Bridges.com six-month results
Bridges.com Inc BIT
Shares issued 9,466,250 Jul 5 close $3.30
Mon 5 Jul 99 News Release
Mr. John Simmons reports
For the first six months ended May 31, 1999, Bridges.com reported a net
income of $391,078, resulting in earnings of four cents per share. The
company reported revenues of $2,119,969 with expenses of $1,537,475 and
amortization of $191,416. This compares to a reported net income of $14,007
on revenues of $1,036,754 for the first six months of 1998.
The second quarter featured the following developments:
576 new schools subscribed to Bridges.com's on-line career planning service
in the second quarter. Second-quarter sales have tripled in the last two
years - up from 182 in 1997, and 267 in 1998. More than 10 per cent of
North American middle and secondary schools (3,770 sites) currently
subscribe to Career Explorer (CX). This represents a 115-per-cent increase
over the 1,756 subscribing sites at the end of second quarter 1998.
Usage of Bridges.com's resources has significantly increased, with
8,924,928 page views recorded during the quarter on the Career Explorer
service. This virtually matches the total page views in all of 1998. It is
more than triple the 2,859,672 page views recorded in second quarter 1998.
The average number of page views per subscriber has also increased, from
1,628 in second quarter 1998 to 2,367 in second quarter 1999.
Bridges.com enhanced its leadership team in preparation for anticipated
corporate growth and development. John Simmons is the new board chairman,
adding expertise in business development, corporate finance, public
companies and acquisitions. Michael Mooney has been hired as vice-president
of technology to lead the continued development of new products and the
advancement of technical services for Bridges.com customers and staff. The
second quarter also saw chief executive officer Doug Manning add the role
of president to his portfolio.
The company has added new customer service, publishing, and technical
staff, and upgraded its internal technical infrastructure, in order to
prepare for future growth, and to improve on its 90-per-cent rate of
resubscription. Plans were finalized to add eight sales staff by August in
support of a more aggressive expansion of the company's subscriber base.
These two developments are designed to increase the number of students who
use the Career Explorer resource for personal career/life planning. More
than 1.9 million students presently have access to the CX resource.
An enhanced CX-Plus prototype was launched for free previewing in April,
offering subscribers expanded content and improved navigational features.
Bridges.com also began internal introductory testing of its Portfolio Plus
project in second quarter.
Bridges.com intends to focus on the following key corporate goals for third
quarter of 1999:
Maximize Career Explorer Market Share
Bridges.com will continue to increase the number of North American middle
and secondary schools that subscribe to the company's on-line resources.
Second quarter and third quarter are traditionally the strongest selling
quarters for Career Explorer. It is projected that the total number of CX
subscribers will increase to over 4,200 by the end of the quarter. To
support ambitious market growth, the company will increase its selling team
in third quarter from 10 to 18 sales staff.
Career Explorer Development
Bridges.com's impressive 90-per-cent resubscription rate is the product of
continuous resource development. In early July, an international advisory
committee will meet to recommend CX enhancements. New technicians and
content developers will be adding new features throughout the summer, and a
prototype multimedia version of Career Explorer will be developed in the
third quarter.
Career Explorer Resubscription
Capitalizing on Bridges.com's 90-per-cent rate of resubscription will be
the administrative team's primary focus in the third quarter. Approximately
three-quarters of Career Explorer subscriptions are scheduled for renewal
in August of each year. The remaining subscriptions are renewed in January.
Partnership Planning and Development
Bridges.com will pursue strategic partnerships designed to expand the
company's growth potential, improve its services, and further position
Bridges.com as a leader in the on-line career-content industry. The board
intends to define plans and begin discussions with potential partners in
the third quarter. Partnership plans initiated in the third quarter will
likely develop over the next 12 to 18 months.
STATEMENT OF EARNINGS
Six months ended May 31,
1999 1998
Revenue
On-line services $2,055,326 $ 930,440
Other services 44,867 103,600
---------- ----------
2,100,193 1,034,040
Interest income 19,776 2,714
---------- ----------
2,199,969 1,036,754
---------- ----------
Expenses
Content development
and delivery 484,708 281,222
General, selling
and administrative 1,052,767 566,702
---------- ----------
1,537,475 847,924
---------- ----------
Income before
amortization 582,494 188,830
Amortization of
Deferred
development costs 161,457 154,464
Capital assets 29,959 20,359
---------- ----------
191,416 174,823
---------- ----------
Net income $ 391,078 $ 14,007 |
