The Company reported total revenue from continuing operations of $1.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2001, a $16% decrease from total revenues from continuing operations of $1.9 million in last year’s first quarter. The decrease in revenue also reflected an industry-wide decrease in demand for IT and Internet services since the fourth quarter 2000, which occurred due to companies’ concerns about the health of the economy and related delays in purchasing decisions made by companies during the first quarter of 2001.
The consolidated results for the first quarter of 2001 and 2000 include the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, 5B Technologies Group, Inc.. (5B), and reflect its former leasing operations subsidiary, Paramount Operations, Inc., (Paramount) and its former legal staffing subsidiary Deltaforce Personnel Services, Inc. (DeltaGroup) as a discontinued operations. The consolidated results for the first quarter of 2000 have been re-stated to reflect both the Paramount Operations and DeltaGroup subsidiaries as discontinued operations.
5B Technologies Group reported revenue of $1.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2001, a 16% decrease compared to revenue of $1.9 million in the quarter ended March 31, 2000. 5B reported a pre-tax loss from continuing operations of $610,757 for the quarter ended March 31, 2001, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $2,023 for the first quarter of 2000. The decrease in revenue for 5B is due to an industry-wide decrease in demand for IT and Internet services due to delays in purchasing decisions and related technology initiatives made by companies as they considered the potential effects of a slowing economy.
Glenn Nortman, CEO of 5B Technologies, commented, Our disappointing results for the first quarter of 2001 primarily reflected a decrease in industry-wide demand for IT and Internet services due to concerns about the economy. We have taken measures to reduce our non-revenue generating overhead by reducing payroll by over $700,000 on an annual basis. As we progress through the second half of 2001, we hope to see some of these concerns subside and business activity in the technology space resume a more moderate growth rate.
Mr. Nortman concluded, The recent sale of our DeltaGroup subsidiary indicates our belief in our business plan and our continuing intention to focus on the technology sector going forward. We believe that our recently announced letter of intent to acquire CeleXx Corporation, with revenues of $10.9 million in the six months ending December 31, 2000, advances our strategic growth.
