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Only one BLOG entry late in
the week- ZAPZ's poor performance this past week was covered in
a BLOG posting late yesterday.
To use the BLOG, simply go
to the home page at www.otcjournal.com
- the BLOG will scroll down automatically on the right side of your
screen. The most current journal entries appear in the middle of your screen.
Check back frequently for updates particularly when stocks are moving to
overbought or oversold levels or in volatile markets.
It's been a very frustrating week.
ZAPZ
lost a point after the company told the world they had $100 million in
orders for their snappy little urban/yuppie gas sipper. Believe me, this
is just the beginning for this company. Their order flow is gigantic.
GEPT
delivered an exciting piece of news with $5 million in orders on security
xray equipment. The stock fizzled back into its regression channel. If
you read the BLOG, you know I recommended a sell below $3.30 for
traders. I introduced a new idea- XNOM- a biotech company with eye
opening new technology and a replacement for amniocentesis- lackluster
response. The only minor victory was FMLY finally eclipsing $.09
on Friday. It pushed back a little towards the end of the day, but I'll
take it as a small victory in a tough week.
These are all very exciting, very
high growth companies, and their stocks should have traded better on their
corporate accomplishments. Investors are sidelined by the negative news
dominating the media. Oil eclipsed the $55 per barrel mark. Interest rates
are rising. Talk of the bubble bursting on real estate, a slowing economy,
and high consumer debt has many investors running for the exits. Sounds
a lot like last April to July.
As such, I strongly recommend that
anyone just looking for short term trades on the long side stay away. This
is an investors market. There are some great growth companies out there
trading at very reasonable valuations. If you are hoping to buy today and
sell tomorrow forget it. Accumulate now, and wait for the market to absorb
all the negative news. You can position yourself to make some real money
by accumulating positions in good growth companies and wait for the hot
money to come back and run them up for you. Don't be sidelined by a hangover
from the once in a century '01 to '03 bear market.
If there is any horsepower left in
this market for an undervalued situation with outstanding performance,
Friday's year end results from BPTR should find it. The company
had a phenomenal year, and is the best turn around situation I have ever
seen.
For those of you who liked the BPTR
idea
when it was first introduced last October, I have found the next
BPTR.
I'm going to introduce it Tuesday after the market closes, so stand by
for an undervalued and unrecognized fundamentally strong company.
 |
BrandPartners
(OTC BB: BPTR); Year End Numbers Suggest Still Absurdly Undervalued |
|
BrandPartners reported outstanding
year end numbers after the market closed on Friday. Let's get right to
the results:
-
'04 Revenues came in at $50.6 million,
up 50% from '03's $33.7 million in revs
-
'04 Earnings came in at $14.2 million;
$.39 per share (this number is not meaningful as $9 million of the earnings
was forgiveness of debt)
-
'04 Operating earnings (this is the
important number) were $5.1 million- improving by $16 million over '03.
-
Operating EPS for '04 came in at
$.14
per share. This is the meaningful number.
At the end of '03 BPTR had $21.5
million in debt. At the end of '04 BPTR had $9.6 million in debt.
Between restructuring and pay downs, BPTR has reduced its debt and
strengthened its balance sheet considerably.
For those of you who have been following
my commentary, you should recall I predicted $.12 to $.14 EPS for the year.
We came in at the high end of the range.
With '04 in the rear view mirror,
it is now time to set our sites on '05. In my view, this is the single
most important fact disclosed in Friday's press release:
"as for
our start to 2005, our backlog on December 31, 2004, was $31 million,
a historical high for the Company that represented a $10 million increase
over the backlog on December 31, 2003."
BPTR turned the corner into
'05 with $31 million in business booked already. Can you visualize $100
million in '05? I can- it's possible, although certainly not necessary
for this stock to trade to much higher levels.
I invite anyone to show me any metric
by which BPTR is not still absurdly undervalued. A P/E of 7 as compared
against a 50% top line growth rate, significant debt reduction, and strong
margins is anemic. If the stock had a large audience or more institutional
sponsorship, it would be trading at at P/E of 20- $2.80 per share.
Look for the company to spend a little
money to establish an international presence this year. I believe they
are going to target Europe early in the year, and could expand to South
America as well. Also, look for them to expand horizontally into other
financial services markets in the US. Brokerage firms, money lending stores,
and the like are in their cross hairs.
BPTR has a plan to make a
stronger effort to get its story out in front of the investment community.
With their results, it should be a fairly simple task to find buyers for
this stock.
If BPTR doesn't trade up over
the next few days count me as stunned. This outstanding performance will
have been sabotaged by a paralyzed market. A short squeeze might also be
in the offing, as BPTR does appear on the SEC's Threshold Security
list.
The chart is also very favorable.
The stock has delivered a perfect Fibonacci 61.8% retracement as measured
from mid February low of $.90. Look for a strong rebound early next week.
To me, the most interesting number
is $1.20. The stock touched off the $1.20 level on April 28, 2004.
This was a multi year high. If the stock can eclipse the $1.20 level, who
knows where it might go.
If the market refuses to bid this
stock higher, view it as a golden opportunity to accumulate more. High
oil prices, rising interest rates, and commodity stocks are drawing all
the demand. When the money swings back, you can be in the right stock at
the right time.
If you want to learn about the next
BPTR
while it still trades in obscurity, check your inbox Tuesday after the
market closes.
Here is the complete text of Friday's
press release for your review: If you want to listen to the company's year
end conference call: Monday at 9 AM Pacific, 12 Eastern. Dial 888.428.4479.
| Press Release Source:
BrandPartners Group, Inc.
