QuoteMedia Announces 5% Revenue Growth for 2020

PHOENIX, March 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- QuoteMedia, Inc. (OTCQB: QMCI), a leading provider of market data and financial applications, announced financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

QuoteMedia provides banks, brokerage firms, private equity firms, financial planners and sophisticated investors with a more economical, higher quality alternative source of stock market data and related research information. We compete with several larger legacy organizations and a modest community of other smaller companies.  QuoteMedia provides streaming data feeds, on-demand request-based data (XML/JSON), web content solutions (financial content for website integration) and applications such as Quotestream Professional desktop and mobile. 

Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $12,402,224 versus $11,793,731 in the comparative 2019 period, resulting in a 5% increase. Consistent with our forecasts, revenue for the fourth quarter of 2020 was $3,266,083 versus $2,975,094 in the comparative 2019 quarter, resulting in a 10% increase.

“This has been a very successful year for QuoteMedia,” said Robert J. Thompson, Chairman of the Board of QuoteMedia, Inc. “Despite the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic we experienced healthy improvements in revenue, significantly increased staffing, and made major advances in product and business development.

“Looking ahead, based on customers currently under contract, we are expecting a significant improvement in revenue growth and a return to profitability in 2021. For the first quarter of 2021, we are forecasting revenue growth of approximately 20% and expect to maintain this trajectory for the remainder of the year. We also expect our cash balances to rebound in 2021 as our revenue catches up with the increased expenditures associated with the new products and data expansion initiatives undertaken in 2020.

“The economic downturn related to COVID-19 did not leave us unaffected, as it forced some of our clients to halt projects and even caused some to cease business activities entirely. As a result, we saw a 365% increase in bad debts compared to 2019. Still, we are continuing to take advantage of new opportunities arising from the economic downturn, as the added pressure on financial sector firms to find more efficient and cost-effective solutions to their data and technology needs is leading them to explore QuoteMedia’s offerings. Additionally, we are seeing an increase in the need for our services for customers working remotely during the pandemic, and we expect this to be a lasting trend.

“As a result of increased expenses related to our recent expansion activities and the impact of Covid-19, we experienced a net loss of $646,324 for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to net income of $558,997 in the comparative 2019 period. Our adjusted EBITDA¹ was $734,068 for the year ended December 31, 2020 versus $2,124,498 in the comparative 2019 period. The company undertook major growth initiatives in 2020 and we expect to continue and expand these programs in 2021. We have invested in technological and infrastructure advancement, new product development, data collection and aggregation initiatives, the extension of our global market coverage, and new marketing campaigns. These strategic investments are producing very positive results. This year will mark the launch of major new product lines, data sets, proprietary analytics, and key partnerships, and we are very excited about our future.”

QuoteMedia will host a conference call Friday, March 26, 2021 at 2 PM Eastern Time to discuss the 2020 financial results and provide a business update.

Conference Call Details:

March 26, 2021, 2:00 PM Eastern

Dial-in numbers: 877-876-9173, 785-424-1667

Conference ID: QUOTEMEDIA

An audio rebroadcast of the call will be available later at: www.quotemedia.com

About QuoteMedia

QuoteMedia is a leading software developer and cloud-based syndicator of financial market information and streaming financial data solutions to media, corporations, online brokerages, and financial services companies. The Company licenses interactive stock research tools such as streaming real-time quotes, market research, news, charting, option chains, filings, corporate financials, insider reports, market indices, portfolio management systems, and data feeds. QuoteMedia provides data and services for companies such as the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, TMX Group (TSX Stock Exchange), Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), London Stock Exchange Group, FIS, U.S. Bank, Broadridge Financial Systems, JPMorgan Chase, CI Financial, Canaccord Genuity Corp., Hilltop Securities, HD Vest, Stockhouse, Zacks Investment Research, General Electric, Boeing, Bombardier, Business Wire, PR Newswire, FolioFN, Regal Securities, ChoiceTrade, Cetera Financial Group, Dynamic Trend, Inc., Qtrade Financial, CNW Group, Industrial Alliance, Ally Invest, Inc., Suncor, Virtual Brokers, Equities.com, Leede Jones Gable, Firstrade Securities, Charles Schwab, First Financial, Cirano, Equisolve, Stock-Trak, Mergent, Cision, Warrior Trading and others. Quotestream®, QMod^TM and Quotestream Connect^TM are trademarks of QuoteMedia. For more information, please visit www.quotemedia.com.

Statements about QuoteMedia's future expectations, including future revenue, earnings, and transactions, as well as all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. QuoteMedia intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that are identified from time to time in the Company's SEC reports and filings and are subject to change at any time. QuoteMedia's actual results and other corporate developments could differ materially from that which has been anticipated in such statements.

Below are the specific forward-looking statements included in this press release:

• Looking ahead, based on customers currently under contract, we are expecting a significant improvement in revenue growth and a return to profitability in 2021.
• For the first quarter of 2021, we are forecasting revenue growth of approximately 20% and expect to maintain this trajectory for the remainder of the year.
• We also expect our cash balances to rebound in 2021 as our revenue catches up with the increased expenditures associated with the new products and data expansion initiatives undertaken in 2020.

QuoteMedia Investor Relations
Brendan Hopkins
Email: investors@quotemedia.com
Call: (407) 645-5295

Note 1 on Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We believe that Adjusted EBITDA, as a non-GAAP pro forma financial measure, provides meaningful information to investors in terms of enhancing their understanding of our operating performance and results, as it allows investors to more easily compare our financial performance on a consistent basis compared to the prior year periods. This non-GAAP financial measure also corresponds with the way we expect investment analysts to evaluate and compare our results. Any non-GAAP pro forma financial measures should be considered only as supplements to, and not as substitutes for or in isolation from, or superior to, our other measures of financial information prepared in accordance with GAAP, such as net income attributable to QuoteMedia, Inc.

We define and calculate Adjusted EBITDA as net income attributable to QuoteMedia, Inc., plus: 1) depreciation and amortization, 2) stock compensation expense, 3) interest expense, 4) foreign exchange loss (or minus a foreign exchange gain), and 5) income tax expense. We disclose Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it is a useful metric by which to compare the performance of our business from period to period. We understand that measures similar to Adjusted EBITDA are broadly used by analysts, rating agencies, investors and financial institutions in assessing our performance. Accordingly, we believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to investors. The table below provides a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income attributable to QuoteMedia, Inc., the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

QuoteMedia, Inc. Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation to Net Income