Board Declares First Quarterly Dividend of $.01
Annual Meeting Set for June 17, 2010
HAWTHORNE, N.Y., March 9, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartPros Ltd. (Nasdaq:SPRO), a leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training, today reported results for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2009. A conference call to discuss earnings is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
For the year ending December 31, 2009, compared to 2008:
- Net revenue of $19.27 million, compared to $18.26 million
- Operating income of $381,000, compared to $1.3 million
- Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) of $1.42 million, compared to $2.26 million
- Net income of $399,000, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to $1.6 million, or $0.32 per diluted share
| RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO EBITDA | DECEMBER 31, | |
| 2009 | 2008 | |
| Net income | $398,683 | $1,601,263 |
| Income tax provision (benefit) | 7,408 | (70,128) |
| Depreciation and amortization | 1,052,151 | 945,932 |
| Interest and dividend income, (net) | (33,768) | (215,292) |
| EBITDA | $1,424,474 | $2,261,775 |
As of December 31, 2009, the Company had approximately $6.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, $5.3 million in deferred revenue, stockholders' equity of $13 million, and no debt.
"SmartPros returned to profitability in the fourth quarter despite the economic landscape. We continue to create growth opportunities while maintaining a check on expenses," said Allen Greene, Chairman and CEO of SmartPros. "Profit and EBITDA were down from last year, but in 2009 we increased overall revenue, grew our core subscription revenue, increased online sales revenue and made what we feel to be a solid acquisition in EEI."
"As continually noted, our product mix and the overall seasonality of our business affects our quarterly earnings. This trend has become more prevalent with the recent acquisition of EEI in July of 2009. Loscalzo and EEI are live seminar companies, and the nature of those business lines is considerably different than our core subscription model. We anticipate the first quarter will be affected by this pattern and most likely we'll show a loss. While we have started to see signs of the economic recovery, we continue to be cautious and have recently made budgetary cuts in expenses to try to keep pace with the economy."
"In addition, the Board has declared our first quarterly dividend of $.01 per share payable on April 11, 2010, to shareholders of record April 1, 2010. The Board felt that with our strong cash position and our positive EBITDA performance that a dividend was appropriate at this time. While we hope to make quarterly dividends ongoing, we must caution that any future dividend will be affected by our results and by our ongoing requirement for cash to make acquisitions, which is still our primary goal."
Further, the Board has set April 19, 2010, as the record date for its Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be held at the Comfort Inn in Hawthorne, N.Y., on June 17, 2010, at 11:00 a.m. ET.
SmartPros will host a teleconference tomorrow morning, Wednesday, March 10, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET, and invites all interested parties to join management in a discussion regarding the company's financial results, corporate progression and other meaningful developments. The conference call can be accessed via telephone by dialing 1-877-941-6011. A replay of the call will be available on the company's Web site at http://ir.smartpros.com.
| Consolidated Balance Sheets | ||
| December 31, | 2009 | 2008 |
| Assets | ||
| Current Assets: | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ 6,720,649 | $ 6,626,181 |
| Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $39,627 | ||
| and $39,677 at December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively | 2,700,111 | 3,114,139 |
| Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 260,357 | 249,281 |
| Total Current Assets | 9,681,117 | 9,989,601 |
| Property and Equipment, net | 608,850 | 607,988 |
| Goodwill | 3,375,257 | 3,394,329 |
| Other Intangibles, net | 4,421,749 | 4,500,639 |
| Other Assets, including restricted cash of $150,000 | 160,626 | 155,613 |
| Deferred Tax Asset | 1,250,924 | 1,103,923 |
| Investment in Joint Venture, at cost | 14,755 | 23,890 |
| 9,832,161 | 9,786,382 | |
| Total Assets | $ 19,513,278 | $ 19,775,983 |
| Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | ||
| Current Liabilities: | ||
| Accounts payable | $ 776,059 | $ 779,870 |
| Accrued expenses | 446,929 | 1,294,042 |
| Deferred revenue | 5,299,450 | 5,576,607 |
| Total Current Liabilities | 6,522,438 | 7,650,519 |
| Long-Term Liabilities: | ||
| Other liabilities | 23,187 | -- |
| Total Long-Term Liabilities | 23,187 | -- |
| Commitments and Contingencies | -- | -- |
| Stockholders' Equity: | ||
| Preferred stock, $.001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized, | ||
| 0 shares issued and outstanding | -- | -- |
| Common stock, $.0001 par value; 30,000,000 shares authorized, | ||
| 5,562,100 and 5,324,316 shares issued as of December 31, 2009 | ||
| and 2008, respectively, and 5,076,305 and 4,841,567 shares | ||
| outstanding as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively | 556 | 532 |
| Common stock in treasury, at cost - 485,795 and 482,749 shares | ||
| as of December 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively | (1,536,782) | (1,525,723) |
| Additional paid-in capital | 17,610,392 | 17,155,851 |
| Accumulated deficit | (3,106,513) | (3,505,196) |
| Total Stockholders' Equity | 12,967,653 | 12,125,464 |
| Total Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | $ 19,513,278 | $ 19,775,983 |
| Consolidated Statements of Income | ||
| Years Ended December 31, | 2009 | 2008 |
| Net Revenues | $ 19,274,533 | $ 18,256,328 |
| Cost of Revenues | 9,146,145 | 7,811,500 |
| Gross Profit | 10,128,388 | 10,444,828 |
| Operating Expenses: | ||
| Selling, general and administrative | 8,694,779 | 8,171,943 |
| Depreciation and amortization | 1,052,151 | 945,932 |
| 9,746,930 | 9,117,875 | |
| Operating Income | 381,458 | 1,326,953 |
| Other Income (Expense): | ||
| Interest and dividend income, net | 33,768 | 215,292 |
| Loss from joint venture | (9,135) | (11,110) |
| 24,633 | 204,182 | |
| Income before (Provision) Benefit for Income Taxes | 406,091 | 1,531,135 |
| Income Tax (Provision) Benefit | (7,408) | 70,128 |
| Net Income | $ 398,683 | $ 1,601,263 |
| Net Income per Common Share: | ||
| Basic net income per common share | $ 0.08 | $ 0.32 |
| Diluted net income per common share | $ 0.08 | $ 0.32 |
| Weighted Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding: | ||
| Basic | 5,043,045 | 4,938,548 |
| Diluted | 5,101,668 | 4,975,198 |
About SmartPros
Founded in 1981, SmartPros Ltd. is an industry leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training. Its products and services are primarily focused in the accredited professional areas of corporate accounting, financial management, public accounting, governmental and not-for-profit accounting, financial services, banking, engineering, legal, ethics and compliance, and information technology. SmartPros is a leading provider of professional education products to Fortune 500 companies, as well as the major firms and associations in each of its professional markets. SmartPros provides education and content publishing and development services in a variety of media including Web, CD-ROM, video and live seminars and events. Our subscription libraries feature hundreds of course titles and 2,300+ hours of accredited education. SmartPros' proprietary Professional Education Center (PEC) Learning Management System (LMS) offers enterprise distribution and administration of education content and information. In addition, SmartPros produces a popular news and information portal for accounting and finance professionals serving more than one million ads and distributing more than 200,000 subscriber email newsletters each month. SmartPros' network of Web sites averages more than 900,000 monthly visits, serving a user base of more than one million profiled members. Visit: www.smartpros.com
The SmartPros logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2586
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including activities, events or developments, that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's filings with Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically, results reported within this press release should not be considered an indication of future performance.