TRAVELZOO - Quarter Report: 2009 March (Form 10-Q)
Table of Contents
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form 10-Q
(Mark One)
þ | QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2009
or
o | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission File No.: 000-50171
TRAVELZOO INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
DELAWARE | 36-4415727 | |
(State or other jurisdiction of | (I.R.S. employer | |
incorporation or organization) | identification no.) | |
590 Madison Avenue, 37th Floor, | 10022 | |
New York, New York | (Zip code) | |
(Address of principal executive offices) |
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (212) 484-4900
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed
by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or
for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been
subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes þ No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its
corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted
pursuant to Rule 405 of regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period
that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes o No o
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated
filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of large
accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the
Exchange Act. (Check one):
Large accelerated filer o | Accelerated filer þ | Non-accelerated filer o | Smaller reporting company o | |||
(Do not check if a smaller reporting company) |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of
the Exchange Act). Yes o No þ
The number of shares of Travelzoo common stock outstanding as of May 1, 2009 was 16,443,828
shares.
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PART IFINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
TRAVELZOO INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except par value)
March 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||
Current assets: |
||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 15,644 | $ | 14,179 | ||||
Accounts receivable, less allowance for
doubtful accounts of $621 and $358 as of
March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008,
respectively |
12,240 | 11,582 | ||||||
Deposits |
173 | 226 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
1,232 | 2,726 | ||||||
Deferred income taxes |
1,089 | 1,089 | ||||||
Total current assets |
30,378 | 29,802 | ||||||
Deposits, less current portion |
312 | 341 | ||||||
Restricted cash |
875 | 875 | ||||||
Property and equipment, net |
4,490 | 4,259 | ||||||
Intangible assets, net |
1,714 | 45 | ||||||
Total assets |
$ | 37,769 | $ | 35,322 | ||||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS EQUITY |
||||||||
Current liabilities: |
||||||||
Accounts payable |
$ | 6,161 | $ | 6,605 | ||||
Accrued expenses |
4,875 | 4,962 | ||||||
Deferred revenue |
622 | 703 | ||||||
Deferred rent |
128 | 125 | ||||||
Income tax payable |
519 | | ||||||
Total current liabilities |
12,305 | 12,395 | ||||||
Deferred tax liabilities long term |
465 | 465 | ||||||
Long-term tax liabilities |
909 | 900 | ||||||
Deferred rent, less current portion |
734 | 799 | ||||||
Commitments and contingencies |
||||||||
Stockholders equity: |
||||||||
Common stock, $0.01 par value (40,000 shares
authorized; 16,444 and 14,285 shares issued
and outstanding as of March 31, 2009 and
December 31, 2008, respectively) |
164 | 143 | ||||||
Additional paid-in capital |
2,322 | 185 | ||||||
Retained earnings |
22,161 | 21,823 | ||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
(1,291 | ) | (1,388 | ) | ||||
Total stockholders equity |
23,356 | 20,763 | ||||||
Total liabilities and stockholders equity |
$ | 37,769 | $ | 35,322 | ||||
See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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TRAVELZOO INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Three Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Revenues |
$ | 23,368 | $ | 20,948 | ||||
Cost of revenues |
1,263 | 529 | ||||||
Gross profit |
22,105 | 20,419 | ||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||
Sales and marketing |
12,337 | 13,394 | ||||||
General and administrative |
6,947 | 5,746 | ||||||
Total operating expenses |
19,284 | 19,140 | ||||||
Income from operations |
2,821 | 1,279 | ||||||
Other income and expense: |
||||||||
Interest income |
20 | 136 | ||||||
Gain (loss) on foreign currency |
(203 | ) | 152 | |||||
Income before income taxes |
2,638 | 1,567 | ||||||
Income taxes |
2,300 | 2,573 | ||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 338 | $ | (1,006 | ) | |||
Basic net income (loss) per share |
$ | 0.02 | $ | (0.07 | ) | |||
Diluted net income (loss) per share |
$ | 0.02 | $ | (0.07 | ) | |||
Shares used in computing basic net income (loss) per share |
16,300 | 14,250 | ||||||
Shares used in computing diluted net income (loss) per share |
16,306 | 14,250 |
See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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TRAVELZOO INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
(In thousands)
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 338 | $ | (1,006 | ) | |||
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash
provided by operating activities: |
||||||||
Depreciation and amortization |
442 | 103 | ||||||
Provision for losses on accounts receivable |
278 | 22 | ||||||
Net foreign currency effects |
203 | | ||||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
||||||||
Accounts receivable |
(1,005 | ) | (895 | ) | ||||
Deposits |
73 | 147 | ||||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
1,468 | 620 | ||||||
Accounts payable |
(112 | ) | 2,255 | |||||
Accrued expenses |
(9 | ) | 709 | |||||
Deferred revenue |
(74 | ) | 265 | |||||
Deferred rent |
(61 | ) | 300 | |||||
Income tax payable |
519 | 1,127 | ||||||
Other non-current liabilities |
9 | | ||||||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
2,069 | 3,647 | ||||||
Cash flows from investing activities: |
||||||||
Purchases of property and equipment |
(884 | ) | (842 | ) | ||||
Restricted cash |
| (875 | ) | |||||
Purchase of intangible assets |
(1,760 | ) | | |||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(2,644 | ) | (1,717 | ) | ||||
Cash flows from financing activities: |
||||||||
Proceeds from exercise of stock options |
2,158 | | ||||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
2,158 | | ||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
(118 | ) | (126 | ) | ||||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
1,465 | 1,804 | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
14,179 | 22,641 | ||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
$ | 15,644 | $ | 24,445 | ||||
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information: |
||||||||
Cash paid for income taxes, net of refunds received |
$ | 73 | $ | 446 | ||||
See accompanying notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
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TRAVELZOO INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Unaudited)
Note 1: The Company and Basis of Presentation
Travelzoo Inc. (the Company or Travelzoo) is a global
Internet media company.
Travelzoos mission is to provide its subscribers and users
with the highest quality information on outstanding deals in travel
and entertainment.
Our
publications and products include the Travelzoo Web sites (www.travelzoo.com, cn.travelzoo.com,
www.travelzoo.ca, www.travelzoo.co.jp, www.travelzoo.com.au, www.travelzoo.com.hk,
www.travelzoo.com.tw, www.travelzoo.co.uk, www.travelzoo.de, www.travelzoo.es, www.travelzoo.fr,
among others), the Travelzoo Top 20 e-mail newsletter, the Newsflash e-mail alert service, the
SuperSearch pay-per-click travel search tool, and the Travelzoo Network, a network of third-party
Web sites that list travel deals published by Travelzoo. We also operate Fly.com, a travel search
engine that
allows users to quickly and easily find the best prices on flights
from hundreds of airlines and online travel agencies.
Travelzoo is controlled by Ralph Bartel, who held beneficially approximately 66.3% of the
outstanding shares as of May 1, 2009.
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by
the Company in accordance with the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC). Certain information and footnote disclosures
normally included in consolidated
financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the
United States of America have been condensed or omitted in accordance with such rules and
regulations. In the opinion of management, the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated
financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments,
necessary to present fairly the financial position of the Company, and its results of operations
and cash flows. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction
with the Companys audited consolidated financial statements and related notes as of and for the
year ended December 31, 2008, included in the Companys Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 16,
2009.
The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its
wholly-owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been
eliminated in consolidation. All foreign subsidiaries use the local currency of their respective
countries as their functional currency. Assets and liabilities are translated into U.S. dollars at
exchange rates prevailing at the balance sheet dates. Revenues, costs and expenses are translated
into U.S. dollars at average exchange rates for the period.
The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2009 are not necessarily
indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2009 or any other
future period, and the Company makes no representations related thereto.
Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation.
Specifically, $335,000 for the three month period ended March 31, 2008 has been reclassified from
cost of revenues to general and administrative expense. These amounts are primarily costs
associated with salary and benefits for software developers and professional services related to
software development.
The Company was formed as a result of a combination and merger of entities founded by the
Companys majority stockholder, Ralph Bartel. In 1998, Mr. Bartel founded Travelzoo.com
Corporation, a Bahamas corporation, which issued 5,155,874 shares via the Internet to approximately
700,000 Netsurfer stockholders for no cash consideration. In 1998, Mr. Bartel also founded
Silicon Channels Corporation, a California corporation, to operate the Travelzoo Web site. During
2001, Travelzoo Inc. was formed as a subsidiary of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and Mr. Bartel
contributed all of the outstanding shares of Silicon Channels Corporation to Travelzoo Inc. in
exchange for 8,129,273 shares of Travelzoo Inc. and options to acquire an additional 2,158,349
shares at $1.00. Mr. Bartel exercised these options in January 2009.
During January 2001, the Board of Directors of Travelzoo.com Corporation proposed that
Travelzoo.com Corporation be merged with Travelzoo Inc. whereby Travelzoo Inc. would be the
surviving entity. On March 15, 2002, the stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation approved the
merger with Travelzoo Inc. On April 25, 2002, the certificate of merger was filed in Delaware upon
which the merger became effective and Travelzoo.com Corporation ceased to exist. Each outstanding
share of common stock of Travelzoo.com Corporation was converted into the right to receive one
share of common stock of Travelzoo Inc. Under and subject to the terms of the
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merger agreement, stockholders were allowed a period of two years following the effective date
of the merger to receive shares of Travelzoo Inc. The records of Travelzoo.com Corporation showed
that, assuming all of the shares applied for by the Netsurfer stockholders were validly issued,
there were 11,295,874 shares of Travelzoo.com Corporation outstanding. As of April 25, 2004, two
years following the effective date of the merger, 7,180,342 shares of Travelzoo.com Corporation had
been exchanged for shares of Travelzoo Inc. Prior to that date, the remaining shares which were
available for issuance pursuant to the merger agreement were included in the issued and outstanding
common stock of Travelzoo Inc. and included in the calculation of basic and diluted earnings per
share. After April 25, 2004, the Company ceased issuing shares to the former stockholders of
Travelzoo.com Corporation, and no additional shares are reserved for issuance to any former
stockholders, because their right to receive shares has now expired. On April 25, 2004, the number
of shares reported as outstanding was reduced from 19,425,147 to 15,309,615 to reflect actual
shares issued as of the expiration date. Earnings per share calculations reflect this reduction of
the number of shares reported as outstanding. As of March 31, 2009, there were 16,443,828 shares of
common stock outstanding.
It is possible that claims may be asserted against the Company in the future by former
stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation seeking to receive shares in the Company, whether based
on a claim that the two-year deadline for exchanging their shares was unenforceable or otherwise.
In addition, one or more jurisdictions, including the Bahamas or the State of Delaware, may assert
rights to unclaimed shares of the Company under escheat statutes. If such escheat claims are
asserted, the Company intends to challenge the applicability of escheat rights, in that, among
other reasons, the identity, residency, and eligibility of the holders in question cannot be
determined. There were certain conditions applicable to the issuance of shares to the Netsurfer
stockholders, including requirements that (i) they be at least 18 years of age, (ii) they be
residents of the U.S. or Canada, and (iii) they not apply for shares more than once. The Netsurfer
stockholders were required to confirm their compliance with these conditions, and were advised that
failure to comply could result in cancellation of their shares in Travelzoo.com Corporation.
Travelzoo.com Corporation was not able to verify that the applicants met the requirements referred
to above at the time of their applications for issuance of shares. If claims are asserted by
persons claiming to be former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, the Company intends to
assert that their rights to receive their shares expired two years following the effective date of
the merger, as provided in the merger agreement. The Company also expects to take the position, if
escheat or similar claims are asserted in respect of the unissued shares in the future, that it is
not required to issue such shares. Further, even if it were established that unissued shares were
subject to escheat claims, the Company would assert that the claimant must establish that the
original Netsurfer stockholders complied with the conditions to issuance of their shares. The
Company is not able to predict the outcome of any future claims which might be asserted relating to
the unissued shares. If such claims were asserted, and were fully successful, that could result in
the Company being required to issue up to an additional approximately 4,068,000 shares of common
stock for no additional payment.
On October 15, 2004, the Company announced a program under which it would make cash payments
to people who establish that they were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and who
failed to submit requests to convert their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the required
time period. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include a charge in
general and administrative expenses of $1,000 for these cash payments for the three months ended
March 31, 2009. The liability was $1,000 as of March 31, 2009. The liability is based on the actual
number of valid requests received from former stockholders through March 31, 2009 which had not yet
been processed for payment. The total cost of this program is not reliably estimable because it is
based on the ultimate number of valid requests received and future levels of the Companys common
stock price. The Companys common stock price affects the liability because the amount of cash
payments under the program is based in part on the recent level of the stock price at the date
valid requests are received. The Company does not know how many of the requests for shares
originally received by Travelzoo.com Corporation in 1998 were valid, but the Company believes that
only a portion of such requests were valid. As noted above, in order to receive payment under the
program, a person is required to establish that such person validly held shares in Travelzoo.com
Corporation. Assuming 100% of the requests from 1998 were valid, former stockholders of
Travelzoo.com Corporation holding an additional approximately 4,068,000 shares had not submitted
claims under the program as of March 31, 2009.
Note 2: Revenue Recognition
All revenue consists of advertising sales. Advertising insertions are either sold by fixed-fee
arrangements or sold by variable-fee arrangements.
The Company recognizes revenues in accordance with Securities and Exchange Commission Staff
Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 104, Revenue Recognition. Advertising revenues are recognized in
the period in which the advertisement is displayed, provided that evidence of an arrangement
exists, the fees are fixed or determinable, and collection of the resulting receivable is
reasonably assured. Where collectibility is not reasonably assured, the revenue will be recognized
upon cash collection, provided that the other criteria for
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revenue recognition have been met. The Company recognizes revenue for fixed-fee advertising
arrangements ratably over the term of the insertion order as described below, with the exception of
Travelzoo Top 20 or Newsflash insertions, which are recognized upon delivery. The majority of
insertion orders have terms that begin and end in a quarterly reporting period. In the cases where
at the end of a quarterly reporting period the term of an insertion order is not complete, the
Company recognizes revenue for the period by pro-rating the total arrangement fee to revenue and
deferred revenue based on a measure of proportionate performance of its obligation under the
insertion order. The Company measures proportionate performance by the number of placements
delivered and undelivered as of the reporting date. The Company uses prices stated on its internal
rate card for measuring the value of delivered and undelivered placements. Fees for variable-fee
advertising arrangements are recognized based on the number of impressions displayed or clicks
delivered during the period.
Under these policies, no revenue is recognized unless persuasive evidence of an arrangement
exists, delivery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable, and collection is deemed
reasonably assured. The Company evaluates each of these criteria as follows:
| Evidence of an arrangement. The Company considers an insertion order signed by the client or its agency to be evidence of an arrangement. | ||
| Delivery. Delivery is considered to occur when the advertising has been displayed and, if applicable, the click-throughs have been delivered. | ||
| Fixed or determinable fee. The Company considers the fee to be fixed or determinable if the fee is not subject to refund or adjustment and payment terms are standard. | ||
| Collection is deemed reasonably assured. The Company conducts a credit review for all transactions at the time of the arrangement to determine the creditworthiness of the client. Collection is deemed reasonably assured if it is expected that the client will be able to pay amounts under the arrangement as payments become due. If it is determined that collection is not reasonably assured, then revenue is deferred and recognized upon cash collection. Collection is deemed not reasonably assured when a client is perceived to be in financial distress, which may be evidenced by weak industry conditions, a bankruptcy filing, or previously billed amounts that are past due. |
The Companys standard payment terms are 30 days net. Insertion orders that include fixed-fee
advertising are invoiced upon acceptance of the insertion order and on the first day of each month
over the term of the insertion order, with the exception of Travelzoo Top 20 or Newsflash
insertions, which are primarily invoiced upon delivery. Insertion orders that include variable-fee
advertising are invoiced at the end of the month. The Companys standard terms state that in the
event that Travelzoo fails to publish advertisements as specified in the insertion order, the
liability of Travelzoo to the client shall be limited to, at Travelzoos sole discretion, a pro
rata refund of the advertising fee, the placement of the advertisements at a later time in a
comparable position, or the extension of the term of the insertion order until the advertising is
fully delivered. The Company believes that no significant obligations exist after the full delivery
of advertising.
Revenue from advertising sold to clients through agencies is reported at the net amount billed
to the agency.
Note 3: Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In September 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (SFAS 157). SFAS 157
establishes a framework for measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities. This framework is
intended to provide increased consistency in how fair value determinations are made under various
existing accounting standards which permit, or in some cases require, estimates of fair market
value. SFAS 157 became effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim
periods within those fiscal years. Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) Staff Position No. 157-2, Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157 (FSP
157-2). FSP 157-2 delayed the effective date of SFAS 157 for all non-financial assets and
non-financial liabilities, except those recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial
statements on a recurring basis, until the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2009. The
adoption of FSP 157-2 did not have a material impact on the Companys consolidated results of
operations or financial condition.
Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB Staff Position No. 142-3, Determination
of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets (FSP 142-3), which amends the factors an entity should
consider in developing renewal or extension assumptions used in
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determining the useful life of recognized intangible assets under FASB Statement No. 142,
Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets. This guidance applies prospectively to intangible assets
that are acquired individually or with a group of other assets in business combinations and asset
acquisitions. Under FSP 142-3, entities estimating the useful life of a recognized intangible asset
must consider their historical experience in renewing or extending similar arrangements or, in the
absence of historical experience, must consider assumptions that market participants would use
about renewal or extension. The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Companys
consolidated results of operations or financial condition.
Note 4: Financial Instruments
At March 31, 2009, restricted cash consisted of a certificate of deposit for $875,000 serving
as collateral for a standby letter of credit for the security deposit of our corporate
headquarters. Cash equivalents consist of highly liquid investments with remaining maturities of
three months or less on the date of purchase held in money market funds. The Company believes that
the carrying amounts of these financial assets are a reasonable estimate of their fair value. The
fair value of these financial assets was determined using the following inputs at March 31, 2009
(in thousands):
Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using | ||||||||||||||||
Quoted Prices in | Significant Other | Significant | ||||||||||||||
Active Markets for | Observable | Unobservable | ||||||||||||||
Identical Assets | Inputs | Inputs | ||||||||||||||
Total | (Level 1) | (Level 2) | (Level 3) | |||||||||||||
Assets: |
||||||||||||||||
Money market funds |
$ | 12,962 | $ | 12,962 | $ | | $ | | ||||||||
Total |
$ | 12,962 | $ | 12,962 | $ | | $ | | ||||||||
Note 5: Internal-Use Software and Web Site Development
The Company includes in fixed assets the capitalized cost of internal-use software and Web
site development, including software used to upgrade and enhance its Web site and processes
supporting the Companys business in accordance with Statement of Position 98-1, Accounting for
the Cost of Computer Software Developed or Obtained for Internal Use and Emerging Issues Task
Force Issue No. 00-02, Accounting for Website Development Costs. Costs incurred in the planning
stage and operating stage are expensed as incurred while costs incurred in the application
development stage and infrastructure development stage are capitalized, assuming such costs are
deemed to be recoverable.
As of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, our capitalized internal-use software and Web site
development costs, net of accumulated amortization, were $1.2 million and $1.3 million,
respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2009 and
2008, the Company recorded amortization of
capitalized internal-use software and Web site development costs of $79,000 and $-0-, respectively.
Note 6: Intangible Assets
Intangible assets consist of the following (in thousands):
March 31, | December 31, | |||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Acquired amortized intangible assets: |
||||||||
Internet domain names |
$ | 2,170 | $ | 418 | ||||
Less accumulated amortization |
456 | 373 | ||||||
Total |
$ | 1,714 | $ | 45 | ||||
Intangible assets have a useful life of 5 years. Amortization expense was $91,000 and $3,000
for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, respectively.
In January 2009, the Company purchased the fly.com domain name for $1.8 million.
Future expected amortization expense related to intangible assets at March 31, 2009 is as
follows (in thousands):
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2009 |
$ | 274 | ||
2010 |
365 | |||
2011 |
363 | |||
2012 |
358 | |||
2013 |
354 | |||
$ | 1,714 | |||
The expected amortization expense is an estimate. Actual amounts of amortization expense may
differ from estimated amounts due to additional intangible asset acquisitions, changes in foreign
currency exchange rates, impairment of intangible assets, accelerated amortization of intangible
assets and other events.
Note 7: Certain Risks and Uncertainties
The Companys revenues are substantially dependent on the demand for online advertising from
travel companies. A continuing global economic slowdown may have an adverse effect on our business
in 2009, as was the case in the last recession when travel companies reduced or postponed their
online marketing spending. In addition, for the three months ended March 31, 2009, one of the
Companys customers accounted for 13% of revenues.
During the three months ended March 31, 2009, our cash and cash equivalents increased by $1.5
million to $15.6 million. We intend to fund anticipated growth from our cash on hand. However, in
light of current financial market conditions, if our cash on hand is not sufficient to meet our
future needs, we may not be able to obtain the necessary financing.
The Companys cash, cash equivalents and accounts receivable are potentially subject to
concentration of credit risk. Cash and cash equivalents are placed with financial institutions that
management believes are of high credit quality. The accounts receivable are derived from revenue
earned from customers located in the U.S. and internationally. One of the Companys customers
accounted for 16% of gross accounts receivable at March 31, 2009.
The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts based upon its historical experience,
the age of the receivable and customer specific information. Determining appropriate allowances for
these losses is an inherently uncertain process, and ultimate losses may vary from the current
estimates. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $621,000 and $358,000 at March 31, 2009 and
December 31, 2008, respectively.
Note 8: Stock-Based Compensation and Stock Options
Effective January 1, 2006, the Company adopted SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based
Payment (SFAS 123R), which addresses the accounting for stock-based payment transactions whereby
an entity receives employee services in exchange for equity instruments, including stock options.
Stock-based compensation for awards granted prior to January 1, 2006 is based upon the grant-date
fair value of such compensation as determined under the pro forma provisions of SFAS No. 123,
Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation.
In October 2001, the Company granted to each director fully vested and exercisable options to
purchase 30,000 shares of common stock with an exercise price of $2.00 per share for their services
as a director in 2000 and 2001. A total of 210,000 options were granted. The options expire in
October 2011. 150,000 options were exercised during the year ended December 31, 2005, 17,275
options were exercised during the year ended December 31, 2006, and 30,000 options were exercised
during the year ended December 31, 2008. As of March 31, 2009, 12,725 of these options are vested
and remain outstanding.
In March 2002, Travelzoo Inc. granted to each director options to purchase 5,000 shares of
common stock with an exercise price of $3.00 per share that vested in connection with their
services as a director in 2002. A total of 35,000 options were granted. The options expire in March
2012. In October 2002, 1,411 options were cancelled upon the resignation of a director. 23,589
options were exercised during the year ended December 31, 2004 and 5,000 options were exercised
during the year ended December 31, 2008. As of March 31, 2009, 5,000 of these options are vested
and remain outstanding.
The Company did not record any stock-based compensation in fiscal years 2007, 2008, or for the
three months ended March 31, 2009. In addition, all previously issued options vested prior to
January 1, 2003.
