Lycos announces 37% increase in second quarter revenues
FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 24, 1997--
Deferred Revenues Increase 95% to Nearly $9 Million
Lycos Inc today announced financial results for the quarter ended January 31, 1997, its second quarter in the fiscal year ended July 31, 1997. Revenues for the quarter were $5.0 million, representing an increase of 37% over the previous quarter ended October 31, 1996 and a 506% increase over the comparable period from the previous fiscal year. The Company reported a net loss of $2.0 million, representing a net loss of ($0.15) per share for the quarter as compared to a net loss of $2.8 million or ($0.20) net loss per share for the previous quarter ended October 31, 1996.
"Our focused business strategy is producing tangible and differentiated results. We have furthered our goal of becoming a ubiquitous branded media by complementing our advertising sales with the licensing of our technology into the major gateways of the Internet," said Edward M. Philip, Lycos' Chief Financial Officer. "We are pleased with the growth during the quarter on both revenue fronts. This growth is evidenced by the 50% rise in the number of advertisers during the quarter to 300 advertisers, as well as the increase in our deferred revenue to nearly $9 million."
The Company added two key licensing partnerships during the quarter with the signings of GTE and Warner Bros. and a key distribution agreement with Packard Bell's Ark Interface. To date, 27 worldwide license agreements have been signed with preeminent online services, technology companies, publishers, media companies and telecommunications companies.
In what is one of the most formidable alliances on the Internet today, Lycos announced the integration of GTE's SuperPages(SM) nationwide interactive directory services with Lycos' City Guide service, which features local information for more than 400 U.S. cities. The new services created by the two companies will provide GTE's SuperPages users with a wealth of local content and will offer consumers an unprecedented ability to cut through the clutter of the Web and find true value and utility. The integrated services will be available at GTE's SuperPages site (http://superpages.gte.net) and the Lycos home page (http://www.lycos.com).
With its Warner Bros. agreement, Lycos has been chosen to power CityWeb, a new online Web network that enables local television stations to offer extensive entertainment and news-driven Web sites that deliver regional and national information to local viewers. The launch of this new service will be accompanied by an extensive advertising campaign by Warner Bros.
"Our continued growth during this quarter indicates that Lycos has truly staked a claim as the Internet's premier navigation tool," said Robert J. Davis, President and CEO of Lycos. "Once again our quarter was marked by tremendous accomplishment for our company. In addition to the growth in traffic and advertising, our agreements with GTE, Warner Bros., and ARK Interface further solidify our position as the recognized leader in our industry," added Davis. "Furthermore, we introduced several books in the Lycos Press InSites series and introduced a number of substantial enhancements to our service. In keeping with our goal of extending the Lycos brand around the world, we also announced the addition of a new advertising agency, Bozell Worldwide, to the Lycos team to further Lycos' premier brand name and position as a market leader on the Internet."
The Company improved its navigation service during the quarter with additional advancements and innovative new features on the Lycos site such as URL Finder, Real-Time Spidering, Lycos Quick Search, Driving Directions and Lycos Classifieds. In addition, four new books from the Lycos Press InSites series were introduced during the quarter: Internet International Directory, Internet Games Directory, City Guide USA Web Directory and College Connections Web Directory.
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation to, the level of usage of the Internet and traffic to the Company's Internet site, continued acceptance of the Company's products, demand for Internet advertising, seasonal trends in advertising sales, the advertising budgeting cycles of individual advertisers, capital expenditures and other costs relating to the expansion of operations, the introduction of new products or services by the Company or its competitors, the mix of the services sold and the channels through which those services are sold, pricing changes, general economic conditions and specific economic conditions in the Internet industry and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lycos, Inc. (www.lycos.com) is an ever-expanding global Internet information resource excelling in finding and managing relevant information on the Internet and World Wide Web. Besides the world-renowned Lycos search and spidering technology for word-specific or topic specific searching, Lycos offers users the ability to search and find specific pictures and sounds available on the Web. Other Lycos services include Top 5% Reviews, an award-winning assessment of popular web sites voted #1 by Internet World Magazine; the Sites by Subject directory of sites, organized in popular categories for easy exploration of topics available on the Internet; Lycos Road Maps; Lycos PeopleFind; Lycos City Guide; and other ease-of-life information tools.
Headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts, Lycos has U.S. offices in New York, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco, and an international office in Munich, Germany.
CMG Information Services is a majority shareholder in Lycos, Inc. through its strategic investment and development business unit, CMG@Ventures. CMGI is a leading provider of direct marketing services investing in and integrating advanced Internet, interactive media and database management technologies.
The Lycos "Catalog of the Internet" Copyright (c) 1994 - 1997 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved. Lycos is a trademark of Carnegie Mellon University.
All other product or service marks mentioned herein are those of respective owners.
LYCOS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Unaudited
Three Months Ended Three Months Ended
January 31, 1997 January 31, 1996
Revenues:
Advertising $4,010,467 $759,005
License and product 993,741 67,417
Total revenues 5,004,208 826,422
Cost of revenues 2,339,681 483,136
Gross profit 2,664,527 343,286
Operating expenses:
Research and development 976,353 709,573
Sales and marketing 3,504,290 308,425
General and administrative 736,556 344,806
Total operating expenses 5,217,199 1,362,804
Operating loss (2,552,672) (1,019,518)
Other income 540,608 5,565
Net loss $(2,012,064) $(1,013,953)
Net loss per share: $(0.15) $(0.09)
Shares used in computing
net loss per share: 13,792,896 11,012,764
LYCOS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
January 31, 1997 July 31, 1996
(Unaudited)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 38,466,905 $ 44,142,187
Property and equipment, net 1,816,187 1,405,768
Other assets, net 13,470,872 8,112,620
Total assets $ 53,753,964 $ 53,660,575
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Accounts payable and
accrued expenses $ 5,194,425 $ 4,488,297
Deferred revenues 8,861,154 4,550,854
Other liabilities 275,945 515,267
Total liabilities 14,331,524 9,554,418
Stockholders' equity 39,422,440 44,106,157
Total liabilities and
stockholders' equity $53,753,964 $53,660,575 |
