified communications and the importance of delivering products that are easy for people to use,” said Ken Kannappan, president and CEO of Plantronics. “We appreciate the recognition of the contributions we have made delivering exceptional audio and playing a critical role in improving productivity.”

Mega Trend: Connectivity and Convergence

Frost & Sullivan predicts that by 2020, there will be 10 connected devices for every household, five connected devices for every person, five billion Internet users, and 500 devices with unique digital IDs per square kilometer. Connected individuals must clearly hear each other to communicate effectively, with minimal interference and disruption to themselves and to others, regardless of their external environments. Individuals are increasingly using multiple communications and collaboration tools. They are frequently switching between communications modes and, therefore, they need to integrate multiple contact channels seamlessly through a single endpoint. 

Mega Trend: Mobility

Remote collaboration is enabled by affordable and sophisticated landline and wireless broadband, voice and data connections, advanced endpoints, and unified communications (UC) tools. It is critical, therefore, to provide remote and mobile workers with devices that reduce noise levels and provide integrated access to multiple communications endpoints and thus enable the effective use of advanced communications and collaboration tools.

Plantronics Voyager Legend™ UC

Frost & Sullivan identifies the Voyager Legend as an innovative solution addressing the key Mega Trends. It supports mobile and soft phones, and offers up to seven hours of talk time; three microphones; plus significant improvements in wind noise reduction. It has caller ID/name announcement for incoming calls; the ability to answer or ignore incoming mobile calls by using voice commands; and a voice recognition button for connection and battery status. For more information, visit: http://www.plantronics.com/us/product/voyager-legend-uc

Frost & Sullivan recognizes that Plantronics has invested a significant amount of research and development (R&D) into its industry-first Smart Sensor™ technology, integrated into the Voyager Legend headset lineup. The technology senses when the headset is on or off the user’s head/ear. It then makes smart decisions whether to connect the call automatically or to announce the call and wait for a voice or touch command.

Frost & Sullivan highlights that support for various software applications through Plantronics in-house software development or partnerships creates new use cases for headset devices and enhances their value to end users. For more information about Plantronics Software Development program or to access the SDK, please visit http://developer.plantronics.com

For the Visionary Innovation Leadership Award, the following criteria were used by Frost & Sullivan to benchmark Plantronics performance against key competitors:

·         Understanding and Leverage of Mega Trends

·         Vision Integration Into Strategy Excellence

·         Efficacy of Innovation Process

·         Degree of Impact on Business and Society

·         Alignment with Mega Trends

To access the Frost & Sullivan “Visionary Innovation Award for Unified Communications & Collaboration and Customer-care, North America, 2013” research report in its entirety, please visit: www.plantronics.com/enterpriseconnect2013

Plantronics, Blackwire, Calisto, Savi, Simply Smarter Communications, Smart Sensor and Voyager Legend are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.  All other trademarks are property of the respective owners.

According to Frost & Sullivan, Mega Trends are transformational to business, economy, society, cultures, and personal lives, thereby defining the future world and its increasing pace of change. The Mega Trends affecting UCC and Customer-Care are Connectivity and Convergence and Mobility. 

March 18, 2013 – Enterprise Connect - Orlando, Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) is at the forefront of communication technology trends including smart headsets and the latest in WebRTC (Web Real Time Communication.)  Software and hardware solutions from Plantronics are engineered to bridge the usability challenges facing today’s workforce who rely on PC, mobile and tablets for communication. At the industry’s leading trade show, Enterprise Connect, Plantronics will present the latest in WebRTC integration and demonstrate the power of contextual awareness designed to make communication technology seamless for the end user and the IT professional.

“Smart devices and applications have dramatically changed the way we do business and live our day-to-day lives,” said Joe Burton, senior vice president and CTO at Plantronics. “From context-aware applications that make business run smoother and faster to WebRTC innovation that can effectively make the browser a collaboration platform, the next few months will deliver exciting changes in the communications industry.”

Plantronics is a Silver Sponsor of Enterprise Connect in Orlando (March 18-20, 2013) and has been invited to participate in panel discussions at the inaugural WebRTC Conference within a Conference on Monday. On Wednesday during the general session, “The Power of UC Amplified”, attendees can hear Joe Burton discuss how Plantronics’ devices deliver context into enterprise software applications and innovation made possible by Plantronics’ software developers’ kit and the Plantronics Developers Connection. For more information on Plantronics and Enterprise Connect 2013, please visit www.plantronics.com/enterpriseconnect2013

The Power of UC Amplified Session

UC vendors and users are ideally positioned to take advantage of the new opportunities provided by Plantronics’ software developers program and reap significant rewards such as improved business processes and streamlined communications. Industry expert Joe Burton will provide an overview of context-aware devices and applications that can amplify the UC experience today and ensure optimal positioning for the future. The session is on Wednesday, March 20, from 2:30 – 3:15 pm ET in room ‘Sun C.’

WebRTC Conference within a Conference

WebRTC enables real-time voice and video to be directly embedded into browsers making the browser a primary user interface for communications and collaboration. At the WebRTC ‘conference within a conference’ at Enterprise Connect on Monday, March 18, Plantronics’ senior director of innovation, Cary Bran will join a panel of experts for a discussion and technology demonstration, “Innovation with WebRTC,” from 1-2pm ET. If you miss the first discussion, Bran will also speak on a panel, “WebRTC and Customer Engagement,” at 3:15pm. Both sessions will be held in Osceola 5.

Solutions Designed for UC – Booth 419

Plantronics will showcase hardware products designed for UC and contextually-aware software applications developed by partners including PGi, Sococo and ThreeWill. The suite of CES award-winning UC products includes corded and wireless headsets as well as speakerphones.

·         The Voyager Legend™ UC headset connects to a PC, mobile phone or tablet. This headset understands how and when you want to talk, with industry-first Smart Sensor™ technology that reacts when you put the headset on, letting you quickly take a call without a click.

·         The Blackwire® family of corded USB headsets includes the NEW Blackwire 500 series and the Blackwire 700 series. The Blackwire 700 series is a versatile USB headset that also connects to a Bluetooth® enabled phone or tablet. A detachable cable and integrated clothing clip allow you to take your mobile call to-go with up to 10 hours of talk time.

·         The Calisto® family includes the wireless Calisto 620, a multi-device speakerphone that connects via Bluetooth to a PC and a mobile phone.

·         The Savi® headset line features wideband audio and DECT™ wireless technology, providing lifelike voice fidelity and the ability to roam up to 350 feet from the base. The Savi 700 series connects to PC, mobile and desk phone and allows you to manage all calls from a single wireless headset.

Frost & Sullivan 2013 Visionary Innovation Leadership Award Winner

Plantronics also announced today that Frost & Sullivan has awarded the company a Visionary Innovation Award in recognition of the company’s accomplishments in the Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) and Customer-Care markets. Frost & Sullivan defines Visionary Innovation as the ability to identify key Mega Trends and proactively address unmet needs with disruptive solutions that can greatly improve business performance as well as individuals’ work and personal lives. The press release can be found here: http://press.plantronics.com/us/plantronics-recognized-by-frost-sullivan-with-the-2013-visionary-innovation

Plantronics, Blackwire, Calisto, Savi, Simply Smarter Communications, Smart Sensor and Voyager Legend are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.  All other trademarks are property of the respective owners.

Santa Cruz, Calif., - March 5, 2013 – Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) announces that VP and CIO, Tom Gill, has been named a 2013 Premier 100 IT Leaders honoree by IDG’s Computerworld. This year’s Premier 100 spotlights 100 leaders from both the technology and business sides of companies for their exceptional technology leadership and innovative approaches to business challenges.

“The Premier 100 awards program showcases the exceptional work of a dedicated group of senior IT leaders who are driving huge change in their organizations,” said Scot Finnie, editor in chief of Computerworld. “Every day, these exemplary business leaders make strategic technology decisions that track to their organizations’ top priorities. These men and women keep a keen eye on the changing landscape of political, economic, regulatory and technology trends that are driving significant shifts in IT. We are very pleased to recognize the leadership and achievements of the 2013 Premier 100 honorees.”
“Inclusion in this prestigious honor is a direct reflection of Plantronics’ commitment to invest in IT and I am thrilled to receive this award on behalf of a team of extraordinarily capable IT individuals across the globe,” said Tom Gill, vice president and CIO at Plantronics. “From the CEO and CFO to the business partners within the organization and the global IT team, this honor is shared across Plantronics.”

Tom Gill directs the global IT department at Plantronics. During his tenure as CIO, the Plantronics offices have expanded into twenty three new countries and revenues have grown from $200M to $750M. Gill is the leader of an IT team that is focused on business results with a passion for partnering and customer service. As a thought leader in information technology, Gill will continue to shape and direct the way in which technology and business coexist.

The Premier 100 awards ceremony will be one of the highlights of Computerworld’s annual Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference, to be held March 3-5, 2013, at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, Arizona. The Conference, to be attended by more than 325 influential senior IT managers, will showcase honorees and other IT innovators as they discuss how to create competitive IT organizations. (More information available at www.premier100.com)

About the Premier 100
The Premier 100 program was created in 2000 to spotlight individuals who have had a positive impact on their organizations through technology. These are individuals who manage internal IT organizations, mentor and motivate their IT teams and business colleagues, create a positive work environment, envision innovative solutions to business challenges and effectively manage and execute IT strategies. Each year, nominees are invited to complete a questionnaire that addresses a number of topics, including their background and experience and their attitude toward risk and innovation. Using Computerworld’s IT Leader Index, which is a measurement of how closely an individual matches our definition of the IT Leader, we analyze the data. Each year, 100 honorees are selected to receive this life-time recognition award. Information on previous honorees can be viewed at: www.computerworld.com/s/article/9065479/Premier_100_IT_Leaders

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™
Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

About Computerworld
Computerworld is the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers, providing peer perspective, IT leadership and business results. Computerworld’s award-winning website (www.computerworld.com), bi-weekly publication, focused conference series, custom solutions and custom research forms the hub of the world’s largest (40+ edition) global IT media network and provides opportunities for IT solutions providers to engage this audience. Computerworld leads the industry with an online audience of over 3.5 million unique, monthly visitors (Omniture, August 2012) and was recognized as the Best Website by ASBPE and TABPI in 2012. Computerworld is published by IDG Enterprise, a subsidiary of International Data Group (IDG), the world’s leading media, events and research company. Company information is available at www.idgenterprise.com.

February 19, 2013 ­– Lync Conference 2013 - San Diego – The changing workplace and mobility of today’s workers can present challenges for companies rolling out Unified Communications (UC). Flexible working requires tools that keep people connected in busy airports as easily as from home or in the office and smarter devices that bring context to Microsoft Lync® deliver a more natural experience. Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) understands the way people work and has developed a suite of products designed to make communicating through Microsoft Lync easier, regardless of your environment.

“Enterprises of all sizes can benefit from Microsoft’s productivity software, both on-premise and in the cloud,” said Giovanni Mezgec, General Manager of Lync Product Marketing at Microsoft. “Plantronics’s offerings provide its customers with the ability to accelerate their adoption of new technologies across the enterprise and helps increase employee productivity, efficiency, and organizational flexibility.”

Plantronics Optimized for Microsoft Lync 2013 portfolio includes the Voyager Legend™ UC headset and the Blackwire® 700 series headsets which have sensors than can deliver contextual information into software applications. The intelligence delivered by the Voyager Legend UC includes information such as the person’s proximity to their PC and if they are wearing a headset or not. This information can make it easier for a flexible workforce to connect by providing more accurate presence information.

“Our portfolio of UC products provides great performance and, by tapping into the Plantronics SDK, devices like the Voyager Legend UC can also deliver important information about a person’s physical environment into applications like Lync,” said Bill Loewenthal, vice president of Enterprise Solutions at Plantronics. “With our latest sensor-enabled wearable technology, users can look forward to boosting the power of a Lync environment through contextual intelligence.”

Learn More about Plantronics at Lync Conference 2013

Plantronics is Platinum sponsor of the Lync Conference in San Diego (February 19-21). Attendees are welcome to experience Plantronics’ unified communications portfolio in Booth #1 at the conference. In the booth attendees will see demonstrations of Plantronics contextual intelligence integrated into Microsoft Lync. In addition, Bill Loewenthal along with Plantronics’ CIO Tom Gill will deliver a Partner Session presentation titled, “The Power of UC, Amplified” on Wednesday, February 20 from 8:30am-9:15am.

Can’t be there in person? Follow the action on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LyncConf or https://twitter.com/plantronics or #LyncConf2013

Plantronics Product Families Optimized for Microsoft Lync 2013

Delivering a choice of high quality audio endpoints optimized for Microsoft Lync 2013 can be critical for user adoption. The Optimized for Microsoft Lync 2013 products are available now through authorized Plantronics Distributors and Resellers.

Plantronics Voyager Legend UC: USB Bluetooth® Headset System

The Voyager Legend UC is a CES award-winning product which connects to a PC, mobile phone or tablet. This headset understands how and when you want to talk, with Smart Sensor™ technology that reacts when you put the headset on, letting you quickly take a call without a click. Tapping the voice command button provides battery level, connection status, and more. A portable charging case and a desktop charging stand mean that it’s always ready, while precision-tuned triple mics cancel noise and wind.

Plantronics Blackwire: USB Corded Headsets

The Blackwire family includes the CES award-winning Blackwire 700 series, a versatile headset that goes beyond providing outstanding audio quality by also connecting to a Bluetooth enabled phone or tablet. A detachable cable and integrated clothing clip allow you to take your mobile call to-go with up to 10 hours of talk time.

Plantronics Calisto®: USB Phones & Speakerphones

The Calisto family includes the CES award winning Calisto 620, a multi-device speakerphone that connects to a PC and a mobile phone. The speakerphone is portable, sounds great and sets up easily. It provides up to seven hours of talk time, has its own high-quality travel case, and is an ideal size to throw in a laptop bag.

Plantronics Savi®: DECT™/Bluetooth Wireless Headset Systems

The headset line features wideband audio support through DECT wireless technology, providing lifelike voice fidelity and the ability to roam up to 350 feet from the base. The Savi 700 series connects to PC, mobile and desk phone and allows you to manage all calls from a single wireless headset. The Savi 400 series delivers high sound quality for PC communications and the convenience of portability.

To complete the Optimized for Microsoft Lync portfolio, Plantronics has unveiled several products in its Savi line of long range wireless DECT headsets.

