| From: Glenn Petersen | 11/16/2004 9:40:57 AM | | | | | | The Knot Reports Third Quarter Results
biz.yahoo.com
Thursday November 11, 8:30 am ET
Online Advertising Revenue Rose 44%
Company Leverages Brand with Newlywed Site 'The Nest'
Reminder: Conference Call Today at 2:30 dial-in 800-638-7172, ID# 1694519
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 11, 2004-- The Knot, Inc. (OTCBB: KNOT.OB, www.theknot.com), one of the world's leading wedding media and services companies, today reported financial results for its third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2004.
For the third quarter, The Knot reported net revenues rose to $10.7 million from net revenues of $9.7 million in the same period of 2003. The revenue gain reflects a 44% increase in online advertising in both local and national markets. Publishing and other revenues for the period were up 18% primarily reflecting growth in national advertising pages for the 2004 Fall/Winter issue of The Knot Weddings magazine as well as growth of advertising programs in The Knot's local wedding magazines, which are published in 18 major U.S. markets.
"We are experiencing a significant increase of national advertisers as well as growth within our local vendor base" said David Liu, CEO of The Knot. "This trend reflects rising recognition of The Knot's reach to its active membership of over one million couples, representing the largest aggregation of a prime audience that will be spending on their weddings in the coming 12-18 months."
Merchandising revenue continues to under-perform, declining 18% from the prior year. "During the quarter we instituted further cost cutting measures at our Redding, California distribution facility that will begin to take effect in the fourth quarter. Concurrently, we are preparing to test launch our new e-commerce technology platform. Together, we believe these steps will improve our e-commerce performance in 2005," Liu added.
The Knot reported net income for the third quarter of 2004 of $1.0 million, or $0.05 per basic and $0.04 per diluted share. Gross margins rose to 71% from 65% in the prior year's third quarter due to a higher mix of advertising revenues. Total operating expenses for the third quarter, which increased to $6.6 million from $6.2 in the prior year, reflected a non-cash gain of $1.2 million due to the settlement of a previously recorded liability with a distribution partner. In addition, operating expenses for the recent quarter included approximately $985,000 of professional fees related to The Knot's current litigation with WeddingChannel.com, Inc. The Knot reported net income of $202,000 or $0.01 per basic and diluted share in the third quarter of 2003.
Member activity on The Knot increased in the third quarter with 112 million average monthly page views versus 87 million average monthly page views in the year earlier quarter. Today, over 70% of traffic on TheKnot.com is direct without a referring URL, testament to the dominant brand and service offering. As of September 30, 2004, The Knot's cumulative membership was over 5.4 million compared to the approximately 4.4 million in 2003.
For the first nine months of 2004, The Knot reported net revenues of $31.3 million, and net income of $1.1 million or $0.05 per basic and diluted share compared to net revenues of $28.5 million and net income of $778,000 or $0.04 per basic and diluted share in 2003.
In October, the Company launched The Nest and transitioned the substantial base of couples who have wed in the last two years to a new site, www.thenest.com, which focuses exclusively on the needs of newlyweds. "Our focus is maximizing the lifetime value of our membership database," Mr. Liu said. "We have a very loyal and active audience which joins The Knot to prepare for a major event in their lives. Since a substantial proportion of 'Knotties' continue to remain active on our site after their weddings, we see a natural expansion of our business to the newlywed market. We are very encouraged by the early positive feedback from our audience base for this new business which further leverages our membership and operating infrastructure."
THE KNOT'S RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
During the third quarter, The Knot's recognized wedding expert, Editor in Chief Carley Roney, remained in the national broadcast spotlight with several high profile appearances, including a trio of appearances on NBC's TODAY Show annual wedding series. Carley also hosted a 30-city broadcast media tour in October. The media tour generated over 2.2 million viewers.
In August, consistent with the Company's strategy to deliver smart and stylish wedding content to engaged couples wherever and whenever they need it, The Knot entered into a partnership with Comcast Cable to launch the first-ever all-weddings Video-on-Demand service. "The Knot Weddings" service, now available to Comcast cable subscribers nationwide, provides viewers with 24/7 access to over 45 hours of wedding-related programming including real wedding stories from the critically-acclaimed TV series, Real Weddings From The Knot as well as more than 60 exclusive runway fashion shows and special program packages on hot wedding trends. New programs are added to "The Knot Weddings" service each month.
CONFERENCE CALL AND WEBCAST
The Knot will host a conference call with investors at 2:30 p.m., ET on Thursday, November 11, 2004, to discuss its third quarter 2004 financial results. Participants should dial in 800-638-7172 at least 10 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. Participants can also access the live broadcast over the Internet on the Investor Relations section of The Knot Web site, accessible at theknot.com. To access the Web cast, participants should visit The Knot Web site at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call in order to download or install any necessary audio software.
REPLAY INFORMATION
A replay of the Web cast will also be archived on The Knot Web site approximately 2 hours after the conference call ends for a period of two weeks and will also be available at 800-642-1687 passcode #1694519
<snip>
The Knot Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)
September 30, December 31,
2004 2003
----------------------
(Unaudited) (Audited)
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $22,688 $22,511
Accounts receivable, net 2,917 2,883
Inventories 1,932 1,195
Deferred production and marketing costs 246 318
Other current assets 486 747
----------------------
Total current assets 28,269 27,654
Property and equipment, net 2,089 2,006
Intangible assets, net 8,659 8,734
Other assets 291 313
----------------------
Total assets $39,308 $38,707
======================
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $3,702 $5,790
Deferred revenue 5,951 4,891
Current portion of long-term debt 40 40
----------------------
Total current liabilities 9,693 10,721
Long term debt 196 196
Other liabilities 502 490
----------------------
Total liabilities 10,391 11,407
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock 222 217
Additional paid-in-capital 75,055 74,533
Accumulated deficit (46,360) (47,450)
----------------------
Total stockholders' equity 28,917 27,300
----------------------
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $39,308 $38,707
======================
The Knot Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share amounts)
Three months ended Nine months ended
September 30, September 30,
--------------------------------------------
2004 2003 2004 2003
--------------------------------------------
(Unaudited)(Unaudited)(Unaudited)(Unaudited)
Net revenues:
Sponsorship and
advertising $4,478 $3,117 $12,613 $8,888
Merchandise 3,717 4,520 10,951 13,320
Publishing and other 2,476 2,102 7,769 6,340
--------------------------------------------
Total net revenues 10,671 9,739 31,333 28,548
Cost of revenues 3,081 3,394 9,009 9,628
--------------------------------------------
Gross profit 7,590 6,345 22,324 18,920
Operating expenses:
Product and content
development 1,283 1,112 3,744 3,216
Sales and marketing 2,099 3,020 9,150 8,639
General and administrative 3,074 1,852 7,866 5,618
Non-cash compensation - 1 - 32
Depreciation and
amortization 190 174 589 665
--------------------------------------------
Total operating expenses 6,646 6,159 21,349 18,170
Income from operations 944 186 975 750
Interest and other income,
net 82 21 193 63
--------------------------------------------
Income before income taxes 1,026 207 1,168 813
============================================
Provision for income taxes 21 5 78 35
Net income $1,005 $202 $1,090 $778
============================================
Basic earnings per share $0.05 $0.01 $0.05 $0.04
============================================
Diluted earnings per share $0.04 $0.01 $0.05 $0.04
============================================
Weighted average number of
common shares outstanding
Basic 22,189,580 18,605,468 22,013,776 18,470,638
============================================
Diluted 23,505,692 20,492,003 23,606,535 19,734,658
============================================
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (65) | 12/7/2004 12:05:05 AM | | From: Tom Caruthers | | | | Hi Glenn,
I don't know if you watch the Apprentice or not, but they did a contest of creating a bridal salon and one of the teams used the KNOT to advertise with resounding success.
Their thenest.com site looks to be huge. Potentially advertisers galore.
I wound up buying some more.
Good luck!
Tom |
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| To: Tom Caruthers who wrote (66) | 12/7/2004 7:14:59 PM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | Tom,
I took a look at the new site. Very well done. A natural extension. The expense of rolling out the new site might hurt the fourth quarter numbers but it will add a lot of value in the long run.
I started a number of threads during the bubble. The Knot one was one of two Internet companies that had business plans that seemed perfectly suited for the Internet. The other was VarsityBooks.com (VSTY).
Subject 31880
VSTY sells books to college kids via the Internet. The stock bottomed out at $.06 per share. The company is solidly profitable and the stock is now at $6.00. Peter Lynch owns 7% of the company.
Regards,
Glenn |
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| From: brianmargolis | 1/4/2005 8:19:00 AM | | | | | | I am finding it very difficult to get any analysis of this company's current position/projections. Does anyone have a view at the beginning of 2005?
thx |
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| From: Glenn Petersen | 1/18/2005 11:32:37 AM | | | | | | KNOT enters the e-dating space. Seems like a logical extension. No term were announced.
biz.yahoo.com
The Knot Acquires GreatBoyfriends.com
Tuesday January 18, 8:50 am ET
Lifestage Media & Services Company Expands on its Franchise with Young Women
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2005--The Knot Inc. (OTCBB: KNOT - News, www.theknot.com - News), one of the world's leading lifestage media and services companies, reported today it has acquired the assets of GreatBoyfriends LLC (GreatBoyfriends.com and GreatGirlfriends.com).
GreatBoyfriends.com and GreatGirlfriends.com will become the fourth lifestage-oriented service within The Knot Inc.'s growing portfolio of brands, which includes top wedding brand The Knot, newlywed resource TheNest.com, and popular teen site PromSpot.com. Building upon its market share within the $70 billion wedding industry, this latest acquisition further expands the company's relationship with women, ages 25-35, and marks the arrival of The Knot Inc. into the $450 million online personals domain.
