Ambassadors Group Posts $1.44 Per Share in Q2 2005 Compared to $1.26 for Q2 2004.SPOKANE Spokane, city, United States Spokane (spōkăn`), city (1990 pop. 177,196), seat of Spokane co., E Wash., at the spectacular falls of the Spokane River; inc. 1881. , Wash. -- Ambassadors Group The Ambassadors Group was originally an operating division of Ambassadors International, Inc., but was divested into a separate corporation in 2002 to form the company under its current name. Inc. (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 :EPAX EPAX Electronic Private Automatic Exchange ), a leading provider of educational travel experiences, announced $1.44 fully diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. second quarter per share earnings for the period ended June June: see month. 30, 2005, compared to $1.26 fully diluted second quarter per share earnings for the same period one year ago, an increase of 14 percent. Net income for the second quarter of 2005 was $15.2 million, compared to $13.1 million for the second quarter of 2004. For the six months ended June 30, 2005, fully diluted per share earnings increased 14 percent, to $1.19 in 2005, compared to $1.04 for the first six months of 2004. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2005 was $12.6 million, compared to $10.9 million for the same period in the prior year. Quarter Ended June 30, 2005 Gross program receipts increased 12 percent in the second quarter of 2005 to $81.5 million from $72.8 million in the second quarter of 2004. Net revenue increased 15 percent in the second quarter of 2005 to $29.7 million in 2005 from $25.9 million in the same period of 2004. This increase was a result of a greater number of delegates traveling during 2005. The gross margin remained at 36 percent for the quarter ending on June 30, 2005. 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. were $7.6 million in the second quarter of 2005, compared to $6.3 million in the comparable quarter of 2004. The $1.3 million increase primarily reflects selling and tour promotion costs associated with higher business volumes in 2005 compared to 2004. A portion of the increase can also be attributed to additional marketing for 2006 to support continued growth in the number of delegates. General and administrative expenses also increased in the second quarter of 2005 as a result of higher business volumes. Other income increased $0.5 million in the second quarter of 2005, to $0.8 million from $0.3 million in the second quarter of 2004 due to higher cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale security balances during the quarter ended June 30, 2005. These balances at June 30, 2005 and 2004 were $121.1 million and $98.9 million, respectively. Deployable cash at June 30, 2005 and June 30, 2004 was $52.0 million and $40.1 million, respectively (see table on final page of this press release). Six Months Ended June 30, 2005 Comparing the six months ended June 30, 2005 and 2004, gross program receipts increased 14 percent, to $87.5 million in 2005 from $76.9 million in 2004. For the six months ended June 30, 2005 and 2004, net revenue increased 18 percent, to $31.9 million from $27.1 million, respectively. The increased gross program receipts and net revenue resulted from increased delegates traveling in the first six months of 2005 compared to the first six months of 2004. The gross margin was 36 percent for the six months ended June 30, 2005 compared to 35 percent for the same period of 2004. Operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2005 and 2004, were $14.2 and $11.1 million, respectively. The $3.1 million increase was due primarily to additional selling and tour promotion costs associated with the increased number of delegates traveling, as well as higher expense levels associated with plans for continued growth in the number of delegates in 2006. Other income increased $0.7 million in the six months ended June 30, 2005, to $1.2 million from $0.5 million in the six months ended June 30, 2004 primarily due to higher cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale security balances when comparing the two periods. Jeff Thomas (language) Thomas - A language compatible with the language Dylan(TM). Thomas is NOT Dylan(TM). The first public release of a translator to Scheme by Matt Birkholz, Jim Miller, and Ron Weiss, written at Digital Equipment Corporation's Cambridge Research Laboratory runs , president and chief executive officer of Ambassadors Group, Inc. stated, "We are pleased to report that we generated an additional $2.1 million in net income this quarter compared to the same quarter one year ago. This was primarily the result of increasing our delegate A person who is appointed, authorized, delegated, or commissioned to act in the place of another. Transfer of authority from one to another. A person to whom affairs are committed by another. A person elected or appointed to be a member of a representative assembly. count from 15,000 to 16,500 quarter over quarter and overcoming some of the impact of a weakened weak·en tr. & intr.v. weak·ened, weak·en·ing, weak·ens To make or become weak or weaker. weak  en·er n. dollar and expensive fuel levels for