- Savi 710 and Savi 720 – over-the-head headset, available in mono and binaural wearing options, using both DECT and Bluetooth wireless technologies. The Savi 700 Series allows users to easily manage and switch between PC, mobile and desk phone calls from a single wireless headset.

- Savi 410 and Savi 420 – over-the-head headset, available in both mono and binaural wearing options. The Savi 400 Series is the only PC-based wireless headset system with DECT technology that provides the portability, range and audio quality needed for today’s flexible work-styles.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Blacktop, Blackwire, Savi, Simply Smarter Communications, Smart Sensor and Voyager Legend are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. DECT is a trade mark of ETSI registered in France and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

Santa Cruz, Calif. – January 31, 2013 – Commercial drivers navigate a myriad of obstacles while on the road but safely taking and placing phone calls should not be one of them. Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) has introduced a headset specifically designed to keep commercial drivers’ eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. The new Blacktop™ 500 Bluetooth® headset cancels road noise, stays comfortable all day, and lets drivers easily manage calls while complying with the federal law that bans handheld cellular phone use by commercial vehicle drivers.

The Blacktop 500, the in-vehicle version of the award-winning Blackwire® 710 headset, is designed specifically for commercial drivers and truckers. To make an office headset work well in a semi-truck, Plantronics engineered the Blacktop 500 to cancel out road and engine noises that truckers incur on the road and added a convenient in-vehicle charging system. The Blacktop 500 features Plantronics’ Smart Sensor™ technology which detects when the headset is being worn and automatically routes the audio – both calls and media like iTunes and Pandora – from the mobile phone to the headset whenever it’s put on. An in-vehicle charging system delivers unlimited talk time while driving and the USB connection can also be used for Internet chat or movies while taking a break from being behind the wheel.

“Professional drivers, such as cabbies, delivery people and long-haul truckers, have to deal with incredibly challenging communications issues while on the road,” said Lori Langona, director of consumer marketing at Plantronics. “The Blacktop 500 pulls out all the stops when it comes to comfort, sound quality, noise cancellation and hands-free convenience, so that these driving pros can get the job done without missing a step.”

The Blacktop 500 features:

• Wind and noise cancelling microphone that cancels road noise
• Internal Smart Sensor technology for automatic call answer
• Easy Bluetooth controls for mute, power, call answer/end, and volume
• Flexible, adjustable and reinforced headband with a cushioned earpiece for all day comfort
• In-vehicle power charger
• Bluetooth v3.0 + A2DP for audio streaming
• Multipoint to connect to two Bluetooth devices
• Up to 10 hours of talk time and up to 10 days of standby time
• Headset battery meter for iOS devices

Pricing and Availability

The Blacktop 500 is available now for $129.99 MSRP at Plantronics.com, Amazon.com, BestBuy.com and select BestBuy stores, and RadioShack.com.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Blacktop, Blackwire, Simply Smarter Communications and Smart Sensor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.  The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

SANTA CRUZ, CA - January 29, 2013 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced third quarter fiscal year 2013 results. Highlights of the quarter include the following (comparisons are against the third quarter of fiscal year 2012):

• Net revenues were $197.4 million, an increase of 8% compared with $183.2 million.
• GAAP gross margin was 51.8% compared with 52.5%; non-GAAP gross margin was 52.2% compared with 52.8%.
• GAAP operating income was $34.6 million; non-GAAP operating income was $41.7 million as compared to $37.4 million and $42.0 million, respectively.
• GAAP diluted earnings per share (”EPS”) was $0.66, a decrease of $0.05, or 7%, and higher than our guidance of $0.54 to $0.61.
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.73, a decrease of $0.02, or 3%, and higher than our guidance of $0.63 to $0.70.

A reconciliation between our GAAP and non-GAAP results is provided in the tables at the end of this press release.

“We achieved robust growth in Unified Communications (”UC”) net revenues as global adoption of the technology continues,” said Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. “Solid revenue in Office and Contact Center (”OCC”) combined with market share gains in mono Bluetooth in the U.S. furthered our revenue growth in the quarter.”

“We continued to strategically invest in our UC product portfolio to strengthen our position as a leader in UC, while maintaining profitability within our long-term target range,” said Pam Strayer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “We are focused on driving efficiency throughout the company to maximize our long-term investment in UC.”

OCC net revenues increased 5% to $139.4 million compared with $133.3 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 driven by the strength of our UC revenues. Net revenues from UC products, a subset of OCC, grew by 43% to $36.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $25.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Mobile net revenues were $44.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2013, an increase of $8.1 million, or 23%, from $36.0 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 primarily as a result of strong product launches and good product placement in our retail channels.

Dividend Announcement

We also announced that our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. The dividend will be payable on March 11, 2013 to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 20, 2013.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on our current expectations and many of these statements are forward-looking. Actual results are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from our expectations.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to customers within 48 hours of receipt of those orders, and, therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues. In addition, our incoming orders have historically been low during the last two weeks of December and the first half of January, and have then increased significantly into February and March.

Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, particularly with continuing uncertainty in global economic conditions, and there can be no assurance that expectations of incoming orders over the balance of the current quarter will materialize.

Subject to the foregoing, we currently expect the following range of financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013:

• Net revenues of $190 million to $195 million;
• GAAP operating income of $33 million to $35 million;
• Non-GAAP operating income of $39 million to $41 million, excluding the impact of $6 million from stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation, and restructuring costs from GAAP operating income;
• Assuming approximately 42.7 million diluted average weighted shares outstanding:
  • GAAP diluted EPS of $0.63 to $0.67;
  • Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.68 to $0.72; and
  • Cost of stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation and restructuring costs to be approximately $0.09 per diluted share, with an expected partial offset of approximately $0.04 related to the retroactive reinstatement of the research and development (”R&D”) tax credit in the U.S.

Please see our new Investor Relations Presentation available on our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

We have scheduled a conference call to discuss third quarter fiscal year 2013 results. The conference call will take place today, January 29, 2013, at 2:00 PM (Pacific Time). All interested investors and potential investors in our 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 # 70844491 will be available until February 28, 2013 at (855) 859-2056 or (800) 585-8367 for callers from North America and at (404) 537-3406 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast in the Investor Relations section of our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir, and the webcast of the conference call will remain available on our website for 30 days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

For the periods presented, we have excluded certain non-cash expenses and charges, net of tax, including stock-based compensation related to stock options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization, accelerated depreciation, restructuring and other related charges, and an expected retroactive reinstatement of the R&D tax credit, along with the tax benefits from the expiration of certain statutes of limitations from non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP diluted EPS. We exclude these expenses from our non-GAAP measures primarily because management does not consider them as part of our target operating model. We believe that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity and helps investors compare actual results to our long-term target operating model goals. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods; however, non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, gross margin, operating income, operating margin, the effective tax rate, net income, or EPS prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our expenses and our long-term operating margin target, (ii) our estimates of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, including net revenues, operating income and diluted EPS; (iii) our estimates of stock-based compensation, accelerated depreciation, restructuring and other related charges, and tax benefits from the expiration of certain statutes of limitation, and the retroactive reinstatement of the R&D tax credit for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, as well as the impact of these non-cash expenses on Non-GAAP operating income and diluted EPS; and (iv) our estimate of weighted average shares outstanding for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013, in addition to other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. We do 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:

• Micro and macro economic conditions in our domestic and international markets;
• our ability to realize our UC plans and to achieve the financial results projected to arise from UC adoption could be adversely affected by a variety of factors including the following: (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 Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Avaya, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, and IBM, 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, and our support expenditures may substantially increase over time due to the complex nature of the platforms developed by the major UC providers as these platforms continue to evolve and become more commonly adopted; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically complex and this may delay or limit 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 on a timely basis; (iv) our development of UC solutions is dependent on our ability to implement and execute new and different processes in connection with the design, development and manufacturing of complex electronic systems comprised of hardware, firmware and software that must work in a wide variety of environments and multiple variations, which may in some instances increase the risk of development delays or errors and require the hiring of new personnel and/or third party contractors which increases our costs; (v) because UC offerings involve complex integration of hardware and software with UC infrastructure, our sales model and expertise will need to continue to evolve; (vi) 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; (vii) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate; and, (viii) UC may evolve rapidly and unpredictably and our inability to timely and cost-effectively adapt to those changes and future requirements may impact our profitability in this market and our overall margins;
• failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts and materials to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
• volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have in the past and could in the future negatively affect our profitability and/or market share;
• fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
• with respect to our stock repurchase program, prevailing stock market conditions generally, and the price of our stock specifically;
• the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers;
• 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 that might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico; and
• seasonality in one or more of our business segments.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2012 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
• Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures
• Summary of Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures and Other Unaudited GAAP Data

View All

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and the logo design 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.

Integration of Contextual Intelligence Makes Virtual Meetings More Effective

ATLANTA & SANTA CRUZ, Calif.– January 23, 2013 – PGi (NYSE: PGI), a global leader in virtual meetings for more than 20 years, and Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT), a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers, today launched an integrated solution that leverages the power of contextual intelligence to make collaborative meetings more effective. Bringing together the Plantronics Voyager  Legend™ UC headset and iMeet, PGi’s cloud-based social video conferencing solution, provides users with a more natural and intuitive virtual meeting experience.

With the integration, iMeet can take advantage of contextual intelligence, through aspects of a user’s physical world, to trigger specific actions within the meeting. For example, iMeet will know if a user is wearing their Plantronics Voyager Legend UC headset and whether they are available to take a video call or if they are busy and unable to meet. Users can launch an iMeet meeting with a single tap of their headset, and iMeet will automatically signal other meeting guests if the user mutes or takes off their headset and when they step away from the meeting. The result is a simpler, smarter virtual meeting, free from confusion and the awkward: “Are you there, Bob? … Uh, sorry, I was on mute.”

“The changing needs of today’s workforce are clear – people need to stay productive and engaged with their co-workers, partners and customers from wherever they are, regardless of the device they are using to communicate,” said David Guthrie, PGi Chief Technology Officer. “PGi has been on the forefront of creating innovative collaboration technologies for more than 20 years, and with this first-of-its-kind integration, we’re again breaking new ground for the industry by making meetings more effective.”

Plantronics, whose UC headsets have been designed for broad compatibility using an open development platform, developed the Voyager Legend UC headset to enable easy integration with software solutions. PGi has tapped into the Plantronics Spokes™ SDK to enhance iMeet and support a more natural way for users to interact, from the office, at home or on the go. PGi is continuing to develop additional integration features with the Voyager Legend UC headset, such as the ability for iMeet users to seamlessly transition from a mobile call to a VoIP call through their desktop computer, which it plans to offer later this year.

“We launched our Plantronics development community to allow ISVs to improve their applications by responding to the state information from our wearable technology.  PGi is one of the early innovators to utilize our product’s contextual awareness capabilities,” said Barry Margerum, Chief Strategy Officer, Plantronics. “Contextual awareness, such as if a person is wearing a headset or near a video-enabled PC, allows iMeet users to more naturally and productively interact with remote colleagues. Our SDK has allowed PGi to bring aspects of a person’s physical environment into their virtual environments, making meetings more effective.”

Plantronics’ Spokes™ Software and the Plantronics Developer Connection

With the Spokes SDK, developers can integrate contextual information such as mobile phone caller ID, mobile phone call state, proximity to a connected PC and headset wearing state.  By incorporating information from the physical world, context aware software can dramatically improve business productivity.  If you’re a developer and you want more information and to download the software developer’s kit (SDK), visit the Plantronics Developer’s Connection at http://developer.plantronics.com or learn more about Plantronics’ integration partners here: http://www.plantronics.com/us/partners/developers/.

Voyager Legend UC – The Next Generation of an Iconic Communications Device

Plantronics Voyager Legend UC is the award-winning Voyager® family’s latest solution which connects to a laptop, mobile phone or tablet. This headset understands how and when you want to talk, with industry-first Smart Sensor™ technology that reacts when you put the headset on, letting you quickly take a call without a click. Tapping the voice command button provides battery level, connection status, and more. A portable charging case and a desktop charging stand mean that it’s always ready, while precision-tuned triple mics cancel noise and wind. The Voyager Legend UC is now available for $199.95 MSRP at Plantronics.com and through authorized resellers and distributors.  For more information, please visit http://www.plantronics.com/us/product/voyager-legend-uc.

iMeet – An Innovation in Face-to-Face Virtual Communication and Collaboration

iMeet is PGi’s award winning cloud-based solution that lets people meet face-to-face online from anywhere on any device. iMeet features a highly intuitive interface and lets you meet with up to 15 people in HD video. iMeet can help companies save money on travel costs and still be highly productive. Common iMeet uses include sales meetings, recruiting interviews, client service, team meetings and more. For more information or to get a free trial, please visit: http://www.pgi.com/products/imeet.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100™, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

About Premiere Global Services, Inc. │ PGi
PGi has been a global leader in virtual meetings for 20 years. PGi’s cloud-based solutions deliver multi-point, real-time virtual collaboration using video, voice and file sharing technologies. PGi solutions are available via desktops, tablets or mobile devices, helping businesses worldwide be more productive, mobile and green. PGi has a global presence in 25 countries and an established base of more than 35,000 enterprise customers, including 75% of the Fortune 100. In the last five years, PGi has hosted nearly one billion people from 137 countries in over 200 million meetings. For more information, visit PGi at www.pgi.com.

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Statements made in this press release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management’s current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in Premiere Global Services, Inc.’s forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following factors: competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; technological changes and the development of alternatives to our services; market acceptance of new cloud-based, virtual meeting services, including our iMeet^® and GlobalMeet^® services; our ability to attract new customers and to retain and further penetrate our existing customers; risks associated with challenging global economic conditions; price increases from our telecommunications service providers; service interruptions and network downtime; technological obsolescence and our ability to upgrade our equipment or increase our network capacity; concerns regarding the security of transactions; future write-downs of goodwill or other intangible assets; greater than anticipated tax liabilities; restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and the market reaction thereto; our level of indebtedness; risks associated with acquisitions and divestitures; the impact of the sale of our PGiSend business; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights, including possible adverse results of litigation or infringement claims; regulatory or legislative changes, including further government regulations applicable to traditional telecommunications service providers and data privacy; risks associated with international operations and market expansion, including fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and other factors described from time to time in our press releases, reports and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.

Plantronics®, Smart Sensor™, Voyager Legend™, Voyager®, Spokes™ and Simply Smarter Communications™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

“Genevieve comes to us with a track record of leading successful communication programs at companies that lead their markets,” said Marilyn Mersereau, chief marketing officer at Plantronics. “We’re confident she will bring the same creativity and drive to strengthen the Plantronics brand worldwide.”

