Re: Wireless internet GG (Phone.com vs. Infospace)
In our Project Hunt report on PHCM we mentioned Infospace in the competitors section. Infospace just announced their quarterly numbers, which on first blush look a a lot like Phone.com's, interestingly. (I have not reviewed them in detail.) This is why PHCM is a Candidate and not a Gorilla--others are still claiming the title.
Begin snip-----------
InfoSpace Reports Fourth Consecutive
Profitable Quarter
Revenues soar to just over $19 million with a pro forma
profit of $0.01, beating First Call consensus estimates
by $0.07; Committed revenue backlog increases to $75
million for the next four quarters; Transaction,
subscription and commerce revenues represent 83% of
total revenues
REDMOND, WA. ? April 24, 2000 ? InfoSpace, Inc. (NASDAQ:INSP), a
leading global provider of infrastructure services for wireless devices,
merchants and Web sites, today announced record first quarter revenues of
just over $19 million due to strong demand for its wireless, merchant and
consumer services. This is a 261% increase from revenues of $5.3 million in
the comparable quarter of 1999. In addition, committed revenue backlog for
the next four quarters increased to $75 million.
InfoSpace earned a pro forma net profit of $1.9 million, or $0.01 per share,
beating First Call consensus estimates by $0.07. These results exclude
unrealized gains from venture investments, acquisition related charges and
employer payroll taxes on gains realized by employees from non-qualified
stock option exercises. This is compared to a pro forma net loss of $5.3
million, or loss of $0.03 per share in the same period last year.
?InfoSpace is leading the convergence of the two fastest growing industry
segments in history ? wireless and the Internet ? creating a new industry:
the wireless Internet,? said Naveen Jain, chairman, InfoSpace. ?We are
fundamentally changing how people communicate, access information,
conduct commerce and otherwise manage their lives whenever they want,
however they want and wherever they want as we continue to be the platform
of choice for leading wireless carriers worldwide.?
Just last week, InfoSpace announced that Arun Sarin joined the Company
from Vodafone AirTouch where he was CEO of the US and Asia / Pacific
Regions. Together, Arun Sarin, as chief executive officer and Naveen Jain, as
chairman and chief strategist will guide the Company?s rapid growth and
global expansion. Like other notable executive teams, Jain?s visionary
leadership, coupled with Sarin?s long track record for consistently delivering
strong growth and impressive operating results, will be the driving forces
behind the long-term success of the Company.
Wireless Services
Wireless continues to be the biggest opportunity and fastest growing area for
InfoSpace. Nokia and Ericsson have both projected that there will be one
billion cellular phones worldwide by 2003. Jupiter predicts that by the same
year, more people will access the Internet on wireless devices than on PCs.
?The market for InfoSpace?s services reminds me of the cellular market in the
mid-eighties,? said Arun Sarin, CEO, InfoSpace. ?We knew it was going to be
big, but we had no idea how big ? and were continually astounded when
subscriber growth far outpaced industry projections, quarter after quarter.
From the vantage point of having just been the head of Vodafone?s global
wireless Internet business, I can tell you that InfoSpace is in the best position
to take advantage of this huge opportunity and that is why I decided to join
this winning team.?
InfoSpace continues to be the platform of choice for more and more carriers
worldwide. InfoSpace now has relationships with more than 24 carriers
worldwide, including Vodafone, Verizon, AT&T, Dutchtone, Panafon, J-Phone,
KPN, Omnitel, diAx, Telfort, Libertel, Ben, Microcell Telecommunications, US
West and GTE.
Most recently, InfoSpace announced an agreement with Verizon Wireless,
the largest US wireless carrier formed by the combination of Bell Atlantic
Mobile and Vodafone AirTouch. InfoSpace will power the platform that will
offer Verizon Wireless users tightly integrated services such as m-commerce,
or wireless shopping, location-based services, personal information manager
(PIM) applications such as address book and calendar and communication
services such as messaging. The new service is expected to launch during
the third quarter. In addition, InfoSpace signed more carriers in Europe
including Eircell in Ireland and ONE in Austria.
In the past month, InfoSpace successfully deployed the platform of services
for five carriers:
AirTouch
GTE
Austrian carrier ONE
Vodafone Australia
US West
The Company expects several more carriers to launch services built on the
InfoSpace platform in the next several months including:
AT&T, which will be launching services to all AT&T Wireless
subscribers in the second quarter.
Vodafone, which will launch in the third quarter to mobile customers in
the UK
Verizon Wireless, which will be launching services in the third quarter.
InfoSpace has the most comprehensive wireless Internet platform that offers
wireless carriers a tightly integrated suite of services that include:
Commerce services such as making an instant purchase with a single
click, the electronic delivery of promotions that can be used online or
offline and the ability to search for products using standards-based
codes, including bar codes.
Communication services such as device-independent e-mail and
instant messaging.
Productivity applications such as address book, calendar and ?to do?
lists.
Transaction services such as accessing account information and
transferring money.
Location-based services such as finding the nearest ATM or
restaurant.
Information services such as business finder, movie listings,
directories, stock quotes.
Real-time alerts such as traffic reports, auction bids and stock alerts.
Security services such as personal authentication for secure
transactions.
InfoSpace?s platform offers innovative and unique services that are helping to
turn every mobile device into a true transaction device. This includes the
ability to make instant purchases with a single click from virtually any Web
site. This patent-pending server-based technology automatically fills in Web
site payment forms, eliminating the need to enter in payment or shipping
information, register at sites or enter any site-specific passwords from the
device.
