SureBeam Reports Revenues for Three and Twelve Month Periods Ended December 31, 2002
PR NEWSWIRE - February 20, 2003 16:41
SAN DIEGO, Feb 20, 2003 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- SureBeam Corporation (Nasdaq: SURE) today reported revenues of $12.1 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002, an increase of 4% over $11.6 million in the comparable quarter of fiscal 2001. Included in SureBeam's 2002 fourth quarter revenue of $12.1 million was $5.6 million of revenue from investee (Saudi Arabia RESAL contract), $3.4 million of revenue from non-affiliated parties and $3.1 million of revenue on contracts for The Titan Corporation clients. Food revenue, which includes revenue from non-affiliated parties and investee, represents an increase of $8.5 million over the same period in 2001. Revenue from non-affiliated parties was comprised of $3.1 million for system sales and $0.3 million of revenue from processing. SureBeam's gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2002 was 5.7%, as compared to the same period in 2001 of 25%. The net loss, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002 was $10.0 million, or $0.14 per share, compared to a net loss of $16.9 million, or $0.29 per share, for the same period last year. Included in the net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2002 was a loan receivable valuation reserve charge of $4.2 million. Also included in the net loss was a non-cash charge of stock based compensation of $2.8 million and $5.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2002 and 2001, respectively.
"Throughout 2002 the effectiveness and safety of the SureBeam technology was demonstrated for all to see as grocery store retailers accelerated their rollouts of SureBeam processed fresh ground beef," said Larry Oberkfell, President and CEO of SureBeam. "Driving this was a significant expansion in the overall distribution of our processor customer sales of SureBeam processed fresh ground beef to both retail and foodservice customers. Consumer demand is obviously growing, as folks are embracing this as an added measure of food safety in the products they purchase for their families. As recently as September 2002, SureBeam processed fresh ground beef products could be found in less than 100 stores and that number has now grown to over 3,300. Just this month alone we rolled out fresh ground beef to over 1,000 new stores," Oberkfell continued.
Finally, the fourth quarter of 2002 brought the long-awaited passage of the USDA's APHIS rule which approved irradiation as a means of disinfestation of imported fruits and vegetables. This eliminated one of the key obstacles to the use of our technology around the world," Oberkfell concluded.
The decrease in gross margin for the three months ended December 31, 2002 is primarily the result of losses at processing centers of $2.2 million due to the opening of the Chicago, Los Angeles and Texas A & M facilities during 2002 in anticipation of future demand, and an unusually high gross margin on sales to Titan in the fourth quarter of 2001 due to the unusual impact of the USPS contract on our fourth quarter of 2001 as discussed in our 2001 Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Selling, General and Administrative expense includes a $4.2 million charge to reserve for the Hawaii Price loan receivable.
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2002 were $36.9 million compared to $41.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2001. SureBeam's gross margin for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2002 was 16% compared to 34% for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2001. The net loss, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2002 was $35.0 million, or $0.53 per share, compared to a net loss of $74.4 million, or $1.36 per share, for the same period last year. Included in net loss was a non-cash charge for stock based compensation of $16.6 million and $54.3 million, for the year ended December 31, 2001 and 2002, respectively.
Due to the raising of $25.0 million in capital through a private placement offering in the fourth quarter of 2002, SureBeam ended the year with $27.3 million in cash and cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2002, the Company had borrowed $25.0 million on the $50.0 million line of credit with The Titan Corporation.
Although not all of the revenue will be recognized in 2003, the company had existing orders for system sales at December 31, 2002 of $46.7 million.
As previously stated, the Company's guidance for fiscal year 2003 is as follows: Revenue - $75 to $85 million; GAAP net loss per share - $0.05 to $0.15; and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) - positive $10 million to $15 million. The company's quarterly guidance for 2003 is as follows: Quarterly revenue plus or minus $2 million per quarter, first quarter $10 million, second quarter $17 million, third quarter $23 million, and fourth quarter $30 million. Quarterly GAAP net loss per share plus or minus $0.02 per quarter, first quarter negative $0.10, second quarter negative $0.05, third quarter $0.00, and fourth quarter positive $0.04. Quarterly EBITDA plus or minus $1.5 million per quarter; first quarter negative $2.5 million, second quarter positive $.5 million, third quarter positive $4 million, and fourth quarter positive $8 million.
The conference call to discuss SureBeam's fourth quarter and fiscal year- end results will be available live over the Internet on February 20, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. (PT) at www.surebeam.com |
