The Classica Group Reports 17 Cents Per Share Improvement in Third Quarter Earnings Over Prior Year, On-Going Operations Show Modest Improvement.Business Editors LAKEWOOD, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 20, 2001 The Classica Group, 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 : TCGI) today announced that it reported income from continuing operations continuing operations Parts of a business that are expected to be maintained as an ongoing segment of an overall business operation. Income and losses from continuing operations are reported separately if any segments have been discontinued during the for the three months ended September 30, 2001 of $54,295 versus $50,269 in 2001 this represents an increase of $4,026 due to the factors discussed below. Net losses (including discontinued operations Discontinued operations Divisions of a business that have been sold or written off and that no longer are maintained by the business. ) were ($53,193) or ($0.02) per share for the third quarter ended September 30, 2001 compared to a loss of ($249,412) or ($0.19) per share for the third quarter a year earlier. This represents a reduction in net loss of $193,219 or $0.17 per share. "We are pleased with even the modest improvement in continuing operations in the third quarter just completed," and Scott Halperin, Classica's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, "The entire country is feeling the effects of the downturn in the economy which has now been exacerbated by the awful events of September 11th. Our upscale imported cheese products are especially affected by the downturn in the leisure and restaurant industries," he added. Net sales Net Sales The amount a seller receives from the buyer after costs associated with the sale are deducted. Notes: This amount is calculated by subtracting the following items from gross sales: merchandise returned for credit, allowances for damaged or missing goods, freight for the three months ended September 30, 2001 were $2,086,697 compared with $2,130,033 in 2000, a decrease of $43,336, or 2.0%. This decrease is the result of the general downturn in the economy exacerbated by the events of September 11, 2001. Near the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter CCI CCI Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie (France) CCI CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) Citation Index CCI Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Western Australia) had been gaining back some of the lost sales in the leisure services market (airlines and steamship steamship, watercraft propelled by a steam engine or a steam turbine. Early Steam-powered Ships Marquis Claude de Jouffroy d'Abbans is generally credited with the first experimentally successful application of steam power to navigation; in 1783 his companies) that it had lost near the end of 2000 and earlier this year. Immediately after the events of September 11th several orders in this segment of the market were cancelled. Further, CCI experienced difficulty getting its imported products released at the Port of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , and for a period of approximately two weeks the Company did not receive any imported Galbani products for delivery to its customers. The receipt of imported products has now returned to normal. The Company generated gross profit of $494,164 or 23.7% of net sales in 2001 compared to $557,744 or 26.2% of net sales in 2000. This slight decrease in gross profit percentage was the result of CCI's sales product mix reflecting a continued shift toward lower margin products (grated grate 1 v. grat·ed, grat·ing, grates v.tr. 1. To reduce to fragments, shreds, or powder by rubbing against an abrasive surface. 2. and shredded shred n. 1. A long irregular strip that is cut or torn off. 2. A small amount; a particle: not a shred of evidence. tr.v. cheese products) in the third quarter of 2001. The Company, with the recovery of the leisure services market was starting to experience a product mix shift toward the higher margin products in the first two months of the third quarter. However, as the result of the events of September 11th, that product mix shift ceased, and, with the loss of two weeks of imported product sales in September the product mix during the quarter was once again dominated by the lower margin products. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $406,427 and $463,058 in 2001 and 2000, respectively. This represents a decrease of $56,631 or 2.7% of net sales. This decrease reflects the result of certain cost control measures taken at CCI coupled with a reduction in expenditures related to the certain costs of the discontinued Deli King operation offset by the inclusion of $5,732 of start-up costs of the microwave processing business. Interest expense was $33,442 and $44,417 for the three months ended September 30, 2001 and 2000 respectively. The decrease is the result of orderly pay-down of the Company's term obligations, and the recent reductions in interest rates. The Classica Group's microwave technology segment utilizes microwave-based technology to provide producers with the ability to deliver food products that satisfies today's consumer demands for safe food with bacterial integrity, convenience in preparation, and quality. Our customers can realize significant production and packaging cost savings, which can be passed on to their consumers resulting in a competitive pricing advantage. In October, in response to alleged bacterial terrorism attacks utilizing the Anthrax anthrax (ăn`thrăks), acute infectious disease of animals that can be secondarily transmitted to humans. It is caused by a bacterium (Bacillus anthracis bacteria in the U.S. Mail, the Company began the design and testing of a modification of its food processing Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food for consumption by humans or animals. The food processing industry utilises these