SANTEE, CA, May 17, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- San West, Inc. (OTCBB:
Operational and Corporate Highlights
-- www.CountyImports.com introduced a new motorized scooter, a 300cc
Chariot, with best-in-class power and unprecedented range targeted to
the mass market. The 300cc Chariot attracts a full spectrum of riders
and generates enough power to literally drive across the United States
at speeds of 100 miles per hour with 80 mile per gallon efficiency. To
complement the power and environmentally favorable performance, all
49cc-300cc Trikes sold by CountyImports.com -- including the 300cc
Chariot -- are equipped with a fully automatic CVT power train and
reverse-drive capabilities.
-- The Company announced significant improvements to a number of key business metrics pertaining to efficiency of the online advertising strategy employed by partner website, www.CountyImports.com. The
keyword marketing overhaul campaign, launched in early February and
announced March 4, 2010, has rapidly transformed www.CountyImports.com into the leading online on and off-road vehicle (ORV) dealer with
regard to "natural" or "organic" web traffic, driving a record flow of
free, highly-targeted web traffic to the website, and in turn
facilitating a 37% decrease in overall online advertising costs
compared to both 2008 and 2009, the two most lucrative years in the
website's history.
-- San West and Buggy World awarded a custom Buggy World "Truggy" to
Solana Beach resident Kim Thompson at the KSON 97.3 and 92.1 FM
CountryFest on May 1, 2010 at the Lakeside Rodeo Grounds in Lakeside,
Calif.
-- The Company announced that management is now aggressively searching for
a new Orange County, CA retail location to focus primarily on further
accelerating sales of San West's burgeoning motorized scooter
offerings, as well as its traditional selection of high performance
buggies. San West, Inc. management is now in the final stages of
negotiations with a number of prime locations and intends to announce
an agreement within the next 30 to 90 days.
The Company reported revenues for the first quarter of $493,615, an increase of 175.1% compared to revenue of $179,423 for the first quarter of 2009. This represents the highest sales for any first quarter in San West's history. Gross profit for the quarter was $135,492, or 27.4% gross profit margin, compared sequentially with gross profit margin of $111,641, or 22.3% for the fourth quarter of 2009 and compared to gross profit of $65,544 or 36.5% gross profit margin for the first quarter of 2009. Total operating expenses were $924,422, an increase compared to $215,547 for the three months ended March 31, 2009. The increase in expense is mainly due to the recognition of $642,175 in non-cash stock compensation primarily related to our new director, Jesse Gonzales, receiving five million shares of restricted common stock valued at $467,500 and other stock compensation expenses. Excluding stock compensation, SG&A was $282,267, or 31.0% higher than the first quarter of 2009. Net loss for the quarter was $(952,404), or ($0.01) per share, compared to a net loss of $160,154, or ($0.00) per share, for the first quarter last year.
"This was a strong start to what we believe will be a record 2010, including the highest sales volume in any first quarter in our company's history," commented Frank Drechsler, President and CEO of San West, Inc. "We exceeded our guidance for the first quarter of the year, a quarter that is typically seasonally lower than other periods, and our efforts to attract natural traffic to our online properties is continuing to result in higher conversion rates, more revenue per sales, and repeat customers. We continue to believe that as we execute our strategic plan, the advertising adjustments, combined with our search engine optimization and marketing strategies, will result in significant growth in our online revenues. In addition, our efforts to bolster our retail, brick-and-mortar presence in Southern California, should benefit our financial results as well."
Outlook
For the second quarter ended June 30, 2010, management expects revenue of at least $1 million, which would be the highest revenues in San West history.