Espial Reports 2012 Third Quarter Results

OTTAWA, Nov. 12, 2012 /CNW/ - Espial^® Group Inc. ("Espial" or the "Company"), (TSX:ESP), a leader in the delivery of on-demand TV software and services, today announced its third quarter financial results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2012.

Highlights

• Q3 2012 revenue of $3.1 million with EBITDA loss of $0.2 million.
• Toshiba selected Espial's TV Browser for North American Smart TV models.
• Panasonic Semiconductor signed an agreement with Espial to offer an integrated solution to TV Manufacturers including Espial Browser.
• NTT Communications - Japan's largest service provider - selected Espial TV Browser to power their Plala TV Services on Mitsubishi set-top boxes.
• KBRO, Taiwan's major cable operator, selected Espial MediaBase as its multiscreen content delivery platform as announced in October
• Espial hosted a Smart TV industry event in Tokyo focusing on HTML5 for 50+ consumer electronic executives.

For the three-month period ended September 30, 2012, the Company reported revenues of $3.1 million compared with revenues of $3.8 million for the three months ended September 30, 2011. Earnings before interest, foreign exchange, taxes, stock compensation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 was a loss of $183,730 compared with earnings of $149,094 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Net loss for the quarter was $0.8 million or $0.06 per share, compared with a net loss of $0.3 million last year, or $0.02 per share.

"In the third quarter, we continued to build on our leadership in delivering products to drive HTML5 and rich user experiences across set-top boxes, Smart TVs, PCs, Smart Phones and Tablets. The competitive environment between new Over-The-Top video service providers like Netflix and the incumbent cable, satellite and telecom providers continues to accelerate. This creates long term opportunities for Espial's products and services" said Jaison Dolvane, President and CEO. "In Q3, we experienced a slower pace of roll-outs from our existing Pay-TV customers and believe the current economic challenges facing Europe accounted for much of this.   Our pipeline of cable and telecom operators remains strong in North America, Europe and Asia and we remain focused on leveraging this into 2013".

Q3 Financial Results

• Revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 was $3,070,677 compared with revenues of $3,770,473 in the same period a year ago. Third quarter software license and royalty revenues were $1,924,453 compared with software license and royalty revenues of $2,272,018 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011. Professional services revenue for the third quarters of 2012 and 2011 were $275,816 and $729,723 respectively.  Maintenance and support revenues for the third quarter were $870,409 compared with $768,732 last year.
• Gross margin for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 was 83 percent compared with 78 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Operating expenses for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 were $3,127,787 compared with $3,222,600 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Earnings for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 before interest, foreign exchange, taxes, stock compensation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was a loss of $183,730 compared with earnings of $149,094 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.
• Net loss in the third quarter was $778,920 compared with a loss of $316,049 last year.
• Cash and cash equivalents on September 30, 2012, was $9,956,580.

A complete set of financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for the period ended September 30, 2012, will be available at http://www.sedar.com.

Conference Call

The Company will be hosting a conference call to discuss the third quarter 2012 results on November 12, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The phone number to join the results discussion is:

• Toll free line  (Canada/US) -  +1 888-231-8191
• Toll line (international/local) - +1 647-427-7450

The playback for the call will be available until 11:59pm EST on December 11, 2012, at the following numbers and passcode:

• Toll line: +1 416-849-0833, Passcode:  61397437
• Toll-free line: +1-855-859-2056, Passcode: 61397437

About Espial (www.espial.com)

Espial is a leading supplier of digital TV and IPTV software and solutions to cable MSOs and telecommunications operators as well as consumer electronics manufacturers. Espial's middleware, video-on-demand, and browser products power a diverse range of pay-TV and Internet TV business models. Over 10 million licenses of its patented software are in use across the world. Espial is headquartered in Ottawa, Canada and has offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Visit www.espial.com or contact us via phone at +1 613 230 4770.

Forward Looking Statement

This press release contains information that is forward looking information with respect to Espial within the meaning of Section 138.4(9) of the Ontario Securities Act (forward looking statements) and other applicable securities laws. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of terms such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue" or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In particular, statements about anticipated benefits of new customer and partner relationships, future opportunities for the company and products and any other statements regarding Espial's future expectations, beliefs, goals or prospects are or involve forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on certain factors and assumptions.  While the company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking information, by its nature necessarily involves risks and uncertainties, including Espial's ability to effectively develop its distribution channels, and generate increased demand for its products.  Additional risks and uncertainties affecting Espial can be found in Espial's Annual Report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011 and in its most recent quarterly report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. If any of these risks or uncertainties were to materialize, or if the factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking information were to prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those that are expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein.  Espial assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

Non-IFRS Financial Measures

Earnings before interest, foreign exchange, taxes, stock compensation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) is a non-IFRS financial measure that does not have any prescribed meaning by IFRS and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.  Management believes that this non-IFRS financial measure, when taken together with the corresponding consolidated IFRS measures, increases the transparency of the Company's current results and enables investors to more fully understand trends in its current and future performance. A reconciliation of net loss to earnings before interest, foreign exchange, taxes, stock compensation, dividends on redeemable preferred shares, depreciation and amortization is as follows:

SOURCE: ESPIAL GROUP