Autobytel Inc., an Internet automotive marketing services company, announced Apr. 25 first quarter 2002 financial results.

According to the company, highlights include:

• Pro Forma EBITDA of $0.02 per Share
  

• Cash Balance of $27.3 Million
  

• Autobytel Europe Restructuring Completed
  

• Full Year 2002 EBITDA Guidance of $0.07-$0.09 per Share
  

• Expects to Achieve Net Income Profitability in Fourth Quarter

"We are pleased that Autobytel delivered its second consecutive quarter of EBITDA profitability on a pro forma basis," said Jeffrey Schwartz, president and CEO of Autobytel Inc. "The benefits of market leadership and our focus on operational efficiency are starting to take hold. In the first quarter, we delivered growth in both revenue and pro forma EBITDA, reported strong dealer coverage with 8,900 relationships, successfully launched a new dealer product, and sent more than one million qualified car buyers to our dealers. By all counts, we view this quarter as a success and are entering the second quarter with momentum."

Revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2002 totaled $20.7 million, compared to revenue of $16.7 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2001, and revenue of $20.5 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2001, all on an as reported basis.

Pro forma earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and one-time charges (EBITDA) for the first quarter of 2002 were $0.6 million or $0.02 per share. This compares to pro forma EBITDA of $(3.5) million or $(0.17) per share for the first quarter ended March 31, 2001 and pro forma EBITDA of $0.2 million or $0.01 per share for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2001.

The Company reported a net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, 2002 of $18.5 million or $(0.59) per share, including a one-time charge of $19.2 million related to the restructuring of Autobytel Europe (ABTE). This compares to a net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, 2001 of $4.1 million or $(0.20) per share, and a net loss for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2001 of $0.9 million or $(0.03) per share.

As of March 31, 2002, cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were $27.3 million, a decrease of $5.7 million from the domestic cash balance at December 31, 2001. The Company no longer consolidates the financial results of ABTE and therefore does not show international cash on its balance sheet as of March 31, 2002.

Autobytel Europe (ABTE) completed its restructuring in the first quarter. As part of the restructuring of ABTE, the Company reduced its ownership in ABTE to 49 percent. In connection with the restructuring of ABTE, a charge of $19.2 million was recorded in the first quarter of 2002 to write-off part of the investment in ABTE. The Company’s original cash investment in ABTE was $5 million.

Business Outlook

"By focusing rigorously on our core business of providing marketing services to automotive manufacturers and dealers, we have set the stage to achieve net income profitability in the fourth quarter of this year," said Schwartz. "In addition, we are comfortable with the high end of our guidance for both revenue and EBITDA for the full year."

The company said it expects revenue for the second quarter of 2002 to be approximately $21 million and EBITDA per share to be approximately $0.02. The Company reiterated its guidance for the full year 2002, expecting revenue to be between $85 and $90 million and EBITDA per share to be between $0.07 and $0.09.

Highlights for the First Quarter

The Company continues to recognize revenues in four business categories: Program Fees, Enterprise Sales, Advertising, and Other Products and Services.

Revenues: Autobytel reported first quarter revenues of $20.7 million, of which, $15.4 million was related to Program Fees, $2.0 million was related to Enterprise Sales, $1.8 million was related to Advertising and $1.5 million was related to Other Products and Services.

Pro Forma Operating Expenses: Total pro forma operating expenses in the first quarter of 2002 were $20.1 million. Sales and marketing expenses totaled $12.2 million. These expenses include online marketing programs and dealer sales costs. Product development and technology costs totaled $4.9 million. General and administrative costs totaled $3.0 million.

Unique Visitor Count: Autobytel’s four web site properties, Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and AutoSite.com, received over 3.3 million unique visitors in March of 2002 according to Nielsen Net Ratings, positioning the Company as the number one online car-buying network.

Dealer Count: The Company reported approximately 8,900 dealer relationships, 6,200 of which are program dealer relationships. The remaining 2,700 were accounted for under the Company’s enterprise sales initiatives.

Purchase Requests: The Company delivered over 1 million purchase requests to its dealers during the first quarter of 2002. The Company expects that the development and launch of yield marketing technology should optimize receipt and delivery of purchase requests and enhance revenues and margins.

Headcount: As of March 31, 2002, the Company had 261 employees down from 264 in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Used Car Program: The Company continues to focus on its used car program. Monthly vehicle searches increased 30% from 3.9 million in January to over 5 million in March. The program had over 130,000 vehicle listings at the end of the first quarter, according to the company.

"We are pleased with the growth we have seen in the program in the first quarter as both the number of vehicle searches and the number of qualified car buyers increased substantially. Clearly, the market for online used vehicles is expanding and we will continue to develop our used car program to meet this demand, sensibly, efficiently and without sacrificing the quality that both customers and dealers have come to expect from us."

New Product Launch: The Company launched RPM (Retention-Performance-Marketing), the next generation dealership service reminder program. RPM is a customer relationship management (CRM) program that Autobytel says makes it more affordable for automotive manufacturers and dealers to retain their car-buying and service customers. "It's clear from initial sign-ups that dealerships and manufacturers want more integrated marketing services," commented Schwartz. "They want a single, best-in-class vendor for all profit centers across the e-mail, web, print and telephony fulfillment channels."

Pro Forma Results

The pro forma operating results for the first quarter of 2002 exclude the following items on the Company's statements of operations:

• International restructuring and related charges
  

• Depreciation, amortization and stock-based compensation
  

• A reconciliation of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) to pro forma is included in the attached financial statements.

Conference Call

In conjunction with Autobytel Inc.’s first quarter 2002 earnings release, there will be a conference call broadcast live over the Internet April 25, 2002, at 4:30 PM EDT. Links to the web cast conference call follow:

www.irconnect.com/abtl/pages/conference.html

The Webcast will be archived within 24 hours of the end of the call until the next quarter earnings announcement. To listen to the archived Webcast go to:

www.autobytel.com/info/investor.

About Autobytel Inc.

Autobytel Inc., an Internet automotive marketing services company, helps retailers sell cars and manufacturers build brands through marketing and CRM (customer relationship management) programs. Autobytel Inc. owns and operates the websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and Autosite.com, as well as AIC (Automotive Information Center), a leading provider of automotive marketing data and technology. Autobytel Inc. says it generated an estimated four percent of all domestic new vehicle sales - $17 billion in car sales in 2001 - for dealers through its websites. Autobytel Inc. content and technology has potential exposure to over 90 percent of total web traffic, according to the company.