Autoweb.com, a consumer automotive Internet service, has announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended Dec. 31, 2000.

Net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2000 were $9.8 million, compared with $11.6 million for the corresponding fourth quarter of 1999, and $11.5 million for the third quarter of 2000. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2000, net revenues were $52.3 million, compared with $32.8 million in the corresponding period in 1999.

Pro forma net loss for the fourth quarter of 2000 was $11.3 million, or $0.38 per share compared with a pro forma net loss of $8.4 million, or $0.33 per share in the fourth quarter of 1999. The pro forma EBITDA loss for the fourth quarter was $9.3 million, compared to a pro forma EBITDA loss of $6.7 million in the fourth quarter of 1999 and $8.9 million for the third quarter of 2000.

The pro forma net loss and pro forma EBITDA for the fourth quarter of 2000 exclude a one-time charge of $3.1 million related to the write-down of certain equity investments. Net loss for the fourth quarter which includes the write-down of certain equity investments was $14.4 million or $0.49 per share compared with a net loss of $8.4 million, or $0.33 per share in the fourth quarter of 1999.

Management noted progress in four key priority areas as the Company drives toward profitability:

1) Staff and marketing agreement restructurings, which are expected to reduce the company's cost structure by $30 million. The company's overall cash position remains strong at $27.1 million, with no long term-debt.

2) Reinforcing Autoweb's position as a dominant consumer brand in the online automotive buying service and content areas. Autoweb's sites are consistently ranked as a leading new car buying service, with more than 8.5 million visits during the fourth quarter.

3) Strengthening the Automotive Information Center (AIC) division, which had its best financial performance to date and has established partnerships with Ford, General Motors, DaimlerChrysler, Honda, and Toyota, among others.

4) Building-out future business models, most notably in the area of leveraging Autoweb's considerable and highly differentiated information assets for a CRM initiative.

"As expected, the fourth quarter was a transitional period for Autoweb, as we took the necessary steps to reach profitability in the second half of 2001. We expect our recent and ongoing initiatives to reduce costs, creating more cost-effective revenue streams and supporting our efforts to achieve positive EBITDA for the second quarter and net income for the fourth quarter of 2001," said Autoweb's CEO Jeffrey Schwartz.

"However, Autoweb's anticipated profitability reflects an aggressive business plan set by our management team that will expand the company's presence in each of our revenue channels, including our consumer referral and automotive marketing platform, with revenues from dealers, OEMs, and advertisers, as well as our business to business platform, with revenues from the supply of content and technology through our Automotive Information Center, or AIC division," Schwartz said.

"Our plan calls for more profitable revenue growth that is dependent in part on the performance of our newly restructured partnership agreements and our ability to restructure others," said Michael Schmidt, Autoweb's CFO. "Revenues for the first quarter are expected to be between $10.3 million and $10.5 million, with an EBIDTA loss less than $2.5 million. We anticipate reporting a net profit in the fourth quarter."

About Autoweb

Autoweb.com is an automotive Internet service, guiding users through every stage of vehicle ownership. Through its direct and referral commerce channels, Autoweb.com offers consumers a variety of ways to purchase new and used vehicles in conjunction with vehicle manufacturers, local member dealers and other commerce partners.

The company's Web site also provides consumers with automotive-related products, including finance, insurance and maintenance. Autoweb.com features research from its Automotive Information Center (AIC) division.

Currently, major automobile manufacturers including DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda and Toyota, use Autoweb's automotive data to power their sites. Some of the major consumer portals including AOL, Yahoo, Lycos, MSN Carpoint and GO also use Autoweb's content and technology.

For more information, visit autoweb.com and autosite.com.