MELVILLE, N.Y., Sep 17, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (Nasdaq:CMTL) today reported its operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended July 31, 2008. Net sales, operating income, EBITDA, net income and diluted earnings per share for the full year reached record levels.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 were $126.5 million compared to $117.8 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, reflecting significant growth in both the telecommunications transmission and RF microwave amplifiers segments, partially offset by lower sales in the mobile data communications segment.

GAAP net income was $17.0 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, for the three months ended July 31, 2008 compared to $17.1 million, or $0.63 per diluted share, for the three months ended July 31, 2007. Non-GAAP net income, which excludes the amortization of stock-based compensation expense, was $18.8 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, for the three months ended July 31, 2008 as compared to Non-GAAP net income of $18.5 million, or $0.67 per diluted share, for the three months ended July 31, 2007. The GAAP and Non-GAAP results for the three months ended July 31, 2007, include a favorable cumulative gross profit adjustment, which resulted in an increase to operating income of $5.3 million.

Net sales for the twelve months ended July 31, 2008 were $531.6 million, compared to $445.7 million for the twelve months ended July 31, 2007. GAAP net income was $76.4 million, or $2.76 per diluted share, for the twelve months ended July 31, 2008 compared to $65.2 million, or $2.42 per diluted share, for the twelve months ended July 31, 2007. Non-GAAP net income, which excludes the amortization of stock-based compensation expense, was $83.4 million, or $2.98 per diluted share, for the twelve months ended July 31, 2008 as compared to Non-GAAP net income of $70.2 million, or $2.57 per diluted share, for the twelve months ended July 31, 2007.

In commenting on the Company's performance during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, Fred Kornberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, noted, "The fourth quarter was an outstanding finish to another record year for Comtech. The acquisition of Radyne Corporation closed on August 1, 2008 and the execution of our integration and restructuring plans is well underway. We continue to see strong demand for our products in all three of our business segments and we believe that fiscal 2009 will be another record year for Comtech, on both the top and bottom line."

Selected Fiscal 2008 Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2008 Full Year Financial Metrics and Other Items

  * At July 31, 2008, we had $410.1 million of unrestricted cash and
    cash equivalents on hand. On August 1, 2008 (the beginning of our
    fiscal year 2009), and as more fully described in our Form 10-K
    filed earlier today, we purchased Radyne Corporation using a
    portion of our existing cash and cash equivalents for a
    preliminary aggregate purchase price of approximately $231.7
    million (including estimated transaction costs and payments made
    for outstanding share-based stock awards).

  * Bookings for the three and twelve months ended July 31, 2008 were
    $141.7 million and $603.7 million, respectively, compared to $93.8
    million and $388.7 million for the three and twelve months ended
    July 31, 2007, respectively. Backlog as of July 31, 2008 was
    $201.1 million compared to $185.9 million as of April 30, 2008 and
    $129.0 million as of July 31, 2007.

  * Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
    ("EBITDA") were $30.6 million and $128.3 million for the three and
    twelve months ended July 31, 2008, respectively, versus $27.2
    million and $102.5 million for the three and twelve months ended
    July 31, 2007, respectively.

  * Cash provided by operating activities for fiscal 2008 was $77.8
    million compared to $89.2 million for fiscal 2007. The decrease in
    cash provided by operating activities was driven by an increase in
    working capital requirements associated with the significant
    increase in sales activity in our mobile data communications and
    RF microwave amplifiers segments.

  * Interest income was $2.4 million for the three months ended July
    31, 2008 as compared to $4.3 million for the three months ended
    July 31, 2007. The decrease in interest income was due to the
    significant year-over-year decline in interest rates partially
    offset by an increase in investable cash.

  * In our mobile data communications segment, for the three months
    ended July 31, 2007, we finalized the total contract costs on our
    original MTS contract, which resulted in an increase to gross
    profit and operating income of $6.1 million and $5.3 million,
    respectively.

  * Our effective tax rate was 36.3% and 34.5% in the fourth quarter
    of fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007, respectively. Our effective tax
    rate for the fourth quarter and full fiscal year 2008, excluding
    certain adjustments which are more fully described in our Form
    10-K filed earlier today, approximated 35.3%.

Conference Call

The Company has scheduled an investor conference call for 8:30 AM (ET) on Thursday, September 18, 2008. Investors and the public are invited to access a live webcast of the conference call from the news section of the Comtech web site at www.comtechtel.com. Alternatively, investors can access the conference call by dialing (800) 894-5910 (domestic) or (785) 424-1052 (international) and using the conference I.D. of "Comtech." A replay of the conference call will be available for seven days by dialing (402) 220-1115. In addition, an updated investor presentation, including earnings guidance, will be available on our web site shortly after the conference call.

