Data Broadcasting reports results for third fiscal quarter.

JACKSON, Wyo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 8, 1997--Data Broadcasting Corp. (NASDAQ:DBCC) Thursday reported results for its third fiscal quarter and nine-month periods ended March 31, 1997.

Revenues for the third quarter rose 14 percent to $23.6 million from $20.6 million in the corresponding year-earlier period. Income from continuing operations totaled $1.0 million, or 3 cents per share, for the current quarter. In accordance with the company's previous announcement to sell its Instore Satellite Network and CheckRite International divisions, results of those operations are being reported as discontinued operations.

A loss of $21.7 million, or 64 cents per share, from the discontinued operations resulted primarily from the non-cash write-off of goodwill associated with their 1995 acquisition. The operations themselves continue to produce strong cash flows to Data Broadcasting.

After reflecting that loss, the company reported a net loss of $20.7 million, or 61 cents per share, contrasted with net income of $4.1 million, or 13 cents per primary share (12 cents per fully diluted share), a year ago.

For the first nine months of fiscal 1997, revenues reached $69.2 million, up 16 percent from $59.6 million a year earlier. Income from continuing operations totaled $4.4 million, or 13 cents per share, in the current nine-month period, compared with $6.8 million, or 21 cents per share, a year ago.

After giving effect to losses from discontinued operations of $21.9 million, or 65 cents per share, the company reported a current nine-month net loss of $17.5 million, or 52 cents per share, contrasted with net income a year ago for the nine-month period of $7.1 million, or 22 cents per share.

Income from operations for the quarter was $1.5 million, down from $3.8 million last year due primarily to expenses associated with new product and infrastructure development initiatives of $3.2 million ($0.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 1996). These initiatives include The AgCast Network, an agribusiness information service introduced in January 1997; BondVu, a fixed-income service from Capital Management Sciences (CMS); DBC Online's Internet-related information services; and the Lawyers Communications Network (LCN), a development stage continuing education and data services joint venture in conjunction with the American Bar Association.

Income from operations for the first nine months of fiscal 1997 totaled $7.4 million, down from $9.2 million a year ago. The decline is also attributable to new product and infrastructure development initiatives that have aggregated expenses of $7.0 million year-to-date ($1.5 million a year ago).

The company noted that these investments reduced net income by approximately 6 cents per share in the quarter and 11 cents per share for the nine months. Net expenses are expected to continue from these development activities for the remainder of the calendar year. Last year's third quarter and nine-months included $3.3 million associated with the disposition of company operations in prior years.

The current year's nine months included $0.9 million in reductions of liabilities recorded in connection with the disposition of company operations in prior years.

Data Broadcasting's continuing operations all posted strong revenue gains in the fiscal 1997 third quarter and nine-month periods over the same periods in fiscal 1996. For the quarter, DBC West revenues rose 9 percent; BMI was up 18 percent, and CMS' revenues increased 19 percent. For the nine-month period, DBC West's revenues increased 9 percent; BMI rose 25 percent; and CMS was up 22 percent.

"The revenue and cash flow growth of our core information service businesses continued during the quarter, and we remain committed to our long-term growth strategy of fully leveraging our unique capabilities to provide subscribers with the most timely, actionable data available," said Alan Hirschfield and Allan Tessler, Data Broadcasting's co-chief executive officers.

"That means we will continue developing and marketing new products and services that have the potential to significantly expand our customer base. We also expect that the disposition of Instore Satellite Network and CheckRite will provide substantial cash proceeds to the company and will allow management to focus our energies on development of our core information service businesses."

Hirschfield and Tessler added that they were encouraged by the excitement generated by a number of new company offerings.

"The AgCast Network has exceeded our expectations in its Internet delivery mode and, beginning May 30, subscribers also will be able to receive the service over EchoStar's small dish satellite network. Our target market of 250,000 farming and agricultural professionals in the United Sates have indicated that this is the preferred method of delivery, so the addition of direct broadcast satellite service positions us to capture a significant share of this important market."

The executives added: "BondVu, our fixed-income data service to the financial community, has also generated substantial interest from potential users, and we have recently received initial commitments from several well-known institutions. The depth of BondVu's service, coupled with its easy-to-use Windows environment and economical pricing make this an extremely viable product, and we remain optimistic about its prospects."

Hirschfield and Tessler also said that the company's joint development project with the American Bar Association continues on track. "The Lawyers Communications Network is scheduled to launch this summer, and we expect it to be well received by the ABA's more than 380,000 members. It is important to note that LCN also will be marketed to non-ABA members, for a full market potential of more than 1 million attorneys nationwide."

They continued, "In our core business, marketing plans are progressing for Signal I-Net, a dynamic multi-user service directed toward the needs of corporate LAN environments, a new market for Signal's rich array of real-time and historical financial data. In addition, we will be launching several important new services during the coming months, all with a view toward expanding our market penetration."

The co-chief executive officers also noted that Data Broadcasting's Web site was just ranked the No. 1 financial site on the World Wide Web by Investing Online, a new international Internet guide.

"This recognition is further testament to Data Broadcasting's leadership position in the financial information services industry. Our subscribers can count on DBC to continue its innovative use of the Web," said Hirschfield and Tessler. Data Broadcasting also said approximately 1.1 million shares of the company's common stock have been repurchased at an average price of $6.59 per share since November 1996 when the board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to 2 million shares.

"Given the considerable potential ahead for our new ventures, the profit and cash generating power of our core businesses, and our strong balance sheet, we continue to believe that Data Broadcasting's stock is significantly undervalued," Hirschfield and Tessler said.

