|
Sales Growth Good, but Slower than in the Past
SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Overstock.com(R)
(Nasdaq: OSTK) president Patrick Byrne appeared on Bloomberg Television on
Friday December 23, 2005. During that appearance, Byrne said that fourth
quarter growth had slowed to two times the industry average rather than the
three to four times that the company had posted in the past. Byrne confirmed
that Overstock.coms revenue growth for 2005 would fall within his desired
range of 60-100% growth, but stated that earnings would be a percentage or two
less than his target of breakeven net income, which he defines as +/- 1% of
revenue. Byrne also said that Overstock.com would be breakeven to positive on
an EBITDA basis for the fourth quarter, but that it would have negative
operating cash flows for 2005 due to build in inventory balances.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030520/LATU020LOGO-a )
"Weve had a nice holiday season, just not as nice a season as weve had
in the past or as Id hoped for," said Byrne. "We have become the go-to shop
for smart, savvy shoppers interested in high quality products at discount
prices, and I made the determination that this holiday season would be
critical for solidifying our brand in our customers eyes. To get above the
noise, we spent a few dollars more than we had hoped, but in my experience,
over time, those dollars will pay large dividends. So I decided to do what is
smart for the company in the long run, rather than focus on just the quarters
results -- because I plan to be around next season as well, and to be bigger
than ever."
"Incidentally, during the interview, the Bloomberg reporter asked me about
our lawsuit against Rocker and Gradient," said Byrne. "As part of my
response, I mentioned the SECs investigation of Gradient (see
http://www.shareholder.com/overstock/downloads/DeclarantSECletters_AddressesRe
dacted.pdf) for a copy of the SEC letters which I had previously provided to
Bloomberg). Curiously, at that moment, Bloomberg cut away from the interview
without warning to a commercial and returned midstream to the interview only
when I had finished discussing the SECs investigation of Gradient."
Overstock.com will announce its fourth quarter results in late January or
early February.
About Overstock.com
Overstock.com, Inc. is an online "closeout" retailer offering discount,
brand-name merchandise for sale over the Internet. The company offers its
customers an opportunity to shop for bargains conveniently, while offering its
suppliers an alternative inventory liquidation distribution channel.
Overstock.com, headquartered in Salt Lake City, is a publicly traded company
listed on the NASDAQ National Market System and can be found online at
http://www.overstock.com.
Overstock.com is a registered trademark of Overstock.com, Inc. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements include, but
are not limited to, statements regarding the companies growth, financial
results, timing of announcing fourth quarter results, and such other risks as
identified in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, and all our
subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contain
and identify important factors that could cause the actual results to differ
materially from those contained in our projections or forward-looking
statements.
|
|
