-- 117% Sequential Increase in Quarterly Sales, with a 37% Improvement in Gross Profit and Positive Adjusted EBITDA --

Press Release Source: Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group, Inc. On Tuesday February 16, 2010, 9:45 pm EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group, Inc. (OTC BB: BEAC - News) (www.askbeacon.com), an emerging global leader in the design, implementation and management of high performance Information Technology Systems (“ITS”) infrastructure solutions, reports fiscal first quarter 2010 financial results.

Financial highlights for the fiscal 2010 first quarter ended December 31, 2009:

·   Net sales improved approximately 376% to $8.6 million, as compared with $1.8 million in the year-ago first quarter, and improved 117% from $4.0 million in the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2009.

·   Gross profit for the fiscal 2010 first quarter increased 264% to $1.8 million compared with $485 thousand in the year-ago period, and increased 37% from $1.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. Selling, General and Administrative (“SG&A”) expenses were reduced by 33% to $1.0 million in the first fiscal quarter, from $1.6 million in the fiscal fourth quarter.

·   The Company achieved positive Adjusted EBITDA for the first fiscal quarter. Adjusted EBITDA improved 121% to a gain of $169 thousand from a loss of ($818) thousand in the year-ago period and improved 127% from a loss of ($628) thousand in the fourth quarter of 2009. (Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by deducting operating and other expenses from operating income and excluding amounts related to interest expense, income tax expense or benefit, depreciation expense, amortization expense, non-cash share based payments, deemed and contractual dividends, certain investor relations expenses, certain non-recurring subcontractor expenses, non-recurring expenses related to acquisitions, and any gain or loss on disposal of assets, as further defined below.)

·   Net loss for the first quarter improved to ($1.1) million or ($0.04) per share, compared with a net loss of ($1.5) million or ($0.12) per share in the year ago first quarter and a loss of ($2.4) million or ($0.12) per share in the fourth quarter of 2009. The weighted average number of shares outstanding for the 2010 first quarter was 26.2 million compared with 12.6 million in the year-ago first quarter and 20.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2009.

·   As of December 31, 2009, the Company’s cash position increased to $2.6 million from $264 thousand at the end of the previous quarter, current assets increased to $8.8 million from $5.2 million and total assets increased to $16.5 million from $12.8 million.

Beacon Solutions has provided both year-over-year and sequential quarterly comparisons in this press release and the related financial tables. Management believes the sequential quarterly changes provide a meaningful analysis of the company’s financial progress as its business model has evolved over the past year.

Bruce Widener, Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Solutions said, “Building upon the momentum from last quarter, we again reported dramatic improvements to our financial results. With record revenue this quarter, we produced positive Adjusted EBITDA for the first time, improvements to net income, and significant improvements to current assets on our balance sheet. Gross profits improved over last year’s first quarter, as well as over the fourth quarter’s gross profits. While blended gross profit margins were impacted by a large design/build project and start up expenses associated with new contracts, we expect margins to improve as these expenses are absorbed and revenue increases during the remainder of the contracts. We enter our new fiscal year a much stronger company, having signed several agreements late last year that were catalysts to our growth and strategic direction.”

“One of the major catalysts for our growth and our business strategy was the signing of a $27 million, three-year agreement with our Fortune 100 pharmaceutical client that significantly expanded our business with them, as well as our global presence to include Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This agreement was followed by our recent announcement regarding our potential acquisition of NetConnect BVBA, a Belgium-based infrastructure design and installation firm whose core business consists of the deployment of state-of-the-art IT infrastructure projects, network cabling, data centers, and voice system installations throughout Central Europe,” he continued. “Further, our teaming agreement with Smart Buildings LLC has resulted in several new contract opportunities, and we expect sales to benefit from this relationship soon.”

