iWeb Communities: Blog

This morning iWeb sent out a press release with the results for the first quarter of the 2009 fiscal year. Our growth, which is defined in revenue (or income) remains strong and consistent; our numbers have almost doubled compared to the first quarter of 2008; 92% growth, to be exact. 

As Martin and Eric, iWeb’s 2 co-founders, explain in the press release, this is the result of hard work, and the current economic situation means that we have to work hard to earn every new customer – but it also means that people are expecting more value for their hosting dollar, which is pretty much a good thing.

The press release also included talk about the re-engineering of our customer service department, which has started delivering results – the restructuring should be complete in September. As Eric explained during iWeb’s first ever conference call with Financial analysts, “supporting 20 000 customers is very different than supporting 5 000 customers”.  Indeed it is; it’s not just a question of simply adding more people – that would be too easy…

The press release also mentions that iWeb lost 1.2 M$, but only theoretically. Huh?

Here is how that works out: last year iWeb completed a financing deal with Investment Banking Giant Goldman Sachs, which included 10M$ USD in debt, due in 5 years. At the time, that meant more or less 10,6 Million in Canadian dollars. Because the exchange rate has changed in the last quarter (October, November and December), that 10 Million USD is now closer to 12 Million is CAD$ – except that the debt is only due in 5 years. So in reality nothing has changed, really, except the theoretical cost of repaying our debt, if the exchange rate does not change in the next 5 years. Accounting rules say that we have to declare this difference right away, which is the reason for our loss.

Without the theoretical loss, iWeb’s numbers are pretty much at break even (11 K$ profit, in fact), and EBITDA doubled to 1.6 M$.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC – February 27, 2009 - iWeb (TSX-V: IWB), a global provider of Internet hosting services and IT infrastructure, today released its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2008. The complete interim financial statements and management report of the Company are available on the websites www.sedar.com and investors.iweb.com.

• Revenue increased 92% to $6.1 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2008, compared to revenues of $3.2 million for the same period in 2007
• Adjusted EBITDA grew to $1.6 million, or 26% of revenues
• New annual recurring revenues of $2.8 million generated during the first quarter.
• Operating income at break-even
• Net loss of $1.2 million, after taking into account the unrealized, theoretical exchange lost on the long-term debt denominated in U.S. dollars

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or iWeb’s future economic performance and reflect the current assumptions and expectations of management. Certain unknown factors may affect the events, economic performance and results of operations. iWeb undertakes no obligation, and does not intend to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable law.

For more information

MONTREAL, Feb. 24 – iWeb Group Inc. (TSX-V: IWB), iWeb, a global provider of Internet hosting service and IT infrastructure, will release results for its first quarter of fiscal 2009 on Friday, February 27th 2009 before the markets open. Management will host a conference call and question-and-answer session to discuss earnings at 10:30 A.M. (EST).

President and CEO Eric Chouinard, Executive Vice President Marc Guindon and CFO Philip Tousignant will be present to discuss iWeb’s financial results for the first quarter ended December 31, 2008, and then take questions from securities analysts.

To access the conference call by telephone, dial 1-800-595-8550. Please connect approximately 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the call. The conference call will be archived for replay until Friday, March 6, 2009, at midnight. To access the archived conference call, dial 416-640-1917 or toll-free 1-877-289-8525 and enter the reservation number: 21299079 followed by the number sign.

About iWeb Group Inc.

iWeb is a worldwide provider of Internet hosting services and IT Infrastructure, with three secure data centers in Montreal. Since 2004, the company’s compounded annual growth rate has been above 75%, making it one of Canada’s 100 fastest growing companies according to PROFIT Magazine.

Founded in 1996 in Montreal, iWeb now generates more than 60% of its revenues from abroad; and employs over 150 full-time employees providing Dedicated Server Hosting, Co-location and Web Hosting services to more than 19,000 customers in 150 countries. iWeb’s shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V : IWB), for more information please consult the Company’s website: investors.iweb.com

For further information:

Philip Tousignant
Chief Financial Officer
iWeb Group Inc.
(514) 286-4242 ext. 149
ptousignant@iweb.com

Bernard Dahl
Director, Communications and Public Relations
iWeb Group Inc.
(514) 286-4242 ext. 115
bdahl@iweb.com

A milestone year for the Montreal web hosting company: a 59% revenue increase, opening of a third data center and closing of a major financing deal with Goldman Sachs.

MONTREAL, QUEBEC – January 20, 2009 – iWeb, a global provider of Internet hosting service and IT infrastructure, today released its audited financial results for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2008. In line with its growth strategy, revenue increased 59% to $15.6 million and EBITDA grew to $3.7 million, though a weak US dollar and charges related to early debt repayment combined to produce the Company’s first net loss.

“The revenue increase is an excellent result, in line with our growth strategy. This has certainly been our most challenging year, as our sustained growth has consistently created new challenges and opportunities,” said Eric Chouinard, President and CEO of iWeb. “The key to reaching our main strategic targets has been our flexibility and the strong work ethic of our team. Our sales growth is consistent, and with the punctual opening of our third data center and the final expansion phase of the second one, we are meeting demand and helping our clients succeed online through these uncertain times.”

Martin Leclair, iWeb co-founder and President, Products and Technology added that “The IP hosting market remains vibrant and active, a powerful statement considering the roller-coaster events of the past twelve months. A good sign is our net recurring revenues, which are improving in the three first months of new new fiscal year.”

Recently appointed Chief Financial Officer Philip Tousignant confirmed that iWeb’s first net loss is the result of two factors, “As a result of the financing agreement with Goldman Sachs, we incurred charges from our other financial partners; penalties related to early debt repayment, basically.” The other significant factor is the record devaluation of the US dollar compared to the Canadian dollar during that period; “Almost 80% of iWeb’s revenues are in USD” added Mr. Tousignant, “which has had a net negative impact of $865,000 before income taxes on our results for the year compared to last year results. A good thing though, the situation seems to have returned recently to a more favourable conversion rate for our operations.”

Financial Highlights

• Record revenue total of $15.6 million, a 59% improvement
• EBITDA increases to $3.7 million, 24% of revenue.
• Net loss of $552,000
• $22 million US financial agreement with Goldman Sachs in August
• $4.1 million public offering in November 2007

Operational Highlights

• Opened third Montreal Data center for co-location services
• Tripled Network capacity and expanded IP network to 8 carriers
• Second Data center began Phase IV (Final Phase) of its deployment, total capacity will be 12,000 dedicated servers and 122 cabinets

Corporate Highlights

• iWeb named to TSX Venture 50, Profit 100 and Branham 300.
• Inaugurated new Headquarters in September, with Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and Nicole Menard, