Brightpoint Back In Black For Fiscal Year

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 2/4/2010

Indianapolis - Brightpoint swung back to the black in fiscal 2009 following a 2008 net loss, posting its third consecutive quarter of net income in a wireless industry whose global sell-in decreased by 6-8 percent in units during the year, the company reported.

The wireless distributor and logistics provider posted net income of $26.6 million for the 2009 fiscal year ending Dec. 31 compared to a full-year 2008 loss of $341.8 million. In 2007, net income was $47.4 million.

For the fourth quarter, net income was $18.3 million compared to a year-ago net loss of $346 million.

Although fourth-quarter and full-year net was up, revenues were down for both periods, falling 5.8 percent for the quarter to $905.6 million and 28 percent for the year to $3.19 billion.

In the fourth quarter, the company handled 24.1 million wireless devices worldwide, up 11 percent sequentially from the third quarter and up 12 percent year-over-year. For the full year, the company handled 83.5 million units, up 1 percent year-over-year at a time when global sell-in fell by 6-8 percent from 2008, the company said.

The number of units handled in both periods exceeded Brightpoint's forecasts because of better than expected volume in the Americas region, the company said.

 The numbers include restructuring charges that came to $13.5 million in 2009 and $13.4 million in 2008.