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Option activity as of March 31, 2009 and changes during the three months ended March 31, 2009
were as follows:
Weighted- | Weighted- | |||||||||||||||
Average | Average | |||||||||||||||
Exercise | Remaining | Aggregate | ||||||||||||||
Shares | Price | Contractual Life | Intrinsic Value | |||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
Outstanding at December 31, 2008 |
2,176,074 | $ | 1.03 | |||||||||||||
Options exercised |
(2,158,349 | ) | $ | 1.00 | ||||||||||||
Outstanding at March 31, 2009 |
17,725 | $ | 2.28 | 2.70 years | $ | 70 | ||||||||||
Exercisable and fully vested at March 31, 2009 |
17,725 | $ | 2.28 | 2.70 years | $ | 70 |
The aggregate intrinsic value in the table above represents the total pretax intrinsic value
(the difference between the Companys closing stock price on the last trading day of the first
quarter of fiscal 2009 and the exercise price, multiplied by the number of in-the-money options)
that would have been received by the option holders had all option holders exercised their options
on March 31, 2009. This amount changes based upon the fair market value of the Companys stock. The
Companys policy is to issue shares from its authorized shares to fulfill stock option exercises.
Note 9: Net Income (Loss) Per Share
Net income (loss) per share has been calculated in accordance with SFAS No. 128, Earnings per
Share. Basic net income (loss) per share is computed using the weighted-average number of common
shares outstanding for the period. Diluted net income (loss) per share is computed by adjusting the
weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the effect of dilutive potential common
shares outstanding during the period. Potential common shares included in the diluted calculation
consist of incremental shares issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options calculated
using the treasury stock method.
The following table sets forth the calculation of basic and diluted net income (loss) per
share (in thousands, except per share amounts):
Three Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Basic net income (loss) per share: |
||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 338 | $ | (1,006 | ) | |||
Weighted average common shares |
16,300 | 14,250 | ||||||
Basic net income (loss) per share |
$ | 0.02 | $ | (0.07 | ) | |||
Diluted net income (loss) per share: |
||||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 338 | $ | (1,006 | ) | |||
Weighted average common shares |
16,300 | 14,250 | ||||||
Effect of dilutive securities: stock options |
6 | | ||||||
Diluted weighted average common shares |
16,306 | 14,250 | ||||||
Diluted net income (loss) per share |
$ | 0.02 | $ | (0.07 | ) | |||
Options to purchase 2,211,074 shares of common stock were outstanding as of March 31, 2008 but
have been excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share for the three months ended
March 31, 2008 as their effect was anti-dilutive.
Note 10: Commitments and Contingencies
The Company leases office space in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong,
Japan, Spain, Taiwan, the U.K., and the U.S. under operating leases which expire between April 30,
2009 and January 31, 2014. The future minimum lease payments under
these operating leases as of March 31, 2009 total $12.8 million. The future lease payments
consist of $3,365,000 due in 2009, $3,177,000 due in 2010, $2,159,000 due in 2011, $2,033,000 due
in 2012 and $2,085,000 thereafter.
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It is possible that claims may be asserted against the Company in the future by former
stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation seeking to receive shares in the Company, whether based
on a claim that the two-year deadline for exchanging their shares was unenforceable or otherwise.
In addition, one or more jurisdictions, including the Bahamas or the State of Delaware, may assert
rights to unclaimed shares of the Company under escheat statutes. If such escheat claims are
asserted, the Company intends to challenge the applicability of escheat rights, in that, among
other reasons, the identity, residency, and eligibility of the holders in question cannot be
determined. There were certain conditions applicable to the issuance of shares to the Netsurfer
stockholders, including requirements that (i) they be at least 18 years of age, (ii) they be
residents of the U.S. or Canada, and (iii) they not apply for shares more than once. The Netsurfer
stockholders were required to confirm their compliance with these conditions, and were advised that
failure to comply could result in cancellation of their shares in Travelzoo.com Corporation.
Travelzoo.com Corporation was not able to verify that the applicants met the requirements referred
to above at the time of their applications for issuance of shares. If claims are asserted by
persons claiming to be former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, the Company intends to
assert that their rights to receive their shares expired two years following the effective date of
the merger, as provided in the merger agreement. The Company also expects to take the position, if
escheat or similar claims are asserted in respect of the unissued shares in the future, that it is
not required to issue such shares. Further, even if it were established that unissued shares were
subject to escheat claims, the Company would assert that the claimant must establish that the
original Netsurfer stockholders complied with the conditions to issuance of their shares. The
Company is not able to predict the outcome of any future claims which might be asserted relating to
the unissued shares. If such claims were asserted, and were fully successful, that could result in
the Company being required to issue up to an additional approximately 4,068,000 shares of common
stock for no additional payment.
On October 15, 2004, the Company announced a program under which it would make cash payments
to people who establish that they were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and who
failed to submit requests to convert their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the required
time period. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include a charge in
general and administrative expenses of $1,000 for these cash payments for the three months ended
March 31, 2009. The liability was $1,000 as of March 31, 2009. The liability is based on the actual
number of valid requests received from former stockholders through the reporting date which had not
yet been processed for payment. The total cost of this program is not reliably estimable because it
is based on the ultimate number of valid requests received and future levels of the Companys
common stock price. The Companys common stock price affects the liability because the amount of
cash payments under the program is based in part on the recent level of the stock price at the date
valid requests are received. The Company does not know how many of the requests for shares
originally received by Travelzoo.com Corporation in 1998 were valid, but the Company believes that
only a portion of such requests were valid. As noted above, in order to receive payment under the
program, a person is required to establish that such person validly held shares in Travelzoo.com
Corporation. Assuming 100% of the requests from 1998 were valid, former stockholders of
Travelzoo.com Corporation holding approximately 4,068,000 shares had not submitted claims under the
program.
Note 11: Income Taxes
In determining the quarterly provisions for income taxes, the Company uses an estimated annual
effective tax rate which is based on our expected annual income and statutory tax rates in the U.S.
The effective tax rate does not reflect any tax benefits from the losses of our foreign operations.
For the three months ended March 31, 2009, our effective tax rate was 87.2%.
As of March 31, 2009 the total amount of unrecognized tax benefit was approximately $788,000,
which if recognized, would reduce the Companys effective tax rate in the future periods.
The Company includes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax positions in income
tax expense. As of March 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, the Company had approximately $121,000 and
$111,000, respectively, in accrued interest related to uncertain tax positions. The Company has not
accrued any penalties related to our uncertain tax positions as we believe that it is more likely
than not that there will not be any assessment of penalties.
The Company files income tax returns in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various states and
foreign jurisdictions. The Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal and certain state tax
examinations for years before 2004 and is no longer subject to California tax examinations for
years before 2003. The Company is currently under examination by the California Franchise Tax Board
of California for the 2004 and 2005 tax years and is currently under examination by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) for the 2005 and 2006 tax
years. In January 2009, the IRS issued a Notice of Proposed Adjustment contesting the
Companys tax deductions in 2005 and 2006 related to the program under which the Company made cash
payments to people who established that they were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation,
and who failed to submit requests to convert their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the
required
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time period. The Company is currently evaluating the Notice of Proposed Adjustment to
determine if it agrees, but if agreed, the Notice of Proposed Adjustment would result in an
additional payment of approximately $548,000, plus interest, by the end of 2009. The Company
believes it has adequately provided for this matter and it is not expected to have a material
impact on the Companys results of operations.
Note 12: Segment Reporting and Significant Customer Information
The Company manages its business geographically and has three reportable operating segments:
North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. North America consists of the Companys operations in
Canada and the U.S. Europe consists of the Companys operations in France, Germany, Spain, and the
U.K. The Company began operations in Europe in May 2005. Asia Pacific consists of the Companys
operations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. The Company began operations in Asia
Pacific in April 2007.
Management relies on an internal management reporting process that provides revenue and
segment operating income (loss) for making financial decisions and allocating resources. Management
believes that segment revenues and operating income (loss) are appropriate measures of evaluating
the operational performance of the Companys segments.
The following is a summary of operating results and assets (in thousands) by business segment:
North | Asia | |||||||||||||||||||
Three months ended March 31, 2009: | America | Europe | Pacific | Elimination | Consolidated | |||||||||||||||
Revenues from unaffiliated customers |
$ | 20,006 | $ | 2,974 | $ | 388 | $ | | $ | 23,368 | ||||||||||
Intersegment revenues |
25 | 5 | | (30 | ) | | ||||||||||||||
Total net revenues |
20,031 | 2,979 | 388 | (30 | ) | 23,368 | ||||||||||||||
Operating income (loss) |
5,815 | (1,276 | ) | (1,719 | ) | 1 | 2,821 |
North | Asia | |||||||||||||||||||
Three months ended March 31, 2008: | America | Europe | Pacific | Elimination | Consolidated | |||||||||||||||
Revenues from unaffiliated customers |
$ | 18,890 | $ | 2,038 | $ | 20 | $ | | $ | 20,948 | ||||||||||
Intersegment revenues |
25 | 11 | | (36 | ) | | ||||||||||||||
Total net revenues |
18,915 | 2,049 | 20 | (36 | ) | 20,948 | ||||||||||||||
Operating income (loss) |
6,264 | (2,241 | ) | (2,745 | ) | 1 | 1,279 |
As of March 31, 2009 | North America | Europe | Asia Pacific | Elimination | Consolidated | |||||||||||||||
Property and equipment, net |
$ | 4,015 | $ | 190 | $ | 285 | $ | | $ | 4,490 | ||||||||||
Total assets |
67,858 | 4,212 | 1,776 | (36,077 | ) | 37,769 | ||||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2008 | North America | Europe | Asia Pacific | Elimination | Consolidated | |||||||||||||||
Property and equipment, net |
$ | 3,890 | $ | 210 | $ | 159 | $ | | $ | 4,259 | ||||||||||
Total assets |
62,094 | 3,934 | 2,213 | (32,919 | ) | 35,322 | ||||||||||||||
Revenue for each segment is recognized based on the customer location within a designated
geographic region. Property and equipment are attributed to the geographic region in which the
assets are located.
Significant customer information is as follows:
Percent of Revenues | Percent of Accounts Receivable | |||||||||||||||
Three Months Ended March 31, | March 31, | December 31, | ||||||||||||||
Customer | 2009 | 2008 | 2009 | 2008 | ||||||||||||
Orbitz Worldwide |
13 | % | 12 | % | 16 | % | 16 | % |
The agreements with this customer are in the form of multiple insertion orders from groups of
entities under common control, in either the Companys standard form or in the customers form.
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Note 13: Comprehensive Income (Loss)
Comprehensive income (loss) consists of two components, net income (loss) and other
comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) refers to gains and losses that
under generally accepted accounting principles are recorded as an element of stockholders equity
but are excluded from net income (loss). The Companys other comprehensive income (loss) is
comprised of foreign currency translation adjustments.
The following are components of comprehensive income (loss) (in thousands):
Three Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Net income (loss) |
$ | 338 | $ | (1,006 | ) | |||
Other comprehensive loss: |
||||||||
Foreign currency translation adjustments |
97 | (183 | ) | |||||
Total comprehensive income (loss) |
$ | 435 | $ | (1,189 | ) | |||
Accumulated other comprehensive loss, as reflected in the condensed consolidated balance
sheets, consists of cumulative foreign currency translation adjustments.
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Item 2. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The information in this report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are based upon current expectations, assumptions,
estimates and projections about Travelzoo and our industry. These forward-looking statements are
subject to the many risks and uncertainties that exist in our operations and business environment
that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Travelzoo to be different from those
expected or anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein that are
not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. For example,
words such as may, will, should, estimates, predicts, potential, continue,
strategy, believes, anticipates, plans, expects, intends, and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Travelzoos actual results and the timing of
certain events could differ significantly from those anticipated in such forward-looking
statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not
limited to, those discussed elsewhere in this report in the section entitled Risk Factors and the
risks discussed in our other SEC filings. The forward-looking statements included in this report
reflect the beliefs of our management on the date of this report. Travelzoo undertakes no
obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason, even if new
information becomes available or other circumstances occur in the future.
Overview
Travelzoo is a global Internet media company. We publish travel and entertainment offers from
hundreds of travel companies. As the Internet is becoming consumers preferred medium to search for
travel offers, we provide airlines, hotels, cruise lines, vacation packagers, and other travel
companies with a fast, flexible, and cost-effective way to reach millions of users. While our
products provide advertising opportunities for travel and entertainment companies, they also
provide Internet users with a free source of information on current sales and specials from
hundreds of travel and entertainment companies.
