DALLAS, TX--(Marketwire - May 8, 2009) - NewMarket Technology, Inc. (
PINKSHEETS:
NMKT)
today released a letter to shareholders from CEO Philip Verges. Mr. Verges
has written a personal letter addressing shareholder concerns with the
Company in light of the ongoing historic economic challenges. The letter
not only speaks to specific concerns, but it also presents the concerns
within a framework of the overall economic situation, the current
regulatory challenges for small businesses at large as seen through the
eyes of his own personal experiences while managing those challenges. The
letter is included in its entirety below.
Dear Fellow Shareholders -
In February of this year and in February of the past several years, I have
received an American Airlines Executive Platinum Frequent Flyer Membership
card. Executive Platinum status is American's highest frequent flyer
ranking and requires a passenger to have traveled over 100,000 miles in the
previous year. The card has a fancy name and gives me the ability of
cutting to the front of some airport lines and getting an upgrade to First
Class, however only when the airline has empty seats there. That upgrade,
when available, can be awfully refreshing as it is NewMarket policy to only
buy coach class tickets, and 14 hours in the middle seat in the back of an
airplane on its way to Asia is, from my experience, not preferred.
Regardless of the fancy name, the card's only requirement is that the
passenger flies 100,000 miles during a year. That's the equivalent of
flying around the world four times.
Last week, as I returned home from my most recent trip away, my wife handed
me an envelope that had arrived for me from American Airlines. I had
apparently already received my fancy Executive Platinum card for next year.
My wife was not smiling when she handed me the envelope.
With NewMarket operations in China, South East Asia and South America, it
should be no surprise that a good deal of travel goes with my job.
However, I have never traveled 100,000 miles in a three month period
before. My wife and I have five children from the ages of 7 to 17, so
perhaps you can imagine and appreciate her expression when she handed me
the envelope from American Airlines.
The reason for my increased travel this year is directly related to the
historic economic conditions we are all currently facing. I have traveled
more recently both to manage issues arising from the economic crisis, as
well as to seize opportunities that the crisis has created. The increased
number of hours confined to an airplane seat has allowed me the opportunity
to read more than usual in recent years. During this historic economic
crisis, one classic novel re-captured my attention: Charles Dickens' "The
Tale of Two Cities." As you may recall, his book famously begins:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was
the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had
everything before us, we had nothing before us... "
What he was writing about was a revolution, the French Revolution. The
French Revolution followed the American Revolution and was a similarly
successful fight for citizenship and inalienable rights. The pursuit of
life, liberty and happiness requires economic conditions that minimally
enable every citizen to earn a respectable living.
Dickens' quote sounds to me as if he could be writing about the present
day. Most of us in the United States and around the world today make our
living working for a company with less than 500 employees. Full employment
in the United States is approximately 120 million jobs and 20 million of
those jobs come from self-employment.
Since the beginning of 2009 almost 200 companies have been kicked off the
OTCBB by FINRA's rule 6530 -- the three strike rule for being late on
financial filings three times in two years. Approximately 100 more
companies have filed to voluntarily deregister from being required to file
periodic reports with the SEC. At the same time, the NYSE and NASDAQ have
lowered market capitalization requirements and minimum share price
requirements in order to help larger companies maintain listings.
Additionally, NASDAQ has implemented a policy to allow a company delinquent
in its periodic filings to remain listed for up to six months following the
delinquency.
Companies, both large and small, go public to improve access to capital.
The current economic crisis is arguably a result of abuse, mismanagement
and criminal activity in the capital markets for large publicly listed
businesses. The government response to that crisis is to invest billions
of tax payer dollars to bailout the financial institutions where the abuse,
mismanagement and criminal activity was perpetrated and to lower the
regulatory standards for large publicly listed business.
I believe the bailout of large financial institutions and the lowering of
regulatory requirements for large publicly listed businesses is a necessary
evil to protect the millions of small investors that have had their
personal financial welfare put at risk. But why are small companies not
receiving similar regulatory accommodations and bailout investments? In
fact, the policy regarding small publicly listed companies is otherwise
becoming more stringent and as a result more small companies are failing in
the face of increased regulatory requirements.
The President communicates daily his latest policy regarding large banks
and investment institutions as well as his perspective on the future of
Chrysler and General Motors. The news media then analyzes, in great detail
and with excessive redundancy, all that the President has said.
Accordingly, we all have the opportunity to vent our frustrations with the
current financial crisis regarding big banking and big business by
discussing with our friends what we believe the President is doing right
and what he is doing wrong. Few of us are driven by our concern and
frustration to write or call the CEOs of multibillion dollar banks or of
General Motors or Chrysler to express our frustrations or concerns. We are
otherwise satisfied by venting our frustrations in cocktail debates.
However, if you are reading this letter, you are probably an investor in
the small publicly listed market. You are probably an investor in
NewMarket. You are also likely concerned and frustrated by the current
performance of your investment. But the President and the news media are
not discussing Rule 6530 for OTCBB companies compared to the 180 day policy
for NASDAQ companies to rectify financial reporting delinquencies. You
have no opportunity to vent frustration by discussing Presidential
addresses and news broadcasts on this topic over cocktails. In fact, you
probably have a hard time seeing your investment concern as a result of any
other issue than what you may perceive as the mismanagement of the small
public company in which you invested. While you may believe your voice is
not loud enough or important enough for the CEO of Chrysler to listen to
what you think he has done wrong and what he should now do, some of you do
write or call the CEO of a small company and tell him what you think. Keep
the phone calls and the letters coming. We want to hear from you.