GreatBoyfriends.com and GreatGirlfriends.com are unique referral-based e-dating services that offer singles access to "pre-approved" potential suitors. Founded in 2002 by ELLE magazine advice columnist E.Jean Carroll and her sister Cande Carroll, GreatBoyfriends.com and GreatGirlfriends.com are based on the premise that everyone knows a 'great catch' (an ex, his best man, her maid of honor, a younger brother or sister, etc.) who is in the market for true love.
Closing the loop between social networking and online dating, the sites work on the principle "if you take a good catch, you put one back." The services enable friends and family of potential suitors to act as third-party endorsers, allowing them to post recommendations and pictures on behalf of desirable singles -- at no charge. In turn, singles who nominate a great find are rewarded with a free month's subscription to the sites' witty "boyfriend and girlfriend ratings" and can correspond with its community of famously handsome men and seriously gorgeous women -- every one of whom comes with a woman's stamp of approval or wingman's thumbs-up. Singles can continue their give-and-take approach to e-dating or gain access without a referral for a subscription fee of $20 per month.
"The acquisition of the GreatBoyfriends referral-based online personals franchise is a logical expansion of our business," said David Liu, CEO of The Knot. "Our core audience of millions of engaged women on TheKnot.com are eager to marry off their single friends and have been matchmaking for their bridesmaids and groomsmen through our message boards for years. Our intensely viral bridal community is the perfect match for both growing the GreatBoyfriends.com database of eligible single men and driving new women customers to purchase site subscriptions, and likewise for GreatGirlfriends.com. And. . . when they do find their match, our existing media properties will be there to guide them to the altar and beyond."
"It's brilliant! The Knot is about to monetize Mother Nature's Meet-and-Mate in a delicious way not even dreamed of by the most inventive marketers. The Knot will generate consumers for their wedding and newlywed sites by helping people fall in love on GreatBoyfriends.com and GreatGirlfriends.com," said cofounder E. Jean Carroll. "It's genius - and sexy in a way that only e-commerce can be sexy. For who better to give a stamp of approval and vouch for her fave fellow's 'nice guy' status or her best gal's 'bring home to mom' quotient, than a bride on her way to the altar herself?"
Cande Carroll added, "It's a perfect marriage between our two companies, with couples finding their true love on GreatBoyfriends.com and heading straight for The Knot post-engagement to plan their weddings and their happily ever after."
Cande Carroll will join The Knot management team as Vice President and will continue to manage the GreatBoyfriends.com service. E.Jean Carroll, author of long-running ELLE magazine column "Ask E. Jean" which reaches 4.8 million readers per month, will remain a consultant to the division, making ongoing contributions to the business including editorial content and will continue as media spokeswoman for GreatBoyfriends.com. A recognized relationships expert, E. Jean is the author of four books, was a contributing editor to Esquire, has written for Rolling Stone, Spin, New York, Outside, and was nominated for an Emmy for her writing for Saturday Night Live. She is a guest on national TV shows from Oprah to Today.
<snip> |
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| To: Tom Caruthers who wrote (68) | 1/18/2005 11:34:32 AM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | KNOT filed an 8-K last week disclosing that they had applied for a listing on The Nasdaq SmallCap Market.
sec.gov
ITEM 8.01. Other Events.
The Knot, Inc. applied to list its common stock on The Nasdaq SmallCap Market. Although The Knot believes that it meets all of the criteria for inclusion on The Nasdaq SmallCap Market, including satisfaction of all applicable Nasdaq Marketplace Rules, there can be no assurance that The Knot’s application will be approved. |
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| To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (71) | 1/19/2005 10:20:48 AM | | From: Tom Caruthers | | | | Hi Glenn,
Happy New Year!
I have been accumulating slowly since the last earnings release based on the assumption that mynest.com will be a major play on online advertising, positioning the company for either good growth, or as an acquisition candidate. This latest announcement of the acquisition of greatgirlfriends.com and greatboyfriends.com seems to be a distraction. It may work as it tries to capture eyeballs that are younger than the married crowd, but don't see how this builds revenue. The application to the NASDAQ small cap is a good move.
Tom |
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| To: Tom Caruthers who wrote (72) | 1/23/2005 11:20:04 AM | | From: Glenn Petersen | | | | Tom,
And a Happy New Year to you.
I think that you are right about mynest.com, though I suspect that the site did not generate much in the way of revenues during the fourth quarter. It will take some time to ramp up. I'll qualify that with a, "I could be wrong."
The latest acquisition is a bit puzzling. The e-dating space has been hot, though this twist on the concept might not be a huge revenue generator. I'm still waiting for the company to file an 8-K with some more details.
Today's New York Times has an article on Audible and certain of its shareholders who essentially "bet the house" on the company when its stock price was down at $.15 per share. The article mentions The Knot and Varsity Group.
Message 20975886 |
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