International Card Establishment Restructures Operations
CAMARILLO, Calif., May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/
Company Expects EBITDA and Cash Flow Positive Status by Third Quarter 2006
International Card Establishment, Inc. (I.C.E.) (OTC Bulletin Board: ICRD – News) today announced it had closed the sale of its wholly-owned GlobalTech Leasing, Inc. subsidiary for $2,500,000, which consisted of an $808,943 cash payment and the assumption of $1,691,057 in I.C.E. debt by the buyer, Financial Transactions Services (FTS). Additional terms of the agreement call for I.C.E. to receive “Favored Nations Pricing” on any lease terms from GlobalTech for three years; I.C.E. will receive the absolute best leasing terms that GlobalTech offers to any other company during this period.
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I.C.E. opted to divest itself of GlobalTech Leasing due to the fact that it was unable to obtain a bank credit facility for its former leasing unit. A large credit facility would have enhanced the long-term value of the leases originated by GlobalTech — by enabling the company to hold the leases in a portfolio-but would have likely resulted in continuing losses for several years.
In a separate transaction, I.C.E. has agreed to enter into a three year processing and servicing agreement with FTS which offers substantially better processing terms than those under which I.C.E. was previously operating. The new processing and service agreement, together with recent overhead reduction measures and a commensurate headcount reduction of approximately 50%, should result in I.C.E. generating positive EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization) — a key industry metric — and positive cash flow by the third quarter 2006. Since the first quarter 2005, Merchant services revenues have increased from $814, 332 to $2,317,000 in the comparable period for 2006. I.C.E. expects revenues to stabilize at this level over the next two quarter(s), following which the company will launch a renewed expansion campaign.
“Our company has had to rationalize operations, by instituting overhead reduction measures, selling our leasing unit and cutting payroll,” said William Lopshire, CEO, I.C.E. “As a result, we now have a company which is very focused on the merchant bank card and gift & loyalty card processing space. We believe we will be able to grow these businesses over the course of the coming year to EBITDA and cash flow positive, while continuing to build the size of our overall merchant portfolio.”
About I.C.E.
http://www.cardnetone.com
I.C.E. is a rapidly growing provider of diversified products and services to the electronic transaction processing industry. I.C.E. establishes merchant accounts for businesses that enable them to accept credit cards, debit cards and other forms of electronic payments; supplies point-of-sale systems; facilitates processing; and markets a proprietary “Smart Card”-based system through its wholly-owned Neos Merchant Solutions subsidiary (http://www.neosmerchant.com) that enables merchants to offer store-branded gift and loyalty cards.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, include but are not limited to: the company’s short operating history which makes it difficult to predict its future results of operations; the company’s initial history of operating losses with possible future losses which could impede its ability to address the risks and difficulties encountered by companies in new and rapidly evolving markets; the company’s future operating results could fluctuate which may cause volatility or a decline in the price of the company’s stock; the possibility that the company may not be able to price its services above the overall cost causing its financial results to suffer; and other factors detailed in this press release and in future company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, at such time as the company is required to report its results of operations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
Source: International Card Establishment, Inc..