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Today's press release was remarkable for two reasons. First, it drew attention to the company's uncanny ability to generate sustained losses (ECD has had only about 5 profitable years since it was founded in 1960, but never a positive free-cash-flow year). Second, it confirmed that the change in the company's description that first occurred on August 27th, 2009 was not a fluke.
Today's press release, like the preceding press release, states: "Energy
Conversion Devices is a leader in building integrated and rooftop
photovoltaics. The company manufactures, sells and installs thin-film
solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary
technology. ECD's UNI-SOLAR® brand products are unique because of their
flexibility, light weight, ease of installation, durability, and
real-world efficiency. Through its Solar Integrated Technologies
business, the company also designs, manufactures and installs rooftop
photovoltaic systems which enable customers to transform unused space
on the rooftop into a value-generating asset. For more information,
please visit www.energyconversiondevices.com." Essentially, ECD is now described as a solar company.
Gone are the references to "other alternative technologies" and "digital memory," which decorated the press releases since the new CEO came on board in 2007 (those are now only discussed in the 10K): "ECD
also pioneers other alternative technologies, including a new type of
nonvolatile digital memory technology that is significantly faster,
less expensive, and ideal for use in a variety of applications
including cell phones, digital cameras and personal computers."
Of course, under the previous management, things were even more verbose: "ECD
Ovonics is the leader in the synthesis of new materials and the
development of advanced production technology and innovative products.
It has invented, pioneered and developed its proprietary, enabling
technologies in the fields of energy and information leading to new
products and production processes based on amorphous, disordered and
related materials. ECD Ovonics' proprietary advanced information
technologies include Ovonic phase-change electrical memory, Ovonic
phase-change optical memory and the Ovonic Threshold Switch. The
Company's portfolio of alternative energy solutions includes Ovonic
thin-film amorphous solar cells, modules, panels and systems for
generating solar electric power; Ovonic NiMH batteries; Ovonic hydride
storage materials capable of storing hydrogen in the solid state for
use as a feedstock for fuel cells or internal combustion engines or as
an enhancement or replacement for any type of hydrocarbon fuel; and
Ovonic fuel cell technology. ECD Ovonics designs and builds
manufacturing machinery that incorporates its proprietary production
processes, maintains ongoing research and development programs to
continually improve its products and develops new applications for its
technologies. ECD Ovonics holds the basic patents in its fields. More
information on ECD Ovonics is available on www.ovonic.com." But
the reality had to eventually set in, as it turned out that the optical
memory, the threshold switch, transportation NiMH, hydrogen storage,
and fuel cells were all business failures and dead ends.
So
why was the reference to the "new type of nonvolatile digital memory,"
that is, phase-change memory, developed by ECD's JV Ovonyx, eliminated
from the press releases? It may have something to do with one of the
licensees, Numonyx (a JV between Intel and STM), finally publishing a
datasheet for their phase-change memory gem (formerly known as
Alverstone, now called P8P), which reveals that this "new" (actually,
almost 50-yr old) memory technology is significantly slower (in terms
of write throughput) , not faster, than the existing mainstream (NAND)
Flash memory, and has poor density, thus making it significantly more
expensive (per megabyte stored), not less expensive. Or maybe it was the reluctant admission [cached] by the CTO of Numonyx that he "expects phase change will be relegated to specialty uses," contradicting all those previous ECD press releases that insisted on "use in a variety of applications including cell phones, digital cameras and personal computers."
Finally, it could have been the failure so far of the other major
licensee, Samsung, to commence volume production, despite the "public announcement" at the 2007 ECD shareholder meeting by the CEO of Ovonyx that such production was "set for 1H of 2008 to meet 'rather strong demands.'" (see slide 8 in the presentation)
But while the language in the press releases changed, ECD's home page hasn't. Here is what the meta description tag there states today: "ECD
Ovonics is leader in synthesis of new materials, development of
advanced production technology and innovative products; ECD Ovonics has
invented, pioneered and developed products and enabling technologies
based upon amorphous materials, emphasizing advanced information
technologies (Ovonic phase-change optical and electronic memories,
Ovonic threshold switching, and Ovonic quantum control devices) and
alternative energy (photovoltaics, fuel cells, hydride batteries and
hydride storage materials capable of storing hydrogen in the solid
state for use as a feedstock for fuel cells or internal combustion
engines or as an enhancement or replacement for any type of hydrocarbon
fuel); ECD Ovonics designs and builds manufacturing machinery,
incorporating proprietary production processes; ECD Ovonics offers
materials preparation and characterization using electron and optical
microscopy, energy and wavelength spectroscopy, ICP, surface analysis,
UV-VIS-IR, and x-ray diffraction; ECD Ovonics holds basic patents in
its fields."
One has to wonder whether a company that could "maintain an extensive patent portfolio presently consisting of approximately 270 U.S. patents and over 300 foreign counterparts" (per the 10K) is simply incapable of fixing its home page, or whether the description crafted in 2005 is deliberately kept unchanged there.
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