Apropos Technology, Inc. (APRS) - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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Profile:Apropos Technology, Inc. develops, markets and supports a real-time, multi-channel interaction management application platform for managing customer interactions across a variety of communications channels, including e-mail, fax, Web and voice. The Company provides its solution via a product suite consisting of seven integrated system components. The components of Apropos` Multi-Channel Interaction Management Suite include Apropos Interaction Manager, Apropos Management Tools (Apropos Resource Manager, Apropos Decision Manager, Apropos Administrator and Application Designer) and Apropos User Applications (Apropos Agent and Interaction Vault). It also sells third-party software, which is included with its product. In addition, Apropos provides application consulting, project management, integration services, installation services and training to its customers.
http://www.apropos.com

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Apropos Technology Reports First Quarterly Profit
Tuesday February 3, 4:00 pm ET
-- Company Reports Quarterly License Revenue Growth of 59% --


OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Apropos Technology (Nasdaq: APRS - News), a leading provider of real time multi-channel interaction management solutions, today reported revenues increased by 12.2% to $5.6 million for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2003, compared to $5.0 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2002. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2003 were $20.1 million compared to $20.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2002.
Net income for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2003, was $0.8 million, or a profit of $0.05 per share. Net loss for the comparable quarter of 2002 was $3.0 million, or a loss of $0.18 per share. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2003, was $5.7 million, or a loss of $0.34 per share, which includes restructuring and other charges of $2.9 million, or $0.17 per share. Net loss for the year ended December 31, 2002 was $15.0 million, or a loss of $0.90 per share, which includes restructuring and other charges of $0.9 million, or $0.05 per share.

"We are very pleased with our operating results in the fourth quarter," stated Kevin Kerns, chief executive officer and president. "We saw a combination of factors come together to mark a turning point for the Company. Growing acceptance of the Version 6 product, in tandem with improving direct sales execution, allowed the Company to post 59% license revenue growth compared to the fourth quarter of 2002. License revenue for the fourth quarter of 2003 was at the highest level in over 2 years. Meanwhile, operating costs, as a result of previous cost reduction moves made over the past 18 months, continued to decline. The result was a dramatic bottom line improvement resulting in our first quarterly profit, with the Company posting a 14% return on revenue (as defined as net income divided by total revenue).

"On the strength of Version 6, the Company saw an increase in the number of direct new customer deals. During the fourth quarter, the Company received direct new customer orders from Factiva (a division of Dow Jones Reuters), LifeCare, American Chemical Society, and First United Services Credit Union. The Company also received significant add-on orders from Veritas Software, AGFA, Fannie Mae and GE Capital.

"The Company is well positioned to benefit from the continued growth and acceptance of the Version 6 product platform. Earlier today, the Company announced the introduction of a privately-branded version of the Apropos` Interaction Manager, for Remedy, a division of BMC. The new Remedy product has already been certified and will be made available in the first quarter of 2004 through Remedy`s direct sales force in North America.

"In the fourth quarter, Doculabs, Inc., a leading independent IT consulting firm, performed a series of benchmark performance tests on the new Version 6 solution. The performance tests validated the transactional processing capabilities of the Version 6 product, delivering over 5.4 million multi-channel (voice, email, and web) interactions per day, while supporting up to 10,000 simultaneous agents. With this level of scalability, Apropos Version 6 has demonstrated its capacity to address the most demanding contact center requirements and, more importantly, expand the potential for broader enterprise use.

"In addition, the Company also posted its first quarter of positive cash flows, generating cash from operations during the fourth quarter of approximately $240,000. Our cash and investment balances increased from the prior quarter by $363,000 to $39.2 million at December 31, 2003."

A conference call will be conducted by the Company at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Tuesday, February 3. The conference call will be available to all interested parties over the Internet. To listen to the call on the Internet, go to www.apropos.com/investor or www.fulldisclosure.com at least fifteen minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call at www.apropos.com/investor , www.fulldisclosure.com or by dialing 877-519-4471 or 973-341-3080 (international) and providing access code 4458014. The replay will be available by phone through February 10, and over the Internet for 30 days.