Our publications and products include the Travelzoo Web sites (www.travelzoo.com,
cn.travelzoo.com, www.travelzoo.ca, www.travelzoo.co.jp, www.travelzoo.com.au,
www.travelzoo.com.hk, www.travelzoo.tw, www.travelzoo.co.uk, www.travelzoo.de, www.travelzoo.es,
www.travelzoo.fr, among others), the Travelzoo Top 20 e-mail newsletter, and the Newsflash e-mail
alert service. We operate SuperSearch, a pay-per-click travel search tool, and the Travelzoo
Network, a network of third-party Web sites that list deals published by Travelzoo. We also operate
Fly.com, a travel search engine that
allows users to quickly and easily find the best prices on flights
from hundreds of airlines and online travel agencies.
More than 1,000 travel and
entertainment companies purchase our advertising services.
Our revenues are advertising revenues, consisting primarily of listing fees paid by
travel and
entertainment companies to advertise their offers on the Travelzoo Web sites, in the Travelzoo Top
20 e-mail newsletter, in the Newsflash e-mail alert service, in SuperSearch, through the Travelzoo
Network, and from Fly.com. Revenues are principally generated from the sale of advertising in the
U.S. Listing fees are based on placement, number of listings, number of impressions, or number of
clickthroughs. Smaller advertising agreements typically $2,000 or less per month typically
renew automatically each month if they are not terminated by the client. Larger agreements are
typically related to advertising campaigns and are not automatically renewed.
We have three operating segments based on geographic regions: North America, Europe and Asia
Pacific. North America consists of our operations in Canada and the U.S. Europe consists of our
operations in France, Germany, Spain, and the U.K. Asia Pacific consists of our operations in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.
When evaluating the financial condition and operating performance of the Company, management
focuses on the following financial and non-financial indicators:
| Growth in the number of subscribers to the Companys newsletters and page views of the homepages of the Travelzoo Web sites; | ||
| Operating margin; | ||
| Growth in revenues in the absolute and relative to the growth in reach of the Companys publications; and | ||
| Revenue per employee as a measure of productivity. |
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Critical Accounting Policies
We believe that there are a number of accounting policies that are critical to understanding
our historical and future performance, as these policies affect the reported amounts of revenue and
the more significant areas involving managements judgments and estimates. These significant
accounting policies relate to revenue recognition, the allowance for doubtful accounts, and
liabilities to former stockholders. These policies, and our procedures related to these policies,
are described in detail below.
Revenue Recognition
We recognize revenue on arrangements in accordance with SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104,
Revenue Recognition. We recognize advertising revenues in the period in which the advertisement
is displayed, provided that evidence of an arrangement exists, the fees are fixed or determinable
and collection of the resulting receivable is reasonably assured. If fixed-fee advertising is
displayed over a term greater than one month, revenues are recognized ratably over the period as
described below. The majority of insertion orders have terms that begin and end in a quarterly
reporting period. In the cases where at the end of a quarterly reporting period the term of an
insertion order is not complete, the Company recognizes revenue for the period by pro-rating the
total arrangement fee to revenue and deferred revenue based on a measure of proportionate
performance of its obligation under the insertion order. The Company measures proportionate
performance by the number of placements delivered and undelivered as of the reporting date. The
Company uses prices stated on its internal rate card for measuring the value of delivered and
undelivered placements. Fees for variable-fee advertising arrangements are recognized based on the
number of impressions displayed or clicks delivered during the period.
Under these policies, no revenue is recognized unless persuasive evidence of an arrangement
exists, delivery has occurred, the fee is fixed or determinable, and collection is deemed
reasonably assured. The Company evaluates each of these criteria as follows:
| Evidence of an arrangement. We consider an insertion order signed by the client or its agency to be evidence of an arrangement. | ||
| Delivery. Delivery is considered to occur when the advertising has been displayed and, if applicable, the clickthroughs have been delivered. | ||
| Fixed or determinable fee. We consider the fee to be fixed or determinable if the fee is not subject to refund or adjustment and payment terms are standard. | ||
| Collection is deemed reasonably assured. We conduct a credit review for all transactions at the time of the arrangement to determine the creditworthiness of the client. Collection is deemed reasonably assured if we expect that the client will be able to pay amounts under the arrangement as payments become due. If we determine that collection is not reasonably assured, then we defer the revenue and recognize the revenue upon cash collection. Collection is deemed not reasonably assured when a client is perceived to be in financial distress, which may be evidenced by weak industry conditions, a bankruptcy filing, or previously billed amounts that are past due. |
Revenue from advertising sold to clients through agencies is reported at the net amount billed
to the agency.
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts
We record a provision for doubtful accounts based on our historical experience of write-offs
and a detailed assessment of our accounts receivable and allowance for doubtful accounts. In
estimating the provision for doubtful accounts, management considers the age of the accounts
receivable, our historical write-offs, the creditworthiness of the client, the economic conditions
of the clients industry, and general economic conditions, among other factors. Should any of these
factors change, the estimates made by management will also change, which could impact the level of
our future provision for doubtful accounts. Specifically, if the financial condition of our clients
were to deteriorate, affecting their ability to make payments, additional provision for doubtful
accounts may be required.
Liability to Former Stockholders
On October 15, 2004, we announced a program under which we would make cash payments to people
who establish that they were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and who failed to
submit requests to convert their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the required time
period. We account for the cost of this program as an expense recorded in general and
administrative
16
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expenses. The ultimate total cost of this program is not reliably estimable because it is
based on the ultimate number of valid requests received and future levels of the Companys common
stock price. The Companys common stock price affects the liability because the amount of cash
payments under the program is based in part on the recent level of the stock price at the date
valid requests are received. We do not know how many of the requests for shares originally received
by Travelzoo.com Corporation in 1998 were valid. We believe that only a portion of such requests
were valid. In order to receive payment under the program, a person is required to establish that
such person validly held shares in Travelzoo.com Corporation.
Since the total cost of the program is not reliably estimable, the amount of expense recorded
in a period is equal to the number of actual claims received during the period multiplied by (i)
the number of shares held by each individual former stockholder and (ii) the applicable settlement
price based on the recent price of our common stock at the date the claim is received as stipulated
by the program. Requests are generally paid within 30 days of receipt. Please refer to Note 9 to
our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements for further details about our liabilities
to former stockholders.
Results of Operations
The following table sets forth, as a percentage of total revenues, the results of our
operations for the periods indicated.
Three Months Ended | ||||||||
March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
Revenues |
100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | ||||
Cost of revenues |
5.4 | 2.5 | ||||||
Gross profit |
94.6 | 97.5 | ||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||
Sales and marketing |
52.8 | 64.0 | ||||||
General and administrative |
29.7 | 27.4 | ||||||
Total operating expenses |
82.5 | 91.4 | ||||||
Income from operations |
12.1 | 6.1 | ||||||
Other income and expenses, net |
(0.8 | ) | 1.4 | |||||
Income before income taxes |
11.3 | 7.5 | ||||||
Income taxes |
9.8 | 12.3 | ||||||
Net income (loss) |
1.5 | % | (4.8 | %) | ||||
For the three months ended March 31, 2009, we reported income from operations of approximately
$2.8 million. As of March 31, 2009, we had retained earnings of approximately $22.2 million. Our
operating margin increased to 12.1% for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to 6.1% for
the same period last year. The main reason for the increase in operating margin is that for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 our sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue
decreased compared to the three months ended March 31, 2008 (see Operating Expenses below).
We do not know whether our sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue will
continue to decrease in future periods. Increased competition in our industry may require us to
increase advertising for our brand and for our products. Increases in the average cost of acquiring
new subscribers (see Subscriber Acquisition below) may result in an increase of sales and
marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue. We may decide to accelerate our subscriber
acquisition for various strategic and tactical reasons and, as a result, increase our marketing
expenses. We may see a unique opportunity for a brand marketing campaign that will result in an
increase of marketing expenses. Further, our strategy to replicate our business model in selected
foreign markets (see Growth Strategy below) may result in a significant increase in our sales and
marketing expenses and have a material adverse impact on our results of operations. We expect
fluctuations of sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue from quarter to quarter.
Some of the fluctuations may be significant and have a material impact on our results of
operations.
We do not know what our general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue will be
in future periods. There may be fluctuations that have a material impact on our results of
operations. We expect our headcount to continue to increase in the future. The Companys headcount
is one of the main drivers of general and administrative expenses. Therefore, we expect our
absolute general and administrative expenses to continue to increase. In addition, we expect our
expansion into foreign markets to result in a significant additional increase in our general and
administrative expenses. Our general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue may
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also fluctuate depending on the number of requests received related to a program under which
the Company intends to make cash payments to people who establish that they were former
stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and who failed to submit requests to convert their
shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the required time period.
Reach
The following table sets forth the number of subscribers of each of our e-mail publications in
North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific as of March 31, 2009 and 2008 and the total number of page
views for the homepages of the Travelzoo Web sites in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific for
the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008. Management considers the page views for the
Travelzoo homepages as indicators for the growth of Web site traffic. Management reviews these
non-financial metrics for two reasons: First, to monitor our progress in increasing the reach of
our products. Second, to evaluate whether we are able to convert higher reach into higher revenues.
March 31, | Year-over-Year | |||||||||||
2009 | 2008 | Growth | ||||||||||
Subscribers: |
||||||||||||
North America
|
||||||||||||
Travelzoo Top 20 |
11,236,000 | 10,514,000 | 7 | % | ||||||||
Newsflash |
9,341,000 | 8,484,000 | 10 | % | ||||||||
Europe |
||||||||||||
Travelzoo Top 20 |
2,431,000 | 1,658,000 | 47 | % | ||||||||
Newsflash |
2,327,000 | 1,570,000 | 48 | % | ||||||||
Asia Pacific |
||||||||||||
Travelzoo Top 20 |
1,257,000 | 581,000 | 116 | % | ||||||||
Newsflash |
1,161,000 | 521,000 | 123 | % |
Three Months Ended March 31, | Year-over-Year | |||||||||||
2009 | 2008 | Growth* | ||||||||||
Page views of homepages of Travelzoo Web sites: |
||||||||||||
North America |
8,916,000 | 8,226,000 | 8 | % | ||||||||
Europe |
2,201,000 | 1,706,000 | 29 | % | ||||||||
Asia Pacific |
1,404,000 | 3,082,000 | (54 | %) |
* | The comparability of year-over-year changes of page views of the homepages of Travelzoo Web sites may be limited due to the design and navigation of the Web sites. Additionally, we believe that the increased use of security software has adversely affected the tracking of page views. |
In North America, revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 increased by 6% from the
same period last year. The total number of subscribers in North America to the Travelzoo Top 20
e-mail newsletter as of March 31, 2009 increased by 7% compared to March 31, 2008 and page views of
the homepages of the Travelzoo Web sites in North America for the three months ended March 31, 2009
increased by 8% from the same period last year. In North America, revenues for the three months
ended March 31, 2009 increased at a lower rate than the rate of increase in the number of
subscribers to our Travelzoo Top 20 e-mail newsletter and the rate of increase in Web site traffic.
In Europe, revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 increased by 45% from the same
period last year. In local currency terms, revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009
increased by 100% from the same period last year. The total number of subscribers in Europe to the
Travelzoo Top 20 e-mail newsletter as of March 31, 2009 increased by 47% compared to March 31, 2008
and page views of the homepages of the Travelzoo Web sites in Europe for the three months ended
March 31, 2009 increased by 29% from the same period last year. In Europe, revenues in local
currency terms increased at a higher rate than the rate of growth in subscribers to the Travelzoo
Top 20 e-mail newsletter and the rate of growth in Web site traffic.
In Asia Pacific, revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 increased to $388,000 from
$20,000 in the same period last year. The total number of subscribers in Asia Pacific to the
Travelzoo Top 20 e-mail newsletter as of March 31, 2009 increased by 116%
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compared to March 31, 2008 and page views of the homepages of the Travelzoo Web sites in Asia
Pacific for the three months ended March 31, 2009 decreased by 54% from the same period last year.
