Quotesmith.com No Longer Expects 2003 to Be Profitable

Darien, Ill.-based online broker Quotesmith.com Inc. announced it expects to lose $450,000 to $650,000 in 2003. The company had announced in July that it anticipated to post a profit of $100,000 to $400,000.

The company also revised its revenues estimates, down from $10-$15 million to $9.5-$10 million. Quotesmith posted a $2.7 million loss in 2002 on $10.8 million in revenue.

“We are revising our 2003 financial guidance downward due to a reduction in anticipated revenues from our term life insurance business which accounts for nearly 70 percent of our total revenues,” CEO Robert Bland said in a statment.

“Weaker-than-expected life insurance orders in the third quarter has led us to conclude that we will not achieve third and fourth-quarter internal growth targets that we had anticipated and announced on July 30, 2003,” Bland added. “On a positive note, we expect to wind up 2003 with a non-advertising cost structure that will be approximately $4 million below that of 2002.”

Quotesmith.com said believes that its current capital structure is adequate to reach profitability without the necessity of additional debt or equity financing. This guidance, which is subject to change, is based upon a wide range of business factors and assumptions known or believed to be true by the company as of this date.