|
ePlus Reports Record Annual Revenues, Net Earnings, and EPSEarnings Conference Call Scheduled for Friday, July 1st
HERNDON, VA – June 29, 2005 – ePlus inc. (Nasdaq NM: PLUS - news), a leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management (ECM) solutions, announced record financial results for its quarter and year ended March 31, 2005. For the year, net earnings increased 149% to $25.3 million from $10.2 million, and fully diluted earnings per share increased 164% to $2.68 from $1.02 per share. Revenues increased 74% to $576 million from $331 million the prior year.
For the quarter ended March 31, 2005 net earnings increased 646% to $19.4 million from $2.6 million the prior year, and fully diluted earnings per share increased 692% to $2.06 from $0.26. Revenues for the quarter increased 97% to $168.3 million as compared to $85.3 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2004.
A significant contributor to the increase in net earnings and earnings per share for the year and quarter was a $37 million payment received in settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit recorded in the fourth quarter. The settlement payment was recorded as fee and other income. As a result, for the quarter, fee and other income increased to $39.9 million from $3.3 million the prior year, and for the twelve months ended March 31, 2005, increased to $48.5 million from $11.4 million the prior year.
The Company repurchased 448,616 shares of common stock during the year at a total cost of $5.7 million. Weighted average diluted shares outstanding were 9.4 million shares on March 31, 2005 as compared to 10.0 million shares the prior year. The actual number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding on March 31, 2005 was 8.6 million shares.
At March 31, 2005, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $38.9 million and total stockholder’s equity of $132 million, as compared to $25.2 million and $112 million, respectively, at March 31, 2004.
“Competition intensified during our fiscal year ending March 31, 2005, and our increase in revenues was offset by margin pressure in all business lines, and increased costs” stated Phillip G. Norton, chairman, president and chief executive officer of ePlus. “In our software business, we successfully defended our intellectual property and received a substantial cash settlement, and continued to invest in software development. ePlus Technology, our wholly owned subsidiary engaged in IT fulfillment and advanced professional services, successfully acquired and integrated Manchester Technology’s IT sales business, and its revenues increased both organically and through the proven execution of strategic acquisitions. With new customers from the acquisition and targeted marketing campaigns, we continue to expand the base from which to cross-sell our business process automation and our Enterprise Cost Management solutions.”
“Our objective going forward is to improve our internal systems to increase efficiency and reduce costs, seek out strategic acquisitions to enhance our portfolio of services and locations, and drive organic growth through more focused cross-selling and strengthening vendor relations” concluded Mr. Norton.
About ePlus inc.
A leading provider of Enterprise Cost Management, ePlus provides a comprehensive solution to reduce the costs of purchasing, owning, and financing goods and services. ePlus Enterprise Cost Management ( eECM) packages business process outsourcing, eProcurement, asset management, product and catalog content management, supplier enablement, strategic sourcing, financial services and document access and collaboration into a single integrated solution, all based on ePlus' leading business application software. The company is headquartered in Herndon, VA, and has more than 30 locations in the U.S. For more information, visit http://www.eplus.com/, call 888-482-1122 or email info@eplus.com.
ePlus, eECM, and ePlus Enterprise Cost Management are registered trademarks ePlus inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release, which are not historical facts, may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". Actual and anticipated future results may vary due to certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the existence of demand for, and acceptance of, our services; our ability to adapt our services to meet changes in market developments; the impact of competition in our markets; the possibility of defects in our products or catalog content data; our ability to hire and retain sufficient personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual property; the creditworthiness of our customers; our ability to raise capital and obtain non-recourse financing for our transactions; our ability to realize our investment in leased equipment; our ability to reserve adequately for credit losses; fluctuations in our operating results; our reliance on our management team; and other risks or uncertainties detailed in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
All information set forth in this release and its attachments is as of June 29, 2005. ePlus inc. undertakes no duty to update this information. More information about potential factors that could affect ePlus inc.’s business and financial results is included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004, the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2005, and its Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 when filed including (without limitation) under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” which are on file with the SEC and available at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov/.
|
ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES |
|
|
|
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended March 31, |
|
|
2004 |
2005 |
|
REVENUES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sales of product |
$ 267,898,937 |
$480,970,082 |
|
|
|
|
|
Lease revenues |
51,253,518 |
46,343,797 |
|
Fee and other income |
11,405,033 |
48,484,643 |
|
|
62,658,551 |
94,828,440 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL REVENUES |
330,557,488 |
575,798,522 |
|
|
|
|
|
COSTS AND EXPENSES |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of sales, product |
236,283,350 |
432,774,189 |
|
|
|
|
|
Direct lease costs |
10,560,586 |
11,508,820 |
|
Professional and other fees |
3,700,795 |
9,417,010 |
|
Salaries and benefits |
41,325,224 |
54,858,181 |
|
General and administrative expenses |
14,630,731 |
18,253,106 |
|
Interest and financing costs |
6,847,072 |
5,981,054 |
|
|
77,064,408 |
100,018,171 |
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL COSTS AND EXPENSES |
313,347,758 |
532,792,360 |
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings before provision for income taxes |
17,209,730 |
43,006,162 |
|
|
|
|
|
Provision for income taxes |
7,055,989 |
17,718,360 |
|
|
|
|
|
NET EARNINGS |
$ 10,153,741 |
$25,287,802 |
|
NET EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC |
$1.09 |
$ 2.84 |
|
NET EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED |
$1.02 |
$ 2.68 |
|
|
|
|
|
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING - BASIC |
9,332,324 |
8,898,112 |
|
WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING - DILUTED |
9,976,458 |
9,433,250 |
|
ePlus inc. AND SUBSIDIARIES
|
|
|
|
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
|
|
|
|
|
As of March 31, 2004
|
As of March 31, 2005
|
|
|
|
|
|
ASSETS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
$25,155,011
|
$38,851,714
|
|
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful
accounts of $1,584,358 and $1,959,049 as of March 31, 2004
and 2005, respectively
|
51,188,640
|
93,555,462
|
|
Notes receivable
|
51,986
|
114,708
|
|
Inventories
|
899,748
|
2,116,855
|
|
Investment in leases and leased equipment - net
|
186,667,141
|
189,468,926
|
|
Property and equipment - net
|
5,230,473
|
6,647,781
|
|
Other assets
|
4,765,782
|
3,859,791
|
|
Goodwill
|
20,243,310
|
26,125,212
|
|
TOTAL ASSETS |
$294,202,091
|
$360,740,449
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LIABILITIES
|
|
|
|
Accounts payable - equipment
|
$9,993,077
|
$8,965,022
|
|
Accounts payable - trade
|
32,140,670
|
55,332,993
|
|
Salaries and commissions payable
|
583,934
|
771,487
|
|
Accrued expenses and other liabilities
|
11,983,798
|
32,945,931
|
|
Recourse notes payable
|
5,863
|
6,264,897
|
|
Nonrecourse notes payable
|
117,857,208
|
114,838,994
|
|
Deferred tax liability
|
10,053,226
|
9,519,309
|
|
Total Liabilities
|
182,617,776
|
228,638,633
|
|
|
|
|
|
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
|
-
|
-
|
|
|
|
|
|
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preferred stock, $.01 par value; 2,000,000 shares authorized;
none issued or outstanding
|
-
|
-
|
|
Common stock, $.01 par value; 25,000,000 authorized,
10,717,242 issued and 8,939,958 outstanding at March 31,
2004; and 25,000,000 authorized, 10,807,392 issued and
8,581,492 outstanding at March 31, 2005
|
$107,172
|
$108,074
|
|
Additional paid-in capital
|
64,339,988
|
65,181,862
|
|
Treasury stock, at cost, 1,777,284 and 2,225,900 shares,
respectively
|
(17,192,886)
|
(22,887,881)
|
|
Retained earnings
|
64,211,474
|
89,499,096
|
|
Accumulated other comprehensive income - Foreign currency
translation adjustment
|
118,567
|
200,665
|
|
Total Stockholders' Equity
|
111,584,315
|
132,101,816
|
|
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
|
$294,202,091
|
$360,740,449
| |
|