Haldeman brings a wealth of expertise to Plantronics based on a successful career that spans enterprise, consumer and security technologies. She has been a communications professional for more than 20 years, which has included executive roles and worldwide responsibilities at industry leaders Symantec and SAP. Most recently, Haldeman was vice president of global communications at Webroot, a software company that provides Internet security solutions for consumers and small and medium businesses.

“I am excited to join such a recognized industry leader that is setting the pace for what is to come in wearable technology,” said Haldeman. “With a long history of innovation in the audio experience for both consumers and enterprise customers, Plantronics is poised to lead the industry in unified communications and beyond.”

During her career, Haldeman has successfully developed and executed communications strategies for global positioning, executive thought leadership and mergers and acquisitions, among other corporate issues. While at Symantec, she managed communications for the merger between Symantec and VERITAS, a multi-billion dollar transaction that was the second largest software merger at the time.

Haldeman has won numerous professional awards from the International Association of Business Communicators, Public Relations Society of America, PR Source Code and YWCA of Silicon Valley.

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics is a registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

The Cisco Developer Network unites Cisco with third-party developers of hardware and software to deliver tested interoperable solutions to joint customers.  As a Preferred Solution Developer, Plantronics has worked closely with Cisco to deliver enhanced solutions that deliver greater interoperability with Cisco networking solutions.  Plantronics also shares Cisco’s strong commitment to customer service and satisfaction, has completed interoperability verification testing* based on criteria set forth by Cisco, and can provide their customers 24 hour, 5 days a week customer support.  

With offerings such as the Savi ^® 700 Series, Blackwire^® 300/400/600 Series, CS500 Series, Voyager^® PRO UC, and Calisto^® 800 Series audio devices listed as CDN tested compatible in the Cisco Developer Network Marketplace Solutions Catalog [https://marketplace.cisco.com/catalog/companies/Plantronics], customers can more quickly deploy a broad range of Cisco Compatible business applications, devices, or services that can enhance the capabilities, performance, and management of their Cisco network. 

For more information on Plantronics solutions, please visit http://www.plantronics.com/us/partners/cisco/

 * Interoperability testing is designed to simulate typical customer configurations, and does not replace the need for on-site testing in conjunction with actual implementation.

Joe Burton, CTO and SVP of technology, development and strategy, Plantronics and Cary Bran, Senior Director of Advanced Software Integration at Plantronics, demonstrated seamless integration of Plantronics headsets into a WebRTC call flow.  

“Plantronics is on the forefront of unleashing the power of WebRTC,” said Rich Tehrani, CEO at TMC. “The company’s open APIs allow tight coupling of headset state and application functionality and moreover allow the new wave of WebRTC-based solutions to communicate seamlessly over bluetooth to Plantronics headsets.”

For a technical perspective on the integration and sample code for Plantronics’ WebRTC integration, please visit the Plantronics Developers Connection and read Cary Bran’s blog on Integrating Plantronics Call Control with WebRTC

The WebRTC Conference & Expo Demonstrations and Awards was the highlight of the event with live demonstrations of applications and solutions utilizing WebRTC and culminated with six awards being presented. Phil Edholm of PKE Consulting, Carl Ford of Crossfire Media, Martin Geddes of Martin Geddes Consulting LTD, Blair Pleasant of COMMFusion, and Dean Bubley of Disruptive Analysis acted as judges for the three hour event. 

“When we decided to include these demos as part of our program, our expectation was to see lab work, but in truth we saw demonstrations that are either ready for market trials or already implemented. Plantronics clearly stood out and it was an honor to give them this distinction,” said Carl Ford, CEO of Crossfire Media and a judge of the Demo event.

WebRTC Conference and Expo is billed as the event where architects, enablers and users of Web Real-Time Communication (RTC) gather to advance the standards, and discover the most promising emerging applications for WebRTC.  

About TMC

TMC is a global, integrated media company that helps clients build communities in print, in person and online. TMC publishes multiple magazines including CUSTOMER, INTERNET TELEPHONY, M2M Evolution and Cloud Computing. TMCnet is read by more than 1.5 million unique visitors each month, and is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMC is also the producer of ITEXPO, the world’s leading B2B communications event, as well as industry events: M2M Evolution; Cloud4SMB Expo; DevCon5; HTML5 Summit; Super Wi-Fi Summit, CVx; AstriCon; StartupCamp; MSPWorld and more. Visit TMC Events for a complete listing and further information.

For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com.

Santa Cruz, Calif. – November 28, 2012 – Playing to its strength of delivering communications firsts, Plantronics today unveiled source code that integrates headset functionality for WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communications) environments, including call control and contextual data such as proximity and state information. Plantronics CTO, Joe Burton, will provide more details about these breakthroughs during his keynote at the WebRTC Conference and Expo, taking place today at the South San Francisco Conference Center.

Although it’s currently possible to use a Bluetooth® headset for a WebRTC call, it requires a high level of manual interaction – including hardcoding sample rates or direct configuration in the browser – that still doesn’t deliver fully integrated functionality. Plantronics’ solution eliminates these steps through native integration with WebRTC using HTML5 only, leveraging websockets to integrate Plantronics’ headsets and the company’s Spokes™ software into the WebRTC call flow. The use of standard websocket communications means important information about the headset, such as audio sample rate, can be dynamically set by the web application. All of this is accomplished without any additional software (plug-ins) running in the browser.

Sample code for Plantronics’ WebRTC integration is available free of charge at GitHub and can also be accessed through the Plantronics developer community: Plantronics Developer Connection (PDC). Additionally, WebRTC Conference and Expo attendees are invited to stop by the Plantronics booth to see a demonstration first-hand, featuring input from Plantronics, Mozilla, and Cisco.

“Plantronics has been at the forefront of groundbreaking communications innovation for decades and integration with WebRTC is no exception,” said Joe Burton, CTO and SVP of technology, development and strategy, Plantronics. “WebRTC is poised to explode as a vehicle for improvements in business workflow and consumer engagement alike, and we’re excited to be a part of the effort as it begins to take off.”

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Simply Smarter Communications, and Spokes are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.  The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

American Express, founding partner of Small Business Saturday, is preparing for the third annual initiative. In 2011, millions of consumers shopped at small businesses on Small Business Saturday. According to the Small Businesses Association, small businesses nationwide have accounted for 65 percent of net new jobs created over the past 17 years and represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.

“Small Business Saturday has resonated with the American public in a very short period of time. We are proud to be a supporter of the small businesses that play such a major role in fueling the U.S. economy. Communications is the lifeblood of a small business and this is where Plantronics can help by providing flexible communication tools and services,” said Judi Hembrough, director of SMB marketing at Plantronics.

Getting Involved in Small Business Saturday

American Express has created a variety of ways to help raise awareness about the importance of supporting small businesses and motivate consumers to Shop Small®. Small business owners and their supporters can visit ShopSmall.com to take advantage of some of these tools, including:

“Innovation is at our core and we continue to drive our technology to help simplify and improve the communication experience for business and individuals alike,” said Joe Burton, chief technology officer at Plantronics. “Being honored by CEA year after year highlights Plantronics position as a true innovator and industry leader.”

Products entered in this prestigious program are judged by a preeminent panel of independent industrial designers, engineers and members of the media to honor outstanding design and engineering in cutting edge consumer electronics products across 29 product categories.

Voyager Legend UC

The Voyager Legend UC, the unified communications version of the award winning Voyager Legend headset, placed in two innovation categories; Wireless Handset Accessories and Computer Accessories. The Voyager Legend UC works seamlessly with a mobile phone and computer for softphone calls. It has three precisely tuned microphones and enhanced DSP that optimize your voice and minimize noise caused by wind, movement, and background sounds. Industry-first Smart Sensor™ technology intuitively directs calls to your phone or headset and allows you to automatically answer by placing the headset on your ear. The Voyager Legend proactively delivers voice alerts to keep you informed of battery level, connection status and announces caller name.

Blackwire 720

The one of a kind Blackwire 720 is an honoree in the Headset category as a device that provides the best of both worlds; wireless flexibility with corded reliability. The versatile headset goes beyond providing outstanding PC audio quality by also connecting to a Bluetooth® enabled phone or tablet.  A detachable cable and integrated clothing clip allow you to take your mobile call to-go with up to 10 hours of talk time. The headset also automatically routes the audio from the mobile phone to the headset whenever it’s put on—and vice versa.

Calisto 620

The Calisto 620 wireless speakerphone has been recognized for the Computer Peripherals category.  As the first wireless speakerphone designed for use with your laptop or smartphone, Calisto 620 is portable, sounds great and sets up easily. It provides a reliable up to seven-hour talk time and the portable Calisto 620, (in its own high-quality travel case) is an ideal size to throw in your laptop bag. The Calisto 620 delivers intelligent bi-directional microphones that activate in the direction of the speaker’s voice, wideband PC audio and 360-degree microphone pickup.

M55

The honoree for In-Vehicle Accessories, the M55 headsets feature Plantronics’ new DeepSleep™ mode that lets the headset stay charged for up to five months, so it’s ready when you want to hear music, listen to podcasts or simply place and take calls whenever, wherever. DeepSleep technology activates when the headset is away from your phone for more than 90 minutes. This feature is ideal for users that often leave their headset in the car and ensures that the device is ready when they are.

Find MyHeadset

The perfect app for Plantronics’ mobile headset user is Find MyHeadset™. As an honoree for the Software and Mobile Applications category, this application is designed to help Plantronics customers locate their missing headsets. Regardless of whether the headset is on or off, charged or not, recently missing, or lost for weeks, Find MyHeadset offers people two unique ways to find their Plantronics device; Send a Tone or the BackTrack™ feature.

About the International CES Innovations Design and Engineering Awards

The prestigious Innovations Design and Engineering Awards are sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^®, the producer of the International CES, the world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow, and have been recognizing achievements in product design and engineering since 1976.

Plantronics’ Voyager Legend UC, Blackwire 720, Calisto 620, M55, and the Find MyHeadset app, will be displayed in The Venetian at the 2013 International CES, which runs January 8-11, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Honorees will also be displayed at CES Unveiled: The Official Press Event of the International CES from 4-7 p.m. on Sunday, January 6 in the South Seas Ballroom C at Mandalay Bay.

The Innovations entries are judged based on the following criteria:

• Engineering qualities, based on technical specs and materials used
• Aesthetic and design qualities, using photos provided
• The product’s intended use/function and user value
• Unique/novel features that consumers would find attractive
• How the design and innovation of the product compares to other products in the marketplace

Products chosen as an Innovations honoree reflect innovative design and engineering of the entries. Examples may include the first time various technologies are combined in a single product or dramatic enhancements to previous product designs.

Innovations 2013 Design and Engineering honoree products are featured on http://cesweb.org/Awards/CES-Innovations-Awards.aspx, which lists product categories, as well as each product name, manufacturer information, designer, description, photo and URL.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications^TM

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Simply Smarter Communications, BackTrack, Blackwire, Calisto, DeepSleep, Find MyHeadset, Marque, M55, Vocalyst and Voyager Legend are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

Earnings per Share Exceeds Guidance, Unified Communications Net Revenues Grow 35% Year-over-Year

SANTA CRUZ, CA - October 30, 2012 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced second quarter fiscal year 2013 results. The following comparisons are to the second quarter of fiscal year 2012:

• Net revenues were $179.3 million, an increase of 1% compared with $176.9 million.
• GAAP gross margin was 54.2% compared with 55.9%; non-GAAP gross margin was 54.7% compared with 56.3%.
• GAAP operating income was $34.5 million; non-GAAP operating income was $39.9 million.
• GAAP diluted earnings per share (”EPS”) was $0.61, an increase of $0.01 and 2%.
  • Guidance provided on August 6, 2012 was $0.54 to $0.59.
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.70, an increase of $0.03 per share and 4%.
  • Guidance provided on August 6, 2012 was $0.63 to $0.68.

A reconciliation between our GAAP and non-GAAP results is provided in the tables at the end of this press release.

“We achieved another strong quarter of growth in Unified Communications (”UC”) net revenues, despite a challenging economic environment,” said Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. “Our innovation in the UC market continues to yield new partnerships, applications and products which deliver on our brand promise to simplify communications while increasing organizational productivity.”

“Our second quarter non-GAAP operating margin was towards the high end of our long-term target range of 20% to 23%,” said Pam Strayer, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. “We will continue to manage expenses for an uncertain economic environment and will strive to maintain our long-term operating margin target.”

Office and Contact Center (”OCC”) weakness in Asia Pacific and Europe was offset by stronger OCC net revenues in the U.S., resulting in a 2% decrease in OCC net revenues to $133.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $136.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012. Net revenues from UC products, a subset of OCC, grew by 35% to $30.1 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $22.4 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Mobile net revenues were $33.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, an increase of $5.0 million, or 18%, from $28.3 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2012 primarily as a result of an increase in the overall Bluetooth category at U.S. Retail, driven by an increase in stereo headsets.

Dividend Announcement

We also announced that our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. The dividend will be payable on December 10, 2012 to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 20, 2012.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on our current expectations and many of these statements are forward-looking. Actual results are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from our expectations.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to customers within 48 hours of receipt of those orders, and, therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues.

Our December quarter has historically been a stronger quarter than the September quarter, and the current bookings trend supports our belief that net revenues will be in the ranges below. Our business is inherently difficult to forecast, particularly with continuing uncertainty in global economic conditions, and there can be no assurance that expectations of incoming orders over the balance of the current quarter will materialize.

Subject to the foregoing, we currently expect the following range of financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2013:

• Net revenues of $183 million to $190 million;
• GAAP operating income of $31 million to $35 million;
• Non-GAAP operating income of $37 million to $41 million, excluding the impact of $6 million from both stock-based compensation and accelerated depreciation from GAAP operating income;
• Assuming approximately 42.9 million diluted average weighted shares outstanding:

• GAAP diluted EPS of $0.54 to $0.61;
• Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.63 to $0.70; and
• Cost of stock-based compensation and accelerated depreciation to be approximately $0.09 per diluted share.

