Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Amid a Sagging Economy, Volatile Unemployment Nextel's Vice President Still Finds $200,000.00 To Take To The Water.

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 01 Jan 2003 22:47:12 -0500

Amid a Sagging Economy, Volatile Unemployment Nextel's Vice President Still Finds
$200,000.00 To Take To The Water.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Georgia Stocks Report
January 1, 2003 3:22am

Jan. 1--The secret to staying afloat in the stock market last year was to ride Firstwave
Technologies or climb aboard a lifeboat
named Marine Products.

Investors savvy enough to have put $1,000 into Firstwave stock at the end of 2001 would
have seen that turn into $15,485. They would have more than doubled their money in Marine
Products while watching the Dow Jones industrials drop almost 17 percent.

After losing 90 percent of its market value in 2000-2001, and in danger of losing its
Nasdaq listing, Atlanta-based Firstwave
righted itself and turned in the best performance among Georgia stocks in 2002. Its shares
jumped 1,445.6 percent.
The formula was straightforward: turn a money-losing software business into a
profit-making one during a year in which companies were reluctant to invest in technology.

"This company operates in an area that has been a tough place to be," said James Oberweis
Jr., president of money manager Oberweis Asset Management. Firstwave managed to make money
by boosting sales -- "testimony to the company's products," said Oberweis -- while keeping
costs under control.

Firstwave's software is used to integrate databases, allowing a company to share the same
information about customers across
manufacturing, sales, shipping and billing departments.

Through the first nine months of 2002, revenue jumped 91 percent from the year-ago period,
and Firstwave reported net income of $2.3 million against a loss of $2.1 million in the
2001 period.

Oberweis Asset Management, which now holds 2.8 percent of the outstanding shares, began
buying Firstwave stock in June.
"We found what appeared to be a turnaround situation," said Oberweis. Marine Products, up
121.4 percent, was not a turnaround situation. The boat builder benefited from the
willingness of consumers to spend money even in a weak economy.
Spun off from Atlanta-based RPC in 2001, Marine Products increased its share of the
pleasure- and fishing-boat market as the
industry's sales decline slowed, said analyst Joseph Hovorka of the Raymond James &
Associates securities firm.
Based on encouraging results from recent boat shows, Hovorka expects Marine Products to
report a 12 1/2 percent increase in revenue this year over what he estimates were 2002
sales of $163 million.

"At this point, the outlook is guardedly positive," said Jim Landers, of Marine Products'
finance department. The Atlanta company expects this year to be "at least a little better"
than 2002, when Marine Products sold about 5,700 boats, he said.
Higher interest rates or news that shakes consumer confidence could change the outlook for
the boat industry, Landers added.
"It's not something that people get up in the morning and say they have to get," said A.D.
Holt, who owns Don's Boats & Motors in Valdosta. But last year was good, he said, adding
that he "feels fairly positive" about 2003.

"I think if the paychecks are still coming, (consumers) feel confident" about being able
to afford what is not a necessity, he said.
Marine Products' boats sell for $16,000 and up. The company makes the Robalo, an offshore
fishing boat, and the Chaparral, a pleasure craft that can cost over $200,000.

In November, Starboard Marine Enterprises in Flowery Branch sold two top-of-the-line
Chaparrals, the first time that happened in one month, said Ricky Marszalek, floor manager
for the dealership.

"One (buyer) is a vice president of Nextel," said Marszalek. "The other owns a
carpet-cleaning business."
The average buyer spends much less, about $40,000 to $50,000, he said, for a model he
called "the SUV of boats."
Higher water in Lake Lanier helped boost sales, as did the 2001 terrorist attacks,
according to Marszalek.
"I think since Sept. 11 you're seeing less travel." And, he added, families seem to be
spending more time together, whether it's
in boating or in other activities.

The rest of Georgia's top performers lifted their stock prices last year by improving the
bottom line, agreeing to be acquired or
being in a favored sector. RUNDOWN ON RUNNERS-UP: Lund International Holdings, up 323.1
percent, boosted sales and earnings. The Duluth-based company makes parts for the
automobile aftermarket.

--Scherer Healthcare gained 173.9 percent, largely because it agreed to be acquired for
$8.57 a share by Stericycle, a Lake Forest, Ill., company.

Atlanta-based Scherer Healthcare disposes of scalpels, needles and the like, and sells
pharmaceuticals.

--Duluth-based Immucor, a blood test equipment company, returned to profitability, and its
shares rose 153.6 percent.

--Georgia-Carolina Bancshares, Augusta, was one of three banking companies in the top 10.
Analysts think smaller banks may
have benefited last year because they lent little or no money to the slew of major
corporations that filed for bankruptcy.
Georgia-Carolina Bancshares, up 105.5 percent, also reported a 107 percent increase in net
income for the first nine months of
2002.

--Industrial Distribution Group, up 105.3 percent, trimmed costs and improved its
financial results even as sales declined through the first nine months. Excluding a charge
related to a mandated accounting change, the Atlanta company reported income of $1.1
million for the first three quarters against a loss of $1.4 million a year earlier.

--Summit Bank reported higher earnings as the year progressed, but its shares didn't spurt
until late October, when the company announced a stock split and a higher dividend. The
shares ended the year up 79.9 percent.

--Atlanta-based Bway, which makes metal containers for coffee, paint and other liquids,
gained 79.8 percent. An agreement to
be bought by the investment firm of Kelso & Co. for $20 a share helped the stock price, as
did a restructuring that increased Bway's profit margin.

--Charter Financial, a West Point savings and loan, managed a 77.6 percent gain despite
lower net income for its fiscal year.
The rise in the company's shares since its October 2001 initial public offering meant
higher costs for stock-based benefits, which reduced profits.

A YEAR TO FORGET: Gains, large or otherwise, failed to develop for most Georgia companies.
Less than 40 percent of the
174 state companies tracked by Bloomberg News saw an increase in their stock price during
2002.
AirGate PCS, a wireless communications provider, produced the worst stock performance
among Georgia companies. Its
shares fell 98.6 percent as a slowdown in subscriber growth chased investors away from the
Atlanta company and others in the
industry.

Not far ahead was energy supplier Mirant. It lost 88.3 percent last year on top of a 43
percent slide in 2001. On Dec. 20 the Atlanta-based company reported its delayed
third-quarter earnings report. It showed a loss of $1 million, due largely to the costs of
canceling power plant projects.

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