Regeloney- let me just say that I bought back in yesterday. Here is the earnings release:
04/22 08:27 NewsEdge Corporation Announces
First Quarter 1999 Results, Hires
<NEWZ.O>
NewsEdge Corporation Announces First Quarter 1999 Results, Hires
President for NewsPage.com, Inc., States Business Internet Strategy
BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 1999--NewsEdge
Corporation (Nasdaq:NEWZ) announced financial results for the first quarter
of 1999. Revenue from Enterprise and NewsPage customers was $18.7
million for the three months ended March 31, 1999, an increase of 7%
compared to the same quarter in 1998. Total revenue for the three months
ended March 31, 1999, including the Company's Other revenue which
consists of business lines that are being terminated or harvested, was $19.4
million compared to total revenue of $19.7 million during the same period a
year earlier.
The Company's net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 1999 was $3.2
million, or a loss of $0.18 per share, compared to a net loss of $13.8 million,
or a loss of $0.82 per share, during the first quarter of 1998. The results for
the first quarter of 1998 include merger, disposition and other charges of
$11.1 million. On March 31, 1999, the Company had cash and investments
of $39.8 million, or approximately $2.30 per share.
"Several factors affected our financial results in the first quarter, including
lower-than-expected enterprise billings and sales productivity, the termination
of our Hoover product line and the accumulated impact of decreased
NewsPage spending over the last year," said Don McLagan, Chairman and
CEO of NewsEdge Corporation. "At the same time, we have grown the
number of enterprise sales representatives and have begun to accelerate
NewsPage spending consistent with the plans announced in February. The
dynamics of the news and information industry are changing rapidly and
NewsEdge is committed to levering these changes."
"We now service the business news needs of more than 1,550,000 paid,
registered or authorized NewsEdge users. In the last year this user count
has increased at more than 50%, a rate in excess of the business Internet
growth rate, assessed by one analyst to be 35%. A second analyst has
stated, 'When compared with the other companies competing in the online
business news market space, NewsEdge ranks at the top in subscriber
share.'" "Year-end industry data and our own first quarter sales experience
confirm a large, dynamic business Internet market for news and information,
but a slow and competitive enterprise segment and opportunity for an
aggressive initiative in the single worker segment. We have concentrated our
strategy and appointed our leadership for this business Internet marketplace
- both single worker and enterprise." Presidents for two business units
Today the Company announced the appointment of Ilene H. Lang, the former
CEO of Alta Vista, as the President and CEO of the new subsidiary,
NewsPage.com, Inc. McLagan said, "With her experience transforming Alta
Vista from a popular search engine to one of the Internet's most valuable
portal sites, Ilene's mission is to grow NewsPage.com revenues and user
base aggressively. NewsPage.com levers the NewsEdge Refinery(tm) to
bring news value to single workers who make their own, independent choices
of business Internet services."
On April 7, 1999, the Company announced Cliff Pollan as NewsEdge
Corporation President and COO. McLagan continued, "Cliff created the
strength of the NewsEdge enterprise sales, services and marketing team.
Now Cliff's mission is to build and extend the competitive news resources of
the NewsEdge Refinery(tm) and to bring the Company's enterprise unit to
profitability and then to grow that unit profitably, gaining share in the
enterprise segment of the business Internet market." Strategy for the
business Internet news market
McLagan stated, "The NewsEdge business Internet strategy tackles the
news-at-work market from both sides. NewsPage.com, Inc. targets the news
and information needs of single workers who make their own Internet news
choice. At the same time, our Enterprise unit targets organizations that
centrally provide Intranet news resources for their employees."
"We have a clear vision for what we want to do in the business Internet
marketplace. We believe that we have unmatched news resources, a strong
market position, the financial strength and now, Cliff and Ilene to execute our
strategy for the business Internet marketplace, estimated by one analyst to
be 50 million Internet-enabled workers in 1998. The NewsEdge Refinery(tm)
produces a real-time flow of tagged and coded news stories from diverse
sources that is hard for rivals to match. The Refinery also produces our
proprietary NewsEdge Review(tm) Topics that address the twin problems of
information overload (too much information) and information overlook (missing
the right information.)"
The Company's business Internet strategy is described in its just published
1998 annual report. An online version of the annual report is accessible at
annual.newsedge.com. Business segment results
Following is a comparative table of first quarter revenues and loss before
merger, disposition and other charges, by Company operating segment for
1999 and 1998: -0- (in thousands) Three Months Ended
March 31, % Revenue: 1999 1998 Change Enterprise $ 17,719 $ 16,077 10%
NewsPage 1,019 1,423 (28)%
Total continuing 18,738 17,500 7% Other 641 2,249 (71)%
Total revenues $ 19,379 $ 19,749 (2)% Loss before merger, disposition and
other charges: Enterprise $ (1,704) $ (2,036) NewsPage (1,928) (1,008)
Total continuing (3,632) (3,044) Other 48 (307)
Total loss before merger, $ (3,584) $ (3,351)
disposition and other
charges -0-
As of March 31, 1999, more than 1,550,000 users had paid, registered or
been authorized for NewsEdge services, an increase in excess of 50% over
the last twelve months. The Company counted more than 1,325 enterprise
customers, up 20% over the year ago total, and with more than 625,000
authorized NewsEdge users. There were more than 925,000 NewsPage
users, an increase of more than 30% over the last twelve months. About
NewsEdge Corporation
NewsEdge Corporation (Nasdaq:NEWZ) is a leader in global news and
current awareness solutions for business. The Company's mission is to
make news valuable for business. NewsEdge provides customers with a
powerful combination of customized, authoritative content; cutting-edge
technology; editorial, value-added capabilities; and unparalleled client support
and consulting services. NewsEdge's Enterprise unit serves approximately
625,000 users at over 1,325 organizations including 81 of Business Week's
100 largest global companies (based on market capitalization). Through its
Internet business unit, NewsPage.com, the Company also provides business
news and information services to more than 925,000 registered independent
users over the Internet. For both enterprises and single workers, NewsEdge
helps business people find the most important, relevant stories from an
overwhelming volume of daily news and enables them to act on the most
current information possible. NewsEdge is headquartered in Burlington,
Massachusetts with sales offices and distributors throughout North America,
South America, Europe, Japan and the Middle East. For more information
about NewsEdge Corporation, visit the company's Web site at
newsedge.com.
Certain of the above statements on the Company's future revenue and
financial performance, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially as a result of a variety of
factors, including risks associated with acquisitions, the timely development
and acceptance of new products, competitive and market developments, the
success of relationships with third parties, and other risk factors described
from time to time in the Company's SEC reports. -0-
NEWSEDGE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)
(in thousands, except share data)
March 31, December 31,
1999 1998 ASSETS Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $37,754 $37,808
Short-term investments 2,000 3,782
Accounts receivable 15,705 13,112
Prepaid expenses and deposits 4,882 5,037
Total current assets 60,341 59,739 Property and equipment, net 9,387 9,138
COPYRIGHT © 1999 REUTERS LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|