About Apropos Technology

Apropos Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: APRS - News) develops and markets one of the industry`s leading business communications platforms, providing an open, system independent application suite for real time, multi-channel interaction management. This application platform enables companies to personalize and intelligently manage all of their customer, employee, and vendor interactions, thereby reducing costs, improving communications and operating efficiency, and increasing overall revenue opportunities. The application provides timely and accurate information on communications of all types to those within the business who need visibility into real time business performance and trends. This information enables customers to react immediately to changing business conditions and make informed strategic decisions. The company`s award-winning solution has received seven (7) US patents for call center related technology inventions, including a patent on the concept of blending multi-channel communications into a single, universal queuing system. The solution intelligently classifies, prioritizes, routes and reports on each business interaction, based on the value of each interaction, across a variety of communications media, including Voice, E-mail, Web, Fax, and Voice over IP (VoIP). Apropos Technology serves over 300 clients worldwide from its Corporate headquarters in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., and from its European headquarters in the United Kingdom. Additional information about Apropos and its products can be found at http://www.apropos.com .

Apropos Technology statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding Apropos Technology`s expectations, anticipations, goals, beliefs, targets, hopes, intentions or strategies regarding the future. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding business model, product introduction and acceptance, future sales, sales growth and sales channels, profitability and results of operations, gross margins, operating expenses and financial stability. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties as more fully set forth under the caption "Risk Factors Associated with Apropos` Business and Future Operating Results" in Apropos Technology`s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Apropos Technology`s actual results and the timing of certain events may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements; Apropos Technology makes no commitment to disclose any revisions to forward-looking statements, or any facts, events or circumstances after the date hereof that may bear upon forward-looking statements.

Apropos Technology, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share amounts)

Three months ended Twelve months ended
December 31 December 31
2003 2002 2003 2002
Revenue (Unaudited) (Unaudited)
Software licenses $2,578 $1,621 $7,903 $8,259
Services and other 3,032 3,380 12,232 12,635
Total revenue 5,610 5,001 20,135 20,894

Cost of goods and services
Cost of software 112 69 407 380
Cost of services and
other 892 1,388 4,227 5,744
Total cost of goods
and services 1,004 1,457 4,634 6,124

Gross margin 4,606 3,544 15,501 14,770

Operating expenses
Sales and marketing 1,683 2,619 7,519 13,471
Research and
development 1,037 1,888 5,349 7,878
General and
administrative 1,145 2,177 5,611 8,115
Stock compensation
charge 57 103 282 425
Restructuring and
other charges - - 2,875 869
Total operating
expenses 3,922 6,787 21,636 30,758

Income (loss) from
operations 684 (3,243) (6,135) (15,988)

Other income (expense)
Interest income 100 213 482 961
Other income
(expense), net (23) (7) (21) (14)
Total other income 77 206 461 947

Net income (loss) $761 $(3,037) $(5,674) $(15,041)

Net income (loss)
per share
Basic $0.05 $(0.18) $ (0.34) $(0.90)
Diluted $0.04 $(0.18) $ (0.34) $(0.90)

Weighted-average number
of shares outstanding
Basic 16,901 16,790 16,787 16,723
Diluted 18,093 16,790 16,787 16,723


Apropos Technology, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands)

December 31 December 31
2003 2002
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $38,265 $19,333
Short-term investments 1,000 22,718
Accounts receivable, net 2,895 2,837
Inventory 73 194
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 588 1,016

Total current assets 42,821 46,098

Equipment, net 921 2,174
Other assets 199 240

Total assets $43,941 $48,512

Liabilities and shareholders` equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $81 $127
Accrued expenses 1,618 1,935
Deferred revenues 3,296 2,747
Other current liabilities 562 893

Total current liabilities 5,557 5,702

Accrued restructuring, less current portion 560 -

Shareholders` equity
Common shares 173 170
Additional paid-in capital 102,263 101,578
Treasury stock (392) (392)
Accumulated deficit (64,220) (58,546)

Total shareholders` equity 37,824 42,810

Total liabilities and shareholders` equity $ 43,941 $48,512




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Source: Apropos Technology, Inc

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