ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OR PLAN OF OPERATION
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of
operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial
statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report. References in
this section to "International Card Establishment, Inc.," the "Company," "we,"
"us," and "our" refer to International Card Establishment, Inc. and our direct
and indirect subsidiaries on a consolidated basis unless the context indicates
otherwise.
This interim report contains forward looking statements relating to our
Company's future economic performance, plans and objectives of management for
future operations, projections of revenue mix and other financial items that are
based on the beliefs of, as well as assumptions made by and information
currently known to, our management. The words "expects, intends, believes,
anticipates, may, could, should" and similar expressions and variations thereof
are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The cautionary statements
set forth in this section are intended to emphasize that actual results may
differ materially from those contained in any forward looking statement.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Our strategy is to grow profitably by increasing our penetration of the
expanding small merchant marketplace for payment, Gift & Loyalty and
"microticket" leasing services. We find these merchants through our ISO and
agent channels of distribution and intend to make additional acquisitions on an
opportunistic basis in this fragmented segment of the industry.
OVERVIEW
We are a rapidly growing provider of credit and debit card-based payment
processing services, Gift & Loyalty products and micro ticket leasing services
to small merchants. As of March 31, 2006, we provided our services to numerous
ISOs and thousands of merchants located across the United States. Our payment
processing services enable our merchants to process traditional card-present, or
swipe transactions, as well as card-not-present transactions. A traditional
card-present transaction occurs whenever a cardholder physically presents a
credit or debit card to a merchant at the point-of-sale. Card-not-present
transactions occur whenever the customer does not physically present a payment
card at the point-of-sale and may occur over the Internet or by mail, fax or
telephone. Our microticket leasing services allow small merchants to finance the
cost of POS equipment capable of reading a cardholder's account information from
the card's magnetic stripe or computer chip and sending that information
electronically for authorization and processing.
For additional detailed discussion regarding the Company's business and business
trends affecting the Company and certain risks inherent in the Company's
business, see "Item 6: Management's Discussion and Analysis or Plan of
Operations" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended
December 31, 2005.
DEVELOPMENT OF OUR BUSINESS
International Card Establishment, Inc. (the "Company") (formerly Summit World
Ventures, Inc.) was incorporated on December 18, 1986 under the laws of the
State of Delaware to engage in any lawful corporate activity, including, but not
limited to, selected mergers and acquisitions. Prior to July 28, 2000, we were
in the developmental stage and could be defined as a "shell" company, whose sole
purpose was to locate and consummate a merger or acquisition with a private
entity, and we did not have any operations. On July 28, 2000, we acquired
iNetEvents, Inc., a Nevada corporation and commenced operations. iNetEvents,
Inc., a Nevada corporation, was incorporated on February 3, 1999 and provided
Internet support and supply software for real time event/convention information
management.
On January 16, 2003, we entered into a Plan and Agreement of Reorganization with
International Card Establishment, Inc., a Nevada corporation and its
shareholders. International Card Establishment, Inc., a Nevada corporation, was
incorporated on July 26, 2002. As part of the acquisition - a reorganization in
the form of a reverse merger, International Card Establishment, Inc. became our
wholly-owned subsidiary, and there was a change of our control. Following the
International Card Establishment, Inc. acquisition we changed our corporate name
from iNetEvents, Inc. to International Card Establishment, Inc. and reverse
split our outstanding shares of Common Stock on a one for two share basis.
On December 15, 2003 we entered into a Plan and Agreement of Reorganization with
GlobalTech Leasing, Inc., a California corporation and its shareholders. On
December 29, 2003 GlobalTech Leasing, Inc. became our wholly-owned subsidiary.
Effective September 8, 2004, we entered into a Plan and Agreement of
Reorganization with Neos Merchant Solutions, Inc., a Nevada corporation and its
shareholders. Effective September 8, 2004, Neos Merchant Solutions, Inc. became
our wholly owned subsidiary.
