LaserCard Corporation Wins New Optical Memory Card Program in Italy - May 06, 2008
Ministry of Justice Program Marks Precursor to National Government Employee ID
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.-LaserCard Corporation (NASDAQ:LCRD - News), a leading provider of secure ID solutions, today announced that it has received a purchase order to supply secure optical memory cards for the Italian Ministry of Justice employee ID program. The Ministry plans to issue the cards as secure ID badges containing personal data including employment, biometric identification and health information, to all Ministry employees.
The purchase order was issued to LaserCard’s Authorized Value-Added Reseller, Laser Memory Card S.p.A., of Rome, by Italy’s national printer and mint, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A. (Poligrafico), the Prime Contractor for the project. Poligrafico will add a contact chip to the card, to enable access to e-government services, and will personalize the cards using data supplied by the Ministry.
The cards will comply with national optical memory/IC chip standards set for Italy’s Citizen ID Card and are designed to operate seamlessly within the planned national ID infrastructure.
“The Italian government is taking a significant step toward a potential government-wide employee ID card, and we’d like to acknowledge the efforts of Laser Memory Card in winning this new program on LaserCard’s behalf. LaserCard Corporation delivers the highest level of security in the card industry today,” said Bernard C. Bailey, chairman of LaserCard’s board of directors. “The Italian government’s decision to expand its investment in LaserCard technology, whose digital security has never been compromised, demonstrates the nation’s high level of commitment to its homeland security.”
LaserCard expects to deliver more than $100,000 worth of optical card stock to Poligrafico in June for this program. LaserCard understands that the Ministry intends to enroll employees immediately and to begin card issuance in July. LaserCard has previously supplied approximately $18 million worth of optical memory cards and secure encoders for both the Italian Citizen and Foreign Resident ID Card programs.
About LaserCard Corporation
LaserCard Corporation is a leading provider of secure ID solutions to governments and commercial clients around the world, and also manufactures a wide range of advanced, secure identity documents. These ID documents include the LaserCard® optical memory card and hybrid cards combining optical memory with contact, contactless and RFID chip technology. The Company’s cards and systems are widely used in countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Italy, India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for demanding applications including border security, government service provision and facility access. LaserCard’s wholly-owned German subsidiary, Challenge Card Design Plastikkarten GmbH, manufactures and offers a wide range of high quality specialty cards, plus card personalization and ID management solutions under the CCD and Cards & More brands.
Forward Looking Statement Disclaimer
All statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are not historical facts or guarantees of future performance or events. Rather, they are based on current expectations, estimates, beliefs, assumptions, and goals and objectives and are subject to uncertainties that are difficult to predict. As a result, our actual results may differ materially from the statements made. Often such statements can be identified by their use of words such as may, will, intends, plans, believes, anticipates, visualizes, expects, and estimates. Examples of forward-looking statements in this release include (1) the Company will deliver the $100,000 worth of cards during June, (2) the plans of Poligrafico and the Ministry of Justice to modify, personalize, and issue the cards once they are delivered by the Company, (3) the plans for the Ministry of Justice for the type of data stored in and ultimate use of the cards once they are issued, and (4) the Ministry of Justice employee cards are a precursor for the Italian government to use the LaserCard as an employee card for all national government employees. These forward-looking statements are based upon our assumptions about and assessment of the future, which may or may not prove true, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to whether there is a change in the Italian government, whether the card order is canceled or rescheduled, whether the Ministry of Justice and other government employees embrace the ID card program, whether Poligrafico experiences difficulties in modifying, personalizing, and issuing the cards, whether the Company encounters card production difficulties, and whether the competitors for a government-wide employee ID card are successful in lobbying for their technologies as well as the risk factors detailed in the Company's Form 8-K, 10-K, and 10-Q filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Due to these and other risks, future actual results could differ materially from the Company’s expectations. These forward-looking statements speak only as to the date of this release, and, except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release updates or revisions to these statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Contact:
LaserCard Corporation
Steven G. Larson, VP-Finance, 650-969-4428
or
Edelman
Lisa Hanna, 202-326-1734
Lisa.hanna@edelman.com
Source: LaserCard Corporation
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