Mr. Widener concluded, “These agreements illustrate how Beacon is increasing its business by expanding the scope of our relationships with existing clients as well as affecting acquisitions that strengthen and/or complement our areas of expertise. With each new agreement we demonstrate to the industry that Beacon can provide value-added expertise with significant cost savings for mission-critical ITS infrastructure solutions. We believe there are many factors that will continue to contribute to our growth this year, including broadened relationships with existing customers and our increasing geographical presence and areas of expertise. The first quarter of 2010 has been an important catalyst in our growth, and we expect to benefit from these achievements in the years to come.”

Segment Reporting: The Company has provided a presentation of summary operating results segmented by North American and European operations in this press release and the related financial tables. Net sales from North American operations grew 26% for the three months ended December 31, 2009, versus the year-ago first quarter with the growth led by the Company’s higher-margin Information Technology Systems Managed Services. As a result, blended gross profit margins from North American operations increased to 37% in the first fiscal quarter of 2010 from 27% in the prior year quarter. SG&A expenses related to corporate overhead are allocated primarily to North American operations. Blended gross profit margins from European Operations for the first quarter of 2010 were 15%, reflecting the impact of both lower-margin design/build revenue (87% of total) and higher-margin professional services and time and materials revenue (13% of total). The Company anticipates that gross profit margins from European operations will increase over time as the revenue mix shifts toward higher-margin Information Technology Systems Managed Services and other professional services and time and materials contracts.

Non-Cash Balance Sheet Impact of Warrant Reclassification: As a result of recently issued accounting pronouncements (ASC 815-40), as more fully described in the Company’s quarterly report filed with the SEC on Form 10Q, the Company has reclassified the fair value of its common stock purchase warrants from equity to liability on its balance sheet.

Conference Call: The Company will be hosting a conference call on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 10:00 am eastern to discuss its fiscal first quarter financial results. The teleconference can be accessed by calling 888-495-3916 and entering conference ID # 56695237. Participants outside of the U.S. and Canada can join by calling 706-634-7530 and entering the same conference ID. Please dial in 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the call. The conference call will be simultaneously webcast and available on the company’s website, www.askbeacon.com, under the “investor relations” tab.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure:

In addition to presenting financial results in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, this earnings release also presents adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, share based payments, deemed and contractual dividends, and expenses that management believes will not re-occur in future periods including certain investor relations, subcontractor, and acquisition related expenses (“Adjusted EBITDA”). Adjusted EBITDA is calculated by deducting operating and other expenses from operating income and excluding amounts related to interest expense, income tax expense or benefit, depreciation expense, amortization expense, non-cash share based payments, deemed and contractual dividends, certain investor relations expenses, certain subcontractor expenses, acquisition related expenses and any gain or loss on disposal of assets. Although we will continue to expend significant resources on investor relations in the future, management believes that certain investor relations expenses incurred in the current fiscal year are unusually high as we build investor awareness, and that a portion of these expenses will not re-occur in future years. Certain subcontractor expenses are impacting our current fiscal year as we open markets through Beacon certified subcontractors who will be replaced by Beacon personnel over the coming months as Beacon serves markets of sufficient size to support internal operations. Beacon believes this non-GAAP financial measure provides investors with additional insight into our ongoing operating performance. This non-GAAP financial measure should be considered in conjunction with, but not as a substitute for, the financial information presented in accordance with GAAP.

About Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group, Inc.

Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group is an emerging global leader in the design, implementation and management of high performance Information Technology Systems (“ITS”) infrastructure solutions. Beacon offers fully integrated, turnkey IT infrastructure solutions capable of fully servicing the largest companies in the world as they increasingly outsource to reduce costs while optimizing critical IT design and infrastructure management. Through an integrated team approach, Beacon offers a broad range of products and services including IT infrastructure design, implementation and management, application development and voice/data/security system integration, installation and maintenance. Beacon’s client roster includes state and local agencies, educational institutions, and over 4,000 companies ranging in size from mid-sized companies to the Fortune 500. Beacon is headquartered in Louisville, Ky., with regional headquarters in Dublin, Ireland and Zurich, Switzerland and personnel located throughout the United States and Europe.

