Ambassadors Group Reports Loss Per Share of -$0.17 for the First Quarter of 2003.Business Editors 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.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 16, 2003 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:EPAX EPAX Electronic Private Automatic Exchange ), a leading provider of educational travel experiences, announced a loss per share of ($0.17) in the first quarter of 2003, compared to a loss in the first quarter of 2002 of ($0.18) per share. Due to the seasonal nature of Ambassadors revenue, both first and fourth quarters of the year are expected to be loss quarters. Gross receipts the total of the receipts, before they are diminished by any deduction, as for expenses; - distinguished from net profits. - Bouvier. See under Gross, a. os> See also: Gross Receipt increased to $2.6 million in the first quarter of 2003 from $2.4 million in the comparable quarter of 2002. Net revenue increased to $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2003 from $0.7 million in the comparable quarter of 2002. A major reason for the increase in net revenue was attributed to a vendor rebate rebate, partial refund of the total price paid for goods or services. In the United States, rebates were historically given by railroads to favored shippers as a return on transportation charges. totaling $200,000 received during the first quarter of 2003. 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. increased to $3.9 million in the first quarter of 2003 from $3.5 million in the first quarter of 2002. This increase of $0.4 million in operating expenses resulted from increased marketing costs and increased staffing, quarter over quarter. The 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 comparable quarter to quarter at $2.8 million. The Company's cash, cash equivalent and available-for-sale securities balances at March 31, 2003 and December December: see month. 31, 2002 were reported at $71.7 million and $51.4 million, of which $54.3 million and $25.9 million represented participant deposits, respectively. 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 , CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and President of Ambassadors Group, Inc., stated, "The first quarter of 2003 was a challenging one for Ambassadors Group. We have been battling a number of unusual global issues since the first of the year. "At this point, I would like to thank the many men and women, as well as their families, who have put themselves in harm's way harm's way n. A risky position; danger: a place for the children that is out of harm's way; ships that sail into harm's way. to achieve operation Iraqi Freedom. Our hearts also go out to those families that have lost a loved one in the recent hostilities. Their sacrifices will never be forgotten. "The People to People mission of peace through understanding is more important than ever. Our objective of putting people of different nations into direct contact with one another is an essential element 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. peace and a safeguard against irrational ir·ra·tion·al adj. Not rational; marked by a lack of accord with reason or sound judgment. irrational adjective Unreasonable, illogical hatreds that lead to war. Our mission has proven to be timeless timeless, adj infinite, enduring, endless. again and again, which is why all of our programs are built upon this same platform. "As mentioned earlier, the first quarter has been full of challenges. First, although the White House has said that the main fighting of operation Iraqi Freedom is complete, we will not know the full impact of this conflict on our traveling delegates until well into the second quarter. In response to the troop movements, U.N. delegates and war rhetoric, we developed and implemented a 'Peace of Mind' plan for our enrolled delegates prior to the outbreak of hostilities. Basically, this plan allowed participants to delay their final decision and payments during the war. The 'Peace-of-Mind' plan also included supplemental communications to our enrolled delegates, allowing us to share our thoughts on international travel while the conflict was occurring. We believe that this plan has been beneficial to us and our delegates, as it removed decision making pressure, as well as clearly demonstrated our safety first orientation. "Second, the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Definition Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the first emergent and highly transmissible viral disease to appear during the twenty-first century. ) has impacted our travel programs to China. Our number one destination for professional programs is China, and since the U.S. government has issued warnings against non-essential non-essential Adjective not absolutely necessary non-essential adj → unnötig n non-essentials → nicht (lebens)notwendige Dinge pl travel to that region, we responded by postponing and rescheduling several programs planned for China, as well as offering enrolled delegates the chance to cancel and receive a full refund TO REFUND. To pay back by the party who has received it, to the party who has paid it, money which ought not to have been paid. 2. On a deficiency of assets, executors and administrators cum testamento annexo, are entitled to have refunded to them legacies . Although these actions impacted several hundred enrolled delegates to China in the second quarter, we believe the measures are commensurate com·men·su·rate adj. 1. Of the same size, extent, or duration as another. 2. Corresponding in size or degree; proportionate: a salary commensurate with my performance. 3. with our desire to continue to act in the long-term interests of our brand as well as the safety of our delegates. "Third, there has been an unusual amount of unrest Unrest is a sociological phenomenon, for instance:
 `bə, Span. k`bä), officially Republic of Cuba, republic (2005 est. pop. ,
hijackings, for example, which has led the U.S. government to place
increased restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba. These
restrictions take effect immediately, although we had no programs
scheduled to Cuba until late fall 2003. We have already begun the search
for alternative regional destinations."Finally, the continual presence of Terror Alert warnings does impact propensity of people to travel. In short, many people feel that this is just not a good time to travel. Up to this point, we have not been able to quantify Quantify - A performance analysis tool from Pure Software. the impact of these warnings. However, even with all the challenges of the global environment, we still have the potential to travel more delegates in 2003 than 2002. We believe that this willingness to travel on our programs is a testament to the mission, the emphasis on safety, and the relationships that we develop with all of our delegates -- sometimes the entire family -- prior to travel. These challenges have spurred us to continue our operational improvements so that we have the focus, speed and flexibility for a range of occurrences." Ambassadors Group, Inc. will host a conference call to discuss results of operations and the outlook for 2003, Thursday Thursday: see week. , April 17, 2003, at 8:30 a.m., Pacific Time. Interested parties may join the call by dialing 800/299-9086, then entering the passcode 1924187. 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 post-view access, parties may dial 888/286-8010 with the passcode of 194861 and follow the prompts, or visit the www.AmbassadorsGroup.com/EPAX Web site. Post-view-dial-in access will be available beginning April 17, 2003 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time through April 25, 2003 at 10:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Post-view Webcast access will be available following the conference call through June June: see month. 18, 2003. 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 domestic and 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. . The Company's professional programs emphasize meetings and seminars between participants and persons in similar professions abroad. The Company is headquartered and located 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 . 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 the Company's actual and expected financial performance, the reasons for variances between quarter-to-quarter 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 the Company's 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 could involve risks the war with Iraq, international unrest, outbreak of disease, conditions in the travel industry, changes in economic conditions and changes in the competitive environment. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to provide public updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements found herein to reflect any changes in Company expectations or any change in events. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its 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 Ambassadors Group, Inc., 10K filed on March 21, 2003 and proxy filed on April 14, 2003. The following summarizes the Company's financial information for the quarters ended March 31, 2003 and 2002 (in thousands, except per share amounts):
UNAUDITED
-----------------------
Quarter ended March 31,
-----------------------
2003 2002
-----------------------
Gross program receipts $2,600 $2,371
Net revenue $1,037 $667
Operating expenses:
Selling and tour promotion 2,905 2,380
General and administration 954 1,113
-----------------------
Total operating expenses 3,859 3,493
Operating loss (2,822) (2,826)
Other income, net 222 193
Loss before income tax benefit (2,600) (2,633)
Income tax benefit 884 868
-----------------------
Net loss $(1,716) $(1,765)
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Loss per share - basic and diluted $ (0.17) $ (0.18)
=======================
Weighted average shares outstanding -
basic and diluted 9,881 9,817
=======================
The Company has 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 the Company's balance sheets as of March 31, 2003, March 31, 2002 and December 31, 2002 (in thousands):
UNAUDITED AUDITED
--------------------------
March 31, December
31,
--------------------------
2003 2002 2002
--------------------------
Assets
------
Cash and cash equivalents $49,661 $29,421 $29,491
Restricted cash equivalents 12 12 12
Available-for-sale securities 22,043 20,231 21,896
Foreign currency exchange contracts 2,480 - 1,642
Prepaid program cost and expenses 5,410 3,157 1,516
Other current assets 961 952 91
--------------------------
Total current assets 80,567 53,773 54,648
Property and equipment, net 1,772 2,273 1,914
Deferred income tax 1,687 1,878 1,711
Other assets 234 273 244
--------------------------
Total assets $84,260 $58,197 $58,517
==========================
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
------------------------------------
Accounts payable and accruals $2,406 $2,899 $4,241
Participants' deposits 54,297 41,672 25,901
Deferred tax liability 786 - 515
Foreign currency exchange contracts - 255 -
--------------------------
Total current liabilities 57,489 44,826 30,657
Stockholders' equity 26,771 13,371 27,860
--------------------------
Total liabilities and stockholders'
equity $84,260 $58,197 $58,517
==========================
The following summarizes the Company's deployable cash as of March 31, 2003 (in thousands and UNAUDITED):
March 31, 2003
--------------
Cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sales
equivalents $71,704
Prepaid program cost and expenses rep 5,410
Less: Participants' deposits (54,297)
Less: Accounts payable and accruals (2,406)
--------------
Deployable cash $20,411
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