The decrease in page views of the homepages of the Travelzoo Web sites in Asia Pacific was due
primarily to changes in our marketing campaigns in certain countries. We began operations in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan during 2007 and continue to focus on rapidly
building a significant subscriber base in selected countries in which we operate.
Revenues
Our total revenues increased to $23.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 from
$20.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008. This represents an increase of $2.4
million or 12%. $1.1 million of the increase in revenues came from our operations in North America
and was attributed primarily to increases in revenues from our Travelzoo Web site and Top 20
newsletter, Travelzoo Network, and SuperSearch offset by a decrease in revenues from our Newsflash
newsletter. $930,000 of the increase in revenues came from our operations in Europe, which had an
increase of 45% in revenues year over year. In local currency terms, revenues from our operations
in Europe increased 100% year over year. We also had a $368,000 increase in revenues from our
operations in Asia Pacific, which generated $20,000 in revenue for the three months ended March 31,
2008.
As discussed in Note 12 in the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements,
Orbitz Worldwide accounted for 13% of our total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009
and 12% of our total revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2008. No other clients
accounted for 10% or more of our total revenues during the three months ended March 31, 2009 and
2008. The agreements with Orbitz Worldwide are in the form of multiple insertion orders from groups
of entities under common control. Management expects revenue concentration to remain significant in
the foreseeable future because there is a high concentration in the online travel agency industry.
Management believes that our ability to increase revenues in the future depends mainly on the
following factors:
| Our ability to increase our advertising rates; | ||
| Our ability to sell more advertising to existing clients; | ||
| Our ability to increase the number of clients; | ||
| Our ability to develop new revenue streams; and | ||
| Our ability to launch new products. |
We believe that we can increase our advertising rates if the reach of our publications
increases. We do not know if we will be able to increase the reach of our publications. We believe
that we can sell more advertising if the market for online advertising continues to grow and if we
can maintain or increase our market share. We believe that the market for online advertising
continues to grow. We do not know if we will be able to maintain or increase our market share. We
historically have increased the number of clients in every year since inception. We do not know if
we will be able to increase the number of clients in the future. We do not know if we will have
market acceptance of our new products.
Our
goal is to increase our advertising rates at least once a year in
each market, preferably as of
January 1 of each year. However, we did not increase our advertising rates in the U.S. on January
1, 2008 or January 1, 2009 due to intense competition in our
industry. We intend to continue reviewing advertising rates and considering
increases once a year as of January 1. However, there is no assurance that we will increase our
advertising rates. Depending on the level of competition in the industry and the condition of the
online advertising market, we may decide not to increase our
advertising rates in all or certain markets.
Average annualized revenue per employee decreased to $454,000 for the three months ended March
31, 2009 from $471,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2008. The decrease in average revenue
per employee for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to the three months ended March 31,
2008 was primarily due to the increase in headcount related to the growth of our business in
Europe.
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Cost
of Revenues
Cost of revenues consists primarily of network expenses, including fees we pay for co-location
services, depreciation of network equipment, payments made to third-party partners of the Travelzoo
Network, and salary expenses associated with network operations staff. Our cost of revenues
increased to $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 from $529,000 for the three
months ended March 31, 2008. As a percentage of revenue, cost of revenues increased to 5.4% for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 from 2.5% for the three months ended March 31, 2008. The $734,000
increase in cost of revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to the three months
ended March 31, 2008 was primarily due to a $226,000 increase in payments made to third-party
partners of the Travelzoo Network, a $194,000 increase in depreciation and maintenance costs, and a
$138,000 increase in fees we pay for co-location services.
Operating Expenses
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of advertising and promotional expenses, salary
expenses associated with sales, marketing and production staff, expenses related to our
participation in industry conferences, and public relations expenses. Sales and marketing expenses
decreased to $12.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 from $13.4 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2008. The goal of our advertising was to acquire new subscribers for
our e-mail products, increase the traffic to our Web sites, and increase brand awareness for
Travelzoo. The $1.1 million decrease in sales and marketing expenses for the three months ended
March 31, 2009 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2008 was primarily due to a $1.1
million decrease in advertising to acquire new subscribers for our e-mail products and a $761,000
decrease in brand, trade and other marketing expense offset by a $928,000 increase in salary and
employee related expenses due primarily to an increase in headcount. For the three months ended
March 31, 2009 and 2008, advertising expenses accounted for 58% and 67%, respectively, of total
sales and marketing expenses.
Our goal is to increase our revenues from advertising sales. One important factor that drives
our revenues is our advertising rates. We believe that we can increase our advertising rates only
if the reach of our publications increases. In order to increase the reach of our publications, we
have to acquire a significant number of new subscribers in every quarter and continue to promote
our brand. One significant factor that impacts our advertising expenses is the average cost per
acquisition of a new subscriber. We believe that the average cost per acquisition depends mainly on
the advertising rates which we pay for media buys, our ability to manage our subscriber acquisition
efforts successfully, and the degree of competition in our industry.
In May 2005, we began operations in the U.K. In 2006, we began operations in Canada, Germany,
and Spain. In 2007, we began operations in Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.
The start-up of our business in Europe and Asia Pacific is expected to result in a relatively high
level of sales and marketing expense in the foreseeable future.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation for administrative,
executive, and software development staff, fees for professional services, rent, bad debt expense,
amortization of intangible assets, and general office expense. General and administrative expenses
increased to $6.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 from $5.7 million for the three
months ended March 31, 2008. The $1.2 million increase in general and administrative expenses was
primarily due to a $737,000 increase in salary and employee related expenses due primarily to an
increase in headcount, a $261,000 increase in bad debt expense and a $193,000 increase in
depreciation and amortization expenses.
For the three months ended March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2008, the Company recorded expense of
$1,000 and $7,000, respectively, related to a program under which the Company makes cash payments
to people who establish that they were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and who
failed to submit requests for shares in Travelzoo Inc. within the required time period. The
expense is based on the number of actual valid claims received and the Companys stock price. The
Company cannot reliably estimate future expenses incurred under this program because it is based on
the number of valid requests received and future levels of the Companys common stock price.
We expect our headcount to increase in the future. The Companys headcount is one of the main
drivers of general and administrative expenses. Therefore, we expect our general and administrative
expenses to continue to increase.
Our strategy to replicate our business model in foreign markets is expected to result in a
significant additional increase in our general and administrative expenses in the foreseeable
future.
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Subscriber Acquisition
The table set forth below provides for each quarter in 2006, 2007, 2008, and the first three
months of 2009, an analysis of our average cost for acquisition of new subscribers for our
Travelzoo Top 20 newsletter and our Newsflash e-mail alert service for our North America, Europe,
and Asia Pacific operating segments.
The table includes the following data:
| Average Cost per Acquisition of a New Subscriber: This is the quarterly cost of consumer marketing programs whose purpose was primarily to acquire new subscribers, divided by total new subscribers added during the quarter. | ||
| New Subscribers: Total new subscribers who signed up for at least one of our e-mail publications throughout the quarter. This is an unduplicated subscriber number, meaning a subscriber who signed up for two or more of our publications is only counted once. | ||
| Subscribers Removed From List: Subscribers who were removed from our lists throughout the quarter either as a result of their requesting removal, or based on periodic list maintenance after we determined that the e-mail address was likely no longer valid. | ||
| Balance: This is the number of subscribers at the end of the quarter, computed by taking the previous quarters subscriber balance, adding new subscribers during the current quarter, and subtracting unsubscribes during the current quarter. |
North America:
Average Cost per | Subscribers | |||||||||||||||
Acquisition of a | Removed | |||||||||||||||
Period | New Subscriber | New Subscribers | From List | Balance | ||||||||||||
Q1 2006
|
$ | 2.54 | 714,643 | (317,947 | ) | 9,773,550 | ||||||||||
Q2 2006
|
$ | 2.11 | 737,735 | (532,676 | ) | 9,978,609 | ||||||||||
Q3 2006
|
$ | 1.86 | 491,524 | (327,471 | ) | 10,142,662 | ||||||||||
Q4 2006
|
$ | 1.56 | 373,559 | (288,883 | ) | 10,227,338 | ||||||||||
Q1 2007
|
$ | 2.61 | 730,063 | (345,896 | ) | 10,611,505 | ||||||||||
Q2 2007
|
$ | 3.03 | 552,488 | (335,304 | ) | 10,828,689 | ||||||||||
Q3 2007
|
$ | 3.92 | 385,408 | (255,008 | ) | 10,959,089 | ||||||||||
Q4 2007
|
$ | 3.78 | 279,967 | (242,822 | ) | 10,996,234 | ||||||||||
Q1 2008
|
$ | 4.97 | 296,565 | (270,427 | ) | 11,022,372 | ||||||||||
Q2 2008
|
$ | 3.39 | 348,506 | (303,623 | ) | 11,067,255 | ||||||||||
Q3 2008
|
$ | 3.73 | 360,916 | (292,052 | ) | 11,136,119 | ||||||||||
Q4 2008
|
$ | 2.75 | 487,681 | (341,057 | ) | 11,282,743 | ||||||||||
Q1 2009
|
$ | 2.29 | 720,320 | (259,537 | ) | 11,743,526 |
Europe:
Average Cost per | Subscribers | |||||||||||||||
Acquisition of a | Removed | |||||||||||||||
Period | New Subscriber | New Subscribers | From List | Balance | ||||||||||||
Q1 2006
|
$ | 2.15 | 143,666 | (16,831 | ) | 424,604 | ||||||||||
Q2 2006
|
$ | 2.69 | 129,438 | (34,070 | ) | 519,972 | ||||||||||
Q3 2006
|
$ | 1.23 | 126,566 | (29,794 | ) | 616,744 | ||||||||||
Q4 2006
|
$ | 2.94 | 69,489 | (30,943 | ) | 655,290 | ||||||||||
Q1 2007
|
$ | 3.89 | 159,439 | (31,350 | ) | 783,379 | ||||||||||
Q2 2007
|
$ | 4.43 | 206,003 | (39,690 | ) | 949,692 | ||||||||||
Q3 2007
|
$ | 2.96 | 331,903 | (32,689 | ) | 1,248,906 | ||||||||||
Q4 2007
|
$ | 5.85 | 165,781 | (33,357 | ) | 1,381,330 | ||||||||||
Q1 2008
|
$ | 3.90 | 362,417 | (45,152 | ) | 1,698,595 | ||||||||||
Q2 2008
|
$ | 4.89 | 226,156 | (31,055 | ) | 1,893,696 | ||||||||||
Q3 2008
|
$ | 4.52 | 253,961 | (38,418 | ) | 2,109,239 | ||||||||||
Q4 2008
|
$ | 3.32 | 160,172 | (46,736 | ) | 2,222,675 | ||||||||||
Q1 2009
|
$ | 3.09 | 295,450 | (40,542 | ) | 2,477,583 |
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Asia Pacific:
Average Cost per | Subscribers | |||||||||||||||
Acquisition of a | Removed | |||||||||||||||
Period | New Subscriber | New Subscribers | From List | Balance | ||||||||||||
Q2 2007
|
$ | 2.46 | 1,068 | (4 | ) | 1,064 | ||||||||||
Q3 2007
|
$ | 2.23 | 42,106 | (138 | ) | 43,032 | ||||||||||
Q4 2007
|
$ | 2.90 | 180,446 | (9,013 | ) | 214,465 | ||||||||||
Q1 2008
|
$ | 3.12 | 393,311 | (26,199 | ) | 581,577 | ||||||||||
Q2 2008
|
$ | 3.37 | 369,491 | (38,048 | ) | 913,020 | ||||||||||
Q3 2008
|
$ | 2.46 | 194,462 | (43,588 | ) | 1,063,894 | ||||||||||
Q4 2008
|
$ | 2.66 | 84,937 | (40,522 | ) | 1,108,309 | ||||||||||
Q1 2009
|
$ | 2.23 | 182,502 | (32,939 | ) | 1,257,872 |
In North America, we have noted a trend of increasing average cost per acquisition of a new
subscriber (CPA) over the last few years, driven by a gradual increase in online advertising
rates by our media suppliers as well as increased activity from competitors using similar forms of
online advertising for their own marketing efforts. The decline in new subscriber acquisition costs
in North America in Q3 2006 was impacted by a credit received from a vendor in the amount of
$170,000. The decline in CPA in North America in Q4 2008 reflects the effect of new advertising
campaigns which were tested during the quarter. The decline in CPA in Q1 2009 reflects the effect
of new advertising campaigns which were tested during the quarter and reflects a decrease in online
advertising rates by our media suppliers. We do not consider the decline in CPA to be indicative of
a longer-term trend or to indicate that our CPA is likely to stay at this level or is likely to
decline further.
