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Technology Stocks : Creative Labs (CREAF) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: David Johnson who wrote (12962)	12/1/1998 8:54:00 PM
From: BZOOKA	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13925

Tuesday December 1, 4:24 pm Eastern Time Company Press Release IDT Reports Record 1st Quarter FY99 Revenues and Operating Profits Proposes spin-off of Internet communications business to enhance shareholder value HACKENSACK, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1998--IDT Corporation (NASDAQ: IDTC - news), a leading emerging multinational carrier and IP telephony provider, today reported record first quarter fiscal year 1999 revenues of $133.3 million, a 143% increase over the same period year-ago revenues of $54.8 million. Net income after taxes for the quarter was 4.9 million or $0.14 per share as compared with the same quarter year-ago untaxed net income of $2.0 million or $0.08 per share. EBITDA for the first quarter was $13.5 million, or $0.38 per share as compared to the same quarter year-ago EBITDA of $4.1 million or $0.16 per share. A quarter to quarter comparison shows a 9% revenue increase to $133.3 million from $122.6 million in the prior quarter. Net income after taxes for the quarter was $4.9 million or $0.14 per share as compared to net income of $7.1 million or $0.20 per share in the prior quarter as a result of it being the Company's first fully taxed quarter. EBITDA in the first quarter increased 15% sequentially to $13.5 million or $0.38 per share as compared to $11.7 million or $0.33 per share in the prior quarter. ''We've once again delivered another solid quarter and believe we're poised to take full advantage of our robust domestic and international networks. Opportunities abound!'' said IDT's President Jim Courter. TELECOMMUNICATIONS IDT's telecommunications revenues for the quarter increased to $123.7 million, up 159% over same period year-ago revenues of $47.8 million and a 9% sequential increase over revenues of $113.9 million for the prior quarter. Telecom gross margins in this quarter were 23.2% as compared to 20.8% in the same quarter year-ago. Telecom minutes of use grew to approximately 496 million minutes for the quarter, a 39% increase over the prior quarter's 356 million minutes. This quarter marked IDT's significant investment in its domestic telecommunications network. In October, IDT signed a nationwide capacity agreement with Frontier Corporation (NYSE: FRO - news). The $32 million acquisition plus maintenance costs over 20 years gives IDT additional network facilities that will enable it to rapidly expand the range and reliability of its telecommunications services, as well as lower its existing network costs. The agreement provides for an OC-3 backbone with DS3s to major cities. IDT will now be able to offer broader band IP telephony, national long distance and 10xxx services, reduce 800-origination costs, and originate and terminate carrier traffic in all major cities. On the international front, IDT completed its UK facility in London, housing its commercial offices and switching operations for IDT's wholesale and retail services. With the availability of the London facility, IDT intends to finalize pending interconnect agreements with incumbent and competitive national and international carriers, and greatly expand the scope of both its retail and wholesale businesses. As opportunities for growth in Europe abound, IDT has decided to reinvest even more than previously budgeted for its European operations to gain a greater foothold in Europe and establish our facilities in the UK as the Company's central European node. With the activation of the London facility, IDT has effectively doubled the size and carrying capacity of its international network and has established a broadband gateway connecting Europe and the UK with US carriers and customers. The London operation will also serve as the gateway point for additional IDT facilities being developed in France, Germany and the Netherlands. RETAIL DEBIT DIVISION Since the Company introduced its retail products, IDT's debit card division has been growing steadily. This quarter, IDT's debit card division grew to $67.3 million, up 17% from $57.7 million in the prior quarter and up tenfold from same quarter year-ago revenues of $5.4 million. IDT has expanded its offering of retail debit cards by adding more specialized phone cards and expanding its sales and marketing efforts nationwide. IDT has also secured partnerships with five additional distribution companies which have merged their operations into the Company's to provide additional distribution channels and offices in Washington, DC, Connecticut, New York, Ohio, and Florida. INTERNET TELEPHONY Revenues for Net2Phone were $5.3 million, a 36% increase over the prior quarter's revenues of $3.9 million and a 212% increase from same quarter year ago revenues of $1.7 million. Total Net2Phone minutes of use grew to 34.6 million minutes this quarter, a 57% increase over the prior quarter's 22 million minutes. More than 1,000,000 users have placed telephone calls using IDT's Internet communications technology. Companies such as IBM Global Services (NYSE: IBM - news), Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO - news), Excite (NASDAQ: XCIT - news), and Creative Labs (NASDAQ: CREAF - news) either bundle or resell Net2Phone services to their customer base. Users can download Net2Phone PC free at www.net2phone.com.