LONDON, May 3, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- QXL ricardo plc ("QXL" or the "Group), (LSE:QXL), (Nasdaq:QXLC), (Frankfurt:QXL.F), the pan-European online auction company, today announces results for the fourth quarter and the year ended 31 March 2002. In addition, QXL announced continued increase in transaction volumes and the sixth successive quarter of reduced operating expenses underlining further progress towards profitability.
Commenting on the results Mark Zaleski, Chief Executive Officer, said: "The results for the year show solid growth in the transactions conducted across our 12 country operations. Agency Gross Auction Value grew over 36% and trading loss decreased 49%, reflecting the benefits of the substantial changes we have made to the business throughout the year. We are particularly pleased with the growth in transaction volumes in the fourth quarter and are confident that the significant progress we have made during the year in enhancements to the customer offering, monetisation and cost control will continue to help us in our drive to profitability."
Year ended 31 March 2002 - Highlights
-- Agency Gross Auction Value increased 36% to 102.3 million pound
for the year, compared to 75.6 million pounds for the
year ended 31 March 2001
-- Gross profit increased 84% to 4.9 million pounds, compared
to 2.7 million pounds for the year ended 31 March 2001
-- Monetisation rate increased to 4.7% from 2.3% in the year
ended 31 March 2001
-- Operating expenses decreased 42% to 30.1 million pounds,
compared to 52.1 million pounds for the year ended
31 March 2001
-- Trading loss decreased 49% to 25.2 million pounds, compared
to 49.5 million pounds for the year ended 31 March 2001
-- Total members increased to 4.0 million at 31 March 2002,
a 38% increase compared to the figure at 31 March 2001
-- Cash and funding facilities, if fully drawn, of 24.8 million
pounds at year end
Fourth quarter ended 31 March 2002 - Highlights
-- Agency Gross Auction Value decreased 10% to 26.8 million
pounds, compared to 29.7 pounds for the quarter ended
31 March 2001 but increased 9% over the previous quarter
-- Gross profit increased 26% to 1.3 million pounds, compared
to 993,000 pounds for the quarter ended 31 March 2001
-- Operating expenses decreased 40% to 6.5 million pounds, compared
to 10.7 million pounds for the quarter ended 31 March 2001
-- Trading loss decreased 47% to 5.2 million pounds, compared to
9.7 million pounds for the quarter ended 31 March 2001
-- Monetisation rate increased to 4.7% from 3.1% for the quarter
ended 31 March 2001
The full text report with financial tables can be found at the following URL: http://reports.huginonline.com/858111/103119.doc