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VTech Holdings Ltd Annual Report 2004
4
Dividends Per Share in Last 5 Years
US cents
00 01 02 03 04
10.0
3.5
17.5
NILNIL
Earnings/(Loss) Per Share in Last 5 Years
US cents
21.0
(96.7)
20.5
00 01 02 03 04
18.1
5.0
0
5
10
15
20
(100)
(90)
0
5
10
15
20
25
(95)
The outlook for the
financial year 2005 appears
broadly conducive to a
further increase in revenue,
profit and earnings per
share
Letter to
Shareholders
The strength of our balance sheet will
ensure the Group has sufficient funds to
sustain its steady growth trajectory, while
also giving the Group the capital it needs
to invest prudently in areas of
opportunity that may arise.
Increased Dividend
The improved results and the sound
financial position of the Group, have
enabled us to recommend an increased
final dividend of US7.0 cents per share.
Together with the interim dividend of
US3.0 cents per share which was
declared and paid during the year, this
gives total dividends for the year of
US10.0 cents per share, against US3.5
cents per share for the financial year
2003.
Senior Management
Changes
During the financial year 2004, Mr. Paddy
Law Wai Leung resigned as Group CEO
and Executive Director to pursue his
personal interest. I have resumed the
Group CEO role since 1st January 2004. In
addition to this, we appointed Dr. King F.
Pang to a new position of Chief
Technology Officer in February 2004.
Dr. Pang will help ensure the Group has
the strategic direction it needs in
technology, speeding up the Group’s
product development cycle and
increasing the introduction of innovative
products.
Outlook — Cautiously
Optimistic
We expect that the financial year 2005
will continue to be challenging. The key
challenges faced by the Group include
intensification of market competition, the
possible slow down of US consumer
spending, ongoing price erosion of our
products, and the potential of disruption
and unfavourable pricing of key
electronic components.
Despite the above, the Group is well
positioned for further revenue and profit
growth by continuously enhancing our
innovative capability as we put more
investment in our R&D, aggressively
expand our businesses in Europe and
Asia, and upgrade our IT infrastructure to
further enhance our supply chain and
management processes.
VTech is now much more competitive in
the fields in which it operates, with a
number of competitive advantages: