HAWTHORNE, N.Y., May 10, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartPros Ltd. (Nasdaq:SPRO), a leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training, today reported results for the three month period ending March 31, 2011. A conference call to discuss earnings is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, 2011, at 8:30 a.m. ET.
For the three months ending March 31, 2011, compared to March 31, 2010:
- Net revenues of $3.05 million, compared to $3.62 million
- Operating loss of $668,000, compared to operating loss of $807,000
- Gross profit margin of 56 percent, compared to 46 percent
- Net loss of $429,000, or $0.09 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $503,000, or $0.10 per diluted share
As of March 31, 2011, the Company had approximately $6.58 million in cash and cash equivalents, $5.3 million in deferred revenue, stockholders' equity of $11.76 million, and no debt.
"Despite the decline in net revenues, we have narrowed both the net loss and the operating loss in the first quarter of 2011 as compared to the first quarter of 2010," said Allen Greene, SmartPros Chairman and CEO. "In addition, our gross profit margin increased to 56 percent from 46 percent as a result of our cost cutting measures. While the seasonality of our business needs to be considered, especially in the first quarter which is not a selling season for our live seminar businesses, we are nonetheless disappointed with the decline in revenues. A substantial portion of our revenue decline came from consultative areas of both our Skye Multimedia and Financial Services divisions. However, our ongoing attention to expense management has actually kept us operationally ahead of where we were at this time last year."
"We continue to look for growth opportunities through acquisitions and through new product development," said Greene. "For example, in February we acquired the rights to a CPE Webinar series called 'This Week in Accounting.' We see the Webinar market as a natural extension to our existing CPE delivery methods. As such, we just released two additional Webinar series, 'This Week in Taxation' and 'This Week in Business Taxes,' that are now available as part of our core subscription libraries."
"In addition, the board has declared a $.0125 dividend per common share payable on July 8, 2011, to shareholders of record on June 15, 2011," Greene added. "This marks our sixth consecutive quarterly dividend. Our balance sheet and cash position remain strong. While we hope to continue to make quarterly dividends, we must caution that any future dividend will be affected by our results and by our ongoing requirement for cash to make acquisitions, which continues to be our primary goal."
SmartPros will host a teleconference tomorrow morning, Wednesday, May 11, 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 by dialing 1-877-941-2927. A replay of the call will be available on the company's Web site at .
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:
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.
CONTACT: SmartPros Ltd. Shane Gillispie VP Marketing Services & eCommerce 914-829-4974 shanegillispie@smartpros.com
