Aptilon Announces Fiscal 2010 Year End Financial Results

MONTREAL, April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Aptilon Corporation ("Aptilon" or the "Company") (TSX-V: APZ), a leader in online access, engagement and interaction with physicians and healthcare professionals on behalf of pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, today announced its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2010. Financial references are in Canadian dollars. Complete financial statements and management's discussion and analysis are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Highlights

• Revenue for 2010 increased by 111% to $33.5 million from $15.9 million in 2009
  
  
• Gross margin for 2010 increased by 103% to $20.9 million from $10.3 million in 2009
  
  
• Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2010 increased by 39% to $8.8 million from $6.3 million over the same period in 2009
  
  
• Net earnings for the full year 2010 increased to $0.2 million reversing a net loss of $2.7 million in 2009
  
  
• Cash flow from operations before adjustment for the net change in non-cash working capital items reached $5.7 million from $0.0 million the prior year
  
  
• Delivered smartphone enabled live interactions between healthcare professionals and remote sales representatives further extending its platform to leading mobile and tablet devices

"Management is pleased with the Company's growth and advancement in 2010, both operating units delivered year over year and fourth quarter results that were the best in our history. The Company continues to capitalize on the trend to multi-channel sales and marketing within pharmaceutical and general healthcare industries, including DMD assets purchased in September 2009," said Chairman and CEO Dr. Roger Korman. "Aptilon intends to further expand adoption and usage of our platforms across a variety of healthcare users, clients and brands in the year ahead. With the explosion of tablets and smartphone mobile devices, now more than ever, clients rely on Aptilon to provide targeted HCPs access from any channel to any selected content or representatives, anywhere, at any time on any device," he added.

Subsequent to the period, during the first half of 2011, Aptilon will be releasing major updates of its leading product line, including:

• Aptilon ChannelHQ - aggregate, target, track and route all HCP traffic and on-demand requests from any access channel to any content or resources
• Aptilon LiveCentral - remote live meetings between any presenter and any targeted HCP, reviewing any approved healthcare content or web resource
• Aptilon LiveManager - real-time representative team management of live meetings
• Aptilon Mobile - extension of the HCP experience and live meetings to leading smartphones and tablet-based mobile devices

Flexible, scalable, Aptilon products and services are easily combined to deliver integrated online sales and marketing campaigns. Aptilon solutions provide consistent, convenient, on-demand offerings for targeted HCPs across any access channel, any content, any representative resource and any enabled device.

Financial Review 2010

For the year ended December 31, 2010, revenue increased by 111% to $33.5 million compared to $15.9 million in 2009.

Gross margin for 2010 increased by 103% to $20.9 million compared to $10.3 million in 2009. Expressed as a percentage of revenue, gross margin was 62% compared to 65% for 2009.

General and administrative ("G&A") expenses for 2010 were $5.5 million or 16% of revenue, compared to $3.5 million or 22% of revenue in 2009. G&A expenses consist primarily of salaries and benefits for executive management and administrative personnel, related office premises, and other infrastructure support costs. Increases were generally attributed to the full year inclusion of DMD, assets purchased in September 2009, in the 2010 results. Stock-based compensation of $0.3 million in 2010 is also included in G&A. 

Sales and marketing expenses for 2010 increased to $7.9 million compared to $5.7 million in 2009 primarily as a result of the DMD asset purchase completed in the third quarter of 2009. Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries (including commissions and bonuses) and related costs associated directly to sales and promotion activities.

Net earnings for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $0.2 million ($0.00 per share) reversing a net loss of $2.7 million ($0.02 per share) in 2009 as the result of increasing revenue and improved operating efficiencies and larger base of clients. The net earnings of $0.2 million in 2010 include over $6.4 million of non-cash items (amortization, stock-based compensation and accretion expense).

The Company had 192,943,365 common shares outstanding at December 31, 2010.

Financial Review Fourth Quarter 2010

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2010 totaled $8.8 million, an increase of 39% from $6.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. The increase is attributable to organic growth of all business units.

The gross margin of $6.0 million in the fourth quarter represented 68% of revenue, slightly higher than the preceding three quarters of the year due to the revenue mix.

G&A in the fourth quarter of 2010 increased by 59% from the same period in 2009, from $1.3 million to $2.0 million. The increases in G&A and expenses experienced in the quarter were primarily due to the DMD acquisition completed in the third quarter 2009. Sales and marketing expenses also increased in the quarter, from $1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $2.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Net earnings increased by $1.6 million, reversing a net loss of $1.2 million in the final quarter of 2009 to net earnings of $0.4 million in the quarter ended December 31, 2010.

Grant of Options to Outside Directors

Aptilon also announces that it has granted a total of 250,000 stock options to its five external directors under its stock option plan, at an exercise price of $0.155 each. These options will expire on April 29, 2016. Of these options, 1/12 will vest on each quarterly anniversary of the date of the grant over a total period of three years.

About Aptilon Corporation

Aptilon enables pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies to effectively reach, message, connect and interact with US physicians and healthcare professionals on the Internet and over mobile devices via multiple access channels. Its innovative service offerings provide targeted impressions and interactions through: video and mobile detailing, ReachNet℠ Physician Access Channel, the DMD database and permission-based email services. Top US pharmaceutical companies and respected healthcare organizations have adopted Aptilon's solutions to market to, engage and interact with leading healthcare practitioners. For more information, visit www.aptilon.com.

ReachNet^SM is a service mark of Aptilon Corporation.

Forward-looking statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management of Aptilon. A number of factors could cause actual events, performance or results to differ materially from the events performance and results discussed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Aptilon does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Aptilon Corporation