CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): March 31, 2003
ASTEA INTERNATIONAL INC.
------------------------
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 0-26330 23-2119058
(State or Other Jurisdiction (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
of Incorporation) File Number) Identification No.)
240 Gibraltar Road
Horsham, Pennsylvania 19044
(Address of principal executive offices)
(215) 682-2500
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS AND REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE.
On March 31, 2003, Astea International Inc. reported the results for the
three-months and year ended December 31, 2002 which are set forth in the press
release in an Exhibit hereto.
ITEM 7. EXHIBITS
Exhibit 99 Press Release dated March 31, 2003.
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Number Description
99 Press Release dated March 31, 2003
Exhibit 99
Astea Reports Profitable Fourth Quarter; Company Poised for Profitable
2003 as Momentum Builds
HORSHAM, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 31, 2003--Astea International
Inc. (NASDAQ: ATEA), a global provider of Service Smart, Enterprise
Proven CRM solutions, announced its fourth quarter and year-end
financial results for fiscal 2002.
For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2002, Astea reported
total revenues of $4.7 million compared to revenues of $4.3 million
for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2001, an increase of 9%. The
Company reported net income for the quarter of $299,000 or $0.02 per
fully diluted share compared to a net loss of $935,000 or ($0.06) per
fully-diluted share for the same period in 2001.
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, Astea reported
revenues of $16.8 million compared to revenues of $17.4 million for
the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001. The Company reported a net
loss of $1.3 million or ($0.09) per fully-diluted share for fiscal
2002 versus a net loss of $1.5 million or ($0.10) per fully-diluted
share for fiscal 2001.
Zack Bergreen, chairman and chief executive officer of Astea
commented, "We are optimistic that we have begun to see demand that
was not present early in 2002. Buyers remain cautious, but the latest
version of the Astea Alliance CRM Suite, our flagship product, is
gaining traction in the marketplace. Our fourth quarter results
reflect that increase in demand, as well as our internal cost control
measures which have left Astea a more efficient company."
Astea increased software-licensing revenues by 6% to $1.9 million
in the fourth quarter compared to $1.8 million in the fourth quarter
of 2001. For the year ended December 31, 2002, software-licensing
revenues were slightly ahead of revenues for the same period in the
prior year.
Astea's investment in sales and marketing were up versus the
fourth quarter of 2001, while overall expenditures for software
license fees, professional services and administrative fees decreased
in the fourth quarter of 2002 to approximately $4.4 million versus
$5.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2001. For the year ended
December 31, 2002, total costs and expenses decreased slightly to
$18.0 million compared to $19.2 million for fiscal 2001 due to ongoing
cost containment.
The increased software licensing revenues were complemented by a
12% increase in professional services and software maintenance
revenues to approximately $2.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2002
from approximately $2.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2001. For
the year ended December 31, 2002, professional services and software
maintenance revenues were approximately $10.3 million compared to
$11.0 million for fiscal 2001.
According to Bergreen, "Worldwide market conditions that severely
depressed demand for enterprise software throughout 2001 and the first
half of 2002 certainly muted our results for the fiscal year. We do,
however, believe that the introduction of our Astea Alliance 6
products is well timed to maximize opportunities in a slow market
recovery. The Company remains on track to increase revenues and
expects operating results to continue to improve in 2003.
Fourth Quarter Highlights
-- Astea reported its second consecutive quarterly profit in the
fourth quarter of 2002. On the heels of the profitable third
quarter, the cumulative net earnings per share for the last
half of 2002 was $0.04 per share, on revenues of $9.5 million,
which compares favorably to the last six months of 2001 which
produced a net loss per share of ($0.10), on revenues of $7.8
million, and versus a net loss per share of ($0.13), on
revenues of $7.3 million in the first half of 2002.
-- Astea's new customer wins included:
-- Enovation Graphic Systems, a subsidiary of Fuji Photo Film
U.S.A, and the third Fuji company to license the Astea
software, will use Astea Alliance to assist its nationwide
customer support and field service processes.
