-- Net Loss of $1.1 Million is Lowest in 10 quarters
-- Marketing Acquisition Costs per Policy Sold Plummet 62%
-- New Auto Insurance Price Comparison Service Launched in 37 States
-- 100,000th Policy Sale Milestone Surpassed
DARIEN, Ill., Oct. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Quotesmith.com, Inc.,
(Nasdaq: QUOT), the online insurance broker that provides instant quotes from
more than 300 insurers, today announced the financial results for its third
quarter ended September 30, 2001.
"Our net loss of $1.1 million for the third quarter is the lowest net loss
we've reported in 10 quarters," said Robert Bland, chairman and CEO. "Our
quarterly cash burn rate dropped to $1.7 million, we made progress in reducing
our per-policy marketing acquisition costs, we reached a company milestone by
selling our 100,000th policy, and we successfully launched a new comparative
automobile insurance quotation service in 37 states under our own brand name
using outsourced technology."
In this extraordinary time of economic anxiety, Quotesmith.com is ideally
positioned to assist people with strained household budgets by making it easy
to compare prices on costly auto, life and health insurance. These
fundamental household insurance products tend to take on special importance
during times of economic uncertainty.
Customer Acquisition Milestone
"In recent years, we made substantial investments in direct-to-consumer
advertising through traditional media, which are continuing to yield positive
results," said Bland. "The acquisition of these first 100,000 policyholders
sets the stage for additional future household policy sales and additional
revenue opportunities. People are looking for an easier, faster way to shop
for insurance, which is exactly what we offer. We are very excited to see so
many insurance shoppers voting for us with their pocketbooks."
The Company's near term financial objectives are to continue to conserve
capital, further reduce cash burn rate, and to strive for profitability.
Quotesmith.com is dedicated to customer-driven innovation and will continue to
provide insurance shoppers with an Internet-based panorama of insurance
information, instant quotes and the ability to buy from any company shown that
is not available from any other single source.
Financial Results
Revenues for the third quarter ended September 30, 2001 were $1.7 million,
a 55% decrease from revenues of $3.8 million reported for the third quarter of
2000 and a 19% decrease from revenues of $2.1 million reported for the second
quarter of 2001. Net loss for the third quarter decreased to $1.1 million, or
$0.20 per share, compared with a net loss of $3.5 million, or $0.55 per share,
in the third quarter of 2000 and a net loss of $2.6 million, or $0.48 per
share reported for the second quarter of 2001.
On a year-to-date basis, the Company reported revenues of $6.3 million for
the first nine months of 2001 as compared to $12.6 million for the same period
in 2000. Net loss for the first nine months of 2001 totaled $6.1 million, or
$1.12 per share, which is a 62 percent reduction over the net loss of
$16.2 million, or $2.53 per share, reported for the first nine months of 2000.
As previously reported, Quotesmith.com shareholders approved a 3-for-1
reverse stock split on March 7, 2001. All share and per-share amounts in this
press release have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.
Strong Balance Sheet
Quotesmith.com ended the third quarter with $20.1 million, or $3.76 per
share, in cash and short-term investments. Total debt outstanding, consisting
solely of capitalized lease liabilities, equaled $0.1 million, or $0.03 per
share, as of September 30, 2001.
Policies Sold Recap
For the third quarter, Quotesmith.com reported 3,830 policies sold,
representing a decrease of 57% from the 8,998 policies sold in the third
quarter of 2000. Policies sold for the first nine months of 2001 amounted to
15,463, down 49% from the 30,534 paid policies reported in the like period of
2000.
Reduced Customer Acquisition Costs
Quotesmith.com reported continued progress in lowering per-policy customer
acquisition costs (total marketing costs divided by total new policies sold)
as a result of reduced media rates and more efficient deployment of marketing
dollars. The per-policy acquisition cost in the third quarter of 2001
amounted to $216 compared to $567 for the third quarter of 2000.
For the first nine months of 2001, per-policy acquisition costs declined
42 percent to $404 vs. $693 for the same period last year.
Share Repurchase Program
As part of a previously announced share repurchase program, Quotesmith.com
repurchased 7,500 shares in the third quarter of 2001 at an average price of
$2.03 per share. The Company had 5,340,279 shares outstanding as of September
30, 2001. During the nine months ended September 30, 2001 the company
repurchased a total of 581,624 shares at an average price of $2.12 per share.
Revised Financial Targets for 2001
Quotesmith.com is revising the financial targets for 2001 that were
announced on July 25, 2001. For the balance of 2001, the Company intends to
maintain marketing expenditures at levels approximating those of the third
quarter 2001. Based upon this and other factors, the Company now anticipates
2001 revenues of approximately $8 million with a 2001 net loss range of
$7 to $8 million vs. a projected net loss of $6.5 million announced on July
25, 2001. As previously stated, the company is currently projecting 2001
year-end cash and investment balances of $18 to $19 million.
Quotesmith.com believes that its current capital structure, including cash
and investments of $20.1 million, is adequate to reach profitability without
the necessity of additional debt or equity financing. The Company does not
confirm or update its financial projections except in compliance with
Regulation FD.
About Quotesmith.com
Quotesmith.com owns and operates the industry's largest and most
comprehensive insurance price comparison service. The Quotesmith.com
Insurance Commerce Platform allows insurance shoppers to instantly view the
best prices being offered by more than 300 leading companies, achieve maximum
savings and have the freedom to buy from the company of their choice.
Quotesmith.com provides personalized customer service assistance and policy
placement services for its customers and generates revenues from the receipt
of commissions and fees paid by insurance companies. Shares of Quotesmith.com
trade on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market Exchange under the symbol "QUOT."
Cautions about Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements that involve
risks, assumptions and uncertainties pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This announcement also
contains forward-looking statements about events and circumstances that have
not yet occurred and may not occur. Expressions of future goals and similar
expressions including, without limitation, "may," "will," "believes,"
"should," "could," "hope," "expects," "expected," "does not currently expect,"
"anticipates," "predicts," "potential" and "forecast," reflecting something
other than historical fact, are intended to identify forward-looking
statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.
Investors should be aware that actual results may differ materially from the
results predicted and reported results should not be considered an indication
of future performance. Reported Web site activity and/or quotes are not
necessarily indicative of any present or future revenue. The Company will not
necessarily update the information in this press release if any forward-
looking statement later turns out to be inaccurate. Potential risks and
uncertainties include, among others, Quotesmith.com's limited e-commerce
operating history, anticipated losses, unpredictability of future revenues,
potential fluctuations in quarterly operating results, seasonality, consumer
trends, competition, risks of system interruption, the evolving nature of its
business model, the increasingly competitive online commerce environment,
dependence on continuing growth of online commerce and risks associated with
capacity constraints and the management of growth. More information about
potential factors that could affect the company's financial results is
included in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2000, which is on file with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission. Some insurance companies appear at Quotesmith.com for
purely informational purposes only and pay no compensation to Quotesmith.com
and some insurers pay commissions or fees to Quotesmith.com based upon premium
volume or traffic activity produced by Quotesmith.com.
Quotesmith.com is a service mark of Quotesmith.com, Inc. All other names
are trademarks of their respective owners.