Please see our new Investor Relations Presentation available on our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

We have scheduled a conference call to discuss second quarter fiscal year 2013 results. The conference call will take place today, October 30, 2012, at 2:00 PM (Pacific Time). All interested investors and potential investors in our 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 # 23793037 will be available until November 30, 2012 at (855) 859-2056 for callers from North America and at (404) 537-3406 for all other callers. The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast in the Investor Relations section of our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir, and the webcast of the conference call will remain available on our website for 30 days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

For the periods presented, we have excluded certain non-cash expenses and charges, net of tax, including stock-based compensation related to stock options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization and accelerated depreciation from non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP diluted EPS. We exclude these expenses from our non-GAAP measures primarily because management does not consider them as part of our target operating model. We believe that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity and helps investors compare actual results to our long-term target operating model goals. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods; however, non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, gross margin, operating income, operating margin, the effective tax rate, net income or EPS prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our expenses and our long-term operating margin target, (ii) our estimates of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2013, including net revenues, operating income and diluted EPS; (iii) our estimates of stock-based compensation and accelerated depreciation for the third quarter of fiscal year 2013, as well as the impact of these non-cash expenses on Non-GAAP operating income and diluted EPS; and (iv) our estimate of weighted average shares outstanding for the third quarter of fiscal year 2013, in addition to other matters discussed in this press release that are not purely historical data. We do 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:

• Micro and macro economic conditions in our domestic and international markets;
• 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) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically complex and this may delay or inhibit 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) our plans are dependent upon adoption of our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Avaya, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, and IBM, 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, and our support expenditures may substantially increase over time due to the complex nature of the platforms developed by the major UC providers as these platforms continue to evolve and become more commonly adopted;
• failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts and materials to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
• volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have and could negatively affect our profitability and/or market share;
• fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
• with respect to our stock repurchase program, prevailing stock market conditions generally, and the price of our stock specifically;
• the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers; 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 that might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2012 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
• Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures
• Summary of Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures and Other Unaudited GAAP Data

View All

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics and the logo design 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.

Santa Cruz, Calif. – October 22, 2012 – In a rush, jumping from a mobile call to a webinar and wish you could use one audio device?  Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) has you covered with the launch of three products designed for different flavors of flexible working. From noisy open office environments to impromptu meetings on the go there’s a greater need for mobility throughout the day. Plantronics’ new line-up includes a Bluetooth® speakerphone, a crossover USB Bluetooth headset and the award-winning Voyager Legend™ UC headset.

“For many professionals, conducting business from a cubicle or closed office environment has become a thing of the past. Work has become much more about what someone does and a lot less about where they do it,” said Rob Arnold, Senior Analyst, Frost & Sullivan. “ With that said, it’s important for companies to equip their mobile professionals with the latest solutions that not only give them the flexibility to communicate well regardless of where they are, but that also make the user experience as intuitive as possible, and that’s something Plantronics has down to a science.”

Plantronics suite of business mobility products include:

Voyager Legend UC – The Next Generation of an Iconic Communications Device

Plantronics Voyager Legend UC is the award-winning Voyager family’s latest solution which connects to a laptop, mobile phone or tablet. This headset understands how and when you want to talk, with industry-first Smart Sensor™ technology that reacts when you put the headset on, letting you quickly take a call without a click. Tapping the voice command button provides battery level, connection status, and more. A portable charging case and a desktop charging stand mean that it’s always ready, while precision-tuned triple mics cancel noise and wind. For more information, visit http://launchkit.plantronics.com/products/voyager-legend-uc/

Blackwire® Series – The Crossover Headset Where Corded Reliability Meets Wireless Flexibility

This versatile headset goes beyond providing outstanding PC audio quality by also connecting to a Bluetooth enabled phone or tablet. The Blackwire 700 series is the first corded headset to feature Plantronics’ Smart Sensor technology, which tells the headset when it is being worn so it can pause music and route calls intuitively. A detachable cable and integrated clothing clip allow you to take your mobile call to-go with up to 10 hours of talk time. For more information, visit www.plantronics.com/product/blackwire-700

Calisto® 620 – The No Cord, No Fuss Speakerphone

The first wireless speakerphone designed for use with your laptop or smartphone, Calisto 620 is portable, sounds great and sets up easily. It provides a reliable seven-hour talk time and the portable Calisto 620, (in its own high-quality travel case) is an ideal size to throw in your laptop bag. Plantronics’ leading-edge technology delivers intelligent bi-directional microphones that activate in the direction of the speaker’s voice, wideband PC audio and 360-degree microphone pickup. For more information, visit www.plantronics.com/product/calisto-600

“Work is something you do, not a place you go,” said Amy Huson, senior director of enterprise marketing at Plantronics. “In a typical week, I find myself working from home, the car, and office but I need to sound professional all the time.  These new enterprise mobility products help people communicate effectively wherever the day takes them.” 

 MSRP Pricing and Availability

Voyager Legend UC will be available in January 2013 for $199.95. Blackwire 710 (monaural) and Blackwire 720 (stereo) are available now for $129.95 and $149.95 respectively. Calisto 620 is available now for $149.95. These enterprise mobility products are available through authorized Plantronics distributors and resellers.

###

Plantronics, Blackwire, Calisto, Simply Smarter Communications, Smart Sensor, Spokes and Voyager Legend are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.  All other trademarks are property of the respective owners

Santa Cruz, Calif. – October 22, 2012 – Are you tired of missing mobile calls when you’re working on your computer? If you’re listening to music or on a softphone call, mobile calls can easily be missed. With the new Blackwire® 700 series from Plantronics (NYSE: PLT), you can easily be connected to both your PC and mobile phone with all-day comfort and excellent audio. The Blackwire 700 series is the first corded headset to feature Plantronics’ Smart Sensor® technology, which tells the headset when it is being worn so it can pause music and route calls intuitively.

Ideal for people who use a PC and a mobile phone or tablet, this versatile headset goes beyond providing outstanding PC audio quality by also connecting to a Bluetooth® enabled phone or tablet. A detachable cable and integrated clothing clip allow you to take your mobile call to-go with up to 10 hours of talk time.

“There are some big trends happening at work – people are working in open offices and people are bringing their own devices to work. This presents challenges such as privacy and multi-device connectivity. The Blackwire 700 is the industry’s first corded USB headset, designed for softphone calls and listening to music, that also allows people to take a mobile phone call on-the-go when privacy is desired,” said Amy Huson, senior director of enterprise marketing at Plantronics.

Sensors in the headset detect when the headset is being worn or not and enable features such as being able to answer a call by simply putting on the headset, or pause media such as iTunes or Pandora on your mobile device by taking it off.  The headset also automatically routes the audio from the mobile phone to the headset whenever it’s put on—and vice versa.  

In addition to Smart Sensor technology, the Blackwire 700 series features:

·         Intuitive inline controls to answer/end calls, control volume, and mute

·         Detachable cable with integrated clothing clip to take your mobile calls throughout the office

·         Inline indicator lights and voice prompts give connection, mute and volume status  and lights on the ear pad let colleagues know when you’re on a call 

·         PC wideband audio with noise-canceling microphones and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for high-quality PC telephony

·         Integrated A2DP lets you listen to streaming media from your mobile phone or tablet

·         Includes a high-quality, durable carrying case for easy storage and portability

The Blackwire 700 can be enhanced by downloading Plantronics Spokes® software. The added benefits include:

·         Call control across multiple softphones 

·         Ability to customize sensor features

·         Battery status meter appears as an icon in the PC System Tray 

·         Access to firmware updates as they become available 

Pricing and Availability

The Blackwire 700 series is available now and consists of two models available in either a standard version or a version optimized for use with Microsoft Lync (-M):

·         Blackwire 710 (C710, C710-M) single-ear headset; perfect for people who want one ear uncovered so they can hear what’s happening around them ($129.95 MSRP)

·         Blackwire 720 (C720, C720-M) dual-ear hi-fi stereo headset; perfect for people who want an immersive audio experience to listen to music or multi-media ($149.95 MSRP)

These Blackwire 700 series are available through authorized Plantronics distributors and resellers.  For more information visit www.plantronics.com/product/blackwire-700

Coming Soon from Plantronics: The Blacktop™ 500 Bluetooth Headset

The Blacktop 500, the in-car version of the Blackwire 710, is designed for the long haul – ideal for truckers and commercial drivers. To make an office headset work great in a semi-truck, Plantronics engineers improved inbound audio with a powerful speaker and added a noise-canceling microphone with wind screen.  An in-car charger delivers unlimited talk time while driving and the USB connection can also be used for Internet chat or movies while taking a break from behind the wheel. Blacktop 500 will be available in November to US customers. To find out more information, including where to buy Blacktop 500, visit www.plantronics.com/us/product/blacktop-500

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Plantronics, Blacktop, Blackwire, Simply Smarter Communications, Smart Sensor and Spokes are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are property of the respective owners.

Santa Cruz, Calif. – October 9, 2012 – From the workplace to home life and everywhere in between, Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) knows that one of the biggest risks to the performance of electronic devices is exposure to moisture - including rain, humidity, sweat and accidental spills. Plantronics, along with P2i, the world leader in liquid repellent nano-coating technology, today announced an exclusive partnership where P2i’s nano-coating technology will be used on select Plantronics devices causing liquid to simply bead up and run off the headset instead of permeating electrical components potentially leading to corrosion damage.

The invisible P2i coating, originally designed to treat soldiers’ uniforms as protection from environmental and chemical hazards, has a thickness equivalent to one thousandth of a human hair and does not change the look or feel of the Plantronics product. Its ultra-thin size means it also does not affect electrical conductivity, so the entire product, inside and out, can be treated. Coating every surface of the product adds significant protection against damage from moisture. The new award-winning Voyager Legend™ and BackBeat® GO headsets, including the soon to be released white BackBeat GO headset, include P2i’s nano-coating.

“For an active person always on the go, moisture shouldn’t alter the performance of their headset. As experts in wearable technology, Plantronics recognizes that whatever the environment, our customers expect their headsets to operate round the clock. P2i’s nano-coating allows us to take our products one step further, providing industry leading moisture protection,” said Tanguy Leborgne, vice president of consumer solutions at Plantronics.

Dr. Stephen Coulson, chief technical officer at P2i said, “Already benefiting millions of smartphones and tablets, we are very excited to be working with Plantronics. The recognition by such a prestigious brand really validates the benefits achieved with our revolutionary technology.”

CTIA attendees can see the latest Plantronics products with P2i’s nano-coating technology, including the new Voyager Legend and BackBeat GO headsets, at Pepcom’s MobileFocus on October 9^th from 7:00 - 10:00 pm PT at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel near the San Diego convention center.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Simply Smarter Communications, Voyager Legend, and BackBeat GO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.  The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

About P2i Technology

P2i’s technology is a revolutionary liquid repellent nano-coating for electronics. It provides unbeatable protection against corrosion damage, reducing warranty failure and repair costs and ultimately increasing user confidence.

The technology is applied using a special pulsed ionized gas (plasma), which is created within a vacuum chamber, to attach a nanoscopic polymer layer – one thousand times thinner than a human hair – to the electronic device. This dramatically lowers the product’s surface energy, so that when humidity, sweat or oleos substances come into contact with it, they form beads and simply roll off.

Plus, because the P2i technology can coat every aspect of a finished product at the nanoscopic level, it protects much more thoroughly than alternative approaches where individual product components are treated prior to assembly. The result is a truly durable liquid repellent coating that does not affect the product’s look, feel or delicate acoustic properties.

The extremely compact and lightweight BackBeat GO boasts rich stereo sound, noise reduction technology for improved call clarity, and inline controls that allow you to take calls, skip tracks, and adjust volume all at your fingertips. The newly enhanced version, now available in white or black, includes exclusive nano-coating technology protecting the earbuds from sweat and other moisture damage, be it environmental or accidental. Other enhanced features include increased max volume, up to eight device memory and pre-installed ear stabilizers.

CTIA attendees can see the latest office and mobile Plantronics by products, including the newest BackBeat GO and new award-winning Voyager Legend™, at Pepcom’s MobileFocus on October 9^th from 7:00 - 10:00 pm PT at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel near the San Diego convention center.

Pricing and Availability

Plantronics BackBeat GO is available for $99 MSRP on Plantronics.com and through select retailers.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatches, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, BackBeat GO, Voyager Legend, and Simply Smart Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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About Tonalite:

Tonalite was a product & design company of innovative wireless wearable products. The company consisted of a passionate and highly experienced team, supported by an extensive network of technology suppliers, assembly partners and development support companies. Tonalite covered the complete “product development life cycle” which includes creation, development and production of products.

About Plantronics:

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for business and consumers. It has pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communications to Bluetooth headsets, Plantronics delivers uncompromising quality, an ideal experience and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100 as well as by 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call +1 (800) 544-4660.

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

SANTA CRUZ, CA— Sept. 25, 2012— Professionals using Plantronics headsets who communicate and collaborate over Unified Communications platforms can now boost their efficiency even further by downloading Plantronics’ (PLT:NYSE) flagship call control software, Spokes™.

Spokes is a comprehensive software product family that makes it easier for people to find, connect, and collaborate when using a Plantronics audio device in conjunction with their preferred UC software platform. The Spokes software call control capabilities include answer/end, volume adjust, and mute –ensuring individuals and companies receive the maximum communications benefits possible from their UC implementation and investment.

IT managers can easily deploy and manage Spokes software across the enterprise using Plantronics Enterprise Manager (PEM), a two-in-one software solution for IT that gives them the ability to edit the Spokes installation file and create a customized package. In addition, software developers can create a broad range of “smart” applications that leverage contextual information known by the audio device (such as proximity to a PC, presence, user ID, etc.) using the Spokes software developer kit (SDK).

“Plantronics’ Spokes portfolio lets enterprise users optimize their UC audio experience with handy call control, but it also enables so much more,” said Bill Loewenthal, vice president of Unified Communications Solutions, Plantronics. “With the availability of the Spokes SDK, developers can now tap into the unique information known only by the headset, and through applications, create an even richer and more intuitive communications environment.”

