State extends Viisage subsidiary's passport contract
The department awarded Trans Digital Technologies $56 million to continue developing secure passports.
State Department officials have awarded a contract extension worth an additional $56 million to Trans Digital Technologies, a wholly owned subsidiary of biometrics manufacturer Viisage Technology, to continue development of highly secure passports.
In 2003, State awarded Trans Digital Technologies a five-year, $65 million sole-source, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to develop counterfeit-resistant passports. The extension will bring the total contract value to $121 million.
According to a company announcement released today, department officials expect the United States will produce 17 million passports annually by 2009.
In early 2004, Viisage purchased the company, which is based in Arlington, Va.
In related news, Viisage reported $15 million in revenues for the fourth quarter of 2005 and a fourth-quarter net loss of $3 million, or 14 cents per share.
Total revenues in 2005 were $66.2 million with a net loss of $7.4 million. In 2004, the company earned $67.5 million with a net loss of $7 million.
Viisage, which announced a merger with Identix earlier this year and also recently acquired SecuriMetrics, an iris-recognition manufacturer, anticipates $20 million to $22 million in revenue for the first quarter of this year.