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Bankrate, Inc.
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WWW.BANKRATE.COM EXHIBIT 99.1
For more information contact:
Robert J. DeFranco
SVP Chief Financial Officer
www.bankrate.com/investor-relations/
bdefranco@bankrate.com
561.630.1230
Bruce J. Zanca
SVP Chief Communications/Marketing Officer
bzanca@bankrate.com
(917) 368-8648
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REMINDER -- CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST TODAY AT 11:00 A.M. EASTERN TIME
INTERACTIVE DIAL-IN: 1-800-510-0146 PASSCODE 32090561
(10 MINUTES BEFORE THE CALL)
BANKRATE RELEASES Q3 2004 FINANCIAL RESULTS
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 27, 2004- BANKRATE, INC. (NASDAQ: RATE), the Internet's
leading consumer banking marketplace, today reported total revenue of $9.5
million for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, equaling the $9.5 million
reported in the third quarter of 2003. Online publishing revenue of $8.2 million
in the third quarter of 2004 was only slightly higher than the $8.1 million
reported in the same period in 2003. Total revenue for the nine months ended
September 30, 2004 of $29.9 million was up $2.3 million, or 8%, over the $27.6
million reported in the first nine months of 2003. Online publishing revenue of
$25.8 million for the first nine months of 2004 was $2.2 million, or 9%, better
than the $23.6 million reported in the same period in 2003.
Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2004 was $2.4 million, or
$0.15 per share on a diluted basis, excluding a one-time legal settlement charge
of $390,000, compared to $2.4 million, or $0.16 per share on a diluted basis, in
the same quarter in 2003. Net income for the quarter ended September 30, 2004
including the $390,000 legal settlement charge was $2.1 million, or $0.13 per
share on a diluted basis. Net income for the nine months ended September 30,
2004 was $7.2 million, or $0.45 per share on a diluted basis, excluding a
one-time legal settlement charge of $390,000, and a one-time severance charge of
$260,000, compared to $7.0 million, or $0.46 per share on a diluted basis, for
the same period in 2003. Net income for the first nine months of 2004 including
the $260,000 severance charge and the $390,000 legal settlement charge was $6.5
million, or $0.41 per share on a diluted basis.
"We had a solid quarter and are pleased with the results," said Thomas R.
Evans, President and CEO of Bankrate, Inc. "We are continuing to diversify our
revenue mix while positioning the company for future growth," Mr. Evans, added.
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Online publishing revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2004
included barter revenue of $638,000, or 7%, of total revenue compared to
$835,000, or 9% of total revenue for the same period in 2003. Online publishing
revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 and 2003 included barter
revenue of $2,395,000 and $2,312,000, respectively, representing 8% of total
revenue for each period.
RECENT COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
o In July, the Company announced the appointment of Bruce J. Zanca as
Senior Vice President -- Chief Marketing/Communications Officer. Mr.
Zanca is in charge of the Company's investor relations, public
relations and corporate marketing efforts.
o Since the end of the quarter, Bankrate, announced the appointment of
Steven L. Horowitz as Vice President and Publisher of Bankrate, a
newly created position. Mr. Horowitz joins Bankrate from America
Online, where he was Vice President, eCommerce Classifieds.
Previously, Mr. Horowitz worked at Yahoo!, Inc and GeoCities.com.
o Over the course of the third quarter, Bankrate added a number of
marquee clients, including but not limited to the following: Geico,
Home Depot, Providian National Bank, Union Bank of California and
World Savings Bank.
o The company added 6 new graphic advertising clients and 59 new
hyperlink advertising clients during the quarter.
o During the third quarter, Bankrate launched a website partnership
with Internet Broadcast System (IBS), a company which produces
websites for television stations in 41 of the top 50 TV markets. The
deal is to provide Bankrate content on co-branded websites for TV
Stations.
o In the third quarter, Bankrate signed a co-branded partnership deals
with Investor's Business Daily La Palma, The Colorado Springs
Gazette, Excite, Homescape and IWON
OCTOBER 27, 2004 CONFERENCE CALL INTERACTIVE DIAL-IN AND WEBCAST INFORMATION:
To participate in the teleconference please call: 800-510-0146 PASSCODE:
32090561 Please access at least 10 minutes prior to the time the conference is
set to begin.
This call is being webcast by CCBN and can be accessed at Bankrate's
website at www.bankrate.com/investor-relations/. The webcast is also being
distributed over CCBN's Investor Distribution Network to both institutional and
individual investors. Individual investors can listen to the call through CCBN's
individual investor center at www.fulldisclosure.com or by visiting any of the
investor sites in CCBN's Individual Investor Network. Institutional investors
can access the call via CCBN's password-protected event management site,
StreetEvents (www.streetevents.com).
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REPLAY INFORMATION:
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A replay of the conference call will be available beginning October 27,
2004, 1:00 p.m. ET/ 10:00 a.m. PT through November 26. To listen to the replay,
call 888-286-8010 and enter 17389040 or at www.bankrate.com.
ABOUT BANKRATE, INC.
Bankrate, Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) owns and operates Bankrate.com, the Internet's
leading consumer banking marketplace. Bankrate.com averages 4.0 million unique
visitors per month, according to comScore Media Metrix, which ranks Bankrate.com
first in unique visitors in the "Financial Information and Advice" category.