Our business operations are now conducted primarily through three wholly-owned
subsidiaries: International Card Establishment, Inc., a Nevada corporation
("ICE"), GlobalTech Leasing, Inc., a California corporation ("GTL"), and NEOS
Merchant Solutions, Inc, a Nevada corporation ("NEOS"). iNetEvents, Inc., a
Nevada corporation ("iNet"), will also be maintained as a separate subsidiary to
service and maintain existing, historic iNet business. ICE is a provider of
credit and debit card-based payment processing services for small merchants,
that enable those merchants to accept credit cards, debit cards, and other forms
of electronic payments from their customers; supplies the necessary card readers
and other point-of-sale authorization systems ("POS equipment"), which are often
financed by GTL; and, provides merchant e-commerce solutions. GTL is a growing
provider of lease financing services for POS equipment in amounts generally
ranging from $400 to $5,000, with an average amount financed of approximately
$1,600 and an average lease term of 48 months. NEOS offers merchants a "Smart
Card" (a card that stores data digitally on an embedded chip and not on an
analog magnetic stripe) based system that enables merchants to provide its
proprietary gift cards and incentive-purchase cards that are custom merchant
branded.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
REVENUES
The Company provides merchant services and customer support for merchants and
other Merchant Services providers. Revenues are recognized as customer services
are provided.
The Company provides merchant services to customers for acceptance and
processing of electronic payments, and the sales and leasing of related
equipment used for the processing of electronic payments. Credit card processing
fees are recognized as incurred. Sales and cost of sales of equipment are
recognized when the equipment is provided and the customer accepts
responsibility for the payment of the equipment. Lease income is recognized on a
monthly basis as incurred. For leasing of merchant processing equipment, an
allowance of 25% of the current month's leases is recorded. Each month, the
allowance is reconciled against collections, recording actual losses to sales
allowances.
The Company, through its subsidiary GTL acquires leases from Independent Sales
Organizations (ISO). GTL packages and resells the leases to financing
institutions for administration of the leases. Revenue is recognized upon
approval of the sales agreement and shipment of equipment by the ISO. Leases not
accepted by the financing institutions are recovered from the ISO, or may be
processed in house.
We do not have any of the following:
* Off-balance sheet arrangements.
* Certain trading activities that include non-exchange traded contracts
accounted for at fair value.
* Relationships and transactions with persons or entities that derive
benefits from any non-independent relationships other than related party
transactions discussed herein.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2006 ("2006")
COMPARED TO THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2005 ("2005")
Results of operations consist of the following:
March 31, 2006 March 31, 2005 $ Change % Change
Net Revenues $2,478,894 $1,427,080 $1,051,814 74%
Cost of Revenues 1,694,115 667,400 1,026,715 154%
___________________________________________________________
Gross Profit 784,779 759,680 25,099 3%
Operating, General and 1,370,770 1,682,326 (311,556) (19%)
Administrative Costs ___________________________________________________________
Net Operating Loss $ (585,991) $ (922,646) $ 336,655 (36%)
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The 74% increase in net revenues between March 31, 2005 and March 31, 2006 is
mainly attributable to an increase of $1,502,676 in Merchant Services Revenue,
offset by a decrease in lease transactions.
The increase in cost of revenues is directly related to the increase in merchant
account services and the recording of interchange expense due to the increased
volume. Commissions and other cost of leases remained relatively constant
between the two periods.
General and administrative costs decreased by approximately $310,000 largely due
to approximately $50,000 decreases in each of the following areas - rent,
advertising, office supplies and postage, contract labor and depreciation.
Professional fees also decreased by $77,000. These reductions in expenses were
largely due to costing cutting measures by management and were offset by an
increase in interest expense and merchant losses.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2006 ("2006")
COMPARED TO THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2005 ("2005") BY SEGMENT (selected
financial information is below)
MERCHANT SERVICES
31-Mar-06 31-Mar-05 $ Change % Change
Merchant Services Merchant Services Merchant Services Merchant Services
Merchant service revenues $ 2,325,171 $ 1,093,192 $ 1,231,979 113%
Less: sales returns and allowances (5,735) (27,699) 21,964 21%
__________________________________________________________________________
Net revenue 2,319,436 1,065,493 1,253,943 218%
Cost of revenue 1,688,508 658,094 1,030,414 257%
__________________________________________________________________________
Gross margin $ 630,928 $ 407,398 $ 223,529 155%
Operating, general, and administrative $ 902,259 $ 1,205,885 $ (303,626) 75%
expenses
Net loss before income taxes $ (524,636) $(1,089,924) $ 565,288 48%
14
As of March 31, 2006 the Company has increased processing volume of credit cards
by 62% in comparison to same period in the prior year, resulting in an increase
of 113% in gross revenue (218% net revenue). Due to the increase in new
accounts, the Cost of Revenue increased because of additional Residuals expense
incurred and the recognition of Interchange Fees, Dues and Assessments as a
whole sale provider, resulting in an increase of 257%.