BrandPartners Announces
Record Income and Revenues for Its 2004 Fiscal Year
Friday March 18, 4:01 pm
ET
Revenues Surge 50%
to $50.6 Million with EPS of $.39
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March
18, 2005--BrandPartners Group, Inc. (OTCBB:BPTR - News), a next-generation
provider of integrated retail environment services to the burgeoning retail
financial services sector, today announced record financial results for
the twelve months ended December 31, 2004.
The results, showing
the strongest annual gains in both revenue and income in the Company's
history, include:
*
Net income for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2004 grew to $14.2 million,
or $.39 per fully diluted share, including one-time gains related to forgiveness
of debt of $9 million.
* Net income for the same period excluding the one-time gains related to
the forgiveness of debt grew to $5.1 million, or $.14 per fully diluted
share, a $16.0 million improvement over the previous year's loss of $10.9
million.
* Revenues for the 12 months ended December 31, 2004 were $50.6 million,
a 50% increase over the previous year's $33.7 million.
"Quite simply, we have
achieved the best year in the Company's history based on revenues and profitability,"
said James Brooks, Chief Executive Officer for BrandPartners. "The confluence
of our financial restructuring and a highly articulated business strategy
enabled us to achieve record revenues and net income. Through negotiations,
restructuring, and pay downs, we reduced our total debt from $21.5 million
on December 31, 2003 to $9.6 million on December 31, 2004, an $11.9 million
reduction. And, as for our start to 2005, our backlog on December 31, 2004,
was $31 million, a historical high for the Company that represented a $10
million increase over the backlog on December 31, 2003."
BrandPartners anticipates
continued growth in the coming year. "We are continuing to execute and
improve upon our business model, and we believe that the company will continue
to aggressively grow its revenue stream in 2005 and 2006," said Mr. Brooks.
"To achieve that goal we are continuing to invest in the Company and are
pursuing growth opportunities by expanding our sales force, prospecting
for opportunities in new markets domestically and internationally, developing
new products and services, and evaluating possible acquisitions and partnerships
that will allow us to cross-sell our core products and services to new
industries."
Other financial results
include an increase of fourth quarter revenue to $11.9 million, compared
to $9.5 million for the comparable quarter of 2003. The net income attributable
to common stockholders for the quarter was $1.1 million, and the earnings
per common share was $0.03 fully diluted, compared to a net loss of $4.0
million, or $(0.21) per fully diluted common share for the three months
ended December 31, 2003. Additional financial information as well as other
corporate data will be included in the Company's Form 10-K to be filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission this coming week.
The reported 50% 12-month
year-over-year revenue gains -- from $33.7 million in 2003 to $50.6 million
in 2004 -- underscore the strength of BrandPartner's business and growth
strategies. The Company attributed the increase to a range of factors,
including diversification of its client base, introduction of new marketing
solutions, and strong demand for products related to branded retail environments
in the financial services industry.
Tony Cataldo, BrandPartners'
Chairman, added, "I believe that Jim and his management team have done
an extraordinary job positioning the company to continue increasing its
penetration of the financial services industry. Simultaneously, they have
created a powerful entrepreneurial spirit to enable the company to generate
strong revenue and net income growth by transferring its core competencies
to other industries."
Conference Call
The Company announced
that it will be hosting a conference call and webcast discussing BrandPartner's
financial results on Monday, March 21, at 12 noon Eastern. BrandPartners'
Chairman Tony Cataldo and Company President Jim Brooks will be available
to answer questions and discuss the current state of the company. To listen
to the webcast, investors can click on www.trilogy-capital.com prior to
the call or can dial 888.428.4479 and reference the BrandPartners conference
call. International callers can dial 612.288.0329. Interested investors
can email questions in advance of the call to paul@trilogy-capital.com.
A text transcript and audio recording of the call will be archived for
future reference at www.trilogy-capital.com.
About BrandPartners Group,
Inc.
BrandPartners Group,
together with its wholly owned subsidiary Willey Brothers, is a design,
architecture and marketing Company creating the next generation of banking
and financial services retail environments through a range of integrated
financial facility solutions and services. The Company's comprehensive
suites of services include Branch Planning, Architecture, Facility Construction,
Market Intelligence and Consulting, Strategic Business Planning, Brand
Translation, and Retail Merchandising. The Company leverages the high rate
of change and growth in the financial services retailing marketplace, capitalizing
on its ability to provide the design and branding needs of institutions
of all sizes, including worldwide, regional and community banking. The
Company has provided its design, architecture, and/or marketing expertise
to more than 1,600 financial services companies, touching more than 24,000
branches of U.S. financial institutions. For more investor-specific information,
including daily and historical Company stock quote data and recent news
releases, please visit http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/brandpartners.
To read or download the Company's Investor Fact Sheet visit http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/brandpartners/factsheet.html.
Cautionary Language
Statements in this press
release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could
cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from
the historical results or from any future results expressed or implied
by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include among others:
the Company's ability to successfully complete contracts and receive timely
payment, continued services of executive officers of the Company and its
subsidiary; the Company's ability to refinance or obtain an extension of
its existing debt; its ability to continue to obtain waivers of covenants
and other defaults under its debt instruments and credit facilities; its
ability to identify appropriate acquisition candidates, finance and complete
such acquisitions and successfully integrate acquired businesses; changes
in its business strategies or development plans; competition; and its ability
to grow within the financial services industries. The forward-looking statements
contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties
that are described from time to time in the Company's reports and registration
statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Trilogy Capital Partners (Investor Relations)
Paul Karon, 800-342-1467
Source: BrandPartners
Group, Inc. |
|
