4Front Technologies, Inc. Announces Second Quarter and Six Months Results.LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1998-- 4Front Posts Another Record Quarter 4Front Technologies, Inc. ("4Front") (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on NM/ EASDAQ See European Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation. Symbol: FFTI FFTI Federazione Field Target Italia (Italian) FFTI Feel Free to Ignore ) announced its results for the second quarter and six months ended July 31, 1998. HIGHLIGHTS(a) (in $000s, except share and per share data) Second Quarter Ended July 31, 1998 1998 1997 % Increase (unaudited) (unaudited) Service revenues $ 16,677 $ 8,313 101% Product revenues $ 10,738 $ 10,507 2% ------ ------ Total revenues $ 27,415 $ 18,820 46% Operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. $ 2,030 $ 958 112% Net income $ 1,235 $ 677 82% Net income per share (basic) $ 0.15 $ 0.10 50% Net income per share (diluted) $ 0.12 $ 0.10 20% Fully diluted shares outstanding 9,910,335 6,776,606 Six Months Ended July 31, 1998 1998 1997 % Increase (unaudited) (unaudited) Service revenues $ 33,114 $ 16,509 101% Product revenues $ 21,005 $ 20,935 - ------ ------ Total revenues $ 54,119 $ 37,444 45% Operating income $ 3,851 $ 1,793 115% Net income $ 2,327 $ 1,308 78% Net income per share (basic) $ 0.30 $ 0.20 50% Net income per share (diluted) $ 0.25 $ 0.19 32% Fully diluted shares outstanding 9,202,154 6,737,475 (a) A substantial part of the company's growth in the past three years has been achieved through acquisition. Accordingly, the results of operations from period to period are not necessarily comparable. For the second quarter ended July 31, 1998, total revenues increased 46% to $27.4 million versus $18.8 million reported for the comparable year-ago quarter. Net income for the quarter increased 82% to $1.2 million, or $0.12 per share fully-diluted (based on 9,910,335 shares), versus net income of $677,000, or $0.10 per share fully-diluted (based on 6,776,606 shares), for the comparable year-ago quarter. The impact of the Company's secondary offering of Common Stock, which was completed towards the end of the second quarter, is reflected in the increased fully-diluted shares outstanding. For the six months ended July 31, 1998, total revenues increased 45% to $54.1 million versus $37.4 million reported for the comparable year-ago period. Net income for the period increased 78% to $2.3 million, or $0.25 per share fully-diluted (based on 9,202,154 shares), versus net income of $1.3 million, or $0.19 per share fully-diluted (based on 6,737,475 shares) for the comparable year-ago period. Anil Doshi, Chairman and Chief Executive of 4Front, said, "The second quarter saw strong market demand and further successful implementation of our growth strategy resulting in another record revenue and profit quarter for 4Front. Revenues continued to grow rapidly with revenues for the reported six months exceeding total revenues for the whole of the 1996/97 fiscal year. Operating margins Operating Margin A ratio used to measure a company's pricing strategy and operating efficiency. Calculated by: during the quarter rose again with the EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) A metric used to show a company's profitability, but not its cash flow. EBITDA became popular in the 1980s to show the potential profitability of leveraged buyouts, but has become margin rising to 10% from 7.5% in the comparable year-ago quarter and 9.5% in the first quarter, and the operating income margin rising to 7.4% from 5.1% in the comparable year-ago quarter and from 6.8% in the first quarter. All business areas made good contributions towards the overall successful performance, with the higher margin service activities leading the way. 4Front continues to develop critical mass and now has 18 contracts worth over $1 million annually, compared with only 7 a year ago. During the quarter important service contracts were signed with ADP (1) (Automatic Data Processing) Synonymous with data processing (DP), electronic data processing (EDP) and information processing. (2) (Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Roseland, NJ, www.adp. , the Office of National Statistics, Halliburton, Brown and Root, and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets “Tower Hamlets” redirects here. For other uses, see Tower Hamlets (disambiguation).  This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers. . The ADP contract, worth more than $4 million over 3 years, is one of the largest yet won by 4Front. 4Front saw overall continued strong demand for its hardware maintenance, help desk and networking services. The recently announced extension of our software contract with Costain reflects good progress in our software business and we are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. increased levels of growth in this higher margin area where new software products and services are being introduced. In a very competitive market environment, 4Front's product business performed well and achieved its targets. Among new areas of activity, 4Front's business continuity offering was successfully launched as was a new Year 2000 personal computer remediation service. 4Front's help desk call center has now been expanded to accommodate both increasing market demand from its existing customer base and new business opportunities which include some promising pilot programmes for major blue-chip customers. Generally, we continue to see strong growth in the UK and European computer services Data processing (timesharing, batch processing), software development and consulting services. See service bureau, SaaS and ASP. and outsourcing markets, and we remain well-positioned to benefit from the opportunities created by this growth". Mark Ellis Mark Ellis is the name of:
