Congrats to AVID!

[Jim Rosebrook]

Charting a path of product development is tough game... with LOTS of back-seat drivers ready to criticize..

But today AVID can feel pretty good... Quarterly results released last evening. First quarterly profit in 4 years.. BIG leap in stock today.

Avid shares surge on first profit in 4 years | Reuters

[jimmy3189]

Good news, HDX seems to be a good move. Even if it's a tiny part of a huge operation.

[shanabit]

Please wait for the Avid is dead thread to follow.

[Demor]

Like I said in another thread: I wish we hadn't spend our money on november first, on an Icon with HDX2 but instead had bought AVID stock, we would have made a 106% profit.

[The Byre]

Just remember that this jump in share price comes as a direct result of a tiny profit that came from Apple changing Final Cut to no longer do EDLs.

Avid shares have in fact lost 45% of their value in the past year. The company has been in full turnaround mode since last summer, when management started issuing downright depressing guidance numbers. At the start of this fiscal year, Avid thought it could reach about $710 million in revenue in 2011. That quickly shrunk to $700 million, then $670 million. The final full-year tally landed at $678 million, still far short of the original, happy outlook.

Avid's Media Composer and the Adobe Systems Premiere Pro still see Final Cut defectors making the switch, including some high-profile users like reality TV producers Bunim/Murray. Avid CEO Gary Greenfield made a point of landing the Bunim/Murray account and talked about stealing customers from Final Cut. But he wanted to make it look like an Avid achievement, not Apple's mistake.

Greenfield doesn't see any growth opportunity in 2012. "We're taking a focus on how we can improve our profitability with no growth," he told analysts on the earnings call. So he'll take any revenue growth that falls in his lap, particularly in the high profit professional market at the expense of low-margin enthusiast sales. But he's essentially admitting that sales growth is dead in Avid's core markets.

So there's little or no sales growth ahead, and Avid has become a margin story from head to toe and there's that Apple-made opportunity that seems to be slipping through management's fingers. Adobe, on the other hand, is accelerating.

The market analysts absolutely hate Avid, but if Greenfield can turn the company around and make it into an old-fashioned engineering company that churns out steady profits, then this might be one of those cases where they are going to have to eat their words.

We shall see . . .

[BigGreen]

Shouldn't the people Avid laid off last years be the proud ones?
They did it.



D

[Jim Rosebrook]

Originally Posted by The Byre

. . . but if Greenfield can turn the company around and make it into an old-fashioned engineering company that churns out steady profits . . .

I think there is a good bet here. We have not yet seen the full benefit of the Euphonix acquisition.

There is good money to be made with the "right" control surface product.... at the low, middle and high ends.

Everything they offer now are still "carry-over" products....

[LeMauce]

We well see what happend to Avid when they finally merge Media Composer "DSP" systems with the Protools HDX systems with TB/Lightpipe and 64bit in 1 complete package. The new HDX system is just the TIP of the iceberg that is going to hit use at full speed...

[CeretoneAudio]

If you will notice, despite the release of media composer 6, pro tools 10, and pro tools HDX their revenues went DOWN last quarter

[Demor]

Only because of writeoffs and balance adjustments. Sales went up, alot...

[CeretoneAudio]

Originally Posted by Demor

Only because of writeoffs and balance adjustments. Sales went up, alot...

Really....?

Avid Technology, Inc. - Avid Announces Results for Fourth Quarter 2011

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by The Byre

and make it into an old-fashioned engineering company that churns out steady profits.

I've said it before - why would one need to make a profit? I run several companies. We all get healthy (very healthy) "wages" here. Big profits are for investors and the tax man..... keep the money in the company!! Keep it liquid, keep it fun!!!

[The Byre]

Originally Posted by narcoman

I've said it before - why would one need to make a profit? I run several companies. We all get healthy (very healthy) "wages" here. Big profits are for investors and the tax man..... keep the money in the company!! Keep it liquid, keep it fun!!!

