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FORM 6-K

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Report of Foreign Issuer

Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the month ended   Commission File Number
March   0-24018
 
ZI CORPORATION
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)
 
2100, 840 - 7TH Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 3G2
(Address of principal executive offices)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.     Form 20-F Q         Form 40-F £

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): £

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): £

Indicate by check mark whether by furnishing the information contained in this Form, the registrant is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.     Yes £            No Q

If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82- ______


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EXHIBIT LIST

Exhibit Description

 

 
99.1 Press Release 2007 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Financial Results

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

  ZI CORPORATION
   
Dated: March 25, 2008  
  By:   /s/ Blair Mullin                               
         Blair Mullin, Chief Financial Officer

 



 

2007 FOURTH QUARTER AND YEAR-END FINANCIAL RESULTS

Zi Corporation Announces Record Annual Technology Segment Revenues in 2007 Along with 53% Decrease in Net Loss

CALGARY, AB, March 25, 2008 – Zi Corporation (NASDAQ: ZICA, TSX: ZIC) (the “Company” or “Zi”), a leading provider of intelligent interface solutions, today announced the financial results for their fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2007.  

Zi Corporation had record annual revenues in 2007 from its technology segment and the fourth quarter of 2007 had the highest quarterly revenues in the past 12 quarters.  Previous record annual revenues, which had been higher than the 2007 revenues, included revenues from now-discontinued operations of unrelated businesses.

Shipments of eZiText™ and eZiType™ increased by more than 10 percent and the Company signed 15 new license agreements for these products. License agreements for the Company’s Decuma™ handwriting recognition technology were also signed with two major manufacturers, the first such significant agreements for Decuma.  2007 also marked the first North American license agreement for the Company’s Qix™ search technology, and the Company is working with manufacturers for the first time to embed Qix on proprietary feature handsets.

Total revenue for 2007 increased 11 percent to $13.1 million from $11.8 million in 2006.  Net loss for the year was $5.1 million or $0.10 per basic and diluted share, a 53 percent decrease from the 2006 net loss of $11 million or $0.24 per basic and diluted share.  2007 results include a $0.6 million gain from the sale of a non-core asset.  Net Loss from Continuing Operations was $5.8 million in 2007, which was a 41 percent decrease versus 2006.

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $3.6 million, an increase of 13 percent from $3.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2006 and seven percent from $3.4 million for the third quarter of 2007.  Net loss for the quarter was $1.7 million or $0.03 per basic and diluted share as compared to a net loss of $3.0 million, or $0.06 per basic and diluted share for the same period in 2006, and $1.3 million or $0.02 for the third quarter of 2007, respectively.  The fourth quarter included withholding taxes of $0.5 million relating to the payment of inter-company royalties from the Company’s Chinese subsidiaries to repatriate cash currently classified as Restricted Cash. Such taxes are not expected to be incurred again in the foreseeable future.

Year over year, the Company reported a 198 percent increase in cash and cash equivalents to approximately $5.0 million at December 31, 2007, excluding cash of $2.7 million held in our Chinese subsidiary which is currently classified as Restricted Cash.  Working capital increased by 277 percent to $1.8 million in 2007 as compared to $0.5 million for the previous year.  Shareholders’ equity improved from $4.8 million at December 31, 2006 to $6.5 million at December 31, 2007, and the Company has no long-term debt.

Commenting on the results, Milos Djokovic, President and Chief Executive Officer of Zi Corporation, stated, “We are very pleased to report that 2007 was a year of marked improvement in the financial results for Zi Corporation.  Our key focuses were to improve revenues from all product lines and to increase efficiencies throughout the organization.  With improved sales and account management over the last twelve months we experienced significant increases in handheld unit shipments during the fourth quarter and predictive text sales that exceeded our internal expectations.  The foundations laid in late 2006 really began bearing fruit throughout the year and have continued on through the start of 2008.  This was evidenced by year-end and first quarter ‘08 licensing agreements surrounding our eZiText, eZiType, and Decuma, and in particular, our Qix license agreement with TELUS, a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with over $9 billion of annual revenue (2007) and 5.6 million wireless subscribers.”


Djokovic continued, “Operationally we have been very successful in improving our bottom line and anticipate this trend continuing in 2008 as we drive our results toward profitability, while increasing R&D headcount to improve and enhance our products. From a balance sheet perspective, our results were buoyed by the capital raising activities we undertook during the first quarter of 2007.  This, in conjunction with the divestiture of Archer Education Group, a non-core asset, provided the Company a capital boost of just over $6 million.”

