SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
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FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 or 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): May 18, 2001
FIRST ECOM.COM, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)
Nevada 0-27753 98-0206979
(State or Other Jurisdiction (Commission (IRS Employer
of Incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
19th Floor, 80 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong SAR
(Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (852) 2801-5181
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(Former Name or Former Address, if Changes Since Last Report)
Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure:
First Ecom.com, Inc. Announces First Quarter Financial Results for 2001
Company Has Sizeable Reduction in Losses Following Recent Initiatives to
Reduce Operating Costs
First Ecom.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: FECC, BSX: FECC, FECC BH), a global provider
of electronic payment processing solutions, today announced financial results
for the quarter ended March 31, 2001, the first quarter of the fiscal year 2001.
First Ecom, which is still in development stage, posted revenues for the
quarter of US$ 12,756 as compared with revenues for the same quarter in 2000 of
US$ 4,802. This quarter's revenues are attributable solely to payment processing
and represent 23.8 percent of the Company's total payment processing revenues
since its inception on September 16, 1998.
Net loss for the first quarter of 2001 after amortization, depreciation and
non-cash compensation associated with stock options was US$ 468,503 as compared
to the first quarter of 2000 net loss of US$ 2,452,712. This is a sizable
improvement over the previous year.
Net loss per share for the quarter was US$ 0.02 per share as compared to
the net loss per share of US$ 0.15 for the same quarter in 2000.
As of the end of the quarter, the Company had in excess of US$ 28,000,000
in cash and realized a 116 percent increase in interest income compared to the
first quarter of 2000. This growth was due to the increase in cash balance of
US$ 30.6 million from the private placement completed on March 6, 2000 and US$
7.8 million from the exercise of warrants in July 2000.
"During the quarter, the Company's main objectives were to focus on its
cost reduction program and to determine the Company's priority initiatives in
moving forward," said Gregory Pek, president and Co-CEO of First Ecom. "This
included conducting strategic assessments as to where the industry was going and
what will be required for the Company's future success. There clearly have been
some major changes in the past year that have had a major impact on the payment
processing industry and we felt that simply following an old business model
despite these changes would have been foolish. Hopefully the steps we have taken
over the last six months will be rewarding and help to differentiate our Company
from others."
Pek added, "It has been a favorable quarter in that we are on track with
our new initiatives to reduce burn rate, focus on sales in Asia, and implement
our new Company structure. We are continuing to study other opportunities for
the Company, such as the recent announcement that we have entered into a
memorandum of understanding with Gasco Energy, Inc. to merge. We are excited by
this and other opportunities and are confident that these changes will foster
the Company's growth in 2001."
The Company's financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2001 accompanied
the filing of its Form 10-Q with the Securities & Exchange Commission on May 14,
2001, which is available on-line at the SEC's Edgar database at
www.freeedgar.com.
Financial Summary
FIRST ECOM.COM, INC.
Financial Highlights (Unaudited)
Quarter Ended Quarter Ended
March 31, 2001 March 31, 2000
Revenues $12,756 $4,802
Net (Loss) $(468,503) $(2,452,712)
Basic and diluted net loss per share $(0.02) $(0.15)
Shares used to compute basic and
diluted net loss per share 19,210,037 15,879,359
Operating (loss) $(2,154,930) $(2,632,051)
About First Ecom
As a global provider of electronic payment processing, First Ecom provides
secure, easy-to-implement and low-cost online payment processing services to
banks and their merchants worldwide. Through strategic partnerships with banks,
ISPs, e-commerce product suppliers, system integrators and storefront solution
providers, First Ecom will process credit card transactions made over the
Internet in multiple currencies, either domestically or offshore in a
tax-neutral jurisdiction.
For more information, visit http://www.firstecom.com or contact First Ecom
at +(852) 2801-5181 or by e-mail at info@firstecom.com.
Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking" statements (as such
term is defined in the Private Securities Reform Act of 1995). Because such
statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially
from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a
discussion of some of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to the
company's SEC filings, which contain additional discussion about those factors
which could cause actual results to differ from management's expectations. First
Ecom expressly disclaims any obligation to update the statements contained
herein.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
FIRST ECOM.COM, INC.
(Registrant)
Date: May 21, 2001 By /S/ Kenneth G.C. Telford
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(Signature)
Kenneth G.C. Telford, Secretary and
Chief Financial Officer
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