program transportation."We have continued to deploy capital to benefit our shareowners. Since announcing our $5 million share buyback Buyback The buying back of outstanding shares (repurchase) by a company in order to reduce the number of shares on the market. Companies will buyback shares either to increase the value of shares still available (reducing supply), or to eliminate any threats by shareholders who may program in May, 2004, we have repurchased $4.2 million in stock. In addition, calendar year to date, we have distributed $2.6 million in the form of dividends to our shareowners. "More recently, we are saddened by the terrorist attacks in London London, city, Canada London, city (1991 pop. 303,165), SE Ont., Canada, on the Thames River. The site was chosen in 1792 by Governor Simcoe to be the capital of Upper Canada, but York was made capital instead. London was settled in 1826. and our hearts are with the victims and families that are impacted by these senseless sense·less adj. 1. Lacking sense or meaning; meaningless. 2. Deficient in sense; foolish or stupid. 3. Insensate; unconscious. acts. Fortunately, although several hundred of our Student Ambassadors were in London at the time of both incidents, none of our students or delegation leaders were harmed in any way. These attacks create another set of challenges for our program, as we work to communicate with all program participants and their families throughout the world -- especially the United Kingdom. "We believe our preparations for a tragedies like these benefit our organization, delegates, and families as we are able to reroute reroute Verb [-routing, -routed] to send or direct by a different route reroute vt → desviar reroute vt [+ some programs, reassure re·as·sure tr.v. re·as·sured, re·as·sur·ing, re·as·sures 1. To restore confidence to. 2. To assure again. 3. To reinsure. students, teachers and families, and monitor the developing crisis very closely. At this point, there has been no material impact on our program participation in 2005. However, like other terrorist violence, we are unable to measure any long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. impacts." We will host a conference call to discuss results of operations and the outlook for 2005, Friday Friday: see Sabbath; week. Friday young Indian rescued by Crusoe and kept as servant and companion. [Br. Lit.: Robinson Crusoe] See : Servant , July July: see month. 22 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Interested parties may join the call by dialing 800-259-0251, then entering the pass code: 91944038. The conference call may also be joined via the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the at www.AmbassadorsGroup.com/EPAX. For replay access, parties may dial 888-286-8010 with the pass code of 85059968 and follow the prompts, or visit the www.AmbassadorsGroup.com/EPAX website. Replay access will be available beginning July 22 at 1:30 p.m. through July 29, 2005. Post-view web cast access will be available following the conference call through September September: see month. 22, 2005. Ambassadors Group, Inc. is a leading educational travel company that organizes and promotes international and domestic programs for students, athletes, and professionals. These programs provide the opportunities for grade school, junior, and senior high school students to visit foreign and domestic destinations to learn about the history, government, economy and culture of such areas, as well as for junior and senior high school athletes to participate in international sports challenges Sports Challenge was a sports-centered game show that aired in weekly syndication from 1971 to 1979, with a separate version airing briefly on CBS in 1973. Dick Enberg was host. Johnny Gilbert, Art James, and John Harlan announced. . Our professional programs emphasize meetings and seminars between participants and persons in similar professions abroad. We are headquartered in Spokane, Washington Spokane (pronounced [spoʊ̯ˈkæn]) is a city located in Eastern Washington. The seat of Spokane County, Spokane is the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest, the second largest city in Washington state, and , with associates also in Playa playa or pan or flat or dry lake Flat-bottomed depression that is periodically covered by water. Playas occur in interior desert basins and adjacent to coasts in arid and semiarid regions. Vista, California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). ; Denver Denver, city (1990 pop. 467,610), alt. 5,280 ft (1,609 m), state capital, coextensive with Denver co., N central Colo., on a plateau at the foot of the Front Range of the Rocky Mts., along the South Platte River where Cherry Creek meets it; inc. 1861. , Colorado Colorado, state, United States Colorado (kŏlərăd`ə, –răd`ō, –rä`dō), state, W central United States, one of the Rocky Mt. states. ; and Washington Washington, town, England Washington, town (1991 pop. 48,856), Sunderland metropolitan district, NE England. Washington was designated one of the new towns in 1964 to alleviate overpopulation in the Tyneside-Wearside area. , D.C. Forward-Looking Statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding our actual and expected financial performance and the reasons for variances between period-to-period results. Forward-looking statements, which are included per the "safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results and performance in future periods to be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this release. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release and may not reflect risks related to the conflict in the Middle East and international unrest Unrest is a sociological phenomenon, for instance:
see epidemic. of disease, conditions in the travel industry, direct marketing environment, changes in economic conditions and changes in the competitive environment. We expressly disclaim dis·claim v. dis·claimed, dis·claim·ing, dis·claims v.tr. 1. To deny or renounce any claim to or connection with; disown. 2. To deny the validity of; repudiate. 3. any obligation to provide public updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in our expectations or any change in events. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurance that our expectations will be attained at·tain v. at·tained, at·tain·ing, at·tains v.tr. 1. To gain as an objective; achieve: attain a diploma by hard work. 2. . For a more complete discussion of these and other factors, please refer to the Ambassadors Group, Inc. 10K filed March 15, 2005, proxy filed April 14, 2005, and 10Q filed May 6, 2005.
