Ebix Inc. Reports Record Annual Profits

Atlanta-based Ebix Inc., an international supplier of software and e-commerce solutions to the insurance industry, announced its financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003. The company reported its third consecutive full-year profit, with annual net income being the largest in its 28-year existence.

Net income for 2003 more than tripled as compared to 2002. The company reported net income of $1.669 million for 2003, or $0.71 per diluted share, compared to net income of $0.502 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, for 2002. The company attributed its net income growth largely to its focus on the higher margin development services area of its business.

Total revenues were $14.433 million for 2003, a 14.1 percent increase from revenues of $12.651 million for 2002. The increase in the company’s revenues can primarily be attributed to its success in two key areas – (1) development and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services and (2) sales of its agency systems products and services both in the U.S. and international markets. During 2003, the company generated positive operating cash flow of $3.343 million. This was primarily due to the company’s substantial net income plus collection of accounts receivable of $1,029 million.

The company also reported its results for the fourth quarter of 2003, announcing net income of $0.489 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $0.215 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2002. Fourth quarter 2003 revenues were $3.358 million, a 15.6 percent increase compared to revenues of $2.905 million for the fourth quarter of 2002.

“The year 2003 saw the company achieve ISO 9001: 2000 Quality certification, make investments in state of the art call center infrastructure in India; and invest in high quality manpower and programs targeted towards achieving SEI CMM Level 4 certification for our development units by December 2004,” said Robin Raina, president and CEO of the company. “I am particularly pleased that our net income grew by 232 percent in 2003 in spite of a 7.5 percent increase in operating expenses year over year, because of this continued focus on building a strong world-class software services company in 2003.

“The company today has come a long way from a decade of unpredictable financial results to consistent profitability over the last three years. The fact that the 2003 net income is the highest ever in our history is a defining moment for the company.

“We are committed to further improvement of our top line growth and bottom line profitability in 2004 and beyond. Our recent entry into the life segment of the insurance market through the acquisition of LifeLink Corporation is one more step in that direction. We believe that carefully selected acquisitions such as LifeLink will help us strengthen our ability to deliver software and services to the insurance carriers as well as the agents and brokers.”

Dick Baum, executive vice president and CFO, added, “The company’s cash situation remains healthy at approximately $6 million today. This is especially encouraging since the company recently paid cash in excess of $5 million as part of the acquisition price for LifeLink.”