You need to make profits in a public company as a legal obligation, both in the US and elsewhere. The CEO is employed by the owners to make a profit. Of course, if the officers of the company are also the owners (i.e. it is not a public company) then 'profit' may be defined in various ways!

The definition of a commercial venture is an activity entered into, in pursuance of profit.

Avid, in the past, gave the impression, in fact gave the very strong impression that it really was just for fun and the investors could go hang! With the appointment of Greenfield, the party was over and the fun (and perpetual losses) stopped.

Had he not been appointed and the company had gone on just as before, there would be no Avid and the names ProTools and Media Composer would have to have been sold to some company like Harman, Sony or Yamaha - and they would have closed it altogether and just used the badge.

[narcoman]

Oh - totally get that. But you don't need to show a huge profit. Just commenting on the years of comments of "digi/Avid are in trouble"..... they're not!

[The Byre]

Originally Posted by Demor

Only because of writeoffs and balance adjustments. Sales went up, alot...

Wrong! Revenue (sales and services) were reported at $185.3 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2011, compared to $195.3 million for the same period in 2010.

[The Byre]

Originally Posted by narcoman

Oh - totally get that. But you don't need to show a huge profit. Just commenting on the years of comments of "digi/Avid are in trouble"..... they're not!

Not any more! But a few years ago, they looked like a lost cause.

If a shortfall of cash flow is like a bullet to the head, losses are like cancer - the company slowly wastes away.

[narcoman]

Originally Posted by The Byre

Not any more! But a few years ago, they looked like a lost cause.

If a shortfall of cash flow is like a bullet to the head, losses are like cancer - the company slowly wastes away.

Indeed so. But we have no idea about the cash-flow. As long as there are revenues and the revenues exceed to operating costs ..... you can run!!! Especially if you make such investments as "research" or "consultants"....

[Jim Rosebrook]

Originally Posted by narcoman

Especially if you make such investments as "research" or "consultants"....

Looking deeper into the just-release report.. It look like AVID's tough cost cutting has been steered properly.

Comparing year-to-year:
Research & Development, cut about 1.2%
General & Administration, cut about 10.2%

[narcoman]

I've no doubt! In real terms that means "less hiring of Mr blahblahs" research company to research new conversion tech etc!!!

[robertshaw]

I saw this title of this thread I thought they might have finally updated that 1983 MS DOS interface.....oh well

[Demor]

Seriously...........?.... I think about 95% of the users are totally content with how it looks now. No unnesserairy clutter and to the point. My oppinion is also that making plugs looking like the real deal is a waste of time and money that could be spend elsewere, ...so.........

[James Lugo]

Originally Posted by robertshaw

I saw this title of this thread I thought they might have finally updated that 1983 MS DOS interface.....oh well

lol, I just upgraded my computer is Studio A with a 2.7 Dual G5. I'm on the cutting edge kids.

I'm putting my shoes on now to get an iPhone 4S with a snakeskin cover.

[robertshaw]

Originally Posted by Demor

Seriously...........?.... I think about 95% of the users are totally content with how it looks now. No unnesserairy clutter and to the point.

you know something?? In a way you are spot on.
I think apps like cubase an logic are almost too confusing at times
PT although not as fresh of a 2012 GUI is still very productive and it's very user friendly
being so simple

But it would be nice to have some cubendo features as a bonus

Originally Posted by Demor

My oppinion is also that making plugs looking like the real deal is a waste of time and money that could be spend elsewere, ...so.........

cubase allows you to show a primitive view of the plugin which really speeds things up. It gives you a bunch of sliders as opposed to all the fancy GUI stuff by default. Like the waves plugs sound great but the GUI slows you down. On windows go to processes -> view-> select columns and check off 'GDI objects'. When using simplified gui in cubase you can view that it cuts the graphics memory in half. You must gain 25% at least? not sure but its a noticeable difference

[narcoman]

Doesn;t Logic do the same?

Also - surely that's only when the plug in is shown? Why wouldn't an api clear the graphics memory when not being shown? Stupid programming if not!!