First Ecom, which is still in development stage, ended the year with a net loss of $6.79 million after commencement of operations, funding the development of the first phases of its payment processing technology and installing its payment gateway. First Ecom.com generated nominal revenues during the year from its first merchant accounts. Year-end cash amounted to $11.01 million and, following the completion of its recent financing round, cash on hand exceeds $35 million.
"We consider 1999 to have truly been an excellent first year," said Gregory Pek, president and CEO of First Ecom.com. "From modest seed capital beginnings, we've established relationships with some of the strongest names in e-commerce, and finished the year with significant funding from institutional and other investors. We are confident that First Ecom is uniquely positioned to provide banks and financial institutions with the e-commerce solutions they require to meet the needs of their merchants."
"We are well on the way to achieving our goals for 2000, including delivering our payment processing solution to banks in South East Asia through our new joint venture with the Bank of Bermuda, expanding our presence into markets worldwide, and pursuing a listing on NASDAQ national market system," added Pek.
The Company's financial results accompanied the filing of its Form 10K report for 1999 with the Securities & Exchange Commission on March 29, which is available on-line at the SEC's Edgar database, which can be found at www.freeedgar.com.
Financial Summary:
Year Ended Dec. 1999 Period to Dec. 1998
US$ US$
Revenues 2,634 -
Operating Expenses 6,354,222 -
Net Loss 6,788,885 -
Net Loss per Common Share (0.56) -
Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding 12,043,662
Current Assets 12,159,946 -
Total Assets 13,206,183 -
Current Liabilities 1,199,755 -
Total Liabilities 1,263,936 -
Shareholders' Equity 11,942,247 -
About First Ecom.com
As a global provider of electronic payment processing, First Ecom.com provides secure, easy-to-implement and low-cost online payment processing services to merchants and banks worldwide. Through strategic partnerships with banks, ISPs, e-commerce product suppliers, system integrators and storefront solution providers, First Ecom.com will process credit card transactions made over the Internet in multiple currencies, either domestically or offshore in a tax-neutral jurisdiction.