Any news/downgrades on FNSR? I can't find anything.
IPIX announces restructuring.
iPIX Comments on Expected Third Quarter Results; Announces Plans for Business Restructuring
(PR Newswire, 10/17/2000 07:11)
SAN RAMON, Calif., and OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Internet Pictures Corporation (NASDAQ:IPIX) ("iPIX"), today announced preliminary results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2000. In addition, the Company announced restructuring plans to intensify its focus on achieving profitability and on developing the highest growth segments of its business.
iPIX anticipates third quarter cash loss per weighted average share to be $0.33, better than analysts estimates for the quarter. The Company expects revenue of approximately $17 million compared to $3.7 million for the similar period in 1999, and $15.5 million in the second quarter of 2000. Third quarter revenue will be lower than analysts' estimates principally due to temporary delays in rollouts of contracts with Cendant's move.com and eBay. Both projects have commenced, with the infrastructure and necessary training of personnel and testing complete. These contracts are expected to generate revenue for the Company beginning in the fourth quarter of 2000.
iPIX's Board of Directors has approved a restructuring plan designed to reduce expenses and align investments with new strategies for profitability and long-term revenue growth. The restructuring is complimentary to the Company's plan announced in July to reduce expenses by cutting sales and marketing costs including portal fees, co-marketing and its direct sales force. As part of the restructuring plan, iPIX will reduce its workforce by 20% or approximately 175 positions. Approximately one half of the restructuring is in the Company's real estate division, split equally between sales and marketing and support groups. The remainder of the reductions are in e-commerce sales and marketing positions as the two groups are combined, with the remainder evenly split between operations and general and administrative functions. The Company will record a restructuring charge of $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. This restructuring is intended to reduce expenses by approximately $4 million per quarter going forward.
As part of this restructuring, iPIX has organized the company into four business divisions each of which is headed by a general manager with full profit/loss responsibility. This ensures management of the businesses at both the top and bottom lines, consistent with company goals of moving to profitability in the second half of 2001. The Company has made substantial investments over the last two years building market share and market demand for its products and services and will begin to fully leverage indirect distribution channels.
All other sales activity in the US falls under the new Enterprise Solutions group, which is an integration of the Rimfire sales organization with the e-Commerce sales group. The Enterprise Solutions group will sell all products into all non-real estate markets. The sales teams will focus on solution-oriented products and services that draw from iPIX's range of dynamic imaging products. Approximately 20% of the restructuring is as a result of this consolidation. The Enterprise Solutions group will increasingly focus on indirect channels, establishing relationships with systems integrators, web developers and value added resellers for the sale of our products and services. iPIX will be rolling out indirect channel partners in Q1 of next year. The two other business groups are International and New Businesses.
Implementation of these initiatives will facilitate the Company's goal to reach profitability in line with expectations in the fourth quarter of 2001 on a higher margin, lower revenue basis. Accordingly, the Company is reducing top line expectations by 20% for 2001 to $141 million.
"iPIX has taken decisive steps to achieve profitability with optimal business productivity levels," stated Jim Phillips, Chairman and CEO of iPIX. "I am very excited about how fast Don Strickland, our new President and COO, has made significant progress on integrating the previous mergers and acquisitions and has identified in excess of $4 million in additional cost savings per quarter."
"We have seen an increasing acceptance of iPIX products and services demonstrated by our recent deals with Yahoo, Discovery, Polaroid and SOFTBANK. Our market leadership combined with a renewed strategic focus on penetrating deeper into select vertical markets, will allow us to continue to grow our business and attain profitability one year ahead of our original schedule. We are engaged in a private round of financing intended to raise additional cash for the Company," stated Mr. Strickland.
iPIX will hold a conference call to discuss further details regarding the announced restructuring plan at 8:15am EST today. A replay of the call will be available starting today, until October 24, 2000 by dialing 800-625-5288 and using passcode 838618. Those interested may also access a live webcast of this call at the Company's website, ipix.com.
iPIX is scheduled to release final financial results for its third quarter on October 24, 2000, and will provide further details regarding the restructuring plan at that time.
About iPIX
iPIX (NASDAQ:IPIX) is the standard for dynamic imaging on the Internet. 22 of the Media Metrix top 25 Web sites use iPIX to make their sites more dynamic. Businesses dependent on visual content rely on iPIX. IPIX's end-to-end dynamic imaging solutions enable the capture, processing, hosting, and distribution of rich media to thousands of Internet sites and millions of Internet enabled wired and wireless devices. A broad array of industries, including real estate, online auctions, e-retail, automotive, travel, publishing, and entertainment, are capitalizing on iPIX's solutions to give viewers more information, more interaction and a richer online experience. The company is headquartered in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
IPIX, and Internet Pictures are trademarks of Internet Pictures Corporation.
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbors created by those sections. Statements concerning the implementation of Internet Pictures Corporation's services and the benefits expected to result from those services constitute forward-looking statements and are based on current expectations. Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, the Company's limited operating history; the unpredictability of future revenues; potential fluctuation in quarterly operating results; the evolving nature of the market for the Company's products and services; risks associated with new product introductions; product delays and errors; the success of recent agreements with other companies; challenges associated with managing rapid growth and risks associated with acquisitions; dependence on key personnel; the ability of the Company to continue to innovate and protect its intellectual property; the importance of strategic relationships with leading companies in iPIX's markets and in the technology industries; and the volatility of the Company's stock price. The matters discussed in this press release also involve risks and uncertainties described from time to time in Internet Pictures Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In particular, see "Risk Factors" in the prospectus contained in the registration statement for Internet Pictures Corporation on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on May 4, 2000 which can be found at (http://www.sec.gov). SOURCE Internet Pictures Corporation
-0- 10/17/2000
/CONTACT: Ed Lewis of Internet Pictures Corporation, 650-388-0421; Corey Cutler, Cathy Dawson, Amy Garay, or Media - Claudine Cornelius, Emily Brunner, all of Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc., 212-850-5600, for Internet Pictures Corporation/
/Web site: ipix.com
Companies or Securities discussed in this article: Symbol Name
NASDAQ:IPIX Internet Pictures Corporation (NM) |