Results throughout 2007, and particularly during the fourth quarter, were acutely affected by the depreciation of the US dollar against the Canadian dollar. The Company estimates that fourth quarter selling, general and administrative expenses were $0.5 million higher than the fourth quarter of 2006 because of this factor.

Looking to the future, Djokovic stated, “While 2007 was a milestone year for Zi Corporation, in 2008 and beyond we will continue to work closely with manufacturers on their new device models and with carriers to generate what we believe could be significant, but as yet untapped, advertising revenues.  Analysts estimate that over 1.2 billion mobile handsets will be sold in 2008 and with the continued growth of this market, particularly in emerging areas, we see a diversified set of opportunities to grow our business.  We intend to be aggressive in our efforts to continue to capture an increasing share of this market.   Currently, mobile operator trials associated with our Qix product continue to proceed well and we expect that these, in conjunction with the success of our recent TELUS deal, will help to springboard our Qix product into new carrier accounts.   Additionally, we are seeing new licensing agreements surrounding our predictive text products, eZiText and eZiType as well as significant new contracts for our handwriting recognition technology, Decuma, all of which continue to bode well for the 2008 outlook.  We are excited about the future prospects of Zi Corporation and look forward to reporting our progress throughout the year.”   

All dollar amounts referenced herein are in US dollars.

Conference Call Information:

Zi Corporation  will hold a conference call to review its fourth quarter and full year 2007 results on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern.  Milos Djokovic, President and Chief Executive Officer will host the call. Interested parties may access the conference call by dialing 800-762-8779 (domestic) or 480-248-5081 (international) using conference ID 3859632. Participants are advised to dial-in at least five minutes before the scheduled start time.

A replay of the conference call will be accessible two hours after its completion until 11:59pm ET on Wednesday, March 26, 2008 by dialing 800-406-7325 (domestic) or 303-590-3030 (international) using pin number 3859632. A live webcast and 10-day archive of the call can be accessed at http://www.zicorp.com.

About Zi Corporation:
Zi Corporation (www.zicorp.com) is a technology company that delivers intelligent interface solutions to enhance the user experience of wireless and consumer technologies.  The Company provides device manufacturers and network operators with a full range of intuitive and easy-to-use input solutions, including: Qix for mobile search and discovery that drives increased device usage and facilitates mobile advertising; eZiText for predictive text entry; eZiType for keyboard prediction with auto-correction; and Decuma for predictive handwriting recognition.  The Zi product portfolio dramatically improves the usability of mobile phones, PDAs, gaming devices and set-top boxes and the applications on them including SMS, MMS, e-mail and Web browsing.  Zi supports its strategic partners and customers from offices in Asia, Europe and North America.  A publicly traded company, Zi Corporation is listed on Nasdaq Capital Markets (ZICA) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ZIC).


Safe Harbor Statement:

This release may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements, which are subject to the safe harbour provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding future events and the future financial performance of Zi Corporation (“Zi”), including its bottom line, Zi’s future withholding tax liability related to the repatriation of cash from its Chinese subsidiary; the potential for Zi to generate advertising revenues, Zi’s overall revenue growth opportunities related to mobile handset sales worldwide, the revenue growth opportunity related to Zi’s Qix product with new carrier accounts, the ability of Zi to enter into new licensing agreements related to its eZitext, eZiType and Decuma products, and, the impact of Zi’s cost-cutting initiatives and its ability to achieve profitable operations.  Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, including: competition; the growth trends in the input technology industry; new product development and services offerings; global economic conditions and uncertainties in the geopolitical environment; financial and operating performance of OEM customers and variations in their customer demand for products and services; dependence on the introduction and market acceptance of new product offerings and standards, in particular Zi’s Qix product offering; rapid technological and market change; matters affecting Zi Corporation's significant shareholder; litigation involving patents, intellectual property, and other matters; the ability to recruit and retain key personnel; Zi's ability to manage financial risk; Zi’s ability to successfully perform its license agreements and ability to successfully enter into new license agreements with new and existing customers; Zi’s ability to raise capital on terms favourable to it, if at all; the compliance with the terms of the settlement by the court-appointed receiver of the Lancer Management Group and by Zi Corporation; currency fluctuations and other international factors; potential volatility in operating results, Zi’s current and future operating expense levels and R&D expense levels; Zi’s ability to repatriate cash from its Chinese subsidiary in the future and the manner in which such repatriation is permitted to occur under applicable regulation and other factors listed in Zi Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Any projections in this release are based on limited information currently available to Zi Corporation, which is subject to change.  Although any such projections and the factors influencing them will likely change, except to the extent required by law, Zi Corporation will not necessarily update the information.  Such information speaks only as of the date of this release.