-- Optos PLC, headquartered in Dunferline, Scotland, is an
emerging global company that selected Astea Alliance to
automate management of customer support, equipment
services and sales operations at its North American
facility in Marlborough, MA, and also integrate with the
company's financial and ERP systems at its headquarters.
-- Mettler Toledo Inc., based in Columbus, OH, chose Astea
Alliance to integrate with the company's overall ERP
system and to enhance call center customer service,
planned maintenance and calibration of instrumentation at
field service and depot locations.
-- Building Maintenance Company of Gateshead, England
licensed the Astea Alliance service, sales and call center
modules to integrate business processes across all of its
sites, and assist in changing the company's focus to
proactive service, enabling the company to anticipate
problems before they occur.
-- BANC:source Inc. of Henderson, KY, selected Astea Alliance
to assist in managing 1,400 service contracts with over
1,000 customers. By utilizing the scalability of Astea
Alliance, the company expects to improve productivity and
utilization, and with tighter administration of contracts,
improve profitability and the accuracy of revenue
forecasting.
-- Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE: CC) agreed to expand its
Astea Alliance configuration to manage Point-of-Sale systems
and other in-store equipment at more than 600 stores. By
leveraging the functionality and scalability of the Astea
Alliance CRM suite selected last September to manage
scheduling for in-home installations, Circuit City is now
utilizing a single solution for two previously discrete
business processes: customer-facing installation services and
internal store equipment support.
-- Other customer wins include Australian-based Skilled
Communications Services - the first Asia Pacific installation
of the new Astea Alliance 6 platform - and Brolin Retail
Systems with offices in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Astea will host a conference call that will be broadcast live over
the Internet at 10:00 a.m. EST on Tuesday, April 1, 2003 to discuss
the Company's fourth quarter and year end financial results. Investors
can access the call from the Company's Web site at
http://www.astea.com by clicking on "Investors" located on the home
page, far left column, and then "Overview." To listen to the live
call, please go to the web site at least fifteen minutes early to
register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For
those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be
available shortly after the call.
About Astea International
Astea International Inc. (www.astea.com) is a global supplier of
integrated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions that
provide service-centric companies with a rapid return on their
technology investment. Astea's flagship product, Alliance CRM Suite,
integrates, automates and streamlines sales and service business
processes, thereby increasing productivity, competitive advantage,
customer focus, top-line revenue growth and profitability. The full
module set includes Sales & Marketing, Contact Center, Field Service,
Professional Services and Mobile CRM solutions. Extending relationship
from the field to the front office, the Company offers over twenty
years of domain expertise, linking disparate business organizations
and collapsing the time from contract to cash. Astea Alliance
solutions manage the entire customer lifecycle from generating leads,
to closing sales to providing world-class support that drives
business.
(C) 2003 Astea International Inc. Astea and Astea Alliance are
trademarks of Astea International Inc. All other company and product
names contained herein are trademarks of the respective holders.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are
made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could materially affect future results. Among these
risk factors are possibilities that the companies mentioned in this
press release may not purchase licenses for Astea products, the
continuing acceptance of Astea's products, general competitive
pressures in the marketplace, and continued overall growth in the
customer relationship management solutions industry. Further
information regarding these as well as other key risk factors and
meaningful cautionary statements that could affect the Company's
financial results are included at length in the Company's Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2002, filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT: Astea International, Inc.
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Rick Etskovitz, Chief Financial Officer, 215/682-2500
ricke@astea.com
or
MEDIA RELATIONS
Gregory FCA Communications, Inc.
David Evanson, 610/642-8253
devanson@gregoryfca.com
Signature
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.
ASTEA INTERNATIONAL INC.
Date: March 31, 2003 By: /s/ Zack B. Bergreen
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Zack B. Bergreen
President and Chief Executive Officer
By: /s/Fredric Etskovitz
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Fredric Etskovitz
Chief Financial Officer