About Comtech

Comtech Telecommunications Corp. designs, develops, produces and markets innovative products, systems and services for advanced communications solutions. The Company believes many of its solutions play a vital role in providing or enhancing communication capabilities when terrestrial communications infrastructure is unavailable or ineffective. The Company conducts business through three complementary segments: telecommunications transmission, mobile data communications and RF microwave amplifiers. The Company sells products to a diverse customer base in the global commercial and government communications markets. The Company believes it is a market leader in the market segments that it serves.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information in this press release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, information relating to the Company's future performance and financial condition, plans and objectives of the Company's management and the Company's assumptions regarding such future performance, financial condition, plans and objectives that involve certain significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors not under the Company's control which may cause actual results, future performance and financial condition, and achievement of plans and objectives of the Company's management to be materially different from the results, performance or other expectations implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors include the timing of receipt of, and the Company's performance on, new orders that can cause significant fluctuations in net sales and operating results, the timing and funding of government contracts, adjustments to gross profits on long-term contracts, risks associated with international sales, rapid technological change, evolving industry standards, frequent new product announcements and enhancements, changing customer demands, changes in prevailing economic and political conditions, risks associated with the results of ongoing investigations into the Company's compliance with export regulations, risks associated with the Radyne acquisition, and other factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

                    COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
                            AND SUBSIDIARIES
                  Consolidated Statements of Operations

                        (Unaudited)                  (Audited)
                     Three months ended          Fiscal year ended
                          July 31,                    July 31,
                  -------------------------  -------------------------
                      2008         2007          2008         2007
                  ------------ ------------  ------------ ------------

 Net sales        $126,474,000  117,814,000   531,627,000  445,684,000
 Cost of sales      68,869,000   65,319,000   296,687,000  252,389,000
                  ------------ ------------  ------------ ------------
   Gross profit     57,605,000   52,495,000   234,940,000  193,295,000
                  ------------ ------------  ------------ ------------

 Expenses:
   Selling,
    general and
    administrative  22,232,000   19,842,000    85,967,000   73,312,000
   Research and
    development     10,039,000    9,646,000    40,472,000   32,469,000
   Amortization of
    intangibles        464,000      564,000     1,710,000    2,592,000
                  ------------ ------------  ------------ ------------
                    32,735,000   30,052,000   128,149,000  108,373,000
                  ------------ ------------  ------------ ------------

 Operating income   24,870,000   22,443,000   106,791,000   84,922,000

 Other expense
  (income):
   Interest
    expense            668,000      679,000     2,683,000    2,731,000
   Interest income
    and other       (2,443,000)  (4,303,000)  (14,065,000) (14,208,000)
                  ------------ ------------  ------------ ------------

 Income before
  provision for
  income taxes      26,645,000   26,067,000   118,173,000   96,399,000
 Provision for
  income taxes       9,680,000    8,980,000    41,740,000   31,186,000
                  ------------  -----------   -----------  -----------
 Net income       $ 16,965,000   17,087,000    76,433,000   65,213,000
                  ============  ===========  ============  ===========

 Net income per
  share:
   Basic          $       0.70         0.73          3.17         2.81
                  ============ ============  ============ ============
   Diluted        $       0.61         0.63          2.76         2.42
                  ============ ============  ============ ============

 Weighted average
  number of common
  shares
  outstanding -
  basic             24,306,000   23,508,000    24,138,000   23,178,000
                  ============ ============  ============ ============

 Weighted average
  number of common
  and common
  equivalent
  shares
  outstanding
  assuming
  dilution -
  diluted           28,381,000   27,979,000    28,278,000   27,603,000
                  ============ ============  ============ ============


                    COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
                            AND SUBSIDIARIES
                       Consolidated Balance Sheets

                                                 July 31,
                                     ---------------------------------
                                          2008               2007
                                     ---------------   ---------------
                 Assets                 (Audited)         (Audited)
 Current assets:
   Cash and cash equivalents         $   410,067,000       342,903,000
   Accounts receivable, net               70,040,000        73,585,000
   Inventories, net                       85,966,000        61,987,000
   Prepaid expenses and other
    current assets                         5,891,000         6,734,000

   Deferred tax asset - current           10,026,000         9,380,000
                                     ---------------   ---------------
     Total current assets                581,990,000       494,589,000

 Property, plant and equipment, net       34,269,000        29,282,000
 Goodwill                                 24,363,000        24,387,000
 Intangibles with finite lives, net        7,505,000         5,717,000
 Deferred financing costs, net             1,357,000         1,903,000
 Other assets, net                         3,636,000           464,000
                                     ---------------   ---------------
     Total assets                    $   653,120,000       556,342,000
                                     ===============   ===============

                Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

 Current liabilities:
   Accounts payable                  $    31,423,000        26,137,000
   Accrued expenses and other
    current liabilities                   49,671,000        47,332,000
   Customer advances and deposits         15,287,000        20,056,000
   Current installments of other
    obligations                              108,000           135,000
   Interest payable                        1,050,000         1,050,000
   Income taxes payable                           --         2,796,000
                                     ---------------   ---------------
         Total current liabilities        97,539,000        97,506,000