Spokes software enables maximum communications benefits across all areas of the enterprise. It is currently available for the following platforms:

· Spokes for Windows: Plantronics software for Windows® helps your Plantronics audio device work seamlessly with leading UC vendors softphones such as Microsoft®, Cisco®, Avaya®, as well as Skype and more. Learn more and download it here: www.plantronics.com/us/support/software-downloads/business-windows.jsp

· Spokes for Mac: Plantronics extends its leadership position in Unified Communications with support for the Apple® Mac OS® platform. Plantronics Spokes for Mac software supports both Skype and now also IBM® Sametime®, giving users an opportunity to enhance their communications environments. Learn more and download it here: http://www.plantronics.com/us/support/software-downloads/business-mac.jsp

· Spokes for IBM Sametime (Windows): A wide range of call control capabilities creates an even smoother and more efficient communication experience for IBM Sametime users. Learn more and download it here:  www.plantronics.com/callcontrolforibm

Spokes software works with a wide variety of Plantronics headsets; however, the benefits are even richer for individuals who use a Plantronics Voyager® PRO UC headset. Built with Plantronics Smart Sensor™ technology, a Voyager PRO UC headset can detect user behavior and provide contextual input back to UC platforms. These additional capabilities include:

o Answer calls as soon as the headset is placed on your ear—no need to press “answer” button on the headset or the screen

o Pause Media Player when the headset is removed from your ear

o Lock the headset call answer button when the headset isn’t being worn to prevent accidental dialing

o Transfer audio from a mobile call to your mobile phone when your headset is removed

o Update your presence status when you’re on a Skype call, or vice versa

o Change presence status to “on phone” when user is on a mobile, UC call or desk phone call (Savi®  700 Series only)

Supported devices: Voyager PRO UC, Savi 700 Series, Savi 440, Savi Office, Calisto® 240, Calisto 800 Series, CS50/60-USB, Blackwire® 200 Series, Blackwire 300 Series, Blackwire 400 Series, Blackwire 600 Series and DA45™ USB Adapter (for select Plantronics H-Series corded headsets)

About Plantronics - SIMPLY SMARTER COMMUNICATIONS ™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Blackwire, Calisto, DA45, Savi, Simply Smarter Communications, Smart Sensor, Spokes, and Voyager are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Monarch Beach, CA, September 25, 2012 – Driven by the rise of mobile devices, the relationship between work and worker has changed. Flexible work arrangements that don’t require structured locations or hours are increasingly popular and Plantronics Inc. (NYSE: PLT) is being recognized by InformationWeek as a leading innovator in this trend called ‘smarter working’. Plantronics is in this year’s InformationWeek 500, an annual listing of the nation’s most innovative users of business technology. The annual list was revealed on September 11, 2012 at a gala awards ceremony at the exclusive InformationWeek 500 Conference which took place at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, Dana Point, CA.

“This is a testament to the global Information Technology team at Plantronics who have made our smarter working initiative possible. What started as an experiment in new technology and a new way of working, quickly spread to a global deployment requiring infrastructure to support remote working and collaboration,” said Tom Gill, vice president and CIO at Plantronics. “I’m extremely proud of my team for their hard work and dedication ensuring our employees, partners and customers can effectively collaborate across time zones and geographies. This was truly a global effort.”

Prioritizing people over place, smarter working delivers flexible solutions that fit how different people work and make it easier for them to work more effectively and successfully across work environments. For example, to ensure employees are connected and can communicate freely, IT has installed video conference rooms throughout the offices. Every drop-in conference room, focus room and team collaboration room is also equipped with Smart TVs that serve as monitors for projecting during meetings.

By adopting advanced communications and design principles that support office, virtual and mobile work styles equally well, smarter working emphasizes business results over structured office hours and locations. The modern workforce is heading towards more flexible, open workspaces like those at Plantronics’ offices. This environment creates a different set of challenges for Plantronics’ customers so the smarter working initiative has the added benefit of being the company’s largest test lab for its software and hardware solutions. The new environment is also model for smarter working and provides a showcase for customers while saving money at the same time.

Smarter working is also about being a responsible global citizen. When employees can work from different locations, like home, it helps keep more cars off the road, which helps everyone save on commute time and their impact on the environment. Plantronics takes social responsibility seriously and has one of the largest solar panel installations in Santa Cruz County, offsetting nearly 80 percent of the site’s utility bill.

Plantronics is a global corporation headquartered in Santa Cruz, California with offices in 20 countries, including major facilities in China, England, Mexico, and the Netherlands. Plantronics’ new workspaces leverage Unified Communications and other technology to enhance collaboration with an increasingly distributed workforce. Plantronics’ smarter working initiative has been extensively covered in media. Examples include CIO Magazine, Fast Company and CBS Interactive (SmartPlanet).

“The InformationWeek 500 has recognized the most innovative users of business technology for 24 years, and this year’s innovations were particularly impressive,” said InformationWeek Editor In Chief Rob Preston. “What the editors looked for are unconventional approaches—new technologies, new models, new ways of grabbing business opportunities and solving complex business problems with IT.”

InformationWeek identifies and honors the nation’s most innovative users of information technology with its annual 500 listing, and also tracks the technology, strategies, investments, and administrative practices of America’s best-known companies. Past overall winners include PACCAR Inc., The Vanguard Group, CME Group, National Semiconductor, Con-Way, and Principal Financial Group. The InformationWeek 500 rankings are unique among corporate rankings as it spotlights the power of innovation in information technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders.

Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found online at www.informationweek.com/iw500/.

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate.  From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange.  For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

About InformationWeek Business Technology Network (http://www.informationweek.com)

The InformationWeek Business Technology Network provides IT executives with unique analysis and tools that parallel their work flow—from defining and framing objectives through to the evaluation and recommendation of solutions. Anchored by InformationWeek, the multimedia powerhouse that looks across the enterprise, the network scales across the most critical technology categories with online properties such as DarkReading.com (security), NetworkComputing.com (networking and communications) and BYTE (consumer technology). The network also provides focused content for key IT targets, such as CIOs, developers and SMBs, via InformationWeek Global CIO, Dr. Dobb’s and

InformationWeek SMB, as well as vital vertical industries with InformationWeek Financial Services, Government and Healthcare sites. Content is at the nucleus of our information distribution strategy—IT professionals turn to our experts and communities to stay informed, get advice and research technologies to make strategic business decisions.

Plantronics is a registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.

]]> http://press.plantronics.com/us/plantronics-earns-spot-on-2012-informationweek-500-list-of-top-technology-innovators-across-america/feed/ http://press.plantronics.com/us/plantronics%e2%80%99-offerings-in-2012-make-communications-more-effective-and-stylish/ http://press.plantronics.com/us/plantronics%e2%80%99-offerings-in-2012-make-communications-more-effective-and-stylish/#comments Mon, 24 Sep 2012 17:06:51 +0000 kgarrett http://press.plantronics.com/?p=4924

Santa Cruz, Calif. – September 20, 2012 – Few technology companies continue to deliver communication devices that introduce new innovations year after year quite like Plantronics (NYSE: PLT). Whether you’re a smartphone junkie, mobile professional, commuter, music enthusiast, or looking to go pro in gaming, Plantronics had you covered in 2012, and today it adds to the lineup with the new Marque 2™ headset.

As the perfect companion for smartphone enthusiasts, Marque 2, Plantronics’ smallest and lightest weight headset, lets you listen to music or stream audio and Internet radio – all while managing calls without pressing buttons – just say “Answer” or “Ignore.” Dual microphones reduce noise and wind for clear and crisp call quality. Free apps from Plantronics enhance the Marque 2 experience even further. And, its new DeepSleep™ power‐saving mode means your Marque 2 is always ready when you are with up to 11 hours of talk time, 16 hours of standby or 150 days in hibernation mode.

Innovative Plantronics devices delivered in 2012 include:

· Voyager Legend – The Next Generation of an Iconic Communications Device

Voyager Legend™ is the newest headset in the award-winning Voyager® family and delivers unsurpassed audio clarity and all‐day comfort for the mobile professional. Combining triple‐mics that cancel noise and wind, voice commands, and Smart Sensor™ technology, Voyager Legend understands how and when you want to talk. Sensors react when you put the headset on, letting you quickly take a call without a click. If you’re already wearing it, Voyager Legend announces who is calling and waits for you to say “answer” or “ignore.” Simply tap the voice command button and ask to check battery level, connection status, and more. Voyager Legend is the smartest Bluetooth® headset available.

· M25/55 – The First Headset with up to Five Months Battery Life

The M25™ and M55™ headsets feature Plantronics’ new DeepSleep^TM mode that lets the headset stay charged for up to five months, so it’s ready when you want to hear music, listen to podcasts or simply place and take calls. DeepSleep^TM technology activates when the headset is away from your phone for more than 90 minutes. When the phone and headset are back in range, you just tap the Call button to “wake” the headset up. This feature is ideal for users that often leave their headset in the car and ensures that the device is ready when they are.

· BackBeat GO – Discrete Wireless Earbuds for Music, Calls and More

The BackBeat® GO boasts the ideal combination of style, premium sound, comfort and convenience all with the simplicity of wireless earbuds. Made for use with smartphones, tablets and MP3 players, the Bluetooth® enabled earbuds are extremely compact and lightweight. The BackBeat GO includes deep, rich, stereo sound, noise reduction technology for improved call clarity and inline controls that allow you to take calls, skip tracks, and adjust volume all at your fingertips.

· GameCom Commander – Headset Designed and Built for Professional Gamers

Victory is yours with the tournament-ready Plantronics® GameCom Commander™ PC headset. With its closed-ear design and unmatched noise isolation, audio, and voice technology, the GameCom Commander shuts out distractions while immersing you in 7.1 Dolby® stereo surround sound. The noise-canceling, ruggedized microphone guarantees that your team hears every mission-critical word. Super-durable, lightweight components keep you comfortable for the long-haul. Need to switch from your PC to a smartphone or other mobile device? QuickDisconnect™ adapters let you switch without missing a beat. Custom features like a laser-etched, limited edition serial number and customizable headband identity patch make the GameCom Commander uniquely yours.

Software and Apps:

· Find MyHeadset – Free App Allows You to Find Your Plantronics Headset Fast

This Android app is designed to help Plantronics customers locate their missing headsets. Regardless of whether the headset is on or off, charged or not, recently missing, or lost for weeks, Find MyHeadset™ offers people two unique ways to find their Plantronics device. Send a Tone plays a tone on any powered on and connected Plantronics headset that enables the customer to hear where their device is hiding. The BackTrack™ feature displays the date, time and Google-mapped location of the last several headset events recorded by the phone. Customers can retrace their steps to remember the last location where they used their headset.

· InstantMeeting – App Connects You to Conference Calls with Just One Click

Designed to ease the pain of remembering dial in numbers, conference codes and leader PINs, the InstantMeeting™ app identifies conference calls in your calendar and then prompts you to access the call with a single push of a button. The app works with Android, BlackBerry® and iPhone smart phones as well as Microsoft Lync® or Skype™ with Outlook®.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications™

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatches, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, BackBeat GO, BackTrack, DeepSleep, Find MyHeadset, GameCom Commander, InstantMeeting, M25, M55, Marque 2, QuickDisconnect, Simply Smart Communications, Voyager, and Voyager Legend, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.  Dolby is a registered trademark of Dolby Laboratories. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Santa Cruz, Calif. - September 18, 2012 - As work and personal lives come together, the new Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) Voyager Legend^TM headset is the ideal communication tool for work, life and play. With a blend of precisely tuned audio, Smart Sensor^TM technology and intuitive voice enabled controls, the Voyager Legend is Plantronics’ most user friendly and best sounding Bluetooth® headset.

The Voyager Legend is the next generation of Plantronics’ award-winning Voyager® headset line and has three precisely tuned microphones and enhanced DSP that optimize your voice and minimize noise caused by wind, movement, and background sounds. Industry-first Smart Sensor technology intuitively directs calls to your phone or headset and allows you to automatically answer by placing the headset on your ear.  The Voyager Legend proactively delivers voice alerts to keep you informed of battery level, connection status and announces caller name. The headset also takes voice commands such as “pair”, “answer” or “ignore” to keep you in control of your technology.

“Plantronics is well known for its pioneering work in advancing communications technologies, and the new Voyager Legend epitomizes that legacy,” said Renee Niemi, senior vice president of Communications Solutions at Plantronics. “With its built-in Smart Sensor technology that relays information about call state, the Voyager Legend is unlike anything on the market today. So, whether you’re a mobile professional, commuter, a business traveler, or anyone who needs to be connected to friends, family or work with amazing audio quality in the most demanding environments, the Voyager Legend is uniquely equipped to deliver.”

Usability advances provide convenience and control with dedicated buttons for call answer/end, voice commands, power and mute. Optional accessories, including a battery-powered carrying case for charging on-the-go and a desktop charging stand for when you touch down, ensure your headset is ready for calls.

The Voyager Legend line will include a version designed for use with Unified Communications (UC) including accessories that make it simple to make and receive calls from your mobile phone or PC. The Voyager Legend UC includes the battery-powered carrying case, a desktop charging stand and a mini Bluetooth USB adapter for PC calling.

Additional Headset Features

• Up to 7 hours talk time
• Up to 11 days stand by time
• Bluetooth® v3.0
• Wideband audio
• Audio prompts include audio caller ID
• A2DP for audio streaming
• Multipoint technology
• Headset battery meter for iPhone and iPad

Plantronics Mobile Apps

• The new Find MyHeadset^TM app for Android^TM (Free app on Google Play)
• Vocalyst® Voice and Text Services (Free service for first year)
• InstantMeeting^TM for Conference Calls (Available for purchase)

Pricing and Availability

Voyager Legend is available now on-line for $99 MSRP at Plantronics.com, Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, and in store and on-line in October at AT&T, Best Buy, RadioShack, and Sprint and additional retailers nationwide. Voyager Legend UC will be available in January 2013 for $199.95 MSRP through authorized Plantronics distributors.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications^TM

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, Simply Smarter Communications, Find MyHeadset, InstantMeeting, Smart Sensor, Voyager, and Voyager Legend are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.  The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. iPhone and iPad are trademarks of Apple, Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android is a trademark of Google, Inc., All other trademarks are the property of the respective owners.

Santa Cruz, Calif., - Sept. 17, 2012 - For the sales professional, the saying ‘time is money’ and ‘connections are everything’ go hand in hand. With that in mind, is it any wonder that many sales professionals find themselves frustrated with CRM systems when they need information fast?  Plantronics (NYSE: PLT), in conjunction with ThreeWill® and Datahug, have addressed this problem by delivering tools that automatically serve up information such as real-time customer data and organization-wide relationships with your customers. Plantronics headsets also help these applications capture and track your call information, eliminating steps in the CRM process.

“Sales professionals need to move quickly to access customer information, leverage existing relationships and update CRM applications,” said Jeffrey Siegel, vice president of Strategy and New Business Development at Plantronics. “Instead of spending time navigating through multiple screens, Popcorn and Datahug provide information when they need it most; as they are engaging with customers. This integration will also update records so the sales professional does not have to go back and manually enter information on who they called and when.”