processes. sterilization sterilization Any surgical procedure intended to end fertility permanently (see contraception). Such operations remove or interrupt the anatomical pathways through which the cells involved in fertilization travel (see reproductive system). system for sterilization against the Bacillus anthracis Bacillus anthracis Infectious disease A gram-positive organism which causes often fatal infections when its endospores–resistant to heat, drying, UV light, gamma radiation, and many disinfectants–enter the body and cause septicemia Military medicine disseminated in or on paper. The physical design of the system is presently under way in the Company's laboratory in Scandiano, Italy. In late October, the Company conducted tests utilizing its laboratory facility in New Jersey to demonstrate that its technology will kill certain bacteria, using a nonpathogenic strain of living bacteria and spores. The results of those tests and detailed descriptions of the how the tests were conducted was reported in a press release on November 8, 2001. In reporting the results the Microbiologist microbiologist a specialist in microbiology. who conducted the tests reported that "...assuming that the various members of the genus Bacillus Noun 1. genus Bacillus - type genus of the Bacillaceae; includes many saprophytes important in decay of organic matter and a number of parasites B, bacillus - aerobic rod-shaped spore-producing bacterium; often occurring in chainlike formations; found primarily in produce spores of similar heat resistance (to the ones used in the test) it would appear that the microwave process used in this investigation could lend itself to commercial utilization." Due to the danger involved in handling the bacillus bacillus (bəsĭl`əs), any rod-shaped bacterium or, more particularly, a rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Bacillus. Some bacterium in the genus cause disease, for example B. and in exposing our employees and the employees of our independent laboratory to the bacillus, the Company has not yet tested the system using Bacillus anthracis or its spores. On October 26, 2001 the Company filed an application with the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks for a patent for its method for sterilization against the Bacillus anthracis disseminated in or on paper. Management has not yet fully determined the commercial viability of the system for the sterilization against the Bacillus anthracis disseminated on or in paper. However, the Company believes that it is capable of manufacturing or causing to be manufactured such a system, and has the ability to produce its first marketable unit within 120 days. Further, the Company believes it has adequate capital resources available, including independent financing, to develop, test and market this product, assuming its commercial viability. There can be no assurance that we will successfully develop and market such a system. The Classica Group, Inc.'s Cucina Classica Italiana subsidiary imports and produces under license Italian specialty cheeses and other premium specialty foods, including the world-renowned brands from Egidio Galbani S.p.A. The Company also produces a line of both fresh and dry grated and a shredded Italian style cheese under the "Classica" label, and provides drying, grating, shredding shred n. 1. A long irregular strip that is cut or torn off. 2. A small amount; a particle: not a shred of evidence. tr.v. and packaging services on a "private label" basis for several major food suppliers. Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. The 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. in this release are made pursuant to 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. The Company believes that it is capable of manufacturing or causing to be manufactured the system for the sterilization against the Bacillus anthracis disseminated on or in paper, and has the ability to produce its first marketable unit within 120 days. Further, the Company believes it has available adequate capital resources to develop test and market this product. However, actual results may differ materially due to a variety of factors, including without limitation the presence of competitors with broader product lines and greater financial resources; intellectual property rights and litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. , needs of liquidity; and the other risks detailed from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
THE CLASSICA GROUP, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
For the three months For the nine months
ended ended
September 30, September 30,
2001 2000 2001 2000
----------------------------------------------
Net sales $2,086,697 $2,130,033 $5,758,212 $5,736,203
Cost of sales 1,592,533 1,572,289 4,315,698 4,149,630
----------------------------------------------
Gross profit 494,164 557,744 1,442,514 1,586,573
Selling, general and
administrative expenses 406,427 463,058 1,223,295 1,306,595
----------------------------------------------
Income from operations 87,737 94,686 219,219 279,978
Interest expense - net 33,442 44,417 115,550 150,642
----------------------------------------------
Income from continuing
operations 54,295 50,269 103,669 129,336
Loss from discontinued
operations (110,488) (299,681) (241,179) (696,828)
----------------------------------------------
Net (loss) $ (56,193) $ (249,412) $ (137,510) $ (567,492)
==============================================
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE
BASIC & DILUTED
Income from continuing
operations $ 0.02 $ 0.04 $ 0.05 $ 0.10
Loss from discontinued
operations (0.04) (0.23) (0.12) (0.55)
----------------------------------------------
Net (loss) ($0.02) ($0.19) ($0.07) ($0.45)
==============================================
Weighted average shares
outstanding,
basic and diluted 2,419,527 1,309,988 2,067,508 1,257,756
|
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion