GARDEN GROVE, Calif., Dec. 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) --ICM Telecommunications, Inc. (Other OTC:ICMH), a rapidly growing provider of prepaid pin-based products through its EPIS Point of Sales Activation (POSA) terminals, today announced that it has entered into a major new strategic partnership with Garden Grove, California-based Digital Communication Services to both accelerate growth and maximize shareholder value in the year ahead.
"This is an enormously positive development for the longer term future of the company and its shareholders and could not have come at a better time," said Lake Oswego, Oregon-based ICM Telecommunications CEO Doug Hamby. "Through this new partnership, we will have the opportunity to not only decrease our cost of delivered services, but substantially increase our profit potential as well. Moreover, we are already in continuing discussions that will yield additional positive news in the next several days, and to be able to present guidance for the year 2004 shortly thereafter."
"From our perspective, said Ken Cheatham, President of Digital Communication Services, "the very strong penetration that ICM Telecommunications has made in the Pacific Northwest, especially with its locations in the states of Washington and Oregon, where we also have partner company operations, was a very big incentive. We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding partnership with Doug Hamby and his ICM team."
"In our initial working agreement," Hamby explained, "we will now be able, through Digital Communication Services, to offer our merchants and their many customers an important new addition to our suite of prepaid services -- payroll cards for direct deposit for employers. In this program, employers can lower traditional payroll costs by paying their employees using these cards, which they can then take to our EPIS locations and access needed funds and other services in a debit-like fashion, which is a major advantage for those who do not currently have banking operations.
"The second important new addition," Hamby continued, "is stored value cards for gift card programs. After initiating such a program, for example, one Pacific Northwest retailer in just six months had sales of $8 million for such cards, which can be given both as gifts or as a convenience for the purchaser when making return visits to the merchant. They have prepaid their future needs and the ability to have access to them."
Hamby said that in several days the company expects to report on improved delivery systems for other prepaid services, and that the addition of these improved offerings will enable the company to expand its operations into Northern and Southern California, as well as Arizona.
"To fuel this growth, we are continuing discussions with several funding sources," Hamby continued. "Over the near term, to fund our marketing expansion plans, hire additional personnel, and upgrade our stock listing, we are seeking total current additional funds that will net the company approximately $1 million in new working capital," he continued. "We believe this important announcement today, and those in the days ahead, will permit us to be in a better position to realize these needed infusions in the year ahead."
The company currently sells its products through high traffic retailers such as convenience stores, grocery stores and fuel service station food marts. Their returning customers are the most typical potential users of ICM's products and services in the general consumer field. Going forward, Hamby said, the company also anticipates marketing directly to travel centers and truck stops nationwide. "We also anticipate the development of a network of independent sales organizations (ISO) to market ICM products and services on a regional basis, selling to the same kinds of customers the company has established in its program rollout."
"Our industry is expected to continue to experience solid growth over the next five years," Hamby said, "with the current $3.7 billion market expected to expand by another 73%. In fact, some 74% of retail service providers are expected to add POSA features to their stores by 2005.
"With the help of Ken Cheatham and his team, we will be in a position to be a significant participant in that very promising market," Hamby concluded.
Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, may be considered "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. We caution the reader that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Unknown risk, uncertainties as well as other uncontrollable or unknown factors could cause actual results to materially differ from the results, performance, or expectations expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.