New Tools for Sales Professionals: Popcorn and Datahug

Imagine receiving a mobile call from a prospective customer, you answer it and a screen pops up on your PC that shows all the relevant information and history for this contact. You’ve just experienced Popcorn, a new app for Salesforce.com from ThreeWill. Popcorn also ‘pops’ Chatter, the social enterprise tool from Salesforce.com that helps you collaborate with context. Popcorn gets information about mobile calls through the Plantronics APIs.

“We are inspired by what contextual intelligence has to offer us as application developers.  In particular, knowing when incoming or outgoing calls are taking place. What gets us so excited about Popcorn and our relationship with Plantronics is that we are going to have a real impact on sales professional’s daily conversations,” said Danny Ryan, co-founder and vice president of Business Development at ThreeWill.  “The killer feature of Popcorn is the ability to log a call to Salesforce directly from the Popcorn dashboard  – sales professionals are going to like this and sales managers are going to love this.”

Wouldn’t it be great to know who in your company knows a prospective customer? And even better to know how well they know the person and when they last talked or emailed? Enter Datahug – a new application that tracks relationships across an entire company so you can quickly identify the best inroads to reach a prospect.  Plantronics is delivering call activity into Datahug – which can now let you know how often a colleague talks to a prospective customer. 

“Good information and insights are key to sales success.  With Datahug sales people can see, at the click of a button, who in their organization can open a door for them into a target account.  Priceless insights which helps them sell more and faster,” said Connor Murphy, CEO of Datahug.  “Our partnership with Plantronics strengthens our application by enabling us to add data about calls into the communication traffic we use to uncover connections – and calls are a powerful indication of strong relationships.”  

Plantronics’ APIs and the Plantronics Developer Connection

This integration is enabled by Plantronics’ software developers kit (SDK) which provides information such as mobile phone caller ID, mobile phone call state, proximity to a connected PC and headset wearing state.  Plantronics launched a developer’s community in May 2012 to provide software developers access to physical aspects of a person’s work life.  By incorporating information from the physical world, context aware software can dramatically improve business productivity.  If you’re a developer and you want more information and to download the software developer’s connection (SDK), visit the Plantronics Developer’s Connection at http://developer.plantronics.com

You can find out more about Plantronics Integration partners here: http://www.plantronics.com/us/partners/developers/ 

Interested in a demo of Popcorn or Datahug? Visit the Plantronics booth (Booth #1550) at Dreamforce in San Francisco September 18 – 21. You can contact Plantronics to learn more about these applications: dreamforce@plantronics.com

Plantronics and Simply Smarter Communications are trademarks or registered trademark of Plantronics, Inc.  The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc., and any use by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.  All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 Santa Cruz, Calif. - August 16, 2012 - When the competition is fierce and the stakes go beyond bragging rights, gamers need every possible advantage to win. Where adrenaline is the common fuel and superb skills are the norm, the competitive edge for world-class gamers is focus. More than the opponents, distractions are the enemy to beat. The new limited edition Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) GameCom Commander^TM headset lets competitive PC gamers hear and be heard no matter how harsh the playing field.

With exceptional noise isolation, the GameCom Commander distills the roar of the crowd into a silent current of energy so gamers can stay plugged in while distractions are tuned out. The extremely durable and comfortable headset boasts Plantronics’ best audio and voice technologies that ensure gamers will hear every crucial command, signal, and strategy whether competing in front of thousands on the main stage or sharpening their skills at home between competitions. The GameCom Commander also features easily accessible controls, breakaway cords and includes a custom built durable carrying case for convenient storage and transport.

“Professional gamers have unique needs which make the performance of their equipment as important as the skills they possess. The GameCom Commander headset is one of the most important weapons in the gamer’s arsenal, engineered in the long-standing tradition of Plantronics headsets for astronauts, pilots, emergency workers, and others on the frontlines,” said Tanguy Leborgne, vice president of consumer solutions at Plantronics.

The GameCom Commander features:

• Unparalleled noise isolation technology
• Dolby® Pro Logic® IIx and Dolby Headphone technologies for a realistic 7.1 experience
• Superior professional grade fit and comfort with over-the-head ruggedized design
• Quick connect controls to PC, mobile or tablet with breakaway cords
• Numbered Limited Edition
• Case for tournament travel and storage
• Adhesive headband strip for branding and personalization

PAX Prime attendees can experience the new GameCom Commander first hand at the Plantronics booth #1232 from August 31-September 2 in Seattle.

Pricing and Availability

The GameCom Commander is available for pre-order for $299 MSRP today on Plantronics.com and Amazon.com with expanded availability in September. 

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatches, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, GameCom Commander, and Simply Smart Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.  Dolby and Pro Logic are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.

All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SANTA CRUZ, CA – August 6, 2012 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced first quarter fiscal year 2013 net revenues of $181.4 million, a 3% increase compared with net revenues of $175.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.  Net revenues were within our guidance range of $177 million - $182 million provided on May 1, 2012.  Our GAAP diluted earnings per share (“EPS”) decreased to $0.55 in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $0.56 in the same quarter of the prior year and was at the high end of our May 2012 guidance range of $0.50 to $0.55.  Non-GAAP diluted EPS for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 increased slightly to $0.63 from $0.62 in the same quarter of the prior year and was also at the high end of our guidance range of $0.58 to $0.63.  The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP EPS for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 consists of stock-based compensation and accelerated depreciation, both net of the associated tax impact.

Office and Contact Center (“OCC”) product strength in the U.S. and the Asia Pacific region offset slight weakness in the Europe and Africa region, resulting in a 2% increase in OCC net revenues to $134.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $131.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.  Net revenues from Unified Communications (“UC”) products grew by 48% to $27.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 compared with $18.8 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012.

Mobile net revenues were up $4.0 million to $36.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, an increase of 12% from $32.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012, primarily as a result of increased market share in the U.S. in both mono and stereo headsets and growth in Asia Pacific led by favorable market acceptance of our new BackBeat® GO wireless stereo Bluetooth headset.

GAAP operating income was $32.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, resulting in an operating margin of 17.7%, compared with $35.0 million and an operating margin of 20.0% in the same period in the prior year.  GAAP operating income was above our guidance range of $29 million to $31.5 million.  Non-GAAP operating income was $36.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2013 resulting in a non-GAAP operating margin of 20.3% compared with $39.4 million and an operating margin of 22.4% in the same period in the prior year.  Non-GAAP operating income was slightly above our guidance range of $34 million to $36.5 million.

“Continued strength in UC resulted in year over year OCC net revenue growth,” said Ken Kannappan, President & Chief Executive Officer.  “Our growing capabilities in providing rich contextual intelligence to UC applications are providing noteworthy product differentiation.  One example of this is the Plantronics Developer Connection, launched during the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, which gives third party developers the ability to integrate our contextual data into unique applications and is being well received.”

“We continued to invest strategically in our long-term UC opportunity in the first quarter and achieved an operating margin within our long-term target range while meeting our guidance for the quarter,” said Pam Strayer, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer.  “Our financial position remains strong, and we repurchased 529,000 shares of our common stock during the quarter.  Today we are announcing a new one million share repurchase program to continue delivering on our commitment to return cash in excess of our operating needs to our stockholders.”

Share Repurchase Program and Dividend Announcements

Plantronics today announced a new one million share repurchase program following the recent completion of its prior one million share repurchase program announced in March 2012.

Plantronics also announced that our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.  The dividend will be payable on September 10, 2012 to stockholders of record at the close of business on August 20, 2012.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on our current expectations and many of these statements are forward-looking.  Actual results are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from our expectations.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to customers within 48 hours of receipt of those orders, and, therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues.

Subject to the foregoing, we currently expect the following range of financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013:

• Net revenues of $175 million to $180 million;
• GAAP operating income of $31 million to $34 million;
• Non-GAAP operating income of $36 million to $39 million, excluding the impact of $5 million from both stock-based compensation and accelerated depreciation from GAAP operating income;
• Assuming approximately 42.2 million diluted average weighted shares outstanding:
  • GAAP diluted EPS of $0.54 to $0.59;
  • Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.63 to $0.68; and
  • Cost of stock-based compensation and accelerated depreciation to be approximately $0.09 per diluted share.

Please see our new Investor Relations Presentation available on our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

We have scheduled a conference call to discuss first quarter fiscal year 2013 results.  The conference call will take place today, August 6, 2012, at 2:00 PM (Pacific Time).  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 # 85386735 will be available for 72 hours at (855) 859-2056 for callers from North America and at (404) 537-3406 for all other callers.  The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast in the Investor Relations section of our corporate website at www.plantronics.com/ir, and the webcast of the conference call will remain available on the Plantronics website for 30 days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

For the periods presented, we have excluded certain non-cash expenses and charges, net of tax, including stock-based compensation related to stock options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization and accelerated depreciation from non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP diluted EPS.  We exclude these expenses from our non-GAAP measures primarily because Plantronics’ management does not believe they are part of our target operating model.  We believe that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity and helps investors compare actual results to our long-term target operating model goals.  We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods; however, non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, gross margin, operating income, operating margin, the effective tax rate, net income or EPS prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our commitment to return cash in excess of operating needs to investors through our stock repurchase program; (ii) our estimates of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, including net revenues, operating income and diluted EPS; (iii) our estimates of stock-based compensation and accelerated depreciation, as well as the impact of these non-cash expenses on Non-GAAP diluted EPS; and (iv) our estimate of weighted average shares outstanding for the second quarter of fiscal year 2013, in addition to 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:

• Micro and macro economic conditions in our domestic and international markets;
• 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) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically complex and this may delay or inhibit 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) our plans are dependent upon adoption of our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Avaya, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, and IBM, 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, and our support expenditures may substantially increase over time due to the complex nature of the platforms developed by the major UC providers as these platforms continue to evolve and become more commonly adopted;
• failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts and materials to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
• volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have and could negatively affect our profitability and/or market share;
• fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
• with respect to our stock repurchase program, prevailing stock market conditions generally, and the price of our stock specifically;
• the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers, or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers; 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 that might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to Plantronics’ Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 25, 2012 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
• Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures
• Summary of Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures and Other Unaudited GAAP Data

View all

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate.  From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange.  For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, the logo design, Simply Smarter Communications and Clarity are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc.  The Bluetooth name and the Bluetooth trademarks are owned by BluetoothSIG, Inc. and are used by Plantronics, Inc. under license.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

“We’ve been fortunate to be a Microsoft partner award recipient for the past several years, and the continued validation of our efforts is greatly appreciated,” said Shantanu Sarkar, vice president, software development, Plantronics. “The confluence of hardware and software coming from Plantronics married with Microsoft Lync enables customers to benefit from better communications and more streamlined business processes. It’s an exciting time to be working in UC, and we’re very glad to be doing so with such an outstanding partner.”

Awards were presented in multiple categories, with winners chosen from a set of nearly 3,000 entrants worldwide. The Communications Technology Partner of the Year Award recognizes a partner who is helping customers to advance their businesses by building communications products and/or applications on the Microsoft Lync platform. This solution integrated communications across a wide range of business processes and productivity tools (such as end-user devices, voice and video solution, and communications-enabled business process (CEBPs)). It solved customer business challenges by increasing efficiency, enhancing features and functionality, or by extending the existing products with unique add-ons.

“We are proud to recognize our 2012 Partner Award finalists for their outstanding commitments to solving customer challenges,” said Jon Roskill, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. “Our partners are critical to our success as a company, and it is their creativity and innovative thinking in solving the unique needs of our customers that serves as the foundation for mutual, long-term success. We congratulate this year’s finalists on their achievements and look forward to following their continued success in the future.”

Plantronics is addressing real-world business challenges associated with the rapid transition to a more mobile and connected world with the introduction of the Plantronics Developer Connection (PDC). This comprehensive toolset supports developers who wish to leverage the contextual information available from Plantronics devices, including proximity, location and identity, and use this information to add value to software applications. The Plantronics Unified Communications product portfolio optimized for Microsoft® Lync builds on the extensibility of the platform by offering Windows developers an unprecedented opportunity to create context-aware applications. These applications have the power to change the way people communicate and collaborate by linking the application to the user via the headset.

On a related note, please watch for the PDC Microsoft Contextual Intelligence App Challenge coming soon. Plantronics is looking for developers to make applications smarter with Microsoft and the Plantronics SDK, and we’ll be awarding one lucky winner a $2,000 prize. Contest starts July 9, 2012. Visit the PDC site for more details.

In addition to its latest innovation in context-aware communications, Plantronics has long delivered an extensive range of UC audio solutions so Microsoft customers can experience the useful voice benefits of Lync. With over one million audio device solutions optimized for Microsoft Lync sold to date, Plantronics has made it clear it is dedicated to helping drive Lync user adoption for deploying voice on the desktop.

Plantronics is attending the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto, July 8-12. Please visit us at booth #344.

Santa Cruz, Calif. - June 12, 2012 - Is a dead battery preventing you from making the most of your Bluetooth® headset or from following hands-free and distracted driving laws? For the users who want their headset to be ready at a moment’s notice, Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) today announced the M25^TM and M55^TM Bluetooth headsets featuring Plantronics longest battery readiness of up to five months.  

The M25 and M55 headsets feature Plantronics’ new DeepSleep^TM mode that lets the headset stay charged for up to five months, so it’s ready when you want to hear music, listen to podcasts or simply place and take calls. DeepSleep technology activates when the headset is away from your phone for more than 90 minutes. When the phone and headset are back in range, you just tap the Call button to “wake” the headset up. This feature is ideal for users that often leave their headset in the car and ensures that the device is ready when they are.

Lori Langona, director of consumer marketing at Plantronics said, “The M25 and M55 deliver on Plantronics’ Simply Smarter Communication brand promise. The built-in intelligence surrounding power-management makes the M25 and M55 headsets great for use in the car or around the house. It’s charged and ready when you are.”

The M55 also includes one year free access to Plantronics Vocalyst® voice and text service and the ability to take or dismiss calls simply by saying “Answer” or “Ignore”.

