PLANTATION, Fla., Jan. 9, 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 December, 2005 in gross billings, new patient shipments and call volume. MEDirect Latino reports gross billings of $596,717 during the month, a 10.47% increase over November billings of $540,114. This increase was achieved in historically a slow sales month due to the holidays. The Company increased gross product profit margins during the period 1% to 78% from November 77%. Total new patient shipments for November numbered 2,441, an increase of 20.24% over November's new shipments of 2,030. The Company's 'patient hold journal' (approved and pending shipment for regulatory processing), closed the month with 3,213 additional customers, an increase of 68.39% over November 1,908 approved and pending shipment for regulatory processing. MEDirect Latino expects to monetize its approved and pending patient orders in January, which is typical to the industry model.
The Company's closing ratio during December increased 4% to 86% of the total qualified customers who responded from the Company's national and regional media campaigns. During the quarter, the attrition rate of exiting customers represented by current customers for whom the Company did not refill diagnostic testing supplies was less than 1% of all customers, well below the Company's projected attrition rate of 7-10%, and the industry standard of 15%.
Ms. Debra Towsley, President, MEDirect Latino stated, "We continue to show significant revenue increases on a monthly basis, a true indicator that the Company's business model is proving extremely successful. Due in large part to these monthly revenue increases and Medicare's reimbursement regime, which gives us recurring results, we expect our gross revenues to increase dramatically in conjunction with our 2006 national television advertising campaign and our increased marketing efforts in Puerto Rico. The success of our media plan and the acceptance of additional product lines introduced to our database, which we announced last week, have been incredible, but what is even more exciting is the stick rate of our customers, which is over 99%. No company had ever done what MEDirect is doing. Our methodologies and strategies have rewritten the book on Hispanic customer care and we now have historical proof that our proprietary program works and is becoming the industry's gold standard. The increasing brand loyalty for MEDirect Latino, coupled with our recent expansion of mobility products to include canes and walkers has supported our mission to quickly become a one-stop healthcare products provider for the Hispanic community."
ABOUT MEDIRECT LATINO:
MEDirect Latino (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org) is a rapidly growing, uniquely positioned provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting 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 because of its disproportionate impact and increasing diagnosis rate 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.
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