TalkVISUAL Announces Year-End Results ... Proceeds from Sale of Assets Following Year End Used to Repay Debt.
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2003--Mike Rollins, president and chief executive officer of TalkVISUAL Corporation (OTCBB:TVCP), announced today results for the year ended December 31, 2002.
TalkVISUAL generated record revenue of $7.4 million (up 42%) from operations of its expanded network for the year ended December 31, 2002, compared to revenue from operations of approximately $5.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2001. At the same time, gross margin, which was approximately $1.5 million (30.5%) in 2001, amounted to nearly $2.2 million (29.4%) for 2002. This slightly lower gross margin was attributed to the slightly higher cost of long-distance services paid by the company for several key destinations and the one-time cost of installing SS7 capability to its network. SG&A costs amounted to $3.7 million or 49% of 2002 revenue versus $4.7 million or 88% of revenue in 2001.
"We continued to increase our core revenue base of business and residential customers throughout 2002 while dramatically reducing SG&A costs by over $1.0 million during the year and we continue to improve our overall cost structure. Additionally, post year-end developments, including the sale of certain assets and payment of debt, are very positive and will enable us to sharpen our focus on our core business," said Rollins.
The company reported a net loss of approximately $3 million or $0.02 per common share (148,825,179 weighted average shares outstanding) for the year ended December 31, 2002, compared to a net loss of approximately $8.7 million $0.09 per common share (94,669,011 weighted average shares outstanding) for 2001. The loss for 2002 includes a loss of $962,406 attributable to discontinued operations versus a loss of $3.1 million attributed to discontinued operations in 2001.
Rollins indicated that, subsequent to year end, the company sold all but 5,000 shares of its common stock interest in YAK Telecommunications and it divested itself of its commercial property in Sacramento, California. Approximately $1.2 million of proceeds from these transactions were used to pay the majority of the Company's debt. In addition, the Company utilized a portion of the proceeds to execute settlement agreements with several vendors, which will result in the Company recording an extraordinary gain of $1.2MM in the first half of 2003. Furthermore, the Company has extended offers to its remaining note holders in an effort to reduce the Company's remaining debt.
"While the implementation of our SS7 network and termination difficulty to several key destinations were a temporary impedence on revenue growth, management believes that the improvements and changes made over the last year have laid the foundation for TalkVISUAL's long-term success," Rollins said.
TalkVISUAL Corporation owns and operates a telecommunications network headquartered in South Florida and owns and operates telecommunication retail centers providing communication and related services to business and individual consumers in New York and New Jersey. Principal services include business and residential long-distance services, long-distance telephone calling in private booths ("call-shop services"), prepaid calling cards, money transfer services and international package delivery. Visit the company's web site at www. talkvisual.com. TalkVISUAL targets key business and consumer market segments in the United States, with a primary focus on Latin American expatriate business and consumer communities.
NOTE: Statements contained in this news release
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