Exhibit 99.1
Investor Relations:
Kley Parkhurst, SVP
ePlus inc.
Tel: (703) 709-1924
kparkhurst@eplus.com
ePLUS REPORTS RECORD REVENUES AND NET EARNINGS FOR THE
QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2003
Revenues Increase 4%
to $85.6 Million;
Net Earnings Increase 6% to $2.7 Million;
Fully diluted Earnings Per Share Increases 8% to $0.27
HERNDON, VA -November 12, 2003- ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NM: PLUS - news), a leading
provider of Enterprise Cost Management (ECM), today announced financial results
for its second quarter ended September 30, 2003. ePlus produced record net
earnings of $2.7 million, a 6% increase over the $2.5 million recorded during
the same period in the prior fiscal year. Total Revenues increased 4% to a
record $85.6 million from $82.3 million, and fully diluted earnings per share
increased 8% to $0.27 from $0.25, as compared to the same period the prior year.
"ePlus continues to add new customers and to increase the penetration of ePlus
Enterprise Cost Management solution in existing customers" commented Phillip G.
Norton, chairman, president and CEO of ePlus. "The ECM solution provides a
logical framework to cross-sell value added solutions to our customers, and with
the acquisition of the assets of Digital Paper, not only have we continued our
strategy of acquiring customers, but we have also added significant document
imaging and graphical content management and collaboration capabilities to our
ECM solutions."
On October 10, 2003, ePlus acquired the assets of Digital Paper Corporation,
adding customers such as Eastman Kodak Company, Sikorsky Aircraft, Emerson,
Dassault Aviation, A.O. Smith, Grove Worldwide, Control Components Incorporated,
U.S. Department of Defense, and the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The increase in total revenues this quarter from the same period in 2002 was
driven in part by a 6.5% increase in Sales of Product to $70.4 million from
$66.1 million, which was offset by a 31.7% decrease in Fee and Other Income to
$2.3 million from $3.4 million. Total Costs and Expenses increased 3.9% to $81.0
million from $78.0 million, driven in part by a 8.3% increase in the Cost of
Sales, Product to $62.4 million from $57.6 million, and a 17.6% decrease in
Salaries and Benefits to $10.0 million from $12.1 million. Interest and
Financing Costs decreased 19.4% to $1.8 million from $2.3 million as a result of
lower interest rates.
For the six months ended September 30, 2003, ePlus recorded revenues of $166
million, a 7% increase over the $155 million for the same period in 2002, and
net earnings of $5 million, an 11% increase as compared to $4.5 million for the
same period in 2002. Basic and fully diluted earnings per share were $0.53 and
$0.50 as compared to $0.43 and $0.43 for the prior year's period, respectively.
Conference Call Scheduled for Friday, November 14th at 11:00 A.M.
The Company will host a conference call at 11 a.m. on Friday, November 14, 2003.
To listen, please call (973) 935-2408 or toll-free (888) 371-9318. Ask to be
connected to the ePlus conference call. Live and archived webcasts can be
accessed from http://www.eplus.com/investor_relations/index.shtml. A telephone
replay of the conference call will be available by calling (877) 519-4471 or
(973) 341-3080, and entering the passcode 4303359 beginning at about 2:00 P.M.
on November 14th and ending on or about November 28th.
About ePlus inc.
A leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management, ePlus provides a comprehensive
solution to reduce the costs of purchasing, owning, and financing goods and
services. ePlus Enterprise Cost Management (eECM) packages business process
outsourcing, eProcurement, asset management, product and catalog content
management, supplier enablement, strategic sourcing, and financial services into
a single integrated solution, all based on ePlus' leading business application
software. Profitable since inception in 1990, the company is headquartered in
Herndon, VA, and has more than 30 locations in the U.S. For more information,
visit www.eplus.com, call 888-482-1122 or email info@eplus.com.
ePlus(TM), Procure+(TM), Manage+(TM), Content+, ePlus Enterprise Cost
Management, eECM, Digital Paper, docQuest, DirectSight, ViewMark, DigitalPaper
Wireless, DocPak and DigitalPaper XE are trademarks of or trademarks applied for
by ePlus inc. All other products and brand names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, may be
deemed to be "forward-looking statements." Actual and anticipated future results
may vary due to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation,
the existence of demand for, and acceptance of, our services; our ability to
adapt our services to meet changes in market developments; our ability to
integrate new acquisitions; the impact of competition in our markets; the
possibility of defects in our products or catalog content data; our ability to
hire and retain sufficient personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual
property; the creditworthiness of our customers; our ability to raise capital
and obtain non-recourse financing for our transactions; our ability to realize
our investment in leased equipment; our ability to reserve adequately for credit
losses; fluctuations in our operating results; our reliance on our management
team; and other risks or uncertainties detailed in our Securities and Exchange
Commission filings.
All information set forth in this release and its attachments is as of November
12, 2003. ePlus inc. undertakes no duty to update this information. More
information about potential factors that could affect ePlus inc.'s business and
financial results is included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003, and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the quarter ended June 30, 2003 including (without limitation) under the
captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations," which are on file with the SEC and
available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also
be set forth in those sections in ePlus inc.'s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the quarter ended September 30, 2003, which will be filed with the SEC on or
about November 14, 2003.
ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended
September 30,
2002 2003
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REVENUES
Sales of product $66,106,169 $70,380,144
Sales of leased equipment - -
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66,106,169 70,380,144
Lease revenues 12,790,040 12,910,616
Fee and other income 3,432,906 2,345,971
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16,222,946 15,256,587
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TOTAL REVENUES 82,329,115 85,636,731
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COSTS AND EXPENSES
Cost of sales, product 57,594,874 62,364,436
Cost of sales, leased equipment - -
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57,594,874 62,364,436
Direct lease costs 1,420,229 2,396,770
Professional and other fees 693,687 820,813
Salaries and benefits 12,134,812 9,999,685
General and administrative expenses 3,908,843 3,662,850
Interest and financing costs 2,266,103 1,826,595
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20,423,674 18,706,713
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TOTAL COSTS AND EXPENSES 78,018,548 81,071,149
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EARNINGS BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES 4,310,567 4,565,582
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PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES 1,765,930 1,860,705
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NET EARNINGS $2,544,637 $2,704,877
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NET EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC $0.25 $0.29
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NET EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED $0.25 $0.27
=================================================
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING - BASIC 10,285,312 9,466,651
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING - DILUTED 10,287,160 10,179,738
Please refer to the Form 10-Q to be filed on or about November 14, 2003. Results
presented are unaudited.