In Europe, we see a large fluctuation in the CPA. The CPA fluctuates from quarter to quarter
and from country to country. The decline in CPA in Europe in Q4 2008 reflects the change in the
exchange rates between Q3 2008 and Q4 2008 and accounted for $0.51 of the decrease in the CPA.
We began operations in Asia Pacific in April 2007 and started acquiring new subscribers in
Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. The CPA in Asia Pacific fluctuates from quarter to
quarter and from country to country.
Future increases in CPA is likely to result in higher absolute marketing expenses and
potentially higher relative marketing expenses as a percentage of revenue. Going forward we expect
continued upward pressure on online advertising rates and continued activity from competitors,
which will likely increase our CPA over the long term. The effect on operations is that greater
absolute and relative marketing expenditure is necessary to continue to grow the reach of our
publications. However, it is possible that the factors driving subscriber acquisition cost
increases can be partially or completely offset by new or improved methods of subscriber
acquisition using techniques which are under evaluation.
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Segment Information
We have presented the business segments in this report based on our organizational structure
as of March 31, 2009.
North America
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Net revenues |
$ | 20,031 | $ | 18,915 | ||||
Income from operations |
5,815 | 6,264 | ||||||
Income from operations as a % of revenues |
29.0 | % | 33.1 | % |
In North America, revenues increased $1.1 million or 6% for the three months ended March 31,
2009 compared to the same period in 2008. The increase in revenue was primarily due to increased
revenue from our Travelzoo Web site, SuperSearch and Travelzoo Network. Sales and marketing
expenses as a percentage of revenue decreased to 44% or $8.8 million for the three months ended
March 31, 2009 from 46% or $8.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008. The $146,000
increase in sales and marketing expense was primarily due to a $531,000 increase in salary and
employee related expenses and a $173,000 increase in advertising to acquire new subscribers for our
e-mail products offset by a $422,000 decrease in expenses for brand marketing campaigns. General
and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenue increased to 22% or $4.3 million for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 from 19% or $3.6 million for the three months ended March 31,
2008. The $766,000 increase in general and administrative expense was primarily due to a $402,000
increase in salary and employee related expenses and a $157,000 increase in bad debt expense.
Income from operations for North America as a percentage of revenue for the three months ended
March 31, 2009 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2008 decreased to 29.0% from 33.1%.
Europe
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Net revenues |
$ | 2,979 | $ | 2,049 | ||||
Loss from operations |
(1,276 | ) | (2,241 | ) | ||||
Loss from operations as a % of revenues |
42.8 | % | 109.4 | % |
In Europe, revenues increased $930,000 or 45% for the three months ended March 31, 2009
compared to the same period in 2008. The increase in revenue was driven by the addition of new
clients, increases in our advertising rates, increased spending from existing clients, and new
product offerings and revenue streams. Sales and marketing expenses decreased to $2.6 million for
the three months ended March 31, 2009 from $3.1 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008.
The $478,000 decrease in sales and marketing expense was due primarily to a $501,000 decrease in
advertising to acquire new subscribers for our e-mail products. General and administrative expenses
increased by $394,000 to $1.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to the
prior year period due primarily to a $320,000 increase in salary and employee related expenses. Our
loss from operations in Europe was $1.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared
to a loss of $2.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2008.
Asia Pacific
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Net revenues |
$ | 388 | $ | 20 | ||||
Loss from operations |
(1,719 | ) | (2,745 | ) |
In Asia Pacific, revenues increased $368,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2009
compared to the same period in 2008. Sales and marketing expense decreased to $923,000 for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 from $1.6 million for the three months ended
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March 31, 2008. The $726,000 decrease was primarily due to an $821,000 decrease in advertising to
acquire new subscribers for our e-mail products. General and administrative expenses were $1.1
million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2008. Our loss from operations in
Asia Pacific was $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to a loss of $2.7
million for the three months ended March 31, 2008.
Income Taxes
We recorded income tax provisions of $2.3 million and $2.6 million for the three months ended
March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2008, respectively. Our income is generally taxed in the U.S. and our
income tax provisions reflect federal and state statutory rates applicable to our levels of income
and expenses, adjusted to take into account expenses that are treated as having no recognizable tax
benefit. For the three months ended March 31, 2009 and 2008, our effective tax rates were 87% and
164%, respectively. Our effective tax rate decreased for the three months ended March 31, 2009
compared to 2008 due primarily to the decrease in losses from our Europe and Asia Pacific business
segments which were treated as having no recognizable tax benefit.
We expect that our effective tax rate in future periods may fluctuate depending on the total
amount of expenses representing payments to former stockholders, from losses or gains incurred by
our operations in Canada, Europe and Asia Pacific, and corresponding U.S. tax credits, if any.
In January 2009, the IRS issued a Notice of Proposed Adjustment
contesting our tax deductions in 2005 and 2006 related to the program under which we made cash
payments to people who established that they were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation,
and who failed to submit requests to convert their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the
required time period. We are currently evaluating the Notice of Proposed Adjustment to determine if
we agree, but if agreed, the Notice of Proposed Adjustment would result in an additional payment of
approximately $548,000, plus interest, by the end of 2009. We believe we have adequately provided
for this matter in the balance of our long-term tax liabilities and it is not expected to have a
material impact on our results of operations.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of March 31, 2009, we had $15.6 million in cash and cash equivalents. Cash and cash
equivalents increased from $14.2 million as of December 31, 2008 primarily as a result of cash
provided by operating activities and financing activities as explained below. We expect that cash
on hand will be sufficient to provide for working capital needs for at least the next 12 months.
Three Months Ended March 31, | ||||||||
2009 | 2008 | |||||||
(In thousands) | ||||||||
Net cash provided by operating activities |
$ | 2,069 | $ | 3,647 | ||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(2,644 | ) | (1,717 | ) | ||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
2,158 | | ||||||
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
(118 | ) | (126 | ) | ||||
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 1,465 | $ | 1,804 | ||||
Cash provided by operating activities is net income or net loss adjusted for certain non-cash
items and changes in assets and liabilities. Net cash provided by operating activities for the
three months ended March 31, 2009 decreased by $1.6 million compared to the three months ended
March 31, 2008. The $1.6 million decrease in cash provided by operating activities was due to a
$3.7 million decrease in our operating assets and liabilities mainly due to the timing of payments
of accounts payable and income taxes. This was partially offset by an increase in net income and an
increase in non-cash related items related to depreciation and amortization, provision for losses
on accounts receivable and net foreign currency effects.
Net cash used in investing activities was $2.6 million for the three months ended March 31,
2009. Net cash used in investing activities was $1.7 million during the three months ended March
31, 2008. During the three months ended March 31, 2009, we used $1.8 million to purchase the
fly.com domain name and we used $884,000 for the purchase of property and equipment. During the
three months ended March 31, 2008, we used $875,000 for the purchase of restricted cash which
serves as the collateral for a standby letter of credit for the security deposit of our corporate
headquarters and we used $842,000 for the purchase of property and equipment.
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Net cash provided by financing activities was $2.2 million for the three months ended March
31, 2009. There were no financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2008. For the
three months ended March 31, 2009, net cash provided by financing activities was due to the
exercise of stock options.
Our capital requirements depend on a number of factors, including market acceptance of our
products and services, the amount of our resources we devote to the development of new products,
cash payments to former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, expansion of our operations, and
the amount of resources we devote to promoting awareness of the Travelzoo brand. Since the
inception of the program under which we would make cash payments to people who establish that they
were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and who failed to submit requests to convert
their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the required time period, we have incurred
expenses of $2.7 million. While future payments for this program are expected to decrease, the
total cost of this program is still undeterminable because it is dependent on our stock price and
on the number of valid requests ultimately received. Consistent with our growth, we have
experienced substantial increases in our cost of revenues, sales and marketing expenses and our
general and administrative expenses, and we anticipate that these increases will continue for the
foreseeable future. We believe cash on hand will be sufficient to pay such costs. In addition, we
will continue to evaluate possible investments in businesses, products and technologies, the
consummation of any of which would increase our capital requirements.
Although we currently believe that we have sufficient capital resources to meet our
anticipated working capital and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months,
unanticipated events and opportunities or a less favorable than expected development of our
business in Asia Pacific and Europe may require us to sell additional equity or debt securities or
establish new credit facilities to raise capital in order to meet our capital requirements.
If we sell additional equity or convertible debt securities, the sale could dilute the
ownership of our existing stockholders. If we issue debt securities or establish a new credit
facility, our fixed obligations could increase, and we may be required to agree to operating
covenants that would restrict our operations. We cannot be sure that any such financing will be
available in amounts or on terms acceptable to us.
If the development of our business in Asia Pacific and Europe is less favorable than expected,
we may decide to significantly reduce the size of our operations and marketing expenses in these
markets with the objective of reducing cash outflow. In February 2009, our Board of Directors began
reviewing strategic alternatives for our business in Asia Pacific. For the three months ended March
31, 2009, cash used in operating activities in Asia Pacific and
Europe was $1.9 million and $1.3 million, respectively.
The following summarizes our principal contractual commitments as of March 31, 2009 (in
thousands):
2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | Thereafter | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Operating leases |
$ | 3,365 | $ | 3,177 | $ | 2,159 | $ | 2,033 | $ | 1,924 | $ | 161 | $ | 12,819 | ||||||||||||||
Purchase obligations |
914 | 855 | | | | | 1,769 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Total commitments |
$ | 4,279 | $ | 4,032 | $ | 2,159 | $ | 2,033 | $ | 1,924 | $ | 161 | $ | 14,588 | ||||||||||||||
The table above excludes net unrecognized tax benefits of approximately $788,000 as of March
31, 2009, because the Company is unable to make reasonably reliable estimates on the timing of the
cash settlements with the respective taxing authorities.
Growth Strategy
Our growth strategy has two main elements:
| Replicate our business model in selected foreign markets in Asia Pacific and in Europe; and | ||
| Expand the scope of our business model. |
In 2007, we began development of the Travelzoo Network, a network of third-party Web sites
that list travel deals published by Travelzoo.
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In 2009, we are continuing to develop
our entertainment content and related advertising services,
including information on outstanding deals for shows, sporting
events, concerts, and other entertainment.
In February 2009, we launched Fly.com, a new
travel search engine. We intend to allocate
significant resources towards the development of Fly.com.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In September 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of
Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (SFAS 157). SFAS 157
establishes a framework for measuring the fair value of assets and liabilities. This framework is
intended to provide increased consistency in how fair value determinations are made under various
existing accounting standards which permit, or in some cases require, estimates of fair market
value. SFAS 157 became effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, and interim
periods within those fiscal years. Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted Accounting
Standards Board (FASB) Staff Position No. 157-2, Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157 (FSP
157-2). FSP 157-2 delayed the effective date of SFAS 157 for all non-financial assets and
non-financial liabilities, except those recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial
statements on a recurring basis, until the beginning of the first quarter of fiscal 2009. The
adoption of FSP 157-2 did not have a material impact on the Companys consolidated results of
operations or financial condition.
