LION Announces Results for Third Quarter 2003 15% Revenue Growth
Compared to Third Quarter 2002 SEATTLE, Oct. 28
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LION, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: LINN) , a
leader in online services for connecting mortgage brokers with
consumers and lenders, today announced its financial results for
the third quarter ended September 30, 2003. For the third quarter
of 2003, revenue was $1,870,000, up 15% from $1,628,000 for the
third quarter of 2002. Net income for both the third quarter of
2003 and the comparable quarter in the prior year was $115,000. For
the nine-month period ended September 30, 2003, revenue increased
to $5,487,000, up 16% from $4,746,000 for the same period in the
prior year. Net income for the nine-month period in 2003 was
$402,000 compared to a net loss of $250,000 for the same period in
the prior year which included $647,000 of settlement charges and
legal fees related to litigation that was settled in July 2002. "We
continue to make solid progress in completing our key initiatives
designed to achieve higher levels of performance and increase
revenue growth," states David Stedman, President and CEO of LION,
Inc. "Through these efforts over the past year, the Company has
consistently achieved over 15% growth in year over year quarterly
revenue, which has been recognized by an over 200% increase in its
market cap." The Company introduced new product releases for its
LION Pro and Mortgage101 products in the third quarter, and made
key improvements to internal program and pricing management
software. Improvements to LION's pricing engine are designed to
significantly shorten the time required to build and maintain the
program and pricing database. Following recent introduction of its
LION Pro Corporate product, the Company continued to improve its
Pro product line with a late third quarter release introducing a
new LION Pro product for individual loan originators. The product
provides many of the same features introduced to LION Pro Corporate
users in the second quarter. Product improvements include
enhancement of the program and pricing engine, as well as an
expanded real- time financial market feature. Thirteen new
companies representing 409 users purchased the LION Pro Corporate
product in the third quarter. Some of those customers include:
Platinum Capital Mortgage, http://www.thepcmgroup.com/, Western
Residential Mortgage, http://www.wrhomeloans.com/, and Diablo
Funding Group http://www.dfgpleasanton.com/. Additional product
releases are planned in the fourth quarter with improvements that
will continue to strengthen the LION Pro product line and should
contribute to accelerated market adoption of the product. Product
sales have been strong throughout the year, and we anticipate
continued growth in the product line during the next twelve months.
With the introduction of the new LION Pro Corporate and LION Pro
Individual products, the Company has achieved approximately a 30%
increase in users since the beginning of the year for a total of
over 6,700 originators now using this new LION technology either by
accessing the lioninc.com site or directly through our large LION
Pro Corporate customers. The Company continues to improve its
Mortgage101 product with its third quarter release of new
technology that improves routing of leads to originators. The new
lead generation system, recently converted to Microsoft .NET
technology, matches consumers with up to four originators who
participate in the Mortgage101 advertising program. Consumer
traffic is supported by over 30,000 real estate affiliates and key
advertising partners, an increase of over 4,400 real estate
affiliates in the third quarter alone. Upcoming changes to the
Mortgage 101 product will focus on improving the functionality of
the site for consumers. "Even with the recent decline in consumer
inquiries created by a slowing demand for home refinancing, we
anticipate that the new technology and related performance-based
pricing will still allow LION to generate increased revenue with
its Mortgage 101 product during 2004," continued Stedman. "Overall,
I am pleased with our performance in the third quarter and on a
year to date basis. The Company experienced growth in a number of
core product lines, specifically with our lead generation, Mortgage
101 toolsets and LION Pro Corporate products. We have grown revenue
and posted profits while continuing to invest in building a company
capable of producing stronger earnings in the future. We have
delivered a number of key product releases, made improvements to
our internal data infrastructure, grown our marketplace and reached
a number of key milestones that should continue to support higher
performance levels. Through these efforts, we are building momentum
and anticipate it will continue throughout the year. In support of
this effort, we will continue to invest in LION's key initiatives
during the fourth quarter." "LION will be scheduling its next
shareholders' meeting in late May or June of 2004. Rescheduling our
meetings from winter allows us to present our calendar-year
information to stockholders on a more timely basis." About LION,
Inc. LION, Inc. is a leader in online services that connect
mortgage brokers with lenders and consumers more efficiently. We
serve mortgage originators with online loan productivity tools and
websites powered by a database of over 100,000 regionalized
wholesale and correspondent loan programs nationwide. LION also
provides the foundational architecture and database for co-branded
and private label web sites that connect consumers to leading
companies in the over $2 trillion mortgage industry. LION, Inc. has
offices in two locations: Seattle, at 4700-42nd Ave. SW, Seattle,
WA 98116, and Denver, at 2000 S Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO, 80222.
For more information, please visit http://www.lioninc.com/. This
press release contains forward-looking statements that involve
risks and uncertainties concerning our expected performance (as
described without limitation in the quotations from current
management in this release). Actual results may differ materially
from the results predicted and reported results should not be
considered as an indication of our future performance. We believe
that these potential risks and uncertainties include, without
limitation: our substantial dependence on mortgage brokers and the
mortgage broker industry; mortgage market trends; interest rate
changes; housing and consumer trends effecting home purchases; the
management of our potential growth; risks of new business areas and
new Internet technology; joint- marketing and sales agreements; our
need for additional financing; our ability to attract and retain
high quality employees; changes in the overall economy and in
technology; and the number and size of our Internet competitors.
Statements in this release should be evaluated in light of these
important factors. All information set forth in this release is as
of October 28, 2003, and LION undertakes no duty to update this
information. More information about these and other important
factors that could affect our business and financial results is
included in our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2002, including (without limitation) under the
captions, "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations", which is on file
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information
may also be set forth in those sections in our quarterly reports on
Form 10-QSB previously filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. LION, Inc. CONDENSED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited) Three months ended Nine months ended September 30,
September 30, 2003 2002 2003 2002 Revenues $1,869,702 $1,628,238
$5,487,396 $4,745,514 Expenses Direct costs 400,697 293,392
1,054,634 749,362 Selling and marketing 564,463 452,907 1,724,543
1,369,976 General and administrative 602,752 536,048 1,707,804
1,878,030 Research and development 57,435 67,321 235,964 238,520
Depreciation and amortization 124,937 120,644 350,673 363,328
1,750,284 1,470,312 5,073,618 4,599,216 Operating income 119,418
157,926 413,778 146,298 Other - net (4,063) (42,465) (11,942)
(396,567) NET INCOME (LOSS) $115,355 $115,461 $401,836 $(250,269)
Net income (loss) per common share, basic and diluted $-- $-- $.01
$(.01) LION, Inc. CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS ASSETS September 30,
2003 December 31, (Unaudited) 2002 CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash
equivalents $910,552 $403,917 Accounts receivable - net 393,308
347,661 Prepaid expenses and other 116,833 71,388 Total current
assets 1,420,693 822,966 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net 1,035,711
940,372 OTHER ASSETS Goodwill - net 273,955 273,955 Other assets
37,908 37,908 $2,768,267 $2,075,201 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS'
EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES Accounts payable $123,209 $111,340
Accrued liabilities 433,813 329,671 Current maturities of long-term
obligations 82,145 35,330 Deferred revenue 335,381 295,497 Total
current liabilities 974,548 771,838 LONG-TERM OBLIGATIONS, less
current maturities 105,548 52,495 STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 1,688,171
1,250,868 $2,768,267 $2,075,201 DATASOURCE: LION, Inc. CONTACT:
Dave Stedman, President and CEO, or Steve Thomson, Chief Financial
Officer, both of LION, Inc., +1-800-546-6463 Web site:
http://www.lioninc.com/
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