PLANTATION, Fla., Oct. 18, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- MEDirect Latino Inc. (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org), the first national provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community, today announced that its early results from its national media campaign, which began on September 20th, have increased the average daily call volume by 78 percent per day, an increase of 41 percent per day when the company was advertising its products and services solely in Puerto Rico. Based upon its present closing rate and early closing results in October, the company is projecting new patient shipments in October to exceed 2,650 clients, which is a 103 percent increase from the September operating results that it recently announced.
On September 20th, the company began its national media launch with the placement of national advertisement on the Telemundo network, while continuing to run advertising in Puerto Rico on Telemundo, Univision and local cable channels. Nationally, the company will be expanding its media campaign in the first quarter of 2006 to include both Telemundo and Univision, while also advertising on certain local cable channels, as well as radio, billboards and in print.
"The results generated by the company's aggressive acquisition of Hispanic Medicare customers continues to add tremendous value to the company at a rate much higher than we originally projected. Since our operating results have now exceeded our projections for the last 90 days, we have decided it is appropriate for us to revise our revenue projections for our fiscal year ending June 30, 2006 from $10 million to $15 million of gross revenues and upward from $2,000,000 to $5,000.000 of net profits," stated MEDirect Latino Inc. co-chairman and CEO, Mr. Raymond J. Talarico. "The expansion of our media campaign, coupled with our increased market share and the growth of the customer response rate, continues to validate the MEDirect Latino Medicare reimbursement model we are pioneering. MEDirect continues to fulfill the critical link between the Hispanic Medicare community and their healthcare benefits, which have been under-addressed prior to the formation of our company."
Response rates for the company's media campaign are achieving results 68 percent higher than projected. The average monthly increase of the customer response rate based on the company's media campaign is 46 percent. September 2005 response rate was up 93 percent over August 2005, and the company expects a similar increase in October over September response rates. The customer response rate represents a lagging indicator of potential revenue generated as a result of the media campaign, and the company projects both response rates and revenues will continue to outpace its projections.
MEDirect Latino continues to apply proprietary algorithms and formulas, which it then blends with information received from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Social Security Administration, U.S. Census Bureau and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This combined data, when integrated using the company's algorithms, with published information from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), produces micro-demographic indicators, which pinpoints for the company key target markets for aged Hispanic population centers. Testing of MEDirect Latino's proprietary algorithms has confirmed the company's research, which has proven counter-intuitive to any known market studies on the aged Hispanic community.
Stated MEDirect Latino Inc. COO, Mr. Charles W. Hansen, "Without the in-depth market knowledge developed as a result of our algorithms, other providers looking into this space will find it very difficult to navigate and achieve success." Closing, Mr. Hansen added, "The Hispanic consumer requires a provider, such as MEDirect Latino, to understand his or her needs and associated socio-economic considerations and to direct not only our media campaign to these needs, but also our products and our customer support. MEDirect has spent considerable time and capital in understanding these issues, which is reflected in the revised projections we are announcing today. Most importantly, we have determined that the media and systems that we have been using in the Puerto Rican market over the last few months are portable to the national market where our call volume, closing ratio and average revenue per client have been equal to or greater than the results we achieved solely in Puerto Rico."
The management of the company will discuss these results, its national launch and other key operating issues on its conference call today, Tuesday, October 18, 2005 at 4:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
Interested parties may hear the conference call by telephone.
-- To hear the conference call as it takes place:
Call 1-800-374-1207 in the United States or Canada or;
Call 1-706-634-5011 in the Atlanta Area or Internationally
-- To hear a recording of the call (available immediately following
the call by telephone for 30 days after the call takes place):
Call 1-800-642-1687 in the United States or Canada or;
Call 1-706-645-9291 in the Atlanta Area or Internationally
Pin Code: 1436343 followed by the number key
ANALYTICAL REPORTS
Additional company information may be obtained by reviewing a detailed research report published by noted micro-cap analyst, Mr. William Ritger, president of The Research Works, Inc., covering MEDirect Latino. The report is now available for review at: http://www.stocksontheweb.com/mlto.pdf
Additional company information may be obtained by reviewing a comprehensive analytical profile generated by small cap analyst, Mr. Gerald Kieft, president of Wall Street Resources, Inc. The 27-page report includes detailed information on the company's business model, products, industry, valuation, management, and risks. The free report is available at: http://www.wallstreetresources.net/pdf/fc/MLTO2.pdf
ABOUT MEDIRECT LATINO:
MEDirect Latino (Pink Sheets:MLTO) (www.medirectlatino.org) is a rapidly growing, uniquely positioned provider of direct-to-consumer Medicare reimbursed medical products focused exclusively on chronic diseases afflicting the Hispanic community in the United States and Puerto Rico. MEDirect is the only company positioned to serve the U.S. Hispanic healthcare market as a direct-to-consumer Medicare provider on an authentically national level. The company's current focus is the distribution of products for the treatment of Type II diabetes specifically because of its disproportionate impact and increasing diagnosis rate within the US Hispanic population, noting an incidence of 120 percent higher than among non-Hispanic whites. Type II diabetes was also targeted because of its unique status within the Medicare reimbursement regime and because of its high degree of correlation to other chronic conditions such as high blood pressure and heart disease. These other conditions represent considerable future market potential that will allow MEDirect to efficiently scale its model by leveraging its existing client base and infrastructure.
The current Hispanic market for MEDirect's products is conservatively estimated at approximately $748 million in the continental United States. The size of the opportunity is understated by such figures as an estimated 1.2 million of the over 4.1 million Hispanics in the United States over 65 eligible to receive Medicare benefits are currently collecting these benefits with an estimate that over 1.4 million of those Medicare-eligible Hispanics have diabetes (implying a potential continental U.S. market for MEDirect products of approximately $1 billion).
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
Statements about the company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in this press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as the term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. The company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequently occurring events or circumstances. Should events occur which materially affect any comments made within this press release, the company will appropriately inform the public.
The MEDirect Latino Inc. logo is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1873