Ronin Sees Improvement In Q3, Completes Deployment In Hockey Arena
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Wireless Ronin Technologies Inc., Minneapolis-based provider of digital signage solutions, reported revenue of $1.1 million for the third quarter of 2009, a 45% decrease from $2.0 million in Q3 2008.
Revenue for the first nine months of 2009 totaled $3.5 million compared to $5.5 million in the same period a year ago.
The Company attributes the decline in revenue for the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in the prior year to general economic conditions and customers’ lack of capital for substantial digital signage deployments.
Gross margin continued to improve to 34% in third quarter of 2009 compared to 23% and 19% in second and first quarters of 2009, respectively.
The Company also reported a third quarter net loss of $2.5 million, or $0.17 per basic and diluted share, compared to a net loss of $4.6 million, or $0.31 per basic and diluted share, in the year-ago period. The year-over-year improvement in net loss for the third quarter of 2009 primarily resulted from reductions in workforce taken during the third and fourth quarters of 2008 and other cost cutting measures primarily taken during the first half of 2009.
The Company’s net loss for the first nine months of 2009 totaled $8.0 million, or $0.54 per basic and diluted share, compared to $13.8 million, or $0.94 per basic and diluted share, in the prior year.
However, Jim Granger, president and CEO of Wireless Ronin Technologies, says, “We are starting to see early evidence of companies willing to commit capital dollars to digital signage deployments by receipt of two new projects late in the third quarter that are projected for delivery within the next 120 days.”
One of these is for development of a digital menu board Web portal for KFC and its franchisees. This customized tool will be used to manage the digital menu board program. The second contract awarded was to use the digital signage application of i-Showroom to create a Web application that has potential, in the near term, to be deployed to desktops in 2,200 Chrysler showrooms.
In a separate announcement, Wireless Ronin said that it has completed the installation of a RoninCast digital menu board network at St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, home to the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, the NLL’s Minnesota Swarm and other annual premier sports and entertainment events.
89 RoninCast digital menu board displays are installed throughout the facility’s concession areas including the main concourse, Treasure Island Resort and Casino Club Level and the upper concourse for the 2009-10 event season. Wireless Ronin’s Minneapolis Network Operations Center hosts the RoninCast network. Xcel Energy Center’s food service partner, Levy Restaurants, manages updates depending on the time of day or event taking place.
“Wireless Ronin delivered on our goal to bring a new cutting-edge look to our food service areas,” says Jack Larson, vice-president and general manager for Xcel Energy Center. “We are already enjoying the flexibility the system provides by remotely managing content updates and customizing the messaging for specific sports or entertainment events.”
Xcel Energy Center’s objective in implementing the system was not only to maintain its reputation of being one of the best arenas in the country by creating a high-tech environment for sports fans, but to also provide greater efficiency and flexibility for Levy to manage content from an off-site location.
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