U.S. Wireless Data Reports Results for the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2002
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2002--
Synapse(SM) Active Sites Surpass 10,000, Up 100 Percent
NXT Gateway Transactions up 20 Percent to 137 Million
U.S. Wireless Data, Inc. (USWD) (OTC:USWE), the leader in transaction delivery and gateway services for the payment processing industry, today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2002, ended December 31, 2001.
The company reported revenue for the quarter of $2.3 million, a reduction in the EBITDA loss, and substantial improvements in all key operating metrics, including active sites, transactions, resellers, and merchants.
Revenue Growth
USWD reported revenue of $2.3 million for the second quarter, as compared to $0.3 million for the same period for fiscal year 2001. For the six months ended December 31, 2001, revenue increased to $4.6 million from $0.5 million in the prior fiscal year. Services revenue including activations, recurring monthly service, and transactions contributed to the revenue increase.
Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses for the quarter were significantly lower than the first quarter by $0.7 million or 15% and lower for the same period last year by $0.2 million or 4%. For the six months ended December 31, 2001, operating expenses were $8.8 million compared to $7.8 million for the same period for the prior fiscal year. Excluding amortization of intangibles related to acquisitions, operating expenses for the six months were $7.1 million versus $7.3 million in the prior year.
Net Loss and EBITDA
The company reported a net loss of $3.3 million or $0.27 per share for the quarter compared to a net loss of $3.5 million or $0.36 per share for the prior-year's quarter. Net loss for the second quarter was $1.2 million, or 27%, less than the first quarter. Excluding interest, depreciation, amortization of goodwill related to acquisitions and other non-cash expenses, the EBITDA loss was $2.0 million or $0.16 per share as compared to $3.4 million or $0.34 per share, a $1.4 million or 40% improvement from the same period last year. Second quarter EDITDA compared to the first quarter of this fiscal year improved by $0.7 million or 26%.
For the six months, the company reported a net loss of $7.9 million or $0.67 per share compared to a net loss of $6.4 million or $0.71 per share for the prior-year's period. The loss for the six-month period included a restructuring charge of $0.6 million or $0.05 per share in the first quarter. EBITDA, excluding the restructuring charge, was a loss of $4.7 million or $0.40 per share as compared to a loss of $6.4 million or $0.70 per share for the same period last year, an improvement of $1.7 million or 26%.
Net Cash Usage
Cash and cash equivalents balance, as of December 31, 2001 declined by $5.4 million to $9.1 million, which included a payment of $2.8 million as part of the purchase price related to the acquisition of Cellgate Technologies LLC in 2000. Net cash used, for the second quarter excluding the acquisition-related payment, decreased by $3.2 million or 55% from the same period last fiscal year. For the six months ended December 31, 2001 net cash used, excluding acquisition related payments, decreased by $2.1 million or 25% from the same period last fiscal year.
Operating Highlights for the Quarter
-- After more than one year of testing, Pepsi-Cola North America
selected USWD's Synapse(sm) technology to enable its vending
machines to accept credit cards as well as to transmit
real-time telemetric information about the operational status
of the machines to bottlers and third party operators. The
system is currently being operated on a test basis with
approximately 200 machines in Memphis.
-- Signed additional reseller agreements bringing the total
number of sales channels to 196, which together process $695
billion in transaction volume or 72% of all bank card
transactions processed per year.
-- Active wireless sites using Synapse services surpassed 10,000,
more than a 100% increase from the same period last year.
-- Transactions processed through Synapse tripled since the first
quarter of fiscal 2001, to 1,075,000.
-- NXT Gateway Services sites (traditional dial-up and dedicated
lines) increased 5%, to more than 46,000.
-- NXT Gateway Services transactions increased nearly 20%, to 137
million from 115 million during the same period last year.
-- Excluding the first quarter's restructuring charge, operating
expenses declined by $700,000 or 15% from the first quarter.
-- Net cash usage decreased from the first quarter by 30%.
"Notwithstanding the tragic event of September 11th and the impact that event has had on the travel industry, U.S. Wireless Data's landline business continues to grow at a healthy rate despite its dependence on travel-based transaction activity," said Chairman and CEO, Dean M. Leavitt. "On the wireless front, Synapse is creating exciting card-acceptance opportunities for emerging markets such as transportation, quick service and wireless ATM machines as well as spurring new growth in otherwise mature markets. In addition, innovators such as Pepsi are finding compelling new uses for wireless data transactions. The speed, mobility, and efficiency that we bring to these industries are driving our continued growth."
Discussing financial results, CFO Rick DeVincenzo said, "We continue to demonstrate our ability to execute our strategy and perform even in these challenging economic times. Quarterly recurring service revenues continue to increase sequentially; and although we are not yet satisfied with the angle of the ramp-up, we are quite pleased with most of our operating trends. Our service revenues increased from the first quarter of this year by over 10%, while operating expenses declined by 15% and EBITDA loss was reduced by over 25%. We have proven that we can deliver significant revenue growth and at the same time rapidly reduce expenses when necessary. The company has established a firm foundation in order to achieve our primary objective, profitability."
The company will conduct an investor conference call today at 4:30 p.m. EST to discuss the quarter's results in more detail. The dial-in number for the live conference call will be 212-896-6022. A webcast of the conference call will be available at the U.S. Wireless Data Web site www.uswirelessdata.com. The call will also be simulcast at www.streetevents.com. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the call will be available on these Web sites for at least 30 days. There will also be telephone replays of the call available until 6:30 p.m. EST on Feb. 19. To listen to the telephone replay, dial 800-633-8284 (858-812-6440 outside the U.S.) and enter reservation number 20338249 |
