VIENNA, Va., Sept. 7 VA-Convera-Corp-2Q08
VIENNA, Va., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Convera Corporation
(Nasdaq: CNVR) -- www.convera.com -- a leading provider of vertical search
services for publishers, today announced financial results for the three-month
period ended July 31, 2008.
Revenue from continuing operations for the second quarter of fiscal 2009
increased to $469,000 or 84% over the $255,000 in revenue recorded in the
comparable period of last year and increased $ 67,000 or 17% over the $402,000
of revenue recognized in first quarter ended April 30, 2008.
As of July 31, 2008, a total of 46 Excalibur supported vertical search
sites from 26 different publishers have been commercially launched. At
January 31, 2008, 39 vertical search sites from 24 publishers had been
commercially launched. Search traffic activity from the Excalibur supported
vertical sites continued to grow, increasing 76% from 17.5 million searches in
the first quarter to over 30.8 million searches in the second quarter ended
July 31, 2008.
As of today, a total of 81 Excalibur supported vertical search sites are
under contract with customers, 47 of these sites have been commercially
launched and 34 of these sites are in development. These contracted sites
represent publications in over 24 major vertical industries.
Convera is presently providing vertical search services to 31 different
trade publishers. Patrick Condo, President and CEO of Convera, stated, "Our
goal is to build the largest professional search network and the first half
results are indicative of the progress we are making. We expect to continue to
add customers, search sites and new vertical industries in the second half of
this year to our existing portfolio, deepening our penetration of the business
to business market."
The loss from continuing operations for the three-month period ended July
31, 2008, was $3.6 million, or $0.07 per share, (which includes $1.1 million
in depreciation and stock compensation expenses which are non cash expenses
and other income of $0.7 million that was previously recorded as deferred
revenue) compared to a loss from continuing operations of $6.0 million, or
$0.11 per share, (which includes $0.6 million in depreciation and stock
compensation which are non cash expenses) for the comparable year-ago period
and a loss from continuing operations for the three months ended April 30,
2008 of $5.4 million (which includes $1.6 million in depreciation and stock
compensation which are non cash expenses).
The decreased loss reflects a reduction in staffing levels and Convera's
efforts to discontinue non-strategic activities stemming from cost
streamlining actions taken during fiscal 2008. Convera expects to continue to
receive benefits from these actions in the coming quarters as a result of
continued alignment of resources to pursue the on-line publishing and media
marketplace.
Net loss for the three months ended July 31, 2008 was $3.6 million or
$0.07 per share, which compares to a net loss of $6.2 million or $0.12 per
share, for the comparable period of the prior year and a net loss of $5.4
million or $0.10 per share for the three months ended April 30, 2008.
Cash and investments as of July 31, 2008, totaled $27.4 million and does
not include the $4.0 million held in escrow from the sale of the RetrievalWare
enterprise search business. The amount held in escrow was received by Convera
in August 2008 in accordance with the terms of the escrow agreement.
The attached financial information compares the results of operations for
the three-months and six-months July 31, 2008, to the same period in 2007, and
the balance sheet as of July 31, 2008 and January 31, 2008.
The condensed, consolidated statements of operations for the Company for
the three months ended July 31, 2008 and 2007 appear below and are presented
in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States. All amounts, except per share amounts, are expressed in thousands of
U.S. dollars.
Three Months Ended
July 31,
2008 2007
Continuing Operations: (unaudited)(unaudited)
Revenues:
Hosted services $469 $255
Operating Expenses:
Cost of revenue - hosted services1,854 2,071
Sales and marketing772 1,193
Research and product development 1,059906
General and administrative 1,355 2,592
Total Expense5,040 6,762
Operating loss (4,571)(6,507)
Other income, net 945478
Net (loss) from continuing operations $(3,626) $(6,029)
Discontinued Operations:
Income(loss) from discontinued operations- (186)
Net Loss $(3,626) $(6,215)
Earnings(loss) per share - basic & diluted
Continuing operations $(0.07)$(0.11)
Discontinued operations - (0.01)
$(0.07)$(0.12)
Weighted average number of common
shares outstanding - basic and diluted 53,327 53,177
The condensed, consolidated statements of operations for the Company for
the six months ended July 31, 2008 and 2007 appear below and are presented in
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
All amounts, except per share amounts, are expressed in thousands of U.S.
dollars.
Six Months Ended
July 31,
2008 2007
Continuing Operations:
Revenues:
Hosted services $871 $579
Operating Expenses:
Cost of revenue - hosted services3,682 4,004
Sales and marketing 1,648 2,212
Research and product development 2,293 2,195
General and administrative 3,424 6,915
Total Expense 11,047 15,326
Operating loss (10,176) (14,747)
Other income , net 1,124969
Net (loss) from continuing operations $(9,052) $ (13,778)
Discontinued Operations:
Income(loss) from discontinued operations- 20
Net Loss $(9,052) $ (13,758)
Earnings(loss) per share - basic & diluted
Continuing operations $(0.17)$(0.26)
Discontinued operations - -
$(0.17)$(0.26)
Weighted average number of common
shares outstanding - basic and diluted 53,317 53,041
The condensed, consolidated Balance Sheets for the Company as of July 31,
2008, and January 31, 2008, appear below and are presented in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. All amounts are
expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars
July 31, 2008 January 31, 2008
Assets (Unaudited)
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $27,421 $36,641
Accounts receivable, net692 182
Escrow, Prepaid expenses and other4,996 3,796
Total current assets 33,10940,619
Equipment and leasehold improvements, net 4,509 4,913
Other assets 609 835
Total assets $38,227 $46,367
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable $1,431 $699
Accrued expenses 1,847 2,282
Deferred revenues 7 651
Total Liabilities 3,285 3,632
Shareholders' Equity 34,94242,735
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $38,227 $46,367
Convera(R) management will host a conference call to discuss the results
on Thursday, September 11 2008, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Conference call participants should dial 866-202-4367 (domestic), 617-213-
8845 (international) and, when prompted, enter pass code number 82728522 at
approximately 8:20 a.m. ET on September 11, 2008.
In addition, a non-interactive audio Web cast of the conference call will
be available live. To access the Web cast, please go to Convera's Web site,
www.convera.com and under "Company" and "Investors" click on the live Web
cast.
For individuals unable to participate live, a playback of the call will be
available following the conference call beginning at 10:00 a.m. ET on
September 11, 2008. To listen to the recorded conference, dial 888-286-8010
(domestic) or 617-801-6888 (international) and enter reservation number
46384079 when prompted. To access the Web playback, go to Convera's Web site,
www.convera.com and under "Company" and "Investors," select the Web cast
archive page. An archived playback of the call will be available as of
September 18, 2008.
About Convera(R)
Convera is the leading provider of vertical search services for
publishers. Convera enables publishers to generate additional revenue by
creating customized search applications for specialist audiences under their
own brand.
Convera vertical search applications can combine publisher proprietary
content with an editorially vetted best of the Web for specific professional
audiences, providing an authoritative and comprehensive search experience.
Many of the world's largest publishers are working with Convera to accelerate
their e-publishing strategies, meet growing online revenue goals and build
loyal online professional communities.
This release, including any statements from Convera personnel, contains
statements about Convera's future expectations, performance, plans, and
prospects, as well as assumptions about future events. The reader is cautioned
not to put undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, as these
statements are subject to numerous factors and uncertainties, including
without limitation, business and economic conditions and trends; the ability
to continue funding operating losses; fluctuations in operating results
including impacts from reduced corporate IT spending and lengthier sales
cycles; continued success in technological advances and development; possible
disruption in commercial activities caused by terrorist activity and armed
conflict, such as changes in logistics and security arrangements; reduced
customer demand relative to expectations; competitive factors; and other risk
factors listed from time to time in the company's reports to the Securities
and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from our
expectations as the result of these and other important factors relating to
Convera's business and product development efforts, which are further
described in Convera's filings with the SEC. These filings can be obtained
from the SEC's website located at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statements
are based on information available to Convera on the date of this release, and
Convera assumes no obligation to update such statements. Convera(R) and the
Convera design logo are trademarks of Convera in the United States and other
countries.
SOURCE Convera Corporation