Operating, general and administrative expenses decreased due to the elimination
of unprofitable offices, resulting in cost savings of 75% in comparison to the
same period last year.
The combination of increased processing volume and cost reductions decreased our
overall net loss for this segment by 50%.
LEASING SERVICES
31-Mar-06 31-Mar-05 $ Change % Change
Leasing Services Leasing Services Leasing Services Leasing Services
Gain on sale of leases $ 167,621 $ 640,448 $ (472,826) (74%)
__________________________________________________________________________
Cost of revenue 13,770 288,165 (274,395) (95%)
__________________________________________________________________________
Gross margin $ 153,851 $ 352,282 $ (198,431) (56%)
Operating, general, and $ 167,441 $ 169,882 $ (2,440) (1%)
administrative expenses
Net income (loss) before income $ (14,166) $ 166,599 $ (180,765) (109%)
taxes
As of March 31, 2006 the Company offered customers alternatives to leasing which
guaranteed sales but decreased lease revenue as compared to same period in the
prior year. This resulted in a decrease of Gain on the sales of leases by 74% in
2006. Concurrently, the Company purchased a different line of equipment which
lowered Cost of Revenue, resulting in a decrease of Cost of Revenue by 95% in
2006.
Operating, general and administrative expenses remained relatively flat in
comparison to the same period last year.
Due to our lower Gain on the sale of leases for this business segment, we
incurred a nominal net loss as of March 31, 2006, versus a net income position
for the same period in 2005.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
We are currently seeking to expand our merchant services offerings in bankcard,
gift and loyalty and POS equipment leasing. In addition, we are investigating
additional business opportunities and potential acquisitions; accordingly we
will require additional capital to complete the expansion and to undertake any
additional business opportunities.
March 31, 2006 December 31, 2005 $ Change % Change
Cash $ 381,131 $ 748,040 $ (366,909) (49%)
Accounts Payable and $ 1,242,416 $ 1,265,606 $ (23,190) (2%)
Accrued Expenses
Accounts Receivable and $ 421,221 $ 518,231 $ (97,010) (19%)
Finance Lease Receivable
Proceeds from sale of $ 180,000 $ - $ 180,000 100%
Common Stock Subscriptions
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We have financed our operations during the quarter primarily through the receipt
of proceeds from common stock and use of cash on hand. As of March 31, 2006, we
had total current liabilities of $3,488,837 compared to $3,413,522 as of
December 31, 2005. The increase in current liabilities is primarily due to an
increase in Accrued Expenses and Current Notes payable. We had no long term
liabilities during any of these periods.
Cash decreased 49% as of March 31, 2006 due to the acquisition costs incurred
for the purchase of portfolios ($220,084, gross cash) and payment of Accounts
Payable.
As of March 31, 2006, our accounts receivable and finance lease receivable
accumulated to $421,220 compared to $518,230 at December 31, 2005.
The Company received $1,725,461 in net proceeds from the 2004 sale of its
preferred stock during the quarter ended March 31, 2005. The Company did not
have any preferred stock transactions in 2006. As of March 31, 2005, the Company
did not have any common stock transactions resulting in proceeds; transactions
as of March 31, 2006 resulted in common stock subscription proceeds of $180,000.
The Company issued 929,242 common shares in 2005 compared zero common shares in
2006. Management believes that it will be able to fund the company through its
present cash position and the continuation of revenue producing activities by
its subsidiaries ICE, GTL, and NEOS. We will need to seek further capital
through the sale of our capital stock and/or the issuance of debt in order to
continue to grow the Company.
We had $381,131 cash on hand as of March 31, 2006 compared to $748,040 as of
December 31, 2005. We will continue to need additional cash during the following
twelve months and these needs will coincide with the cash demands resulting from
our general operations and planned expansion. There is no assurance that we will
be able to obtain additional capital as required, or obtain the capital on
acceptable terms and conditions.