WANTED Technologies Posts FY2009 Net Earnings Growth of 58%
Revenues grew 8 percent over the prior year, during a challenging period for the overall employment marketplace Highlights ---------- - Revenue growth of 8% for the 2009 fiscal year compared with fiscal 2008 - EBITDA of $1,226,931, up $390,703, or 47% over fiscal 2008 - Net earnings of $568,808, an increase of 58% over fiscal 2008 - Slow recovery in the employment sector following financial crisis is expected to dampen WANTED performance in first half of FY2010. </pre> <p/> <p><location>QUEBEC</location> CITY, <chron>Oct. 6</chron> /CNW Telbec/ - WANTED Technologies (TSX-V: WAN), the leading source of insight and analysis based on hiring demand, reported today revenue increase and significant earnings growth for the fiscal year ending <chron>June 30, 2009</chron>. The Company's revenues were up 8 percent at <money>$6.12 million</money>, with net earnings of <money>$568,808</money>, an increase of 58 percent. All amounts are in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise indicated.</p> <p>"Our revenue and profit growth occurred during a very challenging period," said <person>Bruce Murray</person>, President and CEO of WANTED. "The financial crisis created unprecedented turmoil for our customers in the employment marketplace. Many clients saw revenue declines of more than 50 percent in the employment services category during the first half of calendar year 2009."</p> <p>"Fortunately, our business intelligence products and sales productivity tools are designed to support clients even under the most difficult circumstances," said Murray. "However, most analysts expect the economic recovery to be slow, and that will affect WANTED's performance in the first and second quarters of FY2010."</p> <p>In FY2009, WANTED signed its first significant agreements with clients in the Staffing and Government sectors. The Company invested during the year in diversifying its customer base to target clients in the Government, Staffing and Financial Services sectors. Subscription agreements with customers in these sectors are expected to moderate the effects of cyclical revenue variations which are typical in the Media customer base.</p> <p>WANTED's revenues for the fiscal year ended <chron>June 30, 2009</chron> increased by 8 percent to <money>$6,115,427</money> compared to <money>$5,676,077</money> for the previous year. The majority of WANTED's clients subscribe on an annual basis to the Company's online platform, Analytics(TM) 2.0. Recurring revenue contracts with these clients represent approximately 89 percent of WANTED's total revenues for fiscal 2009, which is up from 82 percent in the prior year.</p> <p>In spite of the severity of the market conditions, WANTED was able to renew subscription agreements with all of its 10 largest Media clients, although in some cases at lower spending levels. WANTED's clients generate revenue from employment services such as recruitment advertising. When employers cease hiring, as they have in the past nine months, WANTED's clients experience steep revenue declines, in some cases as much as 50 percent year-over-year. WANTED has been able to retain these accounts largely because the Company's services are used to help salespeople target more effectively the employers who have been most active in hiring.</p> <p>As of <chron>June 30, 2009</chron>, contracts in hand represented approximately <money>$4.4 million dollars</money> in annualized recurring revenues while contracts in hand represented, as of <chron>June 30, 2008</chron>, approximately <money>$5.1 million dollars</money> in annualized revenues, a decrease of 14 percent. This contraction in WANTED'S base of recurring revenues reflects the uniformly severe deterioration in the economic environment for all of the Company's clients. These conditions caused many clients to reduce the size of their sales forces, thus diminishing the number of Analytics(TM) seats required within their sales organizations. Additionally, the Company experienced cancellations of some contracts among its smaller newspaper clients, where the size of the market no longer justified the expense of an online sales productivity tool.</p> <p/> <pre> ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009 2008 ---------- ---------- $ $ Revenues 6,115,427 5,676,077 Cost of goods sold 221,800 247,375 ---------- ---------- Gross margin 5,893,627 5,428,702 Expenses Research and development expenses, net of tax credits 1,451,396 1,607,885 Marketing and selling expenses 2,231,157 1,517,467 Administrative espenses 1,280,127 1,432,424 Amortization of intangible assets 255,412 209,244 Financial expenses, net amount 51,595 67,005 ---------- ---------- 5,269,687 4,834,025 ---------- ---------- Earnings before other revenue (expenses) and income taxes 623,940 594,677 Other revenue (expenses): Exchange gain (loss) 122,795 (13,895) Severance premium (225,000) Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipement 175 4,412 ---------- ---------- Earnings before income taxes 746,910 360,194 ---------- ---------- Income taxes 178,102 ---------- ---------- Net earnings and comprehensive income 568,808 360,194 ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- Basic and diluted net earnings per share 0.024 0.015 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- </pre> <p/> <p>Operating costs went from <money>$4,834,025</money> in fiscal 2008 to <money>$5,269,687</money> in fiscal 2009, an increase of <money>$435,662</money>, or 9 percent. This increase results directly from an increase of <money>$713,690</money> in Marketing and Selling expenses necessary to increase market presence and position the Company's products in the Staffing, Governments and Financial Services markets. Following the severe economic downturn, the Company tightly restricted, in the second half of the fiscal year, its marketing and selling expenses. The increase in Marketing and Selling expenses was partially offset by decreases of <money>$156,489</money> and <money>$152,297</money> in Research & Development and Administrative expenses respectively. Also contributing the increase in operating expenses was an increase of <money>$46,168</money> in amortization of intangible assets, resulting from a revised estimation of the useful life of the non-competition agreements, which was reduced from 3 years to 2 years.</p> <p>EBITDA for the fiscal year ended <chron>June 30, 2009</chron> totalled <money>$1,226,931</money>, up <money>$390,703</money>, or 47 percent, over the fiscal 2008 EBITDA of <money>$836,228</money>. EBITDA represents the net earnings before net financial expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization on property, plant and equipment and intangible assets. As generally accepted accounting principles in <location>Canada</location> do not provide a standardized definition for this measure, it may not be comparable to similar measures used by other companies.</p> <p>Net earnings for the year ended <chron>June 30, 2009</chron> amounted to <money>$568,808</money> (<money>$0.024</money> per share) compared to <money>$360,194</money> (<money>$0.015</money> per share) last fiscal year, an increase of <money>$208,164</money>, or 58 percent. Contributing significantly to this increase was favorable prevailing exchange rates that lead to a currency exchange gain of <money>$122,795</money> for the fiscal year ended <chron>June 30, 2009</chron>. This represents a positive variation of <money>$136,690</money> over the previous year. Net earnings for fiscal 2009 were however negatively affected by a provision for income taxes of <money>$178,102</money>. No income tax provision was recorded in the previous year. Note that net earnings of the fiscal year ended <chron>June 30, 2008</chron> were affected negatively by a non-recurring severance premium of <money>$225,000</money> recorded following the departure of the Company's president and chief executive officer.</p> <p>During the fiscal year ending <chron>June 30, 2009</chron>, operating activities generated for the Company <money>$1,375,240</money> in cash flows (<money>$0,057</money> per share). This compares with cash flows generated from operating activities of <money>$412,584</money> (<money>$0,017</money> per share) in fiscal 2008, an increase of <money>$962,656</money> (<money>$0,040</money> per share). This significant increase mostly results from a positive variance of <money>$846,868</money> in the changes in the working capital items, combined with an increase in the Company's profitability.</p> <p/> <pre> Summary of financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009 ----------------------------------------------------------- </pre> <p/> <p>In the fourth quarter of 2009, WANTED posted revenues of <money>$1,452,660</money>, a decrease of one percent over revenues of <money>$1,465,290</money> recorded in the same quarter of last fiscal year. Net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2009 were <money>$140,374</money> (<money>$0.006</money> per share), an increase of <money>$7,800</money> from <money>$132,574</money> (<money>$0.006</money> per share) for the same quarter in 2008.</p> <p/> <pre> Financial position ------------------ </pre> <p/> <p>As at <chron>June 30, 2009</chron>, WANTED had a cash position (cash and short-term investments) of <money>$2,262,835</money> and a working capital of <money>$2,365,848</money>. This compares with a cash position of <money>$1,265,871</money> and a working capital of <money>$1,604,785</money> as at <chron>June 30, 2008</chron>, representing increases of <money>$996,964</money> and <money>$761,063</money> respectively. These increases mostly result from significant cash flows derived from the operating activities</p> <p>Total assets stood at <money>$6,258,096</money> at <chron>June 30, 2009</chron>, up <money>$452,875</money> from <money>$5,805,221</money> at <chron>June 30, 2008</chron>. The increase in total assets is mainly due to an increase of <money>$751,491</money> in short-term assets, partially offset by a decrease in intangible assets of <money>$255,412</money> resulting from an amortization expense.</p> <p>Those interested will be able to access the information on the 2009 audited consolidated financial statements, the notes thereto and the management discussion and analysis via the Internet at <a href="http://www.sedar.com">www.sedar.com</a> and at the Company's website, <a href="http://www.wantedtech.com">www.wantedtech.com</a>, as of <chron>Tuesday, October 6th, 2009</chron>.</p> <p/> <p>About WANTED Technologies Corporation</p> <p/> <p>WANTED is the leading source of insight and analysis based on hiring demand. Clients in the media, HR/staffing, financial services and government sectors use WANTED's online data and SaaS-based analytical solutions to identify economic trends, analyze competitive and market activities and prioritize sales opportunities.</p> <p>WANTED is also the exclusive data provider for The Conference Board's Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series(TM), the monthly economic indicator of hiring demand in the <location>United States</location>.</p> <p>WANTED Technologies (TSX-V:WAN) was founded in 1999. The Company's headquarters are in <location>Quebec</location> City, <location>Canada</location>, and it maintains a US-based subsidiary with primary offices in <location>New York City</location>. The Company began collecting detailed hiring demand data in 2002, and currently maintains a database of hundreds of millions of unique job listings.</p> <p>Visit <a href="http://www.wantedtech.com">www.wantedtech.com</a> for more information about how WANTED helps organizations make better decisions and improve sales results.</p> <p/> <pre> The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Any statement that appears prospective shall not be interpreted as such.
For further information: Mr. Bruce Murray, President and CEO, (418) 523-6663, ext. 222; Mr. Martin Auclair, VP Finance and CFO, (418) 523-6663, ext. 337; Source: WANTED Technologies Corporation
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