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Enron Mail |
Friday October 26, 10:00 am Eastern Time
Press Release SOURCE: uDate.com, inc. uDate Issues Q4-2001 And Fiscal 2002/3 Guidance NEW YORK, NY--(INTERNET WIRE)--Oct 26, 2001-- uDate.com (OTCBB: UDAT - news= ), the global online personals group providing dating and matchmaking servi= ces to more than 170,000 subscribers through two leading brands www.udate.c= om and www.kiss.com, issued its guidance through 2003. In line with the Company's commitment to Investor Relations uDate.com, inc.= has issued guidance for its forward view of fiscal years 2002 and 2003. 2001 Q1Actuals Q2Actuals Q3Actuals *Q4Guide *FY2001Guide Revenues $1.54M $4.22M $6.62M $8.82M $21.2M EBITDA ($0.25M) $0.22M $2.01M $3.85M $5.83M Net profit/loss ($0.4M) ($1.01M) $0.41M $1.20M $0.20M EPS diluted ($0.02) ($0.04) ($0.02) $0.04 $0.01 * Q4Guide for 2001 and Fiscal Year 2001Guide excludes one off reorganization costs estimated at $0.85m associated with the recent restructuring of the Kiss.com operation. 2002 Q1Guide Q2Guide Q3Guide Q4Guide FY2002Guide Revenues $11.0M $13.9M $16.2M $20.5M $61.6M EBITDA $5.8M $7.3M $8.2M $10.7M $32M Net profit/loss $1.84M $3.08M $3.53M $5.02M $13.47M EPS diluted $0.06 $0.10 $0.11 $0.16 $0.42 2003 FY2003Guide Revenues $122M EBITDA $61M Net profit/loss $31.6M EPS diluted $1.00 Commenting on the guidance Mel Morris, CEO and Founder of uDate.com, inc. s= aid: "We have made significant progress this year. Our acquisition of Kiss.= com has been very successful adding significant critical mass and helping u= s become the 2nd largest business in the sector. Our growth this year has m= ade us a formidable contender for the number one slot during 2002. As our b= usiness model becomes more established it is our belief that the business w= ill reach an EBITDA to Revenue margin of around 50%." "Today we have around 175,000 paying subscribers, the market leader Match.c= om owned by Ticketmaster had approximately 250,000 subscribers at the end o= f September 2001. This year it is our understanding that uDate, Match and m= any of the other top 10 businesses in this sector have experienced good to = strong growth in subscribers. The absence of any significant competitive pr= essures and the perception that the growth is accelerating in absolute term= s leads us to conclude that the market sector as a whole is growing at a si= gnificant rate. Our guidance figures indicate that our subscriber base will= be around 215,000 by December 31, 2001, 420,000 by December 2002 and 700,0= 00 by December 2003." "This is a sector where the size of subscriber base has significant impact = on a company's ability to grow the business and achieve profitability. Many= companies who have entered this space have failed to achieve critical mass= and/or profitability. Examples include well financed start-ups like Social= Net who raised around $20M. Recently, Yahoo.com launched a subscription bas= ed personals service. However, in preparation for this Yahoo rejected adver= tising orders from competitive Online Personals services including uDate fr= om the early in July 2001. This has had little tangible impact on the growt= h of our business as advertising contracts were easily replaced with equal = or better performing channels. The market should also recognize that Yahoo = had been operating in this market sector for a long time offering a free se= rvice. Their move to a subscription based model was therefore welcomed." "There are a number of key factors driving growth in this sector including = greater awareness of Online Personals and better understanding of what it i= s and is not; repeat users returning to Online Personals when a relationshi= p ends; greater critical mass of the top services leading to a more success= ful and compelling experience; greater acceptance of online subscription se= rvices; and improved use and availability of PC and digital camera technolo= gy. We believe the market has very significant potential for growth." Morri= s concluded. Q3 Teleconference Those seeking to find out more about uDate.com, inc are invited to particip= ate in the company's forthcoming teleconference on Tuesday, October 30th at= 9.00AM EST, when Mel Morris, CEO and Martin Clifford Chief Operating Offic= er will be discussing the company's results for Quarter 3 2001 and the fore= casts through 2003. The conference call is open to the general public and can be accessed at th= e following number: * United States: (800) 624-7698 Pass Code: 01215 For those interested parties who are unable to participate, a recording of = the conference will be available at uDate's corporate web site at corporate= .udate.com/ within hours of the call concluding. About uDate uDate operates high-quality web sites that serve the online singles communi= ty. The Company stresses service, efficiency and personal security through = its two leading brands uDate.com (www.udate.com) and Kiss.com (www.kiss.com= ). uDate.com was launched commercially in February 1999 to provide a comprehen= sive Internet dating service featuring extensive customer profiles, sophist= icated matchmaking technology and fully integrated instant messaging capabi= lities. uDate operates at the top end of its market sector with more than 1= 70,000 subscribers and provides features that surpass the most professional= off-line dating services. Both uDate.com and Kiss.com web sites offer free registered membership. A r= egistered member of either web site may post their profile and photographs = and utilize the search or matchmaking features offered by the site at any t= ime. To enable communication with other members however, registered members= must purchase a subscription. Subscription plans are available allowing co= mmunication for periods of five days to 12 months. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release that do not contain historical fac= ts or information are ``forward-looking statements'' within the meaning of = Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities= Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include those (a) that co= ntain the words ``may,'' ``will,'' ``should,'' ``estimates,'' ``predicts,''= ``potential,'' ``continue,'' ``strategy,'' ``believes,'' ``anticipates,'' = ``plans,'' ``expects,'' ``intends,'' and similar expressions, (b) that desc= ribe any of the Company's or management's plans, objectives or goals for fu= ture operations and products, or © that concern the characteristics and g= rowth of the Company's markets or customers or products or the expected liq= uidity and capital resources of the Company. Such forward-looking statement= s involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which ma= y cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements= of the Company to be materially different from any future levels of result= s, activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forwa= rd-looking statements. Such risks include, among others, those set forth in= the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB under the heading, ``Risk Facto= rs'' contained within Item 6. Management's Discussion and Analysis or Plan = of Operations. Such Risk Factors include the following: risks related to th= e Company's financial condition and business model, risks related to the Co= mpany's markets and strategy, risks related to the internet and the Company= 's technology infrastructure, risks related to government regulation, and r= isks related to volatility in the price for the Company's securities and th= e effect of future sales of the Company's common stock. For a detailed disc= ussion of these risk factors and other cautionary statements, please refer = to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, inclu= ding the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the most recently ended= year. To be removed from any future news updates please mailto: remove@standardatlantic.com
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