M25 and M55 benefits:

● DeepSleep mode that extends battery life for up to five months

● Voice Alerts that whisper talk time, battery level, and more

● Lightweight, compact design, weighing 8 grams

● A2DP, wideband and multipoint technologies

● Digital noise reduction for improved call quality and built-in echo cancelling

● Up to 11 hours of talk time, 16 hours of standby or 150 days in DeepSleep hibernation mode

Pricing and Availability

The M25 is available now for $39.99 at Plantronics.com and Office Depot, later in June at various wireless service provider stores, and T-Mobile in July. The M55 is available now for $49.99 at Plantronics.com, and available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Presentations of Smarter Working solutions to include:

• BYOD and Unify with the Voyager® PRO UC Headset
  Performance results demonstrate superior audio
• Cisco Video Collaboration
  Make your Cisco video experience ‘cube friendly’
• Cisco IP Phone Plug-and-Play Integration
  Broadest range of Cisco-compatible audio devices and price points
• Plantronics UC Toolkit
  The online library of UC audio device rollout resources designed to help IT drive successful UC deployments

Plantronics will also be showcasing the Plantronics UC portfolio integration with the latest Cisco softphone clients, including Jabber, and a special offer tied to the Plantronics trial and deployment program Get Ahead (www.plantronics.com/getahead).

Additionally, Cisco Live TV will broadcast interviews from the show floor on Wednesday, June 13, from 11:15-11:45am and 2:30-3:45pm featuring Plantronics executives, including Joe Burton, CTO and SVP of engineering and development and Michael Gjerstad, VP strategic business partners, together with system integrators, developers and customers describing their experiences deploying Plantronics audio devices with Cisco UC solutions.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – May 9, 2012 – In today’s world, billions of devices connect and communicate an abundance of data about a person’s location, preference, activities and availability. Plantronics is opening up a tremendous opportunity for developers to utilize this data with the launch of a full-scale developer community. Developers will now be able to create “context-aware” applications that can anticipate or take action and provide better experiences through the information generated by intelligent Plantronics devices with Smart Sensor™ technology.

Developers can access the tools needed to create smarter, context aware applications through the Plantronics Developer Connection (PDC). By accessing the information from Plantronics devices developers can incorporate presence, availability, proximity, and caller information into their existing applications or create a new segment of smarter applications. Incorporating this information will result in more intelligent and intuitive human to device experiences.

The PDC includes technical resources, forums and application programming interfaces (APIs) through a new software developer kit (SDK) for Windows® environments. The PDC is also a community for developers to connect with Plantronics technologists and learn more about the software possibilities enabled by Plantronics devices.

“Technology is about making our business lives more productive and our personal lives more enjoyable. The next wave of productivity will be driven by contextually aware applications that speed business processes and workflows,” said Joe Burton, senior vice president Engineering and Development and CTO, Plantronics. “Plantronics developed smart headsets and devices with the capability to collect contextual information and present it to applications in an easy to integrate manner. We are opening API’s to this information so the software development community can create innovative and useful applications that leverage contextual intelligence from Plantronics.”

Resources for Developers

· The SDK can be accessed via the Plantronics Developer Connection http://developer.plantronics.com

· The SDK also includes an emulator so developers can test their applications without a headset

· Visit the DevZone for links to our technical content http://developer.plantronics.com/community/devzone/

· Learn how to code your own “TweetMe” Twitter app using our SDK http://developer.plantronics.com/blogs/Cary/2012/05/03/how-to-get-your-headset-a-tweeting

· Learn more at a Live Web Event on May 9 at 10am PDT: www.plantronics.com/launch

· Follow @PlantronicsDev for updates

“Plantronics has been the most aggressive with regard to putting sensors in their headsets,” said Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst for the Enderle Group. “Giving developers access to these sensors, who can then do even more amazing things with them, is the natural path to take in order for Plantronics to step even further above its competitors. Shortly, the real value for headsets may come from third parties who think up amazing ways to use these sensors and personally, I’m looking forward to being amazed.”

Plantronics, Simply Smart Communications, and Smart Sensor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SANTA CRUZ, CA - May 1, 2012 - Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced fourth quarter fiscal year 2012 net revenues of $177.6 million, a 3% increase compared with net revenues of $173.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011.  Net revenues were within our guidance range of $175 million - $180 million provided on January 31, 2012.  Our GAAP diluted earnings per share (”EPS”) increased 4% to $0.55 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 compared with $0.53 in the same quarter of the prior year and was $0.01 lower than our January 2012 guidance of $0.56 to $0.61.  EPS was lower than projected primarily as a result of a higher than anticipated tax rate and a $1.2 million impact related to the bankruptcy of one of our distributors.  Non-GAAP diluted EPS for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 increased 3% to $0.62 from $0.60 in the same quarter of the prior year and was below our guidance of $0.63 to $0.68 due to the foregoing factors.  The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP EPS for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 consists of stock-based compensation charges, net of the associated tax impact.

Net revenues for fiscal year 2012 increased 4% to $713.4 million compared with $683.6 million for fiscal year 2011.  Our GAAP diluted EPS increased by 10% to $2.41 for fiscal year 2012 compared with $2.21 in fiscal year 2011.  Non-GAAP diluted EPS for fiscal year 2012 increased by 10% to $2.65 compared with $2.42 in fiscal year 2011.  The difference between GAAP and non-GAAP EPS for fiscal year 2012 consists of stock-based compensation charges and purchase accounting amortization, both net of the associated tax impact, and a tax benefit from the expiration of certain statutes of limitations.

Office and Contact Center (”OCC”) strength in the U.S. partially offset weakness in the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions, resulting in a 0.8% decline in net revenues to $131.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 compared with $132.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011.  Net revenues from OCC products grew by 8.4% to $531.7 million for fiscal year 2012 compared with $490.5 million in fiscal year 2011.  Net revenues from Unified Communications (”UC”) products grew by 63% to $27.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 compared with $16.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011.  Net revenues from UC products grew by 76% to $93.4 million in fiscal year 2012 from $53.2 million in fiscal year 2011.

Mobile net revenues were $35.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012, an increase of 26% from $28.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, primarily as a result of U.S. market share increases and strong international market growth.  Mobile net revenues were down 2% sequentially from our seasonally strong December quarter.

GAAP operating income was $32.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 resulting in an operating margin of 18% compared with $34.3 million and an operating margin of 19.8% in the same period in the prior year.  The fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 included a $5.1 million gain related to a legal settlement.  GAAP operating income was within our $32 million to $35 million guidance range.  Non-GAAP operating income was $36.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 resulting in a non-GAAP operating margin of 20.4% and was in line with our guidance range of $36 million to $39 million.  Operating income in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 was negatively impacted by $1.2 million as the result of the bankruptcy of one of our distributors.

“Our financial performance in fiscal year 2012 was solid, and we believe we are well-positioned for the future.  Highlights included record fiscal year earnings per share along with gross margins above, and operating margins within, our long-term objectives,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO.  ”Our continued investment in UC proved effective during the year as we grew our product line and solution set, added strategic partners, improved our competitive position and ultimately grew UC revenue.”

Barbara Scherer, SVP Finance and Administration & CFO stated, “We generated approximately $53 million in cash flow from operations in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 and approximately $140 million for the full fiscal year.  We finished the year in a strong financial position with $334.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments after repurchasing over 8 million shares of our common stock during the fiscal year for approximately $274 million.  We also had $55.3 million in long-term investments at the end of the fiscal year.”

Dividend Announcement

Our Board of Directors approved an increase in our quarterly cash dividend from $0.05 per share to $0.10 per share for the first quarter of fiscal 2013.  “The Board of Directors decided it was appropriate to increase the portion of cash returned directly to our stockholders by doubling our dividend,” stated Marv Tseu, Director and Chairman of the Board.

The quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share will be payable on June 8, 2012 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 18, 2012.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on our current expectations and many of these statements are forward-looking.  Actual results are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from our expectations.

We have a “book and ship” business model whereby we ship most orders to customers within 48 hours of receipt of those orders, and, therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into potential future revenues.

Subject to the foregoing, we currently expect the following range of financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013:

• Net revenues of $177 million to $182 million; 
• GAAP operating income of $29 million to $31.5 million;
• Non-GAAP operating income of $34 million to $36.5 million, excluding the impact of $4.8 million from stock-based compensation from GAAP operating income;
• Assuming approximately 43.5 million diluted average weighted shares outstanding:
  • GAAP diluted EPS of $0.50 to $0.55;
  • Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.58 to $0.63; and
  • Diluted EPS cost of stock-based compensation and other non-cash charges to be approximately $0.08.

Please see our new Investor Relations Presentation available on our corporate website www.plantronics.com/ir with an update to our market opportunities slides.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

We have scheduled a conference call to discuss fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2012 results.  The conference call will take place today, May 1, 2012 at 2:00 PM (Pacific Time).  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 #56179176 will be available for 72 hours at (855) 859-2056 for callers from North America and at (404) 537-3406 for all other callers.  The conference call will also be simultaneously webcast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations, and the webcast of the conference call will remain available on the Plantronics website for 30 days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

For the periods presented, we have excluded certain non-cash expenses and charges, net of tax, including stock-based compensation expenses related to stock options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases and purchase accounting amortization, along with the tax benefits from the expiration of certain statutes of limitations from non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP operating margin and non-GAAP diluted EPS.  We exclude these expenses, charges and benefits from our non-GAAP measures primarily because Plantronics’ management does not believe they are part of our target operating model.  We believe that the use of non-GAAP financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity and helps investors compare actual results to our long-term target operating model goals.  We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods; however non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, gross margin, operating income, operating margin, the effective tax rate, net income or EPS prepared in accordance with GAAP. 

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements relating to (i) our market and competitive position, (ii)  our estimates of GAAP and non-GAAP financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, including net revenues, operating income and diluted EPS; and (iii) our estimated stock-based compensation and diluted EPS cost of stock-based compensation for the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, 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 our domestic and international markets;
• 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) UC solutions may not be adopted with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently anticipate; (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) our plans are dependent upon adoption of our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Avaya, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, and IBM, 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, and our support expenditures may substantially increase over time due to the complex nature of the platforms developed by the major UC providers as these platforms continue to evolve and become more commonly adopted;
• failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component parts and materials to meet demand without having excess inventory or incurring cancellation charges;
• volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers located in China, have and could negatively affect our profitability and/or market share;
• 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; 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 that might affect our manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to Plantronics’  Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2011, 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
• Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures
• Summary of Unaudited Reconciliations of GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures and Other Unaudited GAAP Data

View all

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for over 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate.  From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange.  For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, the logo design, Simply Smarter Communications and Clarity 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.

Discrete Wireless Earbuds for Music, Calls and More

Santa Cruz, Calif. – April 3, 2012 – When you are on the go, you want to listen to your tunes without being tangled or tied to your Smartphone or music player. Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) today announced its smallest, lightest, wireless earbuds available, the BackBeat® GO. Now music lovers, mobile gamers, and podcast and video fans can listen to their Bluetooth® enabled device, in stereo, all without the hassle of cords.

The BackBeat Go boasts the ideal combination of style, premium sound, comfort and convenience all with the simplicity of wireless earbuds. Made for use with smartphones, tablets and MP3 players, the extremely compact and lightweight BackBeat GO includes deep, rich, stereo sound, noise reduction technology for improved call clarity and inline controls that allow you to take calls, skip tracks, and adjust volume all at your fingertips.

Lori Langona, director of consumer marketing at Plantronics said, “Music lovers want to take their music with them everywhere they go, but they don’t want to get tangled up in their corded earbuds. The BackBeat GO provides wireless freedom whether your music player is in your pocket, in your backpack or just out of reach.”

The BackBeat GO features:

• A lightweight, compact design weighting just 13 grams or about the weight of three nickels
• Up to 4.5 hours of listening or talk time and 10 hours of standby time
• A2DP for audio streaming
• Digital noise reduction for improved call quality and built-in echo cancelling

Pricing and Availability

The BackBeat GO is available now for $99.99 at Amazon.com, select Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile stores, BestBuy.com and Plantronics.com; and coming soon to AT&T, RadioShack, and other select retailers nationwide.

About Plantronics - Simply Smarter Communications^TM

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From unified communication solutions to Bluetooth® headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, BackBeat GO, and Simply Smart Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

“With impressive experience applying enterprise, consumer and market insights to bring new energy and impact to global brands, we know Marilyn will be a strong complement to our executive team,” said Ken Kannappan, president and CEO, Plantronics. “We’re confident that her proven expertise in enterprise communications will map well to our vision for Plantronics and that her collaborative approach will be complementary to our culture of smarter working.”  

“Plantronics is one of those unique companies with both a rich history and an incredible ability to consistently break new ground in the audio experience,” said Mersereau. “I’m very enthusiastic about the opportunity to work at a company with such a highly respected brand that touches millions of people every day.”

With more than 25 years of experience, including more than nine years at Cisco Systems and eight years at IBM, Mersereau has demonstrated a proven capacity to drive broad corporate marketing initiatives for multi-billion dollar technology companies, particularly in the area of Unified Communications.

As senior vice president of Corporate Marketing at Cisco, Mersereau was a driving force in the global brand transformation that repositioned the company from a routing and switching company to an end-to-end solution provider with the “Welcome to the Human Network” campaign. Also during her time at Cisco, she and her team successfully launched the UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS product set featuring Telepresence, Webex, and Cisco’s telephony line-up. This portfolio of products is the basis of how employees of large enterprises collaborate internally and externally. She also promoted the consumer aspects of Cisco’s business, specifically home networking, video cameras and video conferencing.  While at IBM, she led the world-class team that transformed the company’s brand through the IBM e-Business campaign.

Mersereau was most recently CMO at C3 Energy Management, a leading provider of energy and emissions management software solutions founded by Tom Siebel. Prior to the technology world, Mersereau established an impressive background in international marketing and successfully traversed the business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets for widely recognized food and beverage companies including Coca-Cola and Burger King International. Over the course of her successful career, she has held global responsibilities across communications disciplines, including advertising and media, web and event marketing, social media and brand stewardship.

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

The Plantronics Enterprise Manager provides IT with a wealth of customization options, including the ability to create customized installation packages, so only those Spokes components that make sense for their environment are installed. PEM also allows IT to manage the settings and behavior of Plantronics supported devices and optionally lock those settings preventing unwanted modifications. All of this is done through a simple check-box user interface.

“When people have a great experience with their UC audio devices, stronger adoption rates for UC overall are bound to follow,” said Bill Loewenthal, vice president, Unified Communications Solutions, Plantronics. “With Plantronics Enterprise Manager, IT is able to deliver a consistent user experience across the enterprise, resulting in more collaboration, fewer help desk calls, and ultimately stronger UC ROI.”

