XFONE Revenues Increase 36% in First Quarter 2009;
Net Income Grows to $2.3 Million
May 11, 2009
Lubbock, TX – May 15, 2009 – XFONE, Inc. (NYSE Amex and TASE: XFN) (“XFONE” or “the Company”) announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2009.
Financial highlights for the three months ended March 31, 2009:
- Total revenues increased 36% to $21.5 million compared to $15.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008.
- EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $2.0 million compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008.
- Operating income was $1.0 million, compared to $1.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008
- Net financing income increased to $1.5 million, compared to a net financing expense of ($903,169) for the three months ended March 31, 2008, primarily attributed to the effect of fluctuation in the exchange rate of the New Israeli Shekel (NIS) on the Company’s Bonds which are stated in NIS and linked to the Israeli Consumer Price Index (CPI).
- The Company reported net income of $2.3 million or $0.126 per share, assuming 18,376,075 fully diluted shares outstanding at March 31, 2009, compared to $81,130 or $0.005 per share, assuming 15,392,258 fully diluted shares outstanding at March 31, 2008.
Guy Nissenson, President and CEO, commented, “Our revenue growth was driven by the performance of our U.S. division where revenues increased 79.7% to $15.7 million during the first three months of 2009, and represented 72.9% of the Company’s total revenue for the first quarter. This increase in revenues largely stems from our acquisition of NTS Communications in February 2008. During the first quarter of 2009, we continued to make progress with the strategic roll out of our Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) network. In addition to building out the Levelland network and beginning the initial sales process in this market, we have applied for an additional RUS broadband loan. If approved, this new project will extend our FTTP footprint to include six communities in southern Louisiana and will add approximately 20,000 additional passings to our triple play network. We remain highly focused on obtaining both grants and loans currently being made available under the federal government's stimulus plan for the construction of advanced broadband networks in select rural areas of the United States. We believe that our previous experience working with the government on the buildout of our Levelland network positions us very competitively as a potential recipient of federal funding.”
“Our non-U.S. subsidiaries continued to contribute cash flow to the business even in this global economic slowdown. Nonetheless, currency fluctuation significantly impacted their reported revenues. For example, our UK revenues showed a decline of 24% to $3.7 million compared to the same quarter last year. Notwithstanding the currency valuation, nominal revenues in the UK were flat compared to the same quarter last year. Likewise, revenues at Xfone 018, our Israeli division, decreased 4.6% to $2.2 million for the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008 due to the revaluation of the U.S. Dollar to the New Israeli Shekel in the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Notwithstanding this currency valuation, the nominal revenues in Israel demonstrated an increase of 11% as a result of Xfone 018’s new marketing initiatives.”
Mr. Nissenson concluded, “In this current difficult economic environment, Xfone had a solid first quarter. We believe our company’s industry experience, ability to adapt to the changing marketplace, and ongoing focus on building our FTTP network will continue to create new opportunities and serve us well for long term growth.”
Conference Call:
The Company will host a conference call today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial results. The conference call may be accessed in the U.S. and Canada by dialing toll-free 1-877-407-8033. International callers may access the call by dialing 1-201-689-8033.
A replay of the teleconference will be available for 30 days after the call and may be accessed domestically by dialing 1-877-660-6853 and international callers may dial 1-201-612-7415. Callers must enter account number 286 and conference number 323061.
To access the live webcast, log onto the XFONE website at http://www.xfone.com. The webcast can also be accessed at http://www.InvestorCalendar.com. An online replay will be available shortly after the call.
About XFONE, Inc.
A U.S.-domiciled corporation, XFONE, Inc. is an international voice, video and data communications services provider with operations in the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel that offers a wide range of services, which include: local, long distance and international telephony services; video; prepaid and postpaid calling cards; cellular services; Internet services; messaging services (Email/Fax Broadcast, Email2Fax and Cyber-Number); and reselling opportunities. The Company serves customers worldwide. For the company's website, please visit: www.xfone.com
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The words or phrases "should," "would be," "will allow," "intends to," "will likely result," "are expected to," "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "project," or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements." The Company's financial results reflected above should not be construed by any means as representative of the current or future value of its common stock. All information set forth in this press release, except historical and factual information, represents forward-looking statements. This includes all statements about the company's plans, beliefs, estimates and expectations. These statements are based on current estimates and projections, which involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include issues related to rapidly changing technology and evolving standards in the industries in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate; the ability to obtain sufficient funding to continue operations, maintain adequate cash flow, profitably exploit new business, and license and sign new agreements; the unpredictable nature of consumer preferences; and other factors set forth in the Company's most recently filed annual report and registration statement. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which reflect management's analysis only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof. Readers should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described in other documents that the Company files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
| For More Information, Please Contact: |
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| U.S.
IR Contact |
John G. Nesbett/Jennifer Belodeau
Institutional Marketing Services (IMS)
Phone: 1.203.972.9200.
E-mail: jnesbett@institutionalms.com |
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| Xfone Contact |
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Niv Krikov
Chief Financial Officer
Phone: 1.806.771.1181
E-mail: niv@xfone.com
5307 W. Loop 289
Lubbock, TX 79414-1610
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