PLANTATION, Fla., Feb. 8, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- MEDirect Latino Inc. (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org), the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community, today announced record results for January 2006 in gross billings, new patient shipments and call volume. MEDirect Latino reports gross billings of $804,949 during the month, a 34.89% increase over December 2005 billings of $596,717. The Company's gross product profit margins remained unchanged at 78%. Total new patient shipments for January numbered 3,186, an increase of 31.57% over December's shipments of 2,441. The Company's "patient hold journal" (approved and pending shipment for regulatory processing) closed the month with 4,106 additional customers, an increase of 28% over December's 3,213, approved and pending shipment for regulatory processing. MEDirect Latino expects to monetize its approved and pending patient orders in February, which is typical to the industry model.
The Company's management team will host a conference call today at 4:15 PM Eastern, and will make presentations on various aspects of the Company's latest results, continuing growth strategies, and expected results for the remainder of the year. Additionally, the Company will discuss today's filing of the Form 10 with the SEC, upgrading its status to fully reporting and a timetable for listing application to NASDAQ or other senior stock exchange. In attendance for MEDirect Latino will be Co-Chairman and CEO, Mr. Raymond Talarico, President, Ms. Debra L. Towsley, and COO, Mr. Charles W. Hansen.
Interested parties may hear the conference call by telephone.
To hear the conference call as it takes place:
Call 1-800-374-0113 in the United States or Canada or;
Call 1-706-758-9607 Internationally
To hear a recording of the call (available immediately following the call
by telephone for 30 days):
Call 1-800-642-1687 in the United States or Canada or;
Call 1-706-645-9291 Internationally
Pin Code: 5020374 followed by the number key
Ms. Debra Towsley, President, MEDirect Latino, stated, "We are looking forward to discussing our operating results and continued growth strategies with our shareholders, brokers and analysts. The momentum the Company is creating in the marketplace is exciting. On the operational side, we continue to show significant revenue increases on a monthly basis, a true indicator that the Company's business model is proving extremely successful. This is an important conference call for everyone to attend, as we are going to address the ongoing steps MEDirect Latino is taking to maximize shareholder value."
ABOUT MEDIRECT LATINO:
MEDirect Latino (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org) is the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community. MEDirect Latino is rapidly growing and uniquely positioned to service the Hispanic community in the United States and Puerto Rico. MEDirect is the only company positioned to serve the U.S. Hispanic healthcare market as a direct-to-consumer Medicare provider on an authentically national level. The Company's current focus is the distribution of products for the treatment of Type II diabetes specifically due to the disproportionate impact and increasing diagnosis rate of diabetes within the U.S. Hispanic population, noting an incidence of 120% higher than among non-Hispanic whites. Type II diabetes was also targeted because of its unique status within the Medicare reimbursement regime and because of its high degree of correlation to other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. These other conditions represent considerable future market potential that will allow MEDirect to efficiently scale its model by leveraging its existing client base and infrastructure.
The current Hispanic market for MEDirect's products is conservatively estimated at approximately $748MM in the continental United States. The size of the opportunity is understated by such figures as an estimated 1.2 million of the over 4.1 million Hispanics in the United States over 65 eligible to receive Medicare benefits are currently collecting these benefits, with an estimate that over 1.4 million of those Medicare-eligible Hispanics have diabetes (implying a potential continental U.S. market for MEDirect products of approximately $1 billion).
Safe Harbor Disclosure:
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, commonly identified by such terms as "believes," "looking ahead," "anticipates," "estimates" and other terms with similar meaning. Although the Company believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's projections and expectations are disclosed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions.
The MEDirect Latino Inc. logo is available at:http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1873