EXHIBIT 99
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Jack Kohler, Vice President and CFO
(612) 544-1260
CHOICETEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ANNOUNCES
THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS
MINNEAPOLIS, MN. - ChoiceTel Communications (NASDAQ - PHON) today announced
results for its fiscal third quarter ended September 30, 1997.
Revenues for the quarter increased 108% to $1,898,000 from $914,000 for the
third quarter ended September 30, 1996. The net loss for the period was
$122,000, or $0.06 per share, compared to net income, after pro forma provision
for income taxes, of $23,000, or $0.01 per share for the quarter ended September
30, 1996.
The company stated that the significant increase in revenues is due
primarily from the increase in the average number of pay telephones in service
from 1,150 during the third quarter of 1996 to 3,100 during the third quarter in
1997. Pay telephones in service increased by acquisition of 1,020 phones in 5
western states and of 585 phones in Minnesota during 1997.
The company also stated that it has elected a conservative accounting
treatment of dial-around revenue due from long distance carriers while it awaits
the final determination of the FCC of the dial-around rate. Jack Kohler, CFO of
ChoiceTel Communications, Inc. stated "Some publicly reporting pay telephone
companies, acting on preliminary indications given by the FCC, have accrued
dial-around compensation at $37 per phone per month since November of 1996.
ChoiceTel has elected to accrue $6 per phone per month until the FCC issues its
final decision."
ChoiceTel Communications, based in Plymouth, Minnesota, is the state's largest
independent pay phone provider and owns and operates approximately 3,200 pay
phones in 10 states.
CHOICETEL COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(IN 000S EXPECT PER SHARE)
Three Months Ended September 30,
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1996 1997
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Revenue $ 914 $ 1,898
Cost of Service 555 1,072
Gross Margin 359 826
Income (loss) before tax 35 (172)
Income (loss) after tax 23 (112)
Income (loss) per share $ 0.01 $ (0.06)
Nine Months Ended Spetember 30,
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1996 1997
-------- --------
Revenue $ 2,531 $ 5,018
Cost of Service 1,586 2,791
Gross Margin 945 2,227
Income (loss) before tax 37 (422)
Income (loss) after tax 24 (275)
Income (loss) per share $ 0.01 $ (0.13)