TI Annual Reports

[Tursi]

During the TI BASIC debate, I asked TI for the annual reports from 1978 to 1983. To my surprise, they were happy to comply!

 

There wasn't much detail on what R&D was done, but there's still a few snippets of interesting information about the life of our little machine.  I copied out the parts that seemed relevant, and a zip is at the bottom.

 

1978
- Discussion of the 990 minicomputers and the Speak & Spell, but no mention of the home computer
- Also mention of "Solid State Software" modules for the TI 58 and TI 59 calculators
- Unrelated but interesting, shipments of Air Traffic Control to the FAA and GPS to the Air Force.

 

1979
"TI continued as the industry's larger producer of 4-bit single-chip microcomputers with the TMS1000 products, and 16-bit microprocessors with the TMS9900 family. Also, the TMS9900 family was broadened by the addition of eight peripheral devices, 17 modules boards with capabilities ranging from synthetic speech to magnetic bubble memory, and four new software support products, including the industry's first use of Pascal high-level programming language for microprocessors."

"Shipments began of the TI-99/4 home computer. Its design is based on plug-in modules of ROM (read only memory), which contain programs allowing non-technical users to solve problems by interacting with the computer via a color video display."

"Net sales billed grew 21% compared with 1978 because of demand for minicomputer systems and terminals. Profitability declined to 6.0% in 1979 from 10.1% in 1978 because of cost problems and competitive pricing pressure in digital watches. Other factors included home computer development costs and data terminal price reductions."

 

1980
"-Sampling of the TMS9995, a new higher-performance 16-bit microprocessor compatible with the 9900 family. It provides 256 bytes of on-chip random access memory and is designed to reduce overall chip count and cost in small systems."

"-Production shipments to trade customers of speech synthesis components. Development also is under way of a speech chip using basic speech sounds called allophones. As an extension of TI's linear predictive coding technology, it will make possible very large vocabularies, further expansing applications for electronic speech."

"In consumer electronics, our year-end retail sales were disappointing. Performance throughout most of 1980 was impacted by slowness in consumer spending and strong competitive pressures in calculator products. Growth of learning aids, including new speech products, continues to be strong."

"The most significant long-range factor impacting TI is the pervasion of electronics into all segments of society."

 

1981
"Investment in new distributed computing products was maintained. Shipments began of 5 1/4" Winchester disk drives for mass storage of computer data. A new software thrust was announced, based on the UCSD p-System, for use across a range of TI computing equipment, including the first models in our new line of small-business computers -- the Business System 200. The appeal of p-System lies in its ease of transportability among different computer systems. It is one of the fastest growing new application software bases for small computers, and currently is supported by some 75 software development firms."

"Overall results for consumer electronics in 1981 were down from 1980 because of weakness in U.S. and European calculator markets."

"Shipments of TI's 99/4A home computer continued to accelerate in the fourth quarter. New software offerings development by TI and third-party software firms brought the total number of software packages now available to nearly 1000. Availability of new peripheral accessories, a twofold increase in the number of retailer outlets, and strong television merchandising have been the keys to excellent customer response. Production schedules have been increased for 1982 to meet the growing demand for the 99/4A home computer."

"To all TIers, we express our appreciation for their efforts during this difficult year."

 

1982
"Shipments of minicomputers, terminals and peripheral products, used primarily in commercial data processing applications, declined in 1982, and orders remained flat. Operating results deteriorated with the reduced volume, the cost of carrying excess manufacturing capacity, and delays in availability of new products. With greatly improved product availability in the fourth quarter, both orders and shipments of TI's new Business System series of computers have picked up sharply. Heavy investment continues in development of new products and marketing programs."

"Success of the 99/4A home computer was a major factor in the improvement of TI's consumer electronics business in 1982. Cost reductions and sharply higher second-half shipments of 99/4A home computer consoles, peripherals and software favorably impacted profitability. Our $100 rebate program, announced last August, was a key element in stimulating the exceptional growth of the home computer market. Although, in the fourth quarter, demand exceeded production capacity, we expect this market to be highly competitive in 1983."

 

1983
"Despite the favorable economic climate during 1983 and strong TI earnings in the fourth quarter, large and unexpected losses from TI's 99/4A home computer products, plus charges resulting from the decision in October to withdraw entirely from the consumer home computer business, put the company into an overall loss position for the year."

"Cash and short-term investments at year-end 1983 were $185 million, down from $420 million one year ago, as balances were drawn down because of the home computer losses and cash needs of other TI businesses."

"In data systems, growth of new products led to moderate increases in orders and shipments for the year 1983. The TI Professional COmputer continued its positive quarter-to-quarter growth trend throughout the year. Demand for TI's Business Systems Series of minicomputers picked up in the second half of the year with the increase in U.S. capital spending. While financial performance improved in the fourth quarter, results for the total year were depressed by continuing new product development and marketing support costs."

"In consumer electronics, the decline in net sales billed was due primarily to lower prices for home computer products and reduced revenues from electronic learning aids. In late May, sales of 99/4A home computer software to retailers fell off sharply and shipments to retailers of 99/4A consoles and peripherals slowed. As a result, volume projections for the year were reassessed and planned levels of shipments were substantially reduced, resuling in inventory write-downs and write-offs as well as an operating loss. In the third quarter, retail sales of 99/4A home computer consoles and software were disappointing and inventories at retail remained high, limiting new orders and resulting in an operating loss also for that quarter. In order to limit further financial drain on TI, the decision was made in October to withdraw from the consumer home computer business. With the closeout of the 99/4A, TI is now out of that business, except for warranty and service commitments and final phaseout actions, including steps to provide customers with ongoing software and peripheral support through third parties."

"The steep declined in shipments of electronic learning aids resulted in a loss for that activity. Also, delays in peripherals for the Compact Computer 40 led to reduced sales projections for the year and inventory write-offs, which added to the consumer loss for 1983."

"While 1983 has been a very difficult year, we have come out of it with our technology base strong, our financial health sound and the majority of our businesses running very well."

"The second quarter of 1983 included pretax charges of approximately $83 million resulting from a reduction in planned home computer product shipments and related price and production assumptions, as well as $37 million in increased pretax reserves for rebates, price protection, and returned material. The third quarter of 1983 included approximately $330 million of pretax charges reflecting failure to achieve planned levels of home computer product shipments and the decision to withdraw from the consumer home computer business. The fourth quarter of 1983 included approximately $11 million of net after-tax gain arising from the sale of previously written-off home computer products."

 

TI Reports 1978-1983.zip

[RickyDean]

Yep, you can usually get to the bottom of an issue, by looking at what the bean counters say.

[+Ksarul]

The 1984 report may have been useful as well, since production continued through the first two quarters of that year during the wind-down.

[Tursi]

9 hours ago, Ksarul said:

The 1984 report may have been useful as well, since production continued through the first two quarters of that year during the wind-down.

Yes, but I didn't get it.