Data Broadcasting is America's leading provider of real-time market data to the individual trader and investor. The company delivers real-time stock quotes, financial and sports news and gaming information to more than 37,000 subscribers via wireless FM, cable and satellite transmission, as well as to 200,000 users per day through on-line services and the Internet (http://www.dbc.com and http://mw.dbc.com).

Through its Capital Management Sciences division, the company also is the leading provider of fixed income portfolio analytics used for valuation and risk management purposes. -0-

             DATA BROADCASTING CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF INCOME
              (In thousands, except per-share data)

                      Three Months Ended         Nine Months Ended
                        March 31,                     March 31,

                      1997           1996          1997       1996
Revenues            $23,579        $20,613       $69,188    $59,588

Costs and expenses:

   Costs of services  8,547          6,269        24,314     17,870
   Selling, general
    and
    administrative    9,858          7,720        27,002      22,685
   Depreciation and
    amortization      3,632          2,690        10,484       7,945
   Merger and
    consolidation
    costs                --            155            --       1,865
      Total costs
       and expenses  22,037         16,834        61,800      50,365

Income from
 operations           1,542          3,779         7,388       9,223

   Adjustment of gain
    on sale of Shark     --             --           703          --
   CNBC proceeds, net
    of obligations       --          3,299           249       3,299
   Losses from Hong Kong
    joint venture        --           (163)         (828)       (444)
   Interest income
    (expense), net       45            (35)           76        (166)

Income from continuing
 operations before
 income taxes         1,587          6,880         7,588       11,912
Provision for income
 taxes                  589          2,760         3,165        5,131
Income from continuing
 operations             998          4,120         4,423        6,781

Discontinued operations
   Income (loss) from
    discontinued
    operations,
    net of tax         (427)             0          (663)         314
   Loss on disposal of
    discontinued
    operations,
    net of tax      (21,264)            --       (21,264)         ---
   Total discontinued
    operations      (21,691)             0       (21,927)         314
Net income (loss)  ($20,693)      $  4,120      ($17,504)    $  7,095

Earnings (loss) per share
   Primary:
      Income from
       continuing
       operations     $0.03          $0.13         $0.13        $0.21
      Income (loss)
      from
      discontinued
      operations      (0.64)          0.00         (0.65)        0.01
                     ($0.61)         $0.13         ($0.52)      $0.22

Earnings (loss) per share
   Fully diluted:
      Income from
      continuing
      operations      $0.03          $0.12         $0.13        $0.21
     Income (loss)
      from
      discontinued
      operations      (0.64)          0.00         (0.65)        0.01
                     ($0.61)         $0.12         ($0.52)      $0.22

Weighted average
 common shares
 outstanding
   Primary           33,917         32,145         33,733      31,974
   Fully diluted     33,958         33,276         33,836      32,827
-0-

               DATA BROADCASTING CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                    ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION
                        (dollars in thousands)

                               Three Months Ended
                                  March 31,
                                                        %
                               1997       1996        Change
Revenues:
DBC West                    $13,065    $11,937          9%
BMI                           5,478      4,633         18%
Capital Management Sciences   4,796      4,043         19%
Other (a)                       240         --         --
      Total                  23,579     20,613         14%

Income from Operations:
DBC West/BMI                  4,115      4,236         -3%
Capital Management Sciences   1,299      1,224          6%
Other Initiatives (a)        (2,979)      (678)        --
Corporate and unallocated      (893)      (848)        -5%
Merger and consolidation
 costs                           --       (155)        --
      Total                   1,542      3,779        -59%

EBITDA:
DBC West/BMI                  6,508      6,037          8%
Capital Management Sciences   2,282      2,070         10%
Other Initiatives (a)        (2,742)      (651)        --
Corporate and unallocated      (874)      (832)        -5%
      Total                   5,174      6,624        -22%

Capital Expenditures:
Property and equipment        1,922      4,165        -54%
Software development            449        606        -26%
-0-
                               Nine Months Ended
                                  March 31,
                                                        %
                               1997       1996        Change
Revenues:
DBC West                    $38,610    $35,330          9%
BMI                          15,928     12,770         25%
Capital Management Sciences  13,979     11,488         22%
Other (a)                       671         --         --
      Total                  69,188     59,588         16%

Income from Operations:
DBC West/BMI                 12,129     11,577          5%
Capital Management Sciences   4,104      3,198         28%
Other Initiatives (a)        (6,313)    (1,483)        --
Corporate and unallocated    (2,532)    (2,204)       -15%
Merger and consolidation
 costs                           --     (1,865)        --
      Total                   7,388      9,223        -20%

EBITDA:
DBC West/BMI                 19,112     17,009         12%
Capital Management Sciences   6,938      5,606         24%
Other Initiatives (a)        (5,707)    (1,433)        --
Corporate and unallocated    (2,471)    (2,149)       -15%
      Total                  17,872     19,033         -6%

Capital Expenditures:
Property and equipment        7,236      8,969        -19%
Software development          1,585      1,241         28%

(a) New product and infrastructure development initiatives,
including AgCast, BondVu, DBC OnLine and the Lawyers Communications
Network.
-0-
                             Mar. 31,            June 30,
                               1997                1996
Balance Sheet Data:
Cash                         $15,471             $19,667
Total current assets          57,187              35,321
Total assets                 143,148             153,967
Total current liabilities     32,345              31,454
Long-term debt                 1,750               2,558
Total stockholders' equity   107,388             116,097

CONTACT: Data Broadcasting Corp., Jackson

Mark F. Imperiale, 415/571-1800

or

Pondel Parsons & Wilkinson

Cecilia A. Wilkinson/A. William Krenn, 310/207-9300

[e-mail]