For comprehensive investor relations material, including fact sheets, research reports, interviews and video, please follow the appropriate link: Investor Relations Portal, Investor Fact Sheet, Research Report and CEO Overview Video

For additional information, please visit Beacon’s corporate website: www.askbeacon.com

This press release may contain “forward looking statements.” Expressions of future goals and similar expressions reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. These forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements about our market opportunity, strategies, competition, expected activities and expenditures as we pursue our business plan. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in any forward looking statements are reasonable, we cannot predict the effect that market conditions, customer acceptance of products, regulatory issues, competitive factors, or other business circumstances and factors described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission may have on our results. The company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release.

 

	Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries
	Condensed Consolidated Balances Sheet
					December 31,				September 30
						2009				2009
					(unaudited)				(audited)
	ASSETS
	Current assets:
		Cash and cash equivalents			$	2,647,484			$	264,338
		Accounts receivable, net				2,847,849				3,980,715
		Costs and estimated earning in excess of billings on uncompleted contracts				2,122,852				-
		Inventory, net				508,356				604,622
		Prepaid expenses and other current assets				624,938				397,319
			Total current assets			8,751,479				5,246,994
	Property and equipment, net					694,696				394,571
	Goodwill					3,151,948				3,151,948
	Other intangible assets, net					3,764,366				3,903,124
	Other assets					126,110				117,111
		Total assets			$	16,488,599			$	12,813,748
	LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
	Current liabilities:
		Short term credit obligations			$	-			$	550,000
		Convertible notes payable				74,499				297,999
		Bridge notes (net of $9,193 and $33,123 discounts)				190,810				166,879
		Current portion of long-term debt				418,445				475,348
		Accounts payable				1,374,796				2,176,845
		Income tax payable				133,083				97,581
		Contingent consideration payable				145,189				145,189
		Accrued expenses				6,188,271				2,644,280
		Customer Deposits				238,573				160,368
			Total current liabilities			8,763,666				6,714,489
	Long-term debt, less current portion					689,824				802,335
	Deferred tax liability					103,484				103,484
	Derivative liability					5,745,486
		Total liabilities				15,302,460				7,620,308
	Stockholders' equity
		Preferred Stock: $0.01 par value, 5,000,000 shares
			authorized, 3,436 shares outstanding in the
			following classes:
		Series A convertible preferred stock, $1,000 stated value,
			4,121 shares authorized, 1,984 shares issued and
			outstanding, at December 31, and September 30, 2009,
			respectively, (liquidation preference $2,509,966)			1,984,074				1,984,074
		Series A-1 convertible preferred stock, $1,000 stated value,
			885 shares authorized, 752 shares issued and
			outstanding, at December 31, and September 30, 2009,
			respectively, (liquidation preference $964,188)			752,347				752,347
		Series B convertible preferred stock, $1,000 stated value, 4,000 shares
			authorized, 700 shares issued and outstanding at December 31 and
			September 30, 2009, respectively (liquation preference $927,943)			700,000				700,000
		Common stock, $0.001 par value 70,000,000 shares
			authorized, 28,483,490 and 24,655,990 shares issued and
			outstanding at December 31, and September 30, 2009, respectively			28,483				24,656
		Additional paid in capital				19,712,346				17,977,046
		Accumulated deficit				(21,985,803	)			(16,254,545	)
		Accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income				(5,308	)			9,862
			Total stockholders' equity			1,186,139				5,193,440
		Total liabilities and stockholders' equity			$	16,488,599			$	12,813,748

 

Beacon Enterprise Solutions Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations
(Unaudited)
					For the three					For the three					For the three
					months ended					months ended					months ended
					December 31,					December 31,					September 30,
						2009					2008					2009
Net sales					$	8,569,644				$	1,801,208				$	3,952,412
Cost of goods sold						5,433,914					663,874					1,685,186
Cost of services						1,371,378					652,746					981,431
Gross profit						1,764,352					484,588					1,285,795
Operating expense
Salaries and benefits						1,311,032					904,296					1,380,754
Selling, general and administrative						1,046,411					675,430					1,567,295
Depreciation and Amortization						192,074					-					159,214
	Total operating expense					2,549,517