InfoSpace also enables mobile users to find and receive promotions on
wireless devices from retailers and service-based merchants, such as dry
cleaners and restaurants, that can be used online and offline. To take
advantage of the promotion, the user can purchase the goods online, through
a catalog, go to the retail store or simply utilize the service. Using this
technology, promotions are seamlessly matched and automatically credited
to the user?s credit card statement through secure back-end transaction
processing.
InfoSpace recently launched a new mobile commerce service that allows
wireless shoppers or the traditional shopper to enter anything that is known
about an item- such as model number, part number, barcode, international
standard book number (ISBN), product name or even scan in a UPC code - to
uniquely and most accurately locate a product, comparison shop and
purchase ?when they want, where they want and how they want? with a single
click via cellular phones, land-line telephones, CE or palm devices, two-way
pagers and standard browsers.
Merchant Services
InfoSpace continues to make significant progress in executing its strategy to
provide the most integrated and comprehensive merchant platform that is
merging the online and offline world of commerce.
The local commerce opportunity is huge. According to the Kelsey Group,
$3.7 trillion is transacted through the 10 million local merchants in the United
States alone. These merchants spend at least $200 billion annually on
promotions and Web-related activities.
?The market opportunity for services that use the Internet to drive additional
commerce to the larger, firmly entrenched offline market is huge. More than
80% of all Internet users research products online but purchase products
offline,? said Jain. ?Because of our innovative merchant services, InfoSpace is
in the best position to successfully merge the online and offline worlds,
helping to bring traditional brick and mortars into the new economy and into
the world of mobile commerce and helping our carrier partners capture a
percentage of the commerce that happens both online and in the real world.?
InfoSpace?s merchant services are distributed to local merchants through
partnerships with all five regional bell operating companies
(RBOCs)-BellAtlantic/NYNEX, SBC, BellSouth, GTE and US West, merchant
banks such as American Express and Bank of America and other local
media networks such as newspapers, television stations and radio stations.
Most recently, InfoSpace signed new agreements with Knight-Ridder, The
Seattle Times, BellSouth and LM Berry, further increasing its reach into the
local market.
InfoSpace?s national and local merchant network now consists of more than
400,000 local and national merchants, up almost 34% from the 300,000
merchants reported last quarter.
InfoSpace recently integrated the proprietary merchandise and products from
15 additional distinct brands such as Gump?s, Improvements, The Company
Store, Kitchen & Home, Silhouettes and Clearance World across InfoSpace?s
extensive affiliate network of wireless devices and Web sites through an
alliance with Hanover Direct.
InfoSpace and Keystone Internet Services are also working together to drive
new merchants to use InfoSpace?s commerce services and to offer
InfoSpace?s current network of merchants the fulfillment and logistics services
provided by Keystone.
InfoSpace?s merchant services enable local merchants to conduct commerce
from any device. InfoSpace also offers several unique services, such as the
delivery of electronic promotions that can be used online or offline, making an
instant purchase with a single click and the ability to buy multiple products
from multiple merchants with a single universal shopping cart. All of these
enable merchants to offer more advanced and streamlined shopping services
across Web sites and wireless devices.
InfoSpace also offers local retailers and service-based merchants the ability
to target and contextually offer online promotions to consumers on wireless
devices or Web sites that can be used online or offline. The retail merchant
can use this promotion to drive consumers to an online store, catalog,
physical retail store or utilize a service.
Using InfoSpace?s services, local merchants are able to promote their
products and services across InfoSpace?s extensive affiliate network of more
than 3,000 Web sites including AOL and MSN, and more than 24 wireless
carrier partners including Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Vodafone. For
example, if a user is looking for Italian restaurants in New York, it doesn?t
matter if they are looking on MSN, the Wall Street Journal or on a wireless
device, they will be able to find the closest Italian restaurant at that point in
time.
Consumer Services
Momentum continues to be strong for InfoSpace?s consumer services. During
the quarter, the Company announced several new and expanded agreements.
With the addition of partners such as Microsoft Office, Knight Ridder,
Discovery Channel, Homes.com and Real Networks, InfoSpace?s affiliate
network has grown from 2,500 to more than 3,000 portals and affinity Web
sites, including 4 of the top 5 most trafficked sites on the Internet.
This extensive affiliate network gives InfoSpace an unduplicated reach of more
than 90% of all Internet users and a duplicated reach of more than 400%. The
duplicated reach number represents that on average, more than 90% of all
Internet users visit approximately four sites in the InfoSpace affiliate network.
With the launch of the wireless Internet for five carriers, InfoSpace?s reach is
now extended to millions of consumers that use cellular phones, whether or
not they own a PC.
Also during the quarter:
American Express President David House joined InfoSpace?s Board of
Directors.
InfoSpace enacted a 2-for-1 split of its common stock on April 7, 2000.
InfoSpace was awarded a patent for commerce infrastructure services
on the Internet and wireless devices. On January 18, 2000, the United
States Patent and Trademark Office recognized the innovations made
by InfoSpace by granting the Company U.S. Patent No. 6,016,504
entitled ?Method and System for Tracking the Purchase of a Product
and Services over the Internet.?
About InfoSpace, Inc.
InfoSpace is a leading global Internet information infrastructure services
company. InfoSpace provides commerce, information and communication
infrastructure services to wireless devices, merchants and Web sites. The
Company's affiliates include a network of wireless and other Internet-enabled
devices including PCs, cellular phones, pagers, screen telephones, television
set-top boxes, online kiosks and personal digital assistants. These include
relationships with Verizon Wireless, AirTouch, Vodafone, GTE, Intel,
Ericsson, Nokia, Mitsui and Acer America. InfoSpace's affiliate network also
consists of more 3,000 Web sites that include AOL, Microsoft, Disney?s GO
Network, NBC's Snap, Lycos, Go2Net Inc., DoubleClick, Dow Jones (The
Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition) and ABC LocalNet, among others. |