Zi, Decuma, Qix, eZiText and eZiType are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the Zi Group of Companies.  All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For more information:    
Cameron & Associates Zi Corporation Zi Corporation
Al Palombo Milos Djokovic, CEO Blair Mullin, CFO
212-245-8800 403-233-8875 403-233-8875
al@cameronassoc.com milos@zicorp.com bmullin@zicorp.com

Financial Tables Follow


Consolidated Statements of Loss

Years ended December 31,  

2007

 

2006

 

2005

(All amounts in United States of America dollars except share amounts)

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Revenues $

13,111,002

$

11,836,217

$

10,614,043

Cost of sales   (263,922)   (406,463)   (355,597)
Gross margin  

12,847,080

 

11,429,754

 

10,258,446

   

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses  

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Selling general and administrative   (10,531,299)   (10,728,671)   (8,764,212)
Business taxes   (1,257,662)   (925,192)   (846,478)
Litigation and legal   (1,941,660)   (3,352,763)   (1,670,577)
Product research and development   (2,450,771)   (3,700,242)   (3,137,263)
Depreciation and amortization   (1,670,037)   (1,667,534)   (1,125,695)
Impairment of note receivable  

 

  (250,000)
Gain on settlement of litigation  

 

 

1,415,616

Operating loss before undernoted   (5,004,349)   (8,944,648)   (4,120,163)
   

 

 

 

 

 

Interest on capital lease obligation

  (43)   (795)   (3,924)

Other interest expense

  (35,570)   (17,211)   (2,368)

Interest income and other income

 

189,290

 

227,562

 

325,050

Net loss before undernoted   (4,850,672)   (8,735,092)   (3,801,405)

Recovery (impairment) of note receivable

 

130,931

  (129,417)  

Income taxes

  (1,039,458)   (885,084)   (687,515)
Net loss from continuing operations (5,759,199) (9,749,593) (4,488,920)

Discontinued operations

 

632,601

  (1,245,291)   (828,503)
Net Loss $ (5,126,598) $ (10,994,884) $ (5,317,423)
Basic and diluted loss per share from continuing operations $ (0.11) $ (0.21) $ (0.10)
Basic and diluted gain (loss) per share from discontinued operations  

0.01

  (0.03)   (0.02)
Basic and diluted loss per share   (0.10)   (0.24)   (0.12)
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted  

49,640,891

 

46,502,728

 

46,152,711

Common shares outstanding, end of year  

50,557,957

 

46,688,624

 

46,272,568

 


Consolidated Balance Sheets

As at December 31,

 

2007

 

2006

(All amounts in United States of America dollars except share amounts)

 

 

 

 

 

       

Assets

       

Current assets

       

Cash and cash equivalents

$

4,979,193

$

1,672,847

Restricted cash

 

2,740,702

 

2,160,495

Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $454,070 (2006 - $936,731)

 

2,644,413

 

5,785,954

Prepayments and deposits

 

677,262

 

599,963

Total current assets

 

11,041,570

 

10,219,259

Capital assets - net

 

931,921

 

906,094

Intangible assets - net

 

3,721,623

 

3,421,717

 

$

15,695,114

$

14,547,070

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities and shareholders’ equity

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

Bank indebtedness

$

-

$

1,000,000

Accounts payable and accrued liabilities

 

4,677,007

 

4,046,022

Deferred revenue

 

4,500,044

 

4,478,026

Future income tax

 

14,636

 

174,400

Current portion of other long-term liabilities

 

-

 

30,467

Total current liabilities

 

9,191,687

 

9,728,915

 

 

 

 

 

Contingent liabilities, commitments and guarantees

 

 

 

 

Going concern

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shareholders’ equity

 

 

 

 

Share capital

 

 

 

 

Unlimited number of Class A, 9% convertible, preferred shares authorized and no shares issued or outstanding

 

-

 

-

Unlimited number of common shares, no par value, authorized, 50,557,957 (2006 – 46,688,624) issued and outstanding

 

114,991,895

 

110,635,085

Additional paid-in capital

 

3,860,022

 

3,101,201

Warrants

 

1,403,160

 

-

Accumulated deficit

  (113,702,097)   (108,575,499)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

  (49,553)   (342,632)

 

 

6,503,427

 

4,818,155

 

$

15,695,114

$

14,547,070