FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS
December 15, 2000 OTC-VARL
VARI-L COMPANY ANNOUNCES NASDAQ RULING AND
PLANS FOR RELEASE OF FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Company's Stock Symbol Reverts to "VARL" On Pink Sheets
DENVER, Colorado -- Vari-L Company, Inc. (OTC-VARL), a leading provider of
advanced components for the wireless telecommunications industry, today
announced it has been advised by Nasdaq that its stock will not be
relisted on the Nasdaq National Market in the immediate future. The stock
had been delisted on September 7 due in part to Vari-L's lack of audited
financial statements; Vari-L had appealed the delisting. After Nasdaq's
denial of Vari-L's appeal on December 8, 2000, the Company's stock, which
is traded on the Pink Sheets, has been trading under its original symbol
"VARL."
Pete Pappas, CEO, said Nasdaq's ruling will not affect Vari-L's plans to
continue working toward satisfying the financial statements requirements
for listing on Nasdaq or another recognized exchange. He noted that the
process could take some time and that in the interim the Company would
continue to be listed on the Pink Sheets.
"While relisting our shares on Nasdaq was the preferred outcome, we
understand and respect Nasdaq's decision," Pappas said. "In the meantime,
our shares will continue to be listed on the Pink Sheets, a trading forum
that has improved in terms of trade reporting and electronic access in
recent years. Ultimately, we believe that shareholder value is driven by
sales and earnings growth, and that investors and investment professionals
will recognize value no matter what exchange our shares are listed on. We
will continue to develop new technologies and to serve a client base that
consists of many of the world's leading providers of wireless
communications systems."
Vari-L also announced that KPMG LLP, its independent auditor, has informed
the Company it will not be able to express unqualified audit opinions for
periods prior to June 30, 2000. The decision, which was made following
many months of efforts by KPMG and Vari-L management, is based on KPMG's
determination that the internal controls over inventory accounting and
management systems prior to June 30, 2000, were not sufficiently reliable
to enable KPMG to audit the Company's inventory quantities. KPMG is
unable to apply alternative auditing procedures to the Company's inventory
balances for periods prior to June 30, 2000. The Company and KPMG
concluded that no amount of reconstructive accounting can overcome the
conditions that existed prior to June 30, 2000. Pappas said Vari-L is
continuing the process of preparing financial statements for the second
and third quarters of 2000 and restated financial statement for the first
quarter of 2000 and all of 1999.
Through its headquarters in Denver, Vari-L designs, manufactures and
markets wireless communications components that generate or process radio
frequency (RF) and microwave frequency signals. Vari-L's patented
products are used in commercial infrastructure equipment (including
cellular/paging/PCS base stations and repeaters, fixed terminal point to
point/multi-point data radios including LMDS/MMDS), consumer subscriber
products (advanced cellular/PCS/satellite handsets, web-enabled smart
phones, 2-way pagers, wireless PDAs, home networking), and
military/aerospace platforms (satellite communications/telemetry, missile
guidance, electronic warfare, electronic countermeasures, battlefield
communications). Vari-L serves a diverse customer base of the world's
leading technology companies, including Adaptive Broadband, Agilent
Technologies, Digital Microwave, Ericsson, Glenayre Technologies (Wireless
Access), Harris, Hughes, Lockheed Martin, Lucent Technologies, Microwave
Data Systems, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NEC, NeoPoint, Netro, Newbridge
Networks, Nokia, Northrop Grumman, Novatel Wireless, Raytheon, Samsung,
and Siemens.
Some of the statements contained in this news release are forward-looking
statements. The accuracy of these statements cannot be guaranteed as they
are subject to a variety of risks, including but not limited to the
success of the products into which the Company's products are integrated,
governmental action relating to wireless communications licensing and
regulation, the accuracy of the Company's internal projections as to the
demand for certain types of technological innovation, competitive products
and pricing, the success of new product development efforts, the timely
release for production and the delivery of products under existing
contracts, the outcome of pending and threatened litigation and regulatory
actions, the success and timeliness of the Company's efforts to restate
its prior financial statements, the ability of the Company's new
independent accounting firm to issue an unqualified audit report on those
financial statements, future economic conditions generally, as well as
other factors.
CONTACTS:
Vari-L Company, Inc. Pfeiffer Public Relations, Inc.
Pete Pappas, CEO 303/393-7044
303/371-1560