 Convertible senior notes                105,000,000       105,000,000
 Other obligations, less current
  installments                                    --           108,000
 Income taxes payable - non-current        1,909,000                --
 Deferred tax liability - non-current      5,870,000         7,960,000
                                     ---------------   ---------------
         Total liabilities               210,318,000       210,574,000

 Commitments and contingencies

 Stockholders' equity:
   Preferred stock, par value $.10
    per share; shares authorized and
    unissued 2,000,000                            --                --
   Common stock, par value $.10 per
    share; authorized 100,000,000
    shares, issued 24,600,166 shares
    and 24,016,329 shares at July 31,
    2008 and 2007, respectively            2,460,000         2,402,000
   Additional paid-in capital            186,246,000       165,703,000
   Retained earnings                     254,281,000       177,848,000
                                     ---------------   ---------------
                                         442,987,000       345,953,000
     Less:
       Treasury stock
        (210,937 shares)                    (185,000)         (185,000)
                                     ---------------   ---------------
         Total stockholders' equity      442,802,000       345,768,000
                                     ---------------   ---------------
         Total liabilities and
          stockholders' equity       $   653,120,000       556,342,000
                                     ===============   ===============


                    COMTECH TELECOMMUNICATIONS CORP.
                            AND SUBSIDIARIES
            Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to
                         GAAP Financial Measures
                               (Unaudited)

                      Three Months Ended          Fiscal year Ended
                           July 31,                    July 31,
                   -------------------------  ------------------------
                       2008         2007         2008         2007
                   ------------ ------------  ----------- ------------
 Reconciliation of
  Non-GAAP Net
  Income to
  GAAP Net
  Income(1):
   Non-GAAP net
    income         $ 18,798,000   18,455,000   83,425,000   70,220,000
   Amortization of
    stock-based
    compensation     (2,790,000)  (2,108,000) (10,640,000)  (7,401,000)
   Tax effect of
    stock-based
    compensation
    expense             957,000      740,000    3,648,000    2,394,000
                   ------------ ------------ ------------ ------------
   GAAP net income $ 16,965,000   17,087,000   76,433,000   65,213,000
                   ============ ============ ============ ============

 Reconciliation of
  Non-GAAP Diluted
  Earnings Per
  Share to GAAP
  Diluted Earnings
  Per Share(1),(2):
   Non-GAAP diluted
    earnings per
    share          $       0.67         0.67         2.98         2.57
   Amortization of
    stock-based
    compensation
                          (0.09)       (0.06)       (0.34)       (0.22)
   Tax effect of
    stock-based
    compensation
    expense                0.03         0.02         0.12         0.07
                   ------------ ------------  ----------- ------------
   GAAP diluted
    earnings per
    share          $       0.61         0.63         2.76         2.42
                   ============ ============  =========== ============

 Reconciliation of
  GAAP Net Income
  to EBITDA(3):
   GAAP net income $ 16,965,000   17,087,000   76,433,000   65,213,000
   Income taxes       9,680,000    8,980,000   41,740,000   31,186,000
   Net interest
    income and
    other            (1,775,000)  (3,624,000) (11,382,000) (11,477,000)
   Amortization of
    stock-based
    compensation      2,790,000    2,108,000   10,640,000    7,401,000
   Depreciation and
    amortization      2,922,000    2,641,000   10,906,000   10,128,000
                   ------------ ------------  ----------- ------------
   EBITDA          $ 30,582,000   27,192,000  128,337,000  102,451,000
                   ============ ============  =========== ============

 (1) Non-GAAP net income is used by management in assessing the
     Company's operating results. The Company believes that investors
     and analysts may use non-GAAP measures that exclude the
     amortization of stock-based compensation, along with other
     information contained in its SEC filings, in assessing the
     Company's operating results.

 (2) Earnings per share information for the full fiscal year may not
     equal the total of the quarters within the year as a result of
     rounding.

 (3) Represents earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation
     and amortization of intangibles and stock-based compensation.
     EBITDA is a non-GAAP operating metric used by management in
     assessing the Company's operating results and ability to meet
     debt service requirements. The Company's definition of EBITDA may
     differ from the definition of EBITDA used by other companies and
     may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other
     companies. EBITDA is also a measure frequently requested by the
     Company's investors and analysts. The Company believes that
     investors and analysts may use EBITDA, along with other
     information contained in its SEC filings, in assessing its
     ability to generate cash flow and service debt.

ECMTL

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SOURCE: Comtech Telecommunications Corp.

Comtech Telecommunications Corp.
          Media Contacts:
          Michael D. Porcelain, Senior Vice President and 
          Chief Financial Officer
         

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