Effective January 1, 2009, the Company adopted FASB Staff Position No. 142-3, Determination
of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets (FSP 142-3), which amends the factors an entity should
consider in developing renewal or extension assumptions used in determining the useful life of
recognized intangible assets under FASB Statement No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.
This guidance applies prospectively to intangible assets that are acquired individually or with a
group of other assets in business combinations and asset acquisitions. Under FSP 142-3, entities
estimating the useful life of a recognized intangible asset must consider their historical
experience in renewing or extending similar arrangements or, in the absence of historical
experience, must consider assumptions that market participants would use about renewal or
extension. The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Companys consolidated
results of operations or financial condition.
RISK FACTORS
Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Any or all of the risks listed
below as well as other variables affecting our operating results could have a material adverse
effect on our business, our quarterly and annual operating results or financial condition, which
could cause the market price of our stock to decline or cause substantial volatility in our stock
price, in which event the value of your common stock could decline. You should also keep these risk
factors in mind when you read forward-looking statements.
Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Business Model
We cannot assure you that we will be profitable.
For the three months ended March 31, 2009, we generated net income of $388,000. In the year
ended December 31, 2008, we generated a net loss of $4.1 million. Although we were profitable for
the three months ended March 31, 2009 and had been profitable prior to 2008, there is no assurance
that we will be profitable again in the future. We forecast our future expense levels based on our
operating plans and our estimates of future revenues. We may find it necessary to significantly
accelerate expenditures relating to our sales and marketing efforts or otherwise increase our
financial commitment to creating and maintaining brand awareness among Internet users and travel
companies. If our revenues grow at a slower rate than we anticipate, or if our spending levels
exceed our expectations or cannot be adjusted to reflect slower revenue growth, we may not generate
sufficient revenues to be profitable. We expect our operations in Asia Pacific and Europe to incur
significant losses in the next 18 months to three years. We expect that this will have a material
negative impact on our operating margins, net income and cash flows. Any of these developments
could result in a significant decrease in the trading price of our common stock.
Fluctuations in our operating results may negatively impact our stock price.
Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly in the future due to a variety of
factors that could affect our revenues or our expenses in any particular quarter. You should not
rely on quarter-to-quarter comparisons of our results of operations as an indication of future
performance. Factors that may affect our quarterly results include:
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| mismatches between resource allocation and client demand due to difficulties in predicting client demand in a new market; | ||
| changes in general economic conditions that could affect marketing efforts generally and online marketing efforts in particular; | ||
| the magnitude and timing of marketing initiatives, including our acquisition of new subscribers and our expansion efforts in other regions; | ||
| the introduction, development, timing, competitive pricing and market acceptance of our products and services and those of our competitors; | ||
| our ability to attract and retain key personnel; | ||
| our ability to manage our anticipated growth and expansion; | ||
| our ability to attract traffic to our Web sites; | ||
| technical difficulties or system downtime affecting the Internet generally or the operation of our products and services specifically; | ||
| payments which we may make to previous stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation who failed to submit requests to convert their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the required time period; and | ||
| volatility of our operating results in new markets. |
We may significantly increase our operating expenses related to advertising campaigns for
Travelzoo for a certain period if we see a unique opportunity for a brand marketing campaign, if we
find it necessary to respond to increased brand marketing by a competitor, or if we decide to
accelerate our acquisition of new subscribers.
If revenues fall below our expectations in any quarter and we are unable to quickly reduce our
operating expenses in response, our operating results would be lower than expected and our stock
price may fall.
We depend on one client for a substantial part of our revenues.
For the three months ended March 31, 2009, Orbitz Worldwide accounted for 13% of our revenues.
The agreements with Orbitz Worldwide are in the form of multiple insertion orders, in either the
Companys standard form or in the clients form. The loss of this client might result in a
significant decrease in our revenues, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our business model may not be adaptable to a changing market.
Our current revenue model depends on advertising fees paid primarily by travel companies. If
current clients decide not to continue advertising their offers with us and we are unable to
replace them with new clients, our business may be adversely affected. To be successful, we must
provide online marketing solutions that achieve broad market acceptance by travel companies. In
addition, we must attract sufficient Internet users with attractive demographic characteristics to
our products. It is possible that we will be required to further adapt our business model in
response to changes in the online advertising market or if our current business model is not
successful. If we are not able to anticipate changes in the online advertising market or if our
business model is not successful, our business could be materially adversely affected.
We may not be able to obtain sufficient funds to grow our business and any additional financing may
be on terms adverse to your interests.
During the three months ended March 31, 2009, our cash and cash equivalents increased by $1.5
million to $15.6 million. We intend to continue to grow our business, and intend to fund our current operations and
anticipated growth from the cash on hand. However, this may not be
sufficient to meet our cash needs. We
may not be able to obtain financing on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.
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If additional financing is not available when required or is not available on acceptable
terms, we may be unable to fund our expansion, successfully promote our brand name, develop or
enhance our products and services, take advantage of business opportunities, or respond to
competitive pressures, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
If we choose to raise additional funds through the issuance of equity securities, you may
experience significant dilution of your ownership interest and holders of the additional equity
securities may have rights senior to those of the holders of our common stock. If we obtain
additional financing by issuing debt securities, the terms of these securities could restrict or
prevent us from paying dividends and could limit our flexibility in making business decisions.
Our business may be sensitive to recessions.
The demand for online advertising may be linked to the level of economic activity and
employment in the U.S. and abroad. Specifically, our business is dependent on the demand for online
advertising from travel companies. The last recession decreased consumer travel and caused travel
companies to reduce or postpone their marketing spending generally, and their online marketing
spending in particular. Recessions could have a material adverse effect on our business and
financial condition.
Our operations could be significantly hindered by the occurrence of a natural disaster or other
catastrophic event.
Our operations are susceptible to outages due to fire, floods, power loss, telecommunications
failures,
unexpected technical problems in the systems that power our Web sites
and distribute our e-mail newsletters,
break-ins and similar events. In addition, a significant portion of our network
infrastructure is located in Northern California, an area susceptible to earthquakes. We do not
have multiple site capacity in the event of any such occurrence. Outages could cause significant
interruptions of our service. In addition, despite our implementation of network security measures,
our servers are vulnerable to computer viruses, physical and electronic break-ins, and similar
disruptions from unauthorized tampering with our computer systems. We do not carry business
interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur as a result of any of these
events.
Technological or other assaults on our service could harm our business.
We are vulnerable to coordinated attempts to overload our systems with data, which could
result in denial or reduction of service to some or all of our users for a period of time. We have
experienced denial of service attacks in the past, and may experience such attempts in the future.
Any such event could reduce our revenue and harm our operating results and financial condition. We
do not carry business interruption insurance to compensate us for losses that may occur as a result
of any of these events.
Risks Related to Our Markets and Strategy
Our international expansion is expected to result in substantial operating losses, and is subject
to other material risks.
In May 2005, we began operations in the U.K. In 2006, we began operations in Canada, Germany,
and Spain. In 2007, we began operations in Australia, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan.
We expect our operations in Asia Pacific and Europe will incur significant losses in the next two
to three years primarily as a result of significant expenses related to subscriber acquisition and
other marketing activities. These losses may not have any recognizable tax benefit. We expect that
this will have a material negative impact on our operating margins, net income and cash flows. Any
of these developments could result in a significant decrease in the trading price of our common
stock. In addition to uncertainty about our ability to generate net income from our foreign
operations and expand our international market position, there are certain risks inherent in doing
business internationally, including:
| trade barriers and changes in trade regulations; | ||
| difficulties in developing, staffing and simultaneously managing foreign operations as a result of distance, language and cultural differences; | ||
| stringent local labor laws and regulations; | ||
| currency exchange rate fluctuations; | ||
| risks related to government regulation; and | ||
| potentially adverse tax consequences. |
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We may not be able to continue developing awareness of our brand name.
We believe that continuing to build awareness of the Travelzoo brand name is critical to
achieving widespread acceptance of our business. Brand recognition is a key differentiating factor
among providers of online advertising opportunities, and we believe it could become more important
as competition in our industry increases. In order to maintain and build brand awareness, we must
succeed in our marketing efforts. If we fail to successfully promote and maintain our brand, incur
significant expenses in promoting our brand and fail to generate a corresponding increase in
revenue as a result of our branding efforts, or encounter legal obstacles which prevent our
continued use of our brand name, our business could be materially adversely affected.
Our business may be sensitive to events affecting the travel industry in general.
Events like the war with Iraq or the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001 or the current
global financial crisis have a negative impact on the travel industry. We are not in a position to
evaluate the net effect of these circumstances on our business. In the longer term, our business
might be negatively affected by financial pressures on the travel industry. However, our business
may also benefit if travel companies increase their efforts to promote special offers or other
marketing programs. If such events result in a long-term negative impact on the travel industry,
such impact could have a material adverse effect on our business.
We will not be able to attract travel companies or Internet users if we do not continually enhance
and develop the content and features of our products and services.
To remain competitive, we must continually improve the responsiveness, functionality, and
features of our products and services. We may not succeed in developing features, functions,
products, or services that travel companies and Internet users find attractive. This could reduce
the number of travel companies and Internet users using our products and materially adversely
affect our business.
We may lose business if we fail to keep pace with rapidly changing technologies and client needs.
Our success is dependent on our ability to develop new and enhanced software, services, and
related products to meet rapidly evolving technological requirements for online advertising. Our
current technology may not meet the future technical requirements of travel companies. Trends that
could have a critical impact on our success include:
| rapidly changing technology in online advertising; | ||
| evolving industry standards, including both formal and de facto standards relating to online advertising; | ||
| developments and changes relating to the Internet; | ||
| competing products and services that offer increased functionality; and | ||
| changes in travel company and Internet user requirements. |
If we are unable to timely and successfully develop and introduce new products and
enhancements to existing products in response to our industrys changing technological
requirements, our business could be materially adversely affected.
Our business and growth will suffer if we are unable to hire and retain highly skilled personnel.
Our future success depends on our ability to attract, train, motivate, and retain highly
skilled employees. We may be unable to retain our skilled employees, or attract, assimilate, and
retain other highly skilled employees in the future. We have from time to time in the past
experienced, and we expect to continue to experience in the future, difficulty in hiring and
retaining highly skilled employees with appropriate qualifications. If we are unable to hire and
retain skilled personnel, our growth may be restricted, which could adversely affect our future
success.
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We may not be able to effectively manage our expanding operations.
Since the commencement of our operations, we have experienced a period of rapid growth. In
order to execute our business plan, we must continue to grow significantly. As of March 31, 2009,
we had 206 employees. We expect that the number of our employees will continue to increase for the
foreseeable future. This growth has placed, and our anticipated future growth will continue to
place, a significant strain on our management, systems, and resources. We expect that we will need
to continue to improve our financial and managerial controls and reporting systems and procedures.
We will also need to continue to expand and maintain close coordination among our sales,
production, marketing, IT, and finance departments. We may not succeed in these efforts. Our
inability to expand our operations in an efficient manner could cause our expenses to grow
disproportionately to revenues, our revenues to decline or grow more slowly than expected and could
otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business.
Intense competition may adversely affect our ability to achieve or maintain market share and
operate profitably.
We face intense competition. We compete for advertising dollars with large Internet portal
sites, such as America Online, MSN, and Yahoo!, that offer listings or other advertising
opportunities for travel companies. These companies have significantly greater financial,
technical, marketing, and other resources and larger client bases. We compete with search engines
like Google and Yahoo! Search that offer pay-per-click listings. We also compete with travel
meta-search engines and online travel deal publishers. We also compete with large online travel
agencies like Expedia and Priceline that also offer advertising placements. In addition, we compete
with newspapers, magazines, and other traditional media companies that operate Web sites which
provide online advertising opportunities. We expect to face additional competition as other
established and emerging companies, including print media companies, enter the online advertising
market. Competition could result in reduced margins on our services, loss of market share, or less
use of Travelzoo by travel companies and consumers. If we are not able to compete effectively with
current or future competitors as a result of these and other factors, our business could be
materially adversely affected.
