Illuminet has big day on the street

CHRIS CLOUGH, THE OLYMPIAN

LACEY -- As president and chief executive officer of Illuminet Holdings Inc., Roger Moore always has an eye on Wall Street.

On Tuesday, Moore had a hand in the markets as well, ringing the bell to open the day's trading on the Nasdaq at 6:30 a.m. PDT.

Two other Illuminet executives -- Daniel Weiss, chief financial officer, and Peter Wiederspan, vice president of finance and investor relations -- attended the ceremonial event in New York.

"The morning went well," Illuminet spokeswoman Penny Thomas said from the corporation's Lacey headquarters.

The trio are on what Thomas described as an investor-relations road show on the East Coast. It's similar to several such trips taken each year -- with the notable addition of the Nasdaq opening.

"It all kind of ties together," Thomas said.

Corporations sometimes are asked to open the market when their performance is notable, as in Illuminet's case, or on the day of their initial public offering.

Carrier business

As a business, Illuminet helps telecommunications carriers route calls with its computerized switching system and also connects carriers to databanks necessary for toll-free calls, caller ID and other such services. It was founded in 1981 and became a publicly traded company in 1999. Its IPO, raised $78 million.

The company's headquarters are in the Lacey Corporate Center off College Street. Illuminet employs about 200 people in Lacey.

Illuminet also has an office in Kansas.

Illuminet acquired National Telemanagement Corporation for about $84 million in stock in June 2000. The Texas-based subsidiary focuses largely on prepaid wireless services.

Illuminet Holdings reported earnings of $47.2 million for the fiscal quarter ending June 30, up 30 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Quarterly net income increased 134 percent -- from $4.2 million to $10 million -- compared to the second quarter of 2000.

Illuminet's stock ended Tuesday up $0.27 at $30.82, but had an inauspicious start in the hours after Moore opened the Nasdaq.

It traded as low as $28.61 before rebounding.

A New York analyst said the opening ceremony and the stock's sluggish start were unrelated.

"It's off 40 cents and more than that earlier in the day," David Raezer, an equity research analyst with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, said in the early afternoon.

"You've got to remember liquidity issues when not many shares are traded. Earlier there was low volume. As volume picked up, so has the price."

Raezer attended the Illuminet opening in Times Square, where activity is shown on Nasdaq MarketSite, a video wall several stories high.

Unlike the New York Stock Exchange, there is no Nasdaq trading floor per se.

Raezer said Illuminet was probably invited because it is continuing to be profitable as other companies associated with telecommunications carriers struggle as the carriers cut costs.

"Illuminet appears to be doing pretty well despite this environment," he said. "It's impressive."

CNBC televises the NYSE and Nasdaq openings live each morning.

Wise-cracking anchor Mark Haines couldn't refrain from the predictable snippet as the telecast switched from the NYSE to the Nasdaq for a few seconds.

"And at the Nasdaq, Roger Moore, CEO of Illuminet," Haines said. "You know, I mean, you get too old to do the James Bond movies, but that's life."

About Illuminet

- Headquarters: 4501 Intelco Loop S.E., Lacey

- Web site: www.illuminet.com

- Stock: Traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol ILUM

- Tuesday's closing price: $30.82, up $0.27

- 52-week high: $40.00

- 52-week low: $13.06

- Coming Sunday: Illuminet will be featured in the monthly series Taking Stock in South Sound.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

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