The Solomon Page Group, Ltd. Announces Record Year-End Results
Monday January 12, 3:30 pm Eastern Time - Company Press Release
SOURCE: The Solomon Page Group, Ltd.
NEW YORK, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The Solomon Page Group, Ltd. (Nasdaq: SOLP - news) today announced results for its fourth quarter and twelve months ended September 30,1997.RESULTS For the fiscal year ended September 30, 1997, revenues increased to $28,996,000, up 69% from $17,166,000 for the prior fiscal year. Income from operations increased 232% to $1,691,000 for the year ended September 30, 1997, from $509,000 for the same period last year. These record results were achieved with only a 19% increase in recruitment and placement headcount. Net income increased 81% for the fiscal year 1997 to $1,282,000 from $710,000 for the earlier fiscal year. Net income for fiscal 1997 reflects an effective income tax rate of 30%, compared with 2.6% for fiscal 1996 due to the utilization of net operating loss carryforwards.
For the fourth quarter, revenues increased 68% to a record $9,419,000 from $5,623,000 for the same period last year. Income from operations for the three months ended September 30, 1997, increased to $444,000 from $391,000 for the same period last year. Operating income for the three months ended September 30, 1997, includes charges of approximately $50,000 relating to the startup of the accounting and human resources temporary staffing and consulting business, and a
charge of approximately $200,000 relating to a potentially uncollectible receivable. Net income for the fourth quarter was $224,000 compared with $391,000 for the same period a year earlier. The disproportionate decrease in net income from 1997 to the 1996 period is attributable to the above mentioned charge, along with $264,000 of income tax expense recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997 versus $19,200 during the same period last year.
The Company continues to experience a strong rate of growth in all of its strategic business sectors. The retained executive search and full time contingency recruitment segments experienced an increase in revenues of 62% to $4,889,000 for the three months ended September 30, 1997, versus $3,014,000 for the year earlier period. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 1997, revenues increased 37% to $14,517,000 versus $10,559,000 for the 1996 fiscal year.
The Company's temporary staffing and consulting division reported revenues of $4,530,000 for the fourth quarter, an increase of 74% over last year's $2,609,000. Revenues for the year ended September 30,1997, increased to $14,479,000 from $6,607,000, or a 119% increase for fiscal 1997.
For the three months and fiscal years ended September 30, 1997 and 1996, the Company calculated earnings per share (EPS) in accordance with Accounting Principles Board (APB) Opinion No. 15. In February 1997, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 128, ''Earnings per Share,'' to replace APB Opinion No. 15. This new statement simplifies EPS by altering the criteria for defining and calculating EPS. SFAS No. 128 is effective for financial statements for both interim and annual periods ending after December 15, 1997. All prior period EPS data must be restated and early application of SFAS No. 128 is not permitted. Under APB No. 15, fully diluted weighted average common shares outstanding for the 12 months ended September 30, 1997, increased to 9,091,644 shares from 5,452,595 shares due to the impact of the Modified Treasury Stock Method for calculating EPS. The increase in weighted average shares outstanding is due to the inclusion of shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants and options. Fully diluted EPS were $0.04 and $0.20, respectively, for the three months and fiscal years ended September 30, 1997, versus $0.07 and $0.13 for the same
period a year earlier. The Company's EPS calculated under SFAS No. 128 for the fiscal year ended September 30, 1997, would have been $0.25 basic EPS and $0.23 diluted EPS, and the weighted average common shares outstanding would have been 5,131,751 for basic EPS and 5,649,018 for diluted EPS.
On October 31, 1997, the Company's Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 1,000,000 of the Company's Class A Redeemable Common Stock Warrants in the open market or privately negotiated transactions. At December 31, 1997, an aggregate of 962,562 Class A Warrants had been repurchased for an aggregate purchase price of $1,018,303.
The Outlook
Commenting on the results, Lloyd Solomon, Chief Executive Officer, noted, ''We are very pleased with the significant progress and growth the Company has experienced during the past year towards our goal of becoming a strategic partner with our clients in a variety of disciplines and geographic locations both in full time and temporary staffing. The consistency in the Company's revenue growth and profitability supports our business plan of rapid expansion and diversification. Also, we are excited by the progress of our temporary staffing and consulting efforts in the information technology, accounting and human resources areas. Our accomplishments are a testament to the consultative approach taken to client relationships combined with a strong team commitment to excellence by each of our valued employees.''
Company Overview
Solomon Page Group, Ltd. is a specialty niche provider of staffing solutions in the areas of retained executive search, full time contingency recruitment and temporary staffing and consulting. The Company has eight lines of business, including four industry (capital markets, publishing & new media, healthcare and fashion services) and four functional (information technology, accounting, human resources and legal) categories. Retained executive search services are provided to clients in the capital markets, publishing & new media, and managed healthcare industries. Full time contingency recruitment is offered in information technology, accounting, human resources, legal and fashion service areas, while temporary staffing and consulting is provided in information technology, accounting and human resources.
Please Note
Solomon Page also announced that it will hold a conference call on Tuesday, January 13, 1998, at 10:00 a.m. EST to discuss the year-end results and the Company's future. Interested parties should call 800-967-7134 prior to 10:00 a.m. (Confirmation code is 419045.) |
