LAS VEGAS, Jan. 29, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- In response to what it termed "irresponsible, arrogant journalism," PurchasePro (Nasdaq:PPRO) today released the following open letter to Ted David of CNBC:
"We are appalled that you would make the statement on your broadcast yesterday that 'PurchasePro is not even worth talking about...they'll probably be delisted.' It is clear from your statement that you have virtually no knowledge of the company at this point, or what it has accomplished over the past few months. To wit:
Since the end of October, PurchasePro has announced revenue producing software license agreements with Corporate Express, Avantrust, GovernmentFirst, Best Western, Dover Downs, Timken and Honeywell. We have also announced since that date: Personal purchases of stock by our CEO and CFO; the appointments of Don Bell of Bell Microproducts and Jim Schraith of Quantum Technology Ventures as directors; the engagement of Grant Thornton; a $15 million equity commitment by Fusion Capital and the launch of e-Source 7.5. In total, PurchasePro has had seven revenue-producing contracts in about ten weeks and five major corporate events in the same time. In addition, we don't believe that the senior officers at any of our peers have recently purchased stock in their companies.
Since June of 2001, PurchasePro has been in the process of turning itself around. Arguably, the company has tripped a bit in the process, but its strategy, at this point, has proven to be highly effective. This time last year our cash expense burn rate, for example, was in excess of $20 million per quarter. In the first quarter of this year, 2002, it will be about $5.5 million. Our employee base is at 140 or so, the right size to match our internal forecasts of revenues for this year.
We invite you to give PurchasePro a call to discuss this issue further as we believe that the statement you made yesterday was journalistically irresponsible. If you choose not to do so, I suggest you visit our Investor Relations Website at www.irconnect.com/ppro and our corporate Website at www.purchasepro.com to get a more profound understanding of the company and what we are doing before you are again so dismissive of us.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. Cordially, Steven D. Stern Vice President, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations"
About PurchasePro
PurchasePro(r), www.purchasepro.com, is a B2B e-commerce leader with the stated goal of providing software to enable enterprises of all sizes to gain universal access to the world's largest commerce network. The PurchasePro commerce network comprises more than 300,000 businesses, authorized to buy and sell, and powers hundreds of private-label marketplaces. PurchasePro provides the following B2B e-commerce solutions: e-Procurement for enterprise-wide procurement; e-Source for strategic sourcing, v-Distributor for online distributors; and e-MarketMaker for Internet market makers.
This news release may include forward-looking statements, which are subject to the "Safe Harbor" created by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements represent only the views of certain members of management and are based on limited information available to us now, which is subject to change. We have no current plan to update these statements. Actual results may differ substantially from what we say today and no one should assume at a later date that the forward-looking statements provided herein are still valid. They speak only as of today. For more information about these risks and uncertainties, see the SEC filings of PurchasePro.com, Inc., including the section titled "Factors That May Affect Results" in its 10-K filing for the period ended December 31, 2000, and its 10-Q for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2001, which are available from the company on request and on the Internet at the SEC's Website, www.sec.gov. Note: PurchasePro is a service mark of PurchasePro.com Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.