Loss of any of our key management personnel could negatively impact our business.
Our future success depends to a significant extent on the continued service and coordination
of our management team, particularly Holger Bartel, our Chief Executive Officer. The loss or
departure of any of our officers or key employees could materially adversely affect our ability to
implement our business plan. We do not maintain key person life insurance for any member of our
management team. In addition, we expect new members to join our management team in the future.
These individuals will not previously have worked together and will be required to become
integrated into our management team. If our key management personnel are not able to work together
effectively or successfully, our business could be materially adversely affected.
We may not be able to access third party technology upon which we depend.
We use technology and software products from third parties including Microsoft. Technology
from our current or other vendors may not continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable
terms, or at all. Our business will suffer if we are unable to access this technology, to gain
access to additional products or to integrate new technology with our existing systems. This could
cause delays in our development and introduction of new services and related products or
enhancements of existing products until equivalent or replacement technology can be accessed, if
available, or developed internally, if feasible. If we experience these delays, our business could
be materially adversely affected.
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Risks Related to the Market for our Shares
Our stock price has been volatile historically and may continue to be volatile.
The trading price of our common stock has been and may continue to be subject to wide
fluctuations. Our stock price may fluctuate in response to a number of events and factors, such as
quarterly variations in operating results; announcements of technological innovations or new
products by us or our competitors; changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities
analysts; the operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors may deem
comparable to us; and news reports relating to trends in our markets or general economic
conditions.
In addition, the stock market in general, and the market prices for Internet-related companies
in particular, have experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating
performance of such companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect
the price of our stock, regardless of our operating performance.
We are controlled by a principal stockholder.
Ralph Bartel, who founded Travelzoo and who is our Chairman of the Board, is our largest
stockholder, holding beneficially, as of May 1, 2009, approximately 66.3% of our outstanding
shares. Through his share ownership, he is in a position to control Travelzoo and to elect our
entire board of directors.
Risks Related to Legal Uncertainty
We may become subject to burdensome government regulations and legal uncertainties affecting the
Internet which could adversely affect our business.
To date, governmental regulations have not materially restricted use of the Internet in our
markets. However, the legal and regulatory environment that pertains to the Internet is uncertain
and may change. Uncertainty and new regulations could increase our costs of doing business, prevent
us from delivering our products and services over the Internet, or slow the growth of the Internet.
In addition to new laws and regulations being adopted, existing laws may be applied to the
Internet. New and existing laws may cover issues which include:
| user privacy; | |
| anti-spam legislation; | |
| consumer protection; | |
| copyright, trademark and patent infringement; | |
| pricing controls; | |
| characteristics and quality of products and services; | |
| sales and other taxes; and | |
| other claims based on the nature and content of Internet materials. |
We may be liable as a result of information retrieved from or transmitted over the Internet.
We may be sued for defamation, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement or other legal
claims relating to information that is published or made available in our products. These types of
claims have been brought, sometimes successfully, against online services in the past. The fact
that we distribute information via e-mail may subject us to potential risks, such as liabilities or
claims resulting from unsolicited e-mail or spamming, lost or misdirected messages, security
breaches, illegal or fraudulent use of e-mail or interruptions or delays in e-mail service. In
addition, we could incur significant costs in investigating and defending such claims, even if we
ultimately are not liable. If any of these events occur, our business could be materially adversely
affected.
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Claims may be asserted against us relating to shares not issued in our 2002 merger.
The merger of Travelzoo.com Corporation into the Company became effective on April 25, 2002.
Stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation were allowed a period of two years following the
effective date to receive shares in the Company. After April 25, 2004, two years following the
effective date, we ceased issuing shares to the former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation.
Many of the Netsurfer stockholders, who had applied to receive shares of Travelzoo.com
Corporation in 1998 for no cash consideration, did not elect to receive their shares which were
issuable in the merger prior to the end of the two-year period. A total of 4,115,532 of our shares
which had been reserved for issuance in the merger were not claimed.
It is possible that claims may be asserted against us in the future by former stockholders of
Travelzoo.com Corporation seeking to receive our shares, whether based on a claim that the two-year
deadline for exchanging their shares was unenforceable or otherwise. In addition, one or more
jurisdictions, including the Bahamas or the State of Delaware, may assert rights to unclaimed
shares under escheat statutes. If such escheat claims are asserted, we intend to challenge the
applicability of escheat rights in that, among other reasons, the identity, residency and
eligibility of the holders in question cannot be determined. There were certain conditions
applicable to the issuance of shares to the Netsurfer stockholders, including requirements that (i)
they be at least 18 years of age, (ii) they be residents of the U.S. or Canada and (iii) they not
apply for shares more than once. The Netsurfer stockholders were required to confirm their
compliance with these conditions, and were advised that failure to comply could result in
cancellation of their shares in Travelzoo.com Corporation. Travelzoo.com Corporation was not able
to verify that the applicants met the requirements referred to above at the time of their
applications for issuance of shares. If claims are asserted by persons claiming to be former
stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, we intend to assert that their rights to receive their
shares expired two years following the effective date of the merger, as provided in the merger
agreement. We also expect to take the position, if escheat or similar claims are asserted in
respect of the unissued shares in the future, that we are not required to issue such shares.
Further, even if it were established that unissued shares were subject to escheat claims, we would
assert that the claimant must establish that the original Netsurfer stockholders complied with the
conditions to issuance of their shares. We are not able to predict the outcome of any future claims
which might be asserted relating to the unissued shares. If such claims were asserted, and were
fully successful, that could result in us being required to issue up to an additional 4,068,000
shares of common stock for no additional payment, which would result in substantial dilution of the
ownership interests of the other stockholders, and in our earnings per share, which could adversely
affect the market price of our common stock.
On October 15, 2004, we announced a program under which we would make cash payments to persons
who establish that they were former stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation, and who failed to
submit requests to convert their shares into shares of Travelzoo Inc. within the required time
period. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include a charge in general
and administrative expenses of $1,000 for these cash payments for the three months ended March 31,
2009. The liability was $1,000 as of March 31, 2009. The liability is based on the actual number of
valid requests received from former stockholders through March 31, 2009 that remain unpaid. The
total cost of this program is not reliably estimable because it is based on the ultimate number of
valid requests received and future levels of our common stock price. Our common stock price affects
the liability because the amount of cash payments under the program is based in part on the recent
level of the stock price at the date valid requests are received. We do not know how many of the
requests for shares originally received by Travelzoo.com Corporation in 1998 were valid, but we
believe that only a portion of such requests were valid. As noted above, in order to receive
payment under the program, a person is required to establish that such person validly held shares
in Travelzoo.com Corporation. Assuming 100% of the requests from 1998 were valid, former
stockholders of Travelzoo.com Corporation holding approximately 4,068,000 shares had not submitted
claims under the program as of March 31, 2009.
Our internal controls over financial reporting may not be effective, and our independent auditors
may not be able to certify as to the effectiveness of our internal controls, which could have a
significant and adverse effect on our business.
We are obligated to evaluate our internal controls over financial reporting in order to allow
management to report on, and our independent auditors to opine on, our internal controls over
financial reporting, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and
regulations of the SEC. In our Section 404 evaluation, we have identified areas of internal
controls that may need improvement and have instituted remediation efforts where necessary.
Currently, none of our identified areas that need improvement have been categorized as material
weaknesses. We may identify conditions that may result in significant deficiencies or material
weaknesses in the future.
We may be unable to protect our registered trademark or other proprietary intellectual property
rights.
Our success depends to a significant degree upon the protection of the Travelzoo brand name.
We rely upon a combination of copyright, trade secret and trademark laws and non-disclosure and
other contractual arrangements to protect our intellectual property rights. The steps we have taken
to protect our proprietary rights, however, may not be adequate to deter misappropriation of
proprietary information.
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We have registered the Travelzoo trademark in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong,
Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the U.K. If we are unable to protect our rights in the mark in
North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, a key element of our strategy of promoting Travelzoo as a
brand could be disrupted and our business could be adversely affected. We may not be able to detect
unauthorized use of our proprietary information or take appropriate steps to enforce our
intellectual property rights. In addition, the validity, enforceability, and scope of protection of
intellectual property in Internet-related industries are uncertain and still evolving. The laws of
countries in which we may market our services in the future are uncertain and may afford little or
no effective protection of our intellectual property. The unauthorized reproduction or other
misappropriation of our proprietary technology could enable third parties to benefit from our
technology and brand name without paying us for them. If this were to occur, our business could be
materially adversely affected.
We may face liability from intellectual property litigation that could be costly to prosecute or
defend and distract managements attention with no assurance of success.
We cannot be certain that our products, content and brand names do not or will not infringe
valid patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights held by third parties. While we
have a trademark for Travelzoo, many companies in the industry have similar names including the
word travel. We expect that infringement claims in our markets will increase in number as more
participants enter the markets. We may be subject to legal proceedings and claims from time to time
relating to the intellectual property of others in the ordinary course of our business. We may
incur substantial expenses in defending against these third party infringement claims, regardless
of their merit, and such claims could result in a significant diversion of the efforts of our
management personnel. Successful infringement claims against us may result in monetary liability or
a material disruption in the conduct of our business.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We believe that our potential exposure to changes in market interest rates is not material.
The Company has no outstanding debt and is not a party to any derivatives transactions. We invest
in highly liquid investments with short maturities. Accordingly, we do not expect any material loss
from these investments.
Our operations in Asia Pacific expose us to foreign currency risk associated with agreements
being denominated in Australian Dollars, Chinese Yuan, Hong Kong Dollars, Japanese Yen, and Taiwan
Dollars. Our operations in Canada expose us to foreign currency risk associated with agreements
being denominated in Canadian Dollars. Our operations in Europe expose us to foreign currency risk
associated with agreements being denominated in British Pounds Sterling and Euros. We are exposed
to foreign currency risk associated with fluctuations of these currencies as the financial position
and operating results of our operations in Asia Pacific, Canada and Europe will be translated into
U.S. Dollars for consolidation purposes. We do not use derivative instruments to hedge these
exposures.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
As of March 31, 2009, we carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the
participation of the Companys management, including the Companys Chief Executive Officer along
with the Companys Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our
disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-15. Based upon that
evaluation, the Companys Chief Executive Officer along with the Companys Chief Financial Officer
concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that the information
required to be disclosed by us in this quarterly report was recorded, processed, summarized and
reported within the time periods specified in the SECs rules and regulations and were also
effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in this quarterly report was
accumulated and communicated to our management including the Companys Chief Executive Officer and
the Companys Chief Financial Officer to allow timely decisions regarding its disclosure.
During the three months ended March 31, 2009, there was no change in our internal control over
financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f)) that materially affected, or is
reasonably likely to materially affect, the Companys internal control over financial reporting.
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PART IIOTHER INFORMATION
Item 1A. Risk Factors
An updated description of the risk factors associated with our business is included under
Risk Factors in Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations, contained in Item 2 of Part I of this report. This description includes any material
changes to and supersedes the description of the risk factors associated with our business
previously disclosed in Item 1A of our 2008 Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein
by reference.
Item 6. Exhibits
The following table sets forth a list of exhibits:
Exhibit | ||
Number | Description | |
3.1
|
Certificate of Incorporation of Travelzoo Inc. (Incorporated by reference to our Pre-Effective Amendment No. 6 to Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-55026), filed February 14, 2002). | |
3.2
|
By-laws of Travelzoo Inc. (Incorporated by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 6 to our Registration Statement on Form S-4 (File No. 333-55026), filed February 14, 2002). | |
31.1
|
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. | |
31.2
|
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) and Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. | |
32.1
|
Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. | |
32.2
|
Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. |
| Filed herewith | |
| Furnished herewith |
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly
caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
TRAVELZOO INC. (Registrant) |
||||
By: | /s/ Wayne Lee | |||
Wayne Lee | ||||
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Authorized Signatory) |
||||
Date: May 11, 2009
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