Ambassadors Group Reports $0.25 Loss Per Share for the First Quarter of 2007.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 ), ("Company") a leading provider of educational travel experiences, announced today a $0.25 loss per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, compared to a $0.17 loss per share for the first quarter of 2006. 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 our first quarter results for 2007. As planned, we are reporting a loss for the quarter of $0.25 per share, as we prepare for our two most significant revenue quarters, the second and third quarters. In the first quarter of 2007, we traveled approximately 3,000 delegates, compared to 1,950 in the first quarter of 2006. "We also continued to deploy capital back to our shareholders. This quarter, we deployed $35.6 million to repurchase re·pur·chase tr.v. re·pur·chased, re·pur·chas·ing, re·pur·chas·es To buy (something) again. n. The act of buying something that one previously sold or owned. Noun 1. 1.3 million shares of our stock. Virtually all of our first quarter stock repurchases Stock repurchase A firm's repurchase of outstanding shares of its common stock. were executed at a negotiated price of $27.46 per share. At the same time, our first quarter operating results include increased marketing and development spending as we prepare for and invest in 2008 programs. "At this point in the year, we are working to retain those delegates that have already enrolled in 2007 programs, complete preparations for future program delivery and ensure that our programs continue to be operated in a high quality manner. Thank you for your continued support." Quarter Ended March 31, 2007 During the first quarter of 2007, we traveled approximately 3,000 delegates compared to approximately 1,950 delegates in the first quarter of 2006. Gross program receipts increased 45 percent quarter over quarter, to $7.8 million from $5.4 million in the comparable quarter of 2006. Gross margin increased to $3.4 million in the first quarter of 2007 from $2.5 million in the comparable 2006 quarter. Gross margin as a percent of gross program receipts for the first quarter of 2007 was 44 percent compared to 46 percent in the first quarter of 2006. 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 $12.0 million in the first quarter of 2007 compared to $8.5 million in the first quarter of 2006. The $3.5 million increase in operating expenses was primarily due to expenses supporting a greater number of delegates traveling, as well as increased marketing expenses for 2007 and 2008 campaigns. Our operating loss operating loss The excess of operating expenses over revenue. As with operating income, operating losses exclude revenues and expenses from operations that are not considered a regular part of the business. Also called deficit. Compare operating income. was $8.5 million for the first quarter of 2007, compared to $6.0 million for the first quarter of 2006. We realized other income of $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2007, compared to $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2006. Other income consists primarily of interest income generated by cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities. Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Total assets increased 4 percent to $184.0 million at March 31, 2007 from $176.1 million at March 31, 2006. Cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities were $135.0 million, 73 percent of total assets, at March 31, 2007. Participant deposits increased 23 percent to $128.3 million, while our deployable cash (see definition on page 4 below) decreased $33.5 million from $52.4 million to $18.9 million. The decrease is primarily due to $35.6 million of stock repurchases during the quarter. Cash provided by operations during the first quarter of 2007 increased $5.0 million to $42.4 million, in comparison to $37.3 million for the first quarter of 2006. This increase resulted primarily from the net effect of $10.8 million of increased participant funds received, less $6.4 million increased deposits for future programs paid during the first quarter of 2007 in comparison to the first quarter of 2006. Cash used in investing activities decreased $11.2 million in the corresponding periods primarily due to the net purchase of available for sale securities during the two comparable quarters and purchases toward the Company's new headquarters during the first quarter of 2007. Cash used in financing activities increased to $36.8 million from $3.0 million, primarily as a result of stock repurchases. During the first quarter of 2007, the Company deployed $35.6 million for the repurchase of common stock including the repurchase of 1.2 million shares held by Invemed Catalyst Fund, L.P. In addition, dividends paid to shareowners during the comparable quarters were $2.2 million and $1.8 million in 2007 and 2006, respectively. The following table summarizes our statements of operations for the quarters ended March 31, 2007 and 2006 (in thousands, except per share amounts). [TABLE OMITTED] Gross program receipts reflect total payments received by us for directly delivered and non-directly delivered programs. Gross program receipts less program pass-through expenses for non-directly delivered programs and cost of sales for directly delivered programs constitute our gross margin. 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 March 31, 2007 and 2006, and December 31, 2006 (in thousands): [TABLE OMITTED] The following summarizes our statements of cash flows for the quarters ended March 31, 2007 and 2006 (in thousands): [TABLE OMITTED] 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 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. capital lease. We believe this non-GAAP measure is useful to investors in understanding the cash available to deploy for future business opportunities. The following summarizes our deployable cash as of March 31, 2007 and 2006, and December 31, 2006 (in thousands): [TABLE OMITTED] Quarterly Conference Call and Webcast Ambassadors Group, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss first quarter 2007 results of operations on Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Interested parties may join the call by dialing (866) 800-8652 then entering the passcode "Ambassadors Group". For international calls, dial (617) 614-2705. 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 80669237 and follow the prompts, or visit the www.AmbassadorsGroup.com/EPAX website. Replay access will be available beginning April 24, 2007 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time through May 1, 2007. Post-view web cast access will be available following the conference call through June 24, 2007. Business Overview Ambassadors Group, Inc. is a leading educational travel organization 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. . Professional programs emphasize meetings and seminars between participants and persons in similar professions abroad. The Company is 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 Washington, D.C. In this press release, "Company," "we," "us," and "our" refer to Ambassadors Group, Inc. 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:
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 9, 2007 and proxy filed April 2, 2007. |
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