Autoweb Reports Fourth Quarter 2000 Results;
Reconfirms EBITDA Positive Outlook in Second Quarter
2001
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 30 Autoweb.com , a
leading consumer automotive Internet service, today announced financial
results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2000.
Net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2000 were $9.8 million, compared
with $11.6 million for the corresponding fourth quarter of 1999, and
$11.5 million for the third quarter of 2000. For the year ended
December 31, 2000, net revenues were $52.3 million, compared with
$32.8 million in the corresponding period in 1999.
Pro forma net loss for the fourth quarter of 2000 was $11.3 million, or
$0.38 per share compared with a pro forma net loss of $8.4 million, or
$0.33 per share in the fourth quarter of 1999. The pro forma EBITDA loss for
the fourth quarter was $9.3 million, compared to a pro forma EBITDA loss of
$6.7 million in the fourth quarter of 1999 and $8.9 million for the third
quarter of 2000. The pro forma net loss and pro forma EBITDA for the fourth
quarter of 2000 exclude a one-time charge of $3.1 million related to the
write-down of certain equity investments. Net loss for the fourth quarter
which includes the write-down of certain equity investments was $14.4 million
or $0.49 per share compared with a net loss of $8.4 million, or $0.33 per
share in the fourth quarter of 1999.
Management noted progress in four key priority areas as the Company drives
toward profitability:
1) Staff and marketing agreement restructurings, which are expected to
reduce the Company's cost structure by $30 million. The Company's
overall cash position remains strong at $27.1 million, with no long
term-debt.
2) Reinforcing Autoweb's position as a dominant consumer brand in the
online automotive buying service and content areas. Autoweb's sites
are consistently ranked as a leading new car buying service, with over
8.5 million visits during the fourth quarter.
3) Strengthening the Automotive Information Center division, which had its
best financial performance to date and has established partnerships
with Ford, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, and Toyota among
others.
4) Building-out future business models, most notably in the area of
leveraging Autoweb's considerable and highly differentiated information
assets for a CRM initiative.
"As expected, the fourth quarter was a transitional period for Autoweb, as
we took the necessary steps to reach profitability in the second half of 2001.
We expect our recent and ongoing initiatives to reduce costs, creating more
cost-effective revenue streams and supporting our efforts to achieve positive
EBITDA for the second quarter and net income for the fourth quarter of 2001,"
said Autoweb's CEO Jeffrey Schwartz.
"However, Autoweb's anticipated profitability reflects an aggressive
business plan set by our management team that will expand the Company's
presence in each of our revenue channels, including our consumer referral and
automotive marketing platform, with revenues from dealers, OEM's, and
advertisers, as well as our business to business platform, with revenues from
the supply of content and technology through our Automotive Information
Center, or AIC division," Mr. Schwartz concluded.
Michael Schmidt, Autoweb's CFO, commented, "Our plan calls for more
profitable revenue growth that is dependent in part on the performance of our
newly restructured partnership agreements and our ability to restructure
others. Revenues for the first quarter are expected to be between
$10.3 million and $10.5 million, with an EBIDTA loss less than $2.5 million.
We anticipate reporting a net profit in the fourth quarter."
Fourth Quarter/Year End 2000 Conference Call
Autoweb's fourth quarter 2000 conference call will be held on Tuesday,
January 30, 2001 at 4:30 p.m. ET. To listen to the call over the Internet,
please connect to: http://www.videonewswire.com/AUTOWEB/013001/. A replay of
the call will be available for 1 week at 800-642-1687.
About Autoweb
Autoweb.com is the leading automotive Internet service, guiding users
through every stage of vehicle ownership. Through its direct and referral
commerce channels, Autoweb.com offers consumers a variety of ways to purchase
new and used vehicles in conjunction with vehicle manufacturers, local Member
Dealers and other commerce partners. The Company's Web site also provides
consumers with a wide range of automotive-related products to support the
complete lifecycle of the vehicle, including finance, insurance and
maintenance. Autoweb.com features comprehensive, unbiased research from its
Automotive Information Center (AIC) division.
Autoweb also continues to set the standard in the business-to-business
marketplace by providing Web sites with the most advanced technology to view
automotive information, and the most accurate and reliable automotive data and
content. Currently, major automobile manufacturers, including DaimlerChrysler,
Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota, use Autoweb's automotive data to power
their sites. Some of the major consumer portals also use Autoweb's content
and technology, including AOL, Yahoo, Lycos, MSN Carpoint and GO. AutoSuite is
highly configurable for any individual AIC customer, as the interface can
match any look and feel, while vehicles (both target and competitor) and
specific features can be limited to any selection desired. For more
information, please visit http://www.autoweb.com and http://www.autosite.com.
Safe Harbor Statement:
Certain statements in this news release, including statements that include
words such as "expects," "believes" or other future-oriented statements, are
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from anticipated
results. In particular, factors that could cause Autoweb not to reach
profitability in 2001 include, but are not limited to: our ability to attract
consumers through existing portal relationships; the combined viability of
current and new car buying process on our site; consumer acceptance of online
car buying and our ability to continue to reduce expenses without comparable
or greater revenue reductions. Other risks and uncertainties include changes
in competitive behavior or market forces, uncertainties regarding response
from the vehicle manufacturers, changes in the legal or regulatory
environment, changes or lack of changes in consumer preferences over time,
technological challenges and an inability to forecast future traffic and
transactions. Further information on risk factors that could affect results is
detailed in Autoweb's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Registration Statement on Form S-1 (No. 333-71177), the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 1999 and its
Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2000, filed with the Securities
and Exchanges Commission, including (without limitation) under the captions,
"Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations." Additional information will also be set
forth in those sections in Autoweb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended Dec. 31, 2000, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission by March 31, 2001.
AUTOWEB.COM, INC.
CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In Thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
Dec. 31, Dec. 31,
2000 1999 2000 1999
Net revenues $9,785 $11,605 $52,280 $32,792
Cost of net revenues 1,938 1,150 6,670 3,290
Gross profit 7,847 10,455 45,610 29,502
Operating expenses:
Sales and marketing 12,420 12,132 53,095 33,203
Product development 2,113 2,440 8,918 5,103
General and administrative 2,827 2,403 11,846 7,224
Stock based compensation 393 589 1,641 2,243
Amortization of intangibles 1,768 1,729 6,973 1,943
Total operating expenses 19,521 19,293 82,473 49,716
Loss from operations (11,674) (8,838) (36,863) (20,214)
Investment Income (Loss) (3,068) 0 (3,068) 0
Interest and other income, net 380 427 1,561 2,061
Net loss $(14,362) $(8,411) $(38,370) $(18,153)
Net loss per share:
Basic and diluted $(0.49) $(0.33) $(1.35) $(0.85)
Weighted average shares -
basic and diluted 29,491 25,644 28,372 21,425
Supplemental Financial Data
Pro forma EBIDTA (1) ($9,339) (6,693) (27,884) (16,959)
Pro forma net loss (2) $(11,294) $(8,411) $(35,302) $(18,153)
Pro forma net loss per share $(0.38) $(0.33) $(1.24) $(0.85)
(1) Defined as loss from operations before depreciation and amortization.
(2) Defined as net loss before investment income (loss).
AUTOWEB.COM, INC.
CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
December 31, December 31,
2000 1999
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash, cash equivalents and short
term investments $27,137 $32,834
Accounts receivable, net 8,518 8,415
Prepaid expenses and other
current assets 10,149 8,988
Total current assets 45,804 50,237
Property and equipment, net 2,285 2,462
Intangible assets, net 11,878 18,448
Deposits 177 530
Total assets $60,144 $71,677
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and other
accrued expenses $3,705 $6,787
Accrued payroll and related
expenses 991 2,582
Deferred revenue 773 935
Current portion of notes and
lease
obligations payable 314 326
Total current liabilities 5,783 10,630
Notes and lease obligations, net of
current portion 0 361
Total liabilities 5,783 10,991
Stockholders' equity 54,361 60,686
Total liabilities and
stockholders' equity $60,144 $71,677
