News

TRM Corporation releases earnings, says ATM operation is growing

February 16, 2000

PORTLAND, Ore. -- TRM Corporation announced its fourth quarter and annual performance for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1999. After launching ATM operations late in the first quarter of 1999, TRM rapidly expanded its ATM business, ending the year with 392 units deployed in the U.S. and 51 in Europe. The ATM business contributed $1.4 million to annual gross revenues. In the fourth quarter, ATM gross revenues grew 48 percent from the previous quarter to reach $740,000. However, the ATM business incurred a net loss of $1.1 million in 1999 and $750,000 for the quarter, primarily due to the company's investment in the development of operations. Fred Stockton, TRM's CEO and president, is optimistic about the company's ATM prospects in 2000. "With a strong operating foundation in place and a healthy contract backlog, we are very well positioned to take advantage of the ATM opportunity internationally as well as domestically," Stockton said. "As we continue to aggressively ramp our ATM program, we are fortunate to have a healthy ATM backlog under contract exceeding 1,000 units." TRM's CopyCenter business had annual pretax earning of $14.2 million in 1999 versus $4.8 million in 1998. For the year, CopyCenter net income was $3.2 million and earnings per share were 24 cents. CopyCenter operations made almost $1 million in fourth-quarter net income, before the preferred dividend, despite an increase in depreciation expense of $1.8 million and the lack of interest income of $320,000 associated with the investment of proceeds from the preferred stock issuance. As of Dec. 31, 1999, 34,414 TRM had CopyCenter locations in North America and Europe. Overall, TRM's annual gross revenue was $68.3 million, compared to $68.7 million in 1998. Gross revenue for the quarter increased to $17.9 million, up from $17.5 million in 1998's fourth quarter. Annual net income, before the preferred dividend, grew to $2.1 million versus a loss of $1.2 million in 1998. Fully-diluted earnings per share, after the dividend, were 8 cents, eclipsing a loss of 28 cents in 1998.