Many of you have recently written or called to express your concern
regarding NewMarket's late 2008 financial report. Some have expressed
concerns that I am planning to intentionally drive the Company to
involuntary deregistration. Others have simply reprimanded me for what
they believe to be ineffective management. Some have been polite, and
others would require a "Restricted" rating warning due to language if I
were to share the communication with you. Some have made recommendations
that I have taken under advisement and implemented. Keep them coming.
NewMarket is late reporting the financial results of 2008. Our CFO, Phil
Rauch, published a letter to shareholders on April 15th, 2009 regarding the
decision to delay the filing. There is no other reason for the delay other
than what Mr. Rauch discussed in his letter:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/NewMarket-Technology-Inc-iw-14939037.html
We have every intention of completing and filing the report as soon as
possible. We have no intention to deregister the Company.
If you have not done so already, please take some time to review our recent
shareholder Webcasts, press releases and public filings. Links to these
are available on our website under Investor Relations. Not only do we
intend to continue publishing audited financial reports, we are working
vigilantly to align the Company's current price per share with what we
believe is the otherwise unrealized underling financial performance of the
Company. Last week we filed a report regarding the Company's restructuring
of debt. Today we filed an information statement regarding our plan to
reduce the number of shares issued and outstanding as part of a plan to
meet the minimum share price requirements for a listing on the OTCQX. We
have recently published multiple on-demand Webcasts, available on our
website, discussing our debt restructuring plans and OTCQX direction. We
have also published multiple press releases and on-demand Webcasts
regarding our Greenfield initiative to sustain aggressive emerging market
and emerging technology growth.
My wife and I met in high school in Dallas, Texas. She patiently dated me
through a less than typical college courtship while I attended West Point.
After she graduated from college in New York and I graduated from West
Point, we married in our hometown and then she again patiently accommodated
my military career. I think the only reason she tolerated the West Point
and military lifestyle was because she knew how important it was for me to
feel I was playing a role in the defense of mankind's inalienable rights to
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I know it might sound corny to
some, maybe even to her. I know she loves me for it anyway and figures if
I am pursuing a higher purpose for all mankind I am staying out of trouble.
Now, with our five children, she is patiently tolerating my American
Airlines frequent flyer status. She patiently supports my dedication to
NewMarket, because she knows my dedication to NewMarket is part of my
overall growing concern and dedication for regulatory and market
inequalities that small businesses suffer and the impact that those
inequalities have on small business owners, managers, investors and
employees.
What she sees that you may not have, is that I have voluntarily visited the
SEC twice in the last six months on behalf of all small publicly listed
companies. What she sees that you may not have, is that I have recently
joined the board of an AMEX listed company preparing to launch a media
network dedicated to the small business market. What you don't know is
that she hosted our African management team in our home last November to
launch our operations in East Africa.
I hope all shareholders might come to recognize NewMarket's experience in
illustrating the challenges suffered by small businesses and the
opportunity for NewMarket to make a difference and lend advice to other
like companies. However, make no mistake, I am dedicated to the long term
success of NewMarket and realizing a return on investment for both
shareholders and for my family alike.
Best Regards,
Philip M. Verges
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
NewMarket Technology, Inc.
Corporate E-mail Updates
To be added to NewMarket Technology's e-mail database to receive company
updates or to obtain more information on the Company, please send an e-mail
to
ir@newmarkettechnology.com or call 214-722-3065.
About NewMarket Technology, Inc. (
www.newmarkettechnology.com)
NewMarket helps clients maintain the delicate balance between maintaining
legacy systems and gaining a competitive edge from the latest technology
innovations. NewMarket provides certified systems integration and
maintenance services to support the prevailing industry standard solutions
from companies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Infor, Cisco Systems, SAP, Siebel
and Sun Microsystems. Concurrently, NewMarket continuously seeks to acquire
emerging technology assets to incorporate into an overall product portfolio
carefully packaged to complement the prevailing industry standard
solutions.
NewMarket delivers its portfolio of products and services through its
network of Solution Integration subsidiaries in North America and the
leading emerging markets around the world to include Latin America, China
and Singapore.
NewMarket ranked Number One in Texas, Number Three in the United States and
Number Five in North America on Deloitte's 2006 Technology Fast 500, a
ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications
and life sciences companies in North America. Rankings are based on
percentage revenue growth over five years, from 2001-2005. The Company grew
from less than $1 million in revenue in 2001 to over $50 million in
profitable revenue in 2005.
The company has continued its rapid growth, reporting $77.6 million in
revenue with a net income of $5.8 million in 2006 and most recently $93.1
million in revenue with a net income of $7.3 million in 2007.
"SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT" UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT
OF 1995
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties. The statements in this release are forward-looking
statements that are made pursuant to safe harbor provision of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results, events and
performance could vary materially from those contemplated by these
forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown
risks and uncertainties, which may cause NewMarket's actual results in
future periods to differ materially from results expressed or implied by
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among
other things, product demand and market competition. You should
independently investigate and fully understand all risks before making
investment decisions.
Contact Information: Contact:
NewMarket Technology, Inc.
Investor Relations
214-722-3065
ir@newmarkettechnology.com