The Plantronics Enterprise Manager offers a variety of options for managing Spokes. Highlights include:

· Install only the components that make sense for your company and its unique needs

· Manage device settings so users have a consistent experience company-wide

· Initiate security measures to prevent unwanted modifications

Plantronics devices are designed to meet a variety of end user needs, IT requirements and price constraints – all while providing quality audio and intuitive user experiences. There is a Plantronics device for every configuration, every work style and every user - making it easy to standardize on one vendor.

Organized into four product families and backed by renowned customer support, Plantronics devices are designed for how people work today.

Plantronics Blackwire®: Corded USB Headsets

Designed for in-office and mobile PC-based conversations, the Blackwire family includes the award winning Blackwire 435, an ultra discreet and lightweight headset.

Plantronics Calisto®: USB Desk Phones, Handsets and Speakerphones

The Calisto family includes the Calisto 800 series. The award winning Calisto 835 was developed for people who work from home and make calls via the PC, their mobile phone and even a home landline.

Plantronics Savi®: Wireless DECT™ USB Headsets

The Savi family includes the Savi 700 series – which connects to the PC, an office desk phone and a mobile phone. The Savi 740 includes the lightest DECT headset in the market.

Plantronics Voyager® UC: Bluetooth® USB Headset

For mobile professionals, the Voyager PRO UC is the industry’s first headset with capacitive sensors that provide better presence information by indicating to a softphone client when a user is on a mobile call. The headset comes with a plug-and-play Bluetooth USB adapter.

To learn more about Plantronics Enterprise Manager or to download, visit: www.plantronics.com/enterprisesw

To download Plantronics’ Spokes software, visit www.plantronics.com/software

For more information on Plantronics’ UC solutions, please visit www.plantronics.com/us/solutions/unified-communications/

Plantronics, Blackwire, Calisto, Savi, Simply Smarter Communications, Spokes and Voyager are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. DECT is a trade mark of ETSI registered in France and other countries. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.

###

Taken as a whole, the Smarter Working UC Toolkit offers more resources and information about UC audio device deployment than any other online guide in the industry. New tools in the Smarter Working UC Toolkit include a UC Audio Device Catalog Tool to aid the management of deployments, a Global Deployment Workbook featuring a site-specific worksheet, and an iPad app so IT can be mobile in the office.

“IT professionals are being asked to do more every day. Having resources like the Smarter Working UC Toolkit allows them to leverage UC audio device deployment best practices and lessons learned to get the results they want, faster” said Rich Costello, senior research analyst, IDC. “Companies that want to maximize their UC audio devices as business communications differentiators should check out the Plantronics Smarter Working UC Toolkit. The quality of the content, including the newest elements, can offer some impressive benefits for IT and end users.”

“Empowering an employee with the right UC audio device that’s best suited for their unique situation is one of the most efficient ways to accelerate productivity in a UC environment,” said Andrew Taylor, Senior Director, UC Toolkit Marketing, Plantronics. “The breadth of tools in the Smarter Working UC Toolkit portfolio makes it incredibly easy for IT professionals to plan, deploy and maintain a robust UC audio device roll-out, even on a global scale.

Built from real-world customer experiences and lessons learned, the Plantronics Smarter Working UC Toolkit provides IT professionals with best practices in the form of FAQs, guidelines, checklists, and surveys for use at every phase of a UC audio device deployment including, Trial, Plan, Deploy, Adopt, and Evolve. New features available in the Smarter Working UC Toolkit include:

UC Audio Device Catalog tool: Allows IT to build a customized UC audio device product catalog which is then used by employees to identify the best audio device for their needs.

· Greatly simplifies management and selection of IT recommended UC audio devices

· Usage reports available for monitoring

Global Deployment Workbook: Offers guidance on the unique aspects of global UC audio device deployments, including a number of regional aspects such as pricing and local device compliances.

· Guidance based on a number of best practices and lessons learned

· Includes a site-specific worksheet for managing each regions unique deployment

iPad App: Gives IT ready-access to the UC Toolkit best practices and tools while on the go.

· Provides ad-hoc, desk-side support, for employee training such as Quick Setup Guides and Video Setup Guides

· All UC Toolkit best practices are stored on the iPad ensuring off-line access to materials 24/7

In addition, the Smarter Working UC Toolkit now boasts a new venue for IT professionals to quickly discover the latest news, and access valuable resources and information: UC Toolkit TV.

To access the Plantronics Smarter Working UC Toolkit please visit: www.plantronics.com/uctoolkit

To view UC Toolkit TV please visit: www.plantronics.com/uctoolkit/tv

For more information on Plantronics’ UC solutions, please visit: www.plantronics.com/us/solutions/unified-communications/

Plantronics and Simply Smarter Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.

Under the new 1,000,000 share repurchase authorization, we may from time to time purchase shares of our common stock, depending upon market conditions, in open market or privately negotiated transactions including ASRs.

“Our philosophy has been to return to our stockholders cash in excess of our operating needs, and stock repurchase programs are an excellent means of executing on this philosophy,” stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO. “Our management team and Board of Directors have a strong conviction in our long-term growth prospects, business model and cash flow generation capability, and believe that repurchases will be accretive to our earnings per share. We are thus continuing with our commitment to repurchase our stock.”

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements that we may repurchase shares of our common stock under the new 1,000,000 share repurchase authorization, that we expect to take delivery of approximately 350,000 shares of our common stock under the ASR, that delivery of the approximate 350,000 shares under the ASR is expected to occur during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2012, that we expect long-term growth and cash flow generation and that the repurchases under the new 1,000,000 share repurchase authorization will be accretive to our earnings per share. There are important risks 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 including increased competition and negative macro economic conditions; (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, 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.

This press release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell any securities.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks, please refer to Plantronics’ Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2011, 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

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years, creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate. From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service. Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911 dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, the logo design, and Clarity 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.

For IT departments rolling out UC, a headset is a low priority, but a critical component of the deployment. The Blackwire 300 Series satisfies their need for a low cost, entry-level UC headset that offers a superior user experience.

“The new Blackwire 300 headsets have amazing sound quality that is achieved by the latest technology including dynamic equalization, advanced digital signal processing and noise cancellation,” said Matt Miller, senior category director of Product Management at Plantronics. “Simply put, these sophisticated headsets provide a level of quality that cannot be matched by similarly priced products.”

With its simple and durable design, the Blackwire 300 Series is ideal for those new to PC telephony or unified communications.

The Blackwire 300 Series comes in four models and will be available in Spring 2012.

Blackwire 310 (monaural), MSRP: $44.95

• C310: UC Standard version that supports softphones via Plantronics Spokes® software
• C310-M: Version optimized for use with Microsoft Lync

Blackwire 320 (stereo), MSRP: $49.95

• C320: UC Standard version that supports softphones per Plantronics Spokes software
• C320-M: Version optimized for use with Microsoft Lync

The Blackwire 300 Series headsets feature:

• Inline indicator lights and audio alerts for call, mute, and volume status
• Durable metal headband provides comfortable and secure fit
• Noise canceling microphone and enhanced Digital Signal Processing (DSP) for more natural voice sound
• Unique dynamic EQ feature optimizes sound quality for calls (wideband voice) or multi-media playback with hi-fi stereo sound
• 2 year limited warranty

For more information on Plantronics’ UC solutions, please visit www.plantronics.com/us/solutions/unified-communications/

To download Plantronics’ Spokes Software, please visit www.plantronics.com/software

Plantronics, Blackwire, Simply Smarter Communications and Spokes are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

]]> http://press.plantronics.com/us/plantronics-introduces-new-affordable-unified-communications-headsets-that-don%e2%80%99t-skimp-on-sound-or-style/feed/ http://press.plantronics.com/us/plantronics-teams-with-microsoft-to-provide-unified-communications-hosting-solutions-for-service-providers/ http://press.plantronics.com/us/plantronics-teams-with-microsoft-to-provide-unified-communications-hosting-solutions-for-service-providers/#comments Tue, 06 Mar 2012 07:02:42 +0000 kauby http://press.plantronics.com/?p=4509 Santa Cruz, Calif, Mar. 6, 2012 – Easy to deploy unified communications (UC) solutions are increasingly important as more companies must address employee mobility, better utilization of office real estate and an ever increasing need for collaboration. Plantronics (NYSE:PLT) today announced its participation in the Microsoft Lync Hosted Pack Reference Architecture Partner Ecosystem. The ecosystem is designed to support Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Multitenant Pack for Partner Hosting, a special deployment configuration scoped for Hosting or Telecom services providers.

Customers can quickly identify tested options, incorporating audio devices and hosted Microsoft Lync services, which will help speed their implementation times. Optimized endpoints from Plantronics, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, coupled with Microsoft Lync can help deliver a better experience by accelerating UC adoption within an enterprise or an SMB.

“As the unified communications market develops, we’ve learned from our customers and our own deployment that providing users with high quality endpoints increases adoption,” said Michael Gjerstad, vice president of Strategic Partnerships at Plantronics. “Our optimized devices ensure interoperability with Lync, which helps people focus on the conversation, rather than the technology, and leads to increased collaboration no matter where people are working.”

The Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Multitenant Pack for Partner Hosting allows service providers to host multitenant Lync instances shared across multiple customer environments. It builds on the underlying Microsoft Lync Server 2010 to provide telecom and hosting providers with a complete unified communications service solution. It works with the core system infrastructure adding multitenant capabilities and other service provider specific functionality. The solution is a foundation in that it allows service providers to configure the service and build upon it in their own unique ways to add value to and differentiate their offerings.

Plantronics devices optimized for Microsoft Lync are designed to meet a variety of end user needs, IT requirements and price constraints – all while providing quality audio and intuitive user experiences. There is a Plantronics device for every configuration, every work style and every user - making it easy to standardize on one vendor.

Organized into four product families and backed by renowned customer support, Plantronics devices are designed for how people work today.

Plantronics Blackwire®: Corded USB Headsets

Designed for in-office and mobile PC-based conversations, the Blackwire family includes the award winning Blackwire 435, an ultra discreet and lightweight headset.

Plantronics Calisto®: USB Desk Phones, Handsets and Speakerphones

The Calisto family includes the Calisto 800 series. The award winning Calisto 835 was developed for people who work from home and make calls via the PC, their mobile phone and even a home landline.

Plantronics Savi®: Wireless DECT™ USB Headsets

The Savi family includes the Savi 700 series – which connects to the PC, an office desk phone and a mobile phone. The Savi 740 includes the lightest DECT headset in the market.

Plantronics Voyager® UC: Bluetooth® USB Headset

For mobile professionals, the Voyager PRO UC is the industry’s first headset with capacitive sensors that provide better presence information by indicating to a softphone client when a user is on a mobile call. The headset comes with a plug-and-play Bluetooth USB adapter.

For more information about Plantronics including programs, promotions and product samples, please email hosters@plantronics.com

For more information about Microsoft solutions from Plantronics, please visit http://www.plantronics.com/microsoft/

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Plantronics, Blackwire, Calisto, Savi, Simply Smarter Communications Voyager, Voyager PRO are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license. DECT is a trade mark of ETSI registered in France and other countries. All other trademark are the property of their respective owners.

Santa Cruz, Calif. – February 8, 2012 – It’s time to do more with your voice. Introducing the next generation of Plantronics (NYSE: PLT) Vocalyst® voice service. Vocalyst allows you to use your voice to post to Facebook, update Twitter and read your email. Whisper alerts keep you completely connected by sharing important content as it happens – including new tweets, Facebook updates, emails, selected news articles and more.

“Originally launched in 2010, this update to our popular Vocalyst voice service makes it even easier for today’s smartphone users to take full advantage of Vocalyst. New apps allow users to personalize the service directly from their smartphone while providing extended whisper alerts,” said Lori Langona, director of consumer marketing at Plantronics.

Vocalyst is easy, and it’s integrated right into your Plantronics Voyager® PRO HD and Voyager PRO+, Marque M155™, and Savor M1100™ headset, so you can use it without ever touching your phone, for total handsfree convenience.

Key Features*:

· More than just calls – Use your voice to communicate by email, text message, and more, totally handsfree.

· Stay Informed – Listen to news, weather, sports, Facebook and Twitter updates.

· Get things done – Capture ideas, make lists, reminders, calendar events, even sales updates using your voice.

The Plantronics Vocalyst service is free for a full year (a $24.99 value) with the purchase of select Plantronics headsets. At the end of the first year subscription, users can renew the basic service or purchase the pro version; currently $24.99 and $59.99 respectively (prices subject to change). Available in five languages and compatible with any phone, users activate Vocalyst with a few simple steps at www.plantronics.com/vocalyst. Android™, BlackBerry® and iPhone™ smartphone users can also download the Plantronics Vocalyst application at their respective app stores. The apps allow users to fully personalize the Vocalyst experience, select from a range of voice services that they want to use and configure and receive whisper alerts from their favorite cloud services. The Vocalyst simple voice-driven services are powered by Dial2Do, a pioneer in delivering cloud-based voice services.

*Features vary by platform

Plantronics, M155, M1100, Marque, Vocalyst, Voyager PRO+, Voyager PRO HD, Simply Smart Communications are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Android is a trademark of Google, Inc. BlackBerry is the property of Research In Motion Limited and is registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Plantronics devices, such as the award winning Calisto® 835 and the Voyager® PRO UC, and software like InstantMeeting™, create a foundation for Smarter Working; making it easy to manage all of your essential communications regardless of where you happen to be working. As the center point for Smarter Working, the Plantronics portfolio helps you easily adapt to the way you want to work.

“The goal of our initiative is to empower you to seamlessly communicate with high quality audio across your mobile device, desk phone and PC without missing a beat,” said Renee Niemi, Senior Vice President of Communication Solutions at Plantronics. “By helping you focus on the conversation, rather than the technology you’re using, Plantronics gives you the flexibility to create a more rewarding work and life balance.”

Smarter Working is designed to give employees greater flexibility in where and how they work, empowering them to be their most productive while they enjoy a more rewarding professional life. By adopting advanced communications and design principles that support office, virtual and mobile work styles equally well, smarter working emphasizes business results over structured office hours and locations. Prioritizing people over place, smarter working delivers flexible solutions that fit how different people work and make it easier for them to work more effectively and successfully across work environments, wherever they are.

The conversation around workplace evolution continues as Plantronics kicks off its Smarter Working initiative with a web event on February 1, 2012 at 10 am PST. The event features video interviews of Plantronics executives and partner companies and can be found at www.Plantronics.com/smarter-working.

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Plantronics, Calisto, InstantMeeting, Simply Smarter Communications and Voyager PRO Plus are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The Bluetooth trademark is owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of the mark by Plantronics, Inc. is under license.