The following summarizes our financial information for the
quarters ended June 30, 2005 and 2004 (in thousands, except per share
amounts):
UNAUDITED
-----------------
Quarter ended
June 30
-----------------
2005 2004
-----------------
Gross program receipts $81,526 $72,760
Net revenue 29,693 25,854
Operating expenses:
Selling and tour promotion 5,918 5,031
General and administration 1,654 1,248
-------- --------
Total operating expenses 7,572 6,279
Operating income 22,121 19,575
Other income, net 770 302
-------- --------
Income before tax 22,891 19,877
Income tax provision 7,642 6,758
-------- --------
Net income $15,249 $13,119
======== ========
Earnings per share - basic $1.51 $1.31
-------- --------
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic 10,126 10,049
Earnings per share - diluted $1.44 $1.26
-------- --------
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted 10,621 10,423
The following summarizes our financial information for the six
months ended June 30, 2005 and 2004 (in thousands, except per share
amounts):
UNAUDITED
-----------------
Six months ended
June 30
-----------------
2005 2004
-------- --------
Gross program receipts $87,504 $76,859
Net revenue 31,871 27,114
Operating expenses:
Selling and tour promotion 11,430 8,817
General and administration 2,791 2,320
-------- --------
Total operating expenses 14,221 11,137
Operating income 17,650 15,977
Other income, net 1,245 505
-------- --------
Income before tax 18,895 16,482
Income tax provision 6,283 5,604
-------- --------
Net income $12,612 $10,878
======== ========
Earnings per share - basic $1.25 $1.08
-------- --------
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic 10,109 10,033
Earnings per share - diluted $1.19 $1.04
-------- --------
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted 10,621 10,415
We have a single operating segment consisting of the educational
travel and sports programs for students, athletes and professionals.
These programs have similar economic characteristics and offer
comparable products to participants, as well as utilize similar
processes for the program marketing.
The following summarizes our balance sheets as of June 30, 2005,
June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2004 (in thousands):
UNAUDITED
-----------------------------
June 30, December 31,
---------------- -----------
2005 2004 2004
------- ------- ------
Assets
------
Cash and cash equivalents $29,528 $16,077 $11,036
Available-for-sale securities 91,554 82,796 76,521
Foreign currency exchange contracts - 499 2,609
Prepaid program costs and expenses 41,063 27,677 2,461
Deferred tax asset 735 - -
Other current assets 309 539 123
------- ------- -------
Total current assets 163,189 127,588 92,750
Property and equipment, net 4,765 3,742 3,911
Deferred tax asset 685 1,614 735
Other assets 125 115 120
------- ------- -------
Total assets $168,764 $133,059 $97,516
======= ======= =======
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
------------------------------------
Accounts payable and accruals $19,229 $20,147 $4,277
Other liabilities 3,303 3,801 3,806
Foreign currency exchange contracts 1,536 - -
Participants' deposits 87,473 62,404 38,608
Deferred tax liability - 45 723
Current portion of long-term capital
lease 175 146 147
------- ------- -------
Total current liabilities 111,716 86,543 47,561
Capital lease, long term 478 526 454
------- ------- -------
Total liabilities 112,194 87,069 48,015
------- ------- -------
Stockholders' equity 56,570 45,990 49,501
------- ------- -------
Total liabilities and stockholders'
equity $168,764 $133,059 $97,516
======= ======= =======
Certain prior-year amounts have been reclassified to conform with
current year financial statement presentation. Such reclassifications
had no impact on previously reported net income, operating cash flows
or stockholders' equity.
The following summarizes our deployable cash as of June 30, 2005,
June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2004 (in thousands and unaudited):
------------------ ------------
June 30, June 30, December 31,
2005 2004 2004
--------- -------- ------------
Cash, cash equivalents and available-
for-sales equivalents $121,082 $98,873 $87,557
Prepaid program cost and expenses 41,063 27,677 2,461
Less: Participants' deposits (87,473) (62,404) (38,608)
Less: Accounts payable/accruals/other
liabilities (22,707) (24,094) (8,230)
--------- -------- ------------
Deployable cash $51,965 $40,052 $43,180
========= ======== ============
Deployable cash is a non-GAAP liquidity measure. Deployable cash is calculated as the sum of cash and cash equivalents, available for sale securities and prepaid pre·pay tr.v. pre·paid, pre·pay·ing, pre·pays To pay or pay for beforehand. pre·pay ment n. program costs and expenses less the sum of
accounts payable, accrued expenses Accrued ExpenseAn accounting expense recognized in the books before it is paid for. It is a liability, usually current. These expenses are typically periodic and documented upon a company's balance sheet due to the high probability of collection. and other short-term Short-term Any investments with a maturity of one year or less. short-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss on the value of an asset that has been held less than a specified period of time. liabilities (excluding deferred taxes and foreign exchange currency contracts), participant deposits and the current portion of long-term capital lease. Management believes this non-GAAP measure is useful to investors in understanding the cash available to deploy for future business opportunities. |
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