Following the secondary offering successfully completed during the quarter, we have significant cash resources and bank facilities available both for internal expansion and growth through further acquisition. Following the repayment of bank lines of credit, cash in hand at the end of the second quarter was $31.2 million, or $2.95 per share. In conjunction with 4Front's secondary offering, 4Front shares were listed on EASDAQ, the pan-European stock exchange for growth companies. Subsequently, 4Front's shares have been listed for trading in Germany on the Third Segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Frankfurt Stock Exchange The largest of Germany's eight securities exchanges, operated by Deutsche Borse AS. . We believe that this increasing exposure on European exchanges will raise 4Front's visibility to European investors and will assist in the promotion of the 4Front name and brand in the European marketplace". 4Front Technologies, Inc., is a leading provider of information technology solutions, which consist of specialized computer services and complementary products, primarily to blue-chip corporations in the United Kingdom and, to a growing extent, Continental Europe. 4Front's services include hardware maintenance, help desk support, network services, specialized software services and products and the supply of high-end storage systems. Customers of 4Front include British Petroleum, British Telecom The telephone and communications carrier that provides services in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It used to be a division of the British Post Office, but was privatized in 1984 under Margaret Thatcher's administration. , Computer Sciences Corp., Dupont, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Reuters, Pfizer, NatWest Capital Markets, JP Morgan and the UK Ministry of Defense. Additional information on 4Front can be found on the Company's website at www.4fti.com. 4FRONT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED con·dense v. con·densed, con·dens·ing, con·dens·es v.tr. 1. To reduce the volume or compass of. 2. To make more concise; abridge or shorten. 3. Physics a. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS For the Three For The Six Months Ended Months Ended July 31, July 31, July 31, July 31, 1997 1998 1997 1998 $ `000's $ `000's $ `000's $ `000's (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) (unaudited) REVENUES Services 8,313 16,677 16,509 33,114 Products 10,507 10,738 20,935 21,005 ------ ------ ------ ------ 18,820 27,415 37,444 54,119 ------ ------ ------ ------ Cost of Services 3,789 7,671 7,937 15,300 Cost of Products 8,933 8,920 17,814 17,454 ----- ----- ------ ------ 12,722 16,591 25,751 32,754 ------ ------ ------ ------ GROSS PROFIT Services 4,524 9,006 8,572 17,814 Products 1,574 1,818 3,121 3,551 ----- ----- ----- ----- 6,098 10,824 11,693 21,365 ----- ------ ------ ------ OPERATING EXPENSES Operating expenses The amount paid for asset maintenance or the cost of doing business, excluding depreciation. Earnings are distributed after operating expenses are deducted. Selling, general and administrative expenses 4,688 8,074 9,042 16,078 Depreciation 222 292 417 586 Amortization 230 428 441 850 ------ ------ ------ -------- Total operating expenses 5,140 8,794 9,900 17,514 ----- ----- ----- ------ INCOME BEFORE INTEREST, INCOME TAXES: 958 2,030 1,793 3,851 Interest income 85 108 162 176 Interest expense (140) (210) (211) (419) ----- ----- ----- ----- INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES: 903 1,928 1,744 3,608 INCOME TAXES 226 693 436 1,281 --- --- --- ----- NET INCOME 677 1,235 1,308 2,327 --- ----- ----- ----- NET INCOME PER COMMON SHARE (Basic) 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.30 NET INCOME PER COMMON SHARE (Diluted) 0.10 0.12 0.19 0.25 4FRONT SELECT BALANCE SHEET INFORMATION July 31, 1998 January 31, 1998 (unaudited) (audited) Current assets Current Assets Appearing on a company's balance sheet, it represents cash, accounts receivable, inventory, marketable securities, prepaid expenses, and other assets that can be converted to cash within one year. $ 67,002 $ 36,915 Current liabilities Current Liabilities Usually appearing on a company's balance sheet, it represents the amount owed for interest, accounts payable, short-term loans, expenses incurred but unpaid, and other debts due within one year. 31,569 35,974 Total assets 87,868 59,208 Long-term debt Long-Term Debt Loans and financial obligations lasting over one year. Notes: For example debts obligations such as bonds and notes which have maturities greater than one year would be considered long-term debt. 819 1,640 Shareholders' equity Shareholders' Equity A firms' total assets minus its total liabilities. Equivalently, it is share capital plus retained earnings minus treasury shares. Shareholders' equity is the amount by which a company is financed through common and preferred shares. $ 55,480 $ 21,594 CONTACT: Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. Contact: Gregory Pettit/ Jennifer Hendrickson (U.S. Investor Relations) Shandwick Tel: 212/591-9772/ 9820 or Matthew Hooper (U.K. Investor Relations) Shandwick Consultants Tel: 011-44-171-329-0096 or Company Contact: Mark Ellis or Ken Newell The Very Reverend Doctor Kenneth Norman Ernest Newell OBE DD is an Irish Presbyterian minister. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (June 2004-2005). 4Front Technologies, Inc. Tel: 011-44-171-269-5848 |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion