SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- IT&E International Group (OTCBB:ITER), announced today its results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2004. Among the highlights are the same quarter, sequential quarter, year-to-year revenue growth, 80% repeat business ratio and a record contract backlog of $33 million.
IT&E's revenues for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2004, were $4.0 million, an increase of 44 percent from the same quarter last year, and an increase of 33 percent over the company's 2004 third quarter revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2004, the company generated revenues of $13.4 million, an increase of 34 percent as compared to the $10.0 million full year revenue earned in 2003, the third straight year that the company has achieved annual revenue growth in excess of 30 percent.
Gross profit margins were 30.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004 and 29.3 percent for the full year of 2004. The increase in gross profit margins reflects that the specific margin improvement actions the company instituted in the fourth quarter of 2004 were working as anticipated. Further quarterly margin improvements are anticipated during 2005. In addition, new customer signings in 2004 were at an all-time high, and the current contract backlog and sales pipeline is in excess of $33 million entering 2005. This is the highest contract backlog in company history, and is a further indication that the aggressive sales strategy employed in the second and third quarters of 2004 are achieving the desired results.
"2004 was a year of significant change. IT&E experienced outstanding growth due to numerous new customer signings to Preferred Supplier contracts, while the company transitioned to a public corporation in April 2004. Our impressive customer list continues to expand primarily because of our reputation for providing the highest quality services, which is evidenced by our 80 percent repeat business ratio. This past year saw us continue to sign major names in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries, such as Boston Scientific, Eli Lilly, Aventis Pasteur, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Novartis, to name just a few of the 2004 client signings. In addition, we saw existing customers such as Pfizer, Schering-Plough, Genentech, Chiron and VaxGen continue to expand their relationships with us," says Kelly Alberts, President/COO of IT&E International.
"2004 was also a year of substantial investment that will reap benefits for many years to come in the areas of sales, marketing, QA and administration. These investments were required to position the company to sustain our internal growth rate, implement a company-wide quality management system to ensure we maintain our "Best of Breed" quality reputation. These long-term investments allowed us to fully develop and implement our aggressive acquisition strategy, attract and recruit independent outside Board members, close our first Institutional equity round, attract follow-on investors to support the acquisition strategy, align the company to move to a National Stock Exchange in the near future, and add depth to our management team," says Peter Sollenne, Chief Executive Officer of IT&E International Group.
"In addition to these investments for the future, the company incurred several non-recurring and one-time costs associated with its reverse merger with Clinical Trials Assistance Corporation in April 2004, as well as corresponding costs associated with becoming a public entity for the first time. Additionally, a significant investment was made in a special business development and sales campaign targeted at signing new long-term and Preferred Vendor relationships with the Top 20 Pharmaceutical and Top 20 Biotech companies in the world to further expand and broaden our customer base. We are proud of the numerous new long-term contracts signed as a result of these initiatives," adds Sollenne.
"Further, not only is our contract backlog a record, but also our sales and business development pipeline is currently at an all-time high. Excluding the impact of these one-time and extraordinary investments for the future, the company would have been Operating Income, Net Income and cash flow positive due to the extraordinary efforts of our very talented team of professionals. Their dedication and hard work was exemplified during the fourth quarter of 2004 when new customer signings and preferred supplier relationships reached their apex," continues Sollenne.
Taking into account the non-recurring and one-time items mentioned above, the company's net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2004 was $235,000, or $.01 per share, as compared to a net loss of $68,000, or $.14 per share in 2003. The Company's net loss for the year ended December 31, 2004 was $499,000, or $.03 per share, as compared to net income of $82,000, or $.17 per share. The number of the company's outstanding shares changed significantly as a result of its merger with Clinical Trials Assistance Corporation from 481,500 shares at December 31, 2003 to 19,000,000 shares at December 31, 2004.
"After a very sound first year as a public company, our balance sheet remains strong and we have the required capital to continue to grow at our projected levels throughout 2005. In addition, both our future acquisition strategy and our overall outlook remain very positive. We anticipate an exciting 2005 for IT&E and its shareholders," declares Sollenne.
About IT&E International Group
IT&E focuses on providing leading pharmaceutical companies with project-based consulting services in the areas of FDA Regulatory Compliance, data management, biometrics and clinical validation throughout the clinical trials lifecycle. The company, with its talented team of industry veterans with many years of biopharma experience, utilizes the latest tools and procedures to help its clients move quickly and effectively through the FDA approval process. Its services range from providing patients for drug trials, skilled personnel for trials, enterprise software and training to manage data and ensure FDA compliance and validation of new pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities to biostatistics support and analysis, audits, contract research services, data entry and verification services and providing total clinical solutions that take companies completely through Phase IV clinical trials. The company's pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare and other life science client list includes such well-known companies as Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), Amgen (Nasdaq:AMGN), Aventis Pasteur (NYSE:AVE), Baxter Pharmaceutical (NYSE: BAX), Bayer (NYSE:BAY), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY), Chiron (Nasdaq:CHIR), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Genentech (NYSE:DNA), GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:GSK), Novartis (NYSE:NVS), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Purdue Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough (NYSE:SGP), VaxGen (Pink Sheets:VXGN), and Wyeth Global (NYSE:WYE).
Included in this release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.