Bankrate.com reviews more than 4,800 financial institutions in more than 407
markets in 50 states. Bankrate.com is a destination site of personal finance
channels, including banking, investing, taxes and small business finance. It is
the leading aggregator of more than 310 financial products, including mortgages,
credit cards, new and used auto loans, money market accounts and CDs, checking
and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees. Bankrate.com provides
financial applications and information to a network of more than 75 partners,
including Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO), America Online (NYSE: AOL), The Wall Street
Journal (NYSE: DJ) and The New York Times (NYSE: NYT). Bankrate.com's
information is also distributed through more than 100 national and state
publications.
Certain matters included in the discussion above may be considered to be
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933
and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the
intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and members of our
management team. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation,
statements made with respect to future revenue, revenue growth, market
acceptance of our products, and profitability. Investors and prospective
investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that
actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such
forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking
statements include the following: our success depends on Internet advertising
revenue, interest rate volatility, establishing and maintaining distribution
arrangements, and increased acceptance of the Internet by consumers as a medium
for obtaining financial product information; we have a history of losses; we use
barter transactions which do not generate cash; our markets are highly
competitive; our Web site may encounter technical problems and service
interruptions; we rely on the protection of our intellectual property; we may
face liability for information on our Web site; future government regulation of
the Internet is uncertain and subject to change; we may be limited or restricted
in the way we establish and maintain our online relationships by laws generally
applicable to our business; our ownership is heavily concentrated; our success
may depend on management and key employees; we may encounter difficulties with
future acquisitions; our results of operations may fluctuate significantly; our
stock price may be particularly volatile because of the industry we are in; and,
if our common stock price drops significantly, we may be delisted from the
Nasdaq National Market, which could eliminate the trading market for our common
stock. These and additional important factors to be considered are set forth
under "Item 1. Business - Risk Factors," "Item 7. Management's Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and in the other
sections of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003,
and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We
undertake no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to
reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes
to future operating results or expectations.
-Financial Statements Follow-
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Bankrate, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Operations
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
September 30, September 30,
Revenue: 2004 2003 2004 2003
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Online publishing $ 8,158,241 $ 8,113,959 $25,835,196 $23,645,492
Print publishing and licensing 1,310,911 1,346,983 4,019,518 3,914,128
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Total revenue 9,469,152 9,460,942 29,854,714 27,559,620
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Cost of revenue:
Online publishing 1,337,122 1,047,608 4,181,027 3,305,365
Print publishing and licensing 1,089,374 1,032,213 3,118,284 3,002,474
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Total cost of revenue 2,426,496 2,079,821 7,299,311 6,307,839
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Gross margin 7,042,656 7,381,121 22,555,403 21,251,781
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Operating expenses:
Sales 915,102 1,340,958 3,289,232 3,830,400
Marketing 1,357,660 1,437,215 4,912,736 4,006,940
Product development 600,278 620,537 2,014,714 1,710,805
General and administrative 1,678,424 1,438,252 4,894,831 4,366,948
Legal settlement 390,000(a) -- 390,000(a) --
Severance charge -- -- 260,000(b) --
Depreciation and amortization 186,676 161,605 552,498 515,485
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5,128,140 4,998,567 16,314,011 14,430,578
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Income from operations 1,914,516 2,382,554 6,241,392 6,821,203
Other income 138,302 65,327 291,919 166,599
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Income before income taxes 2,052,818 2,447,881 6,533,311 6,987,802
Income taxes -- -- -- --
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Net income $ 2,052,818 $ 2,447,881 $ 6,533,311 $ 6,987,802
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Basic and diluted net income per share:
Basic $ 0.13 $ 0.16 $ 0.42 $ 0.48
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Diluted $ 0.13 $ 0.16 $ 0.41 $ 0.46
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Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic 15,506,719 14,941,600 15,395,372 14,528,371
Diluted 15,869,708 15,787,803 15,908,487 15,331,077
(a) One-time legal settlement charge.
(b) One-time severance charge.
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Bankrate, Inc.
Condensed Balance Sheets
(Unaudited)
September 30, December 31,
2004 2003
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Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $ 26,906,083 $ 20,874,482
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $300,000
and $230,000 at September 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively 3,936,730 3,031,882
Deferred tax asset, net 3,400,000 3,400,000
Other current assets 289,528 343,311
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Total current assets 34,532,341 27,649,675
Furniture, fixtures and equipment, net 1,141,514 796,928
Intangible assets, net 220,963 73,201
Other assets 564,744 463,463
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Total assets $ 36,459,562 $ 28,983,267
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Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 1,238,785 $ 1,227,463
Accrued expenses 2,231,098 2,226,905
Deferred revenue 238,300 181,110
Other current liabilities 82,216 116,551
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Total current liabilities 3,790,399 3,752,029
Other liabilities 420,537 306,274
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Total liabilities 4,210,936 4,058,303
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Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, 10,000,000 shares authorized and undesignated -- --
Common stock, par value $.01 per share-- 100,000,000 shares
authorized; 15,672,635 and 15,114,371 shares issued and
outstanding at September 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003,
respectively 156,727 151,144
Additional paid in capital 66,875,782 66,091,014
Accumulated deficit (34,783,883) (41,317,194)
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Total stockholders' equity 32,248,626 24,924,964
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Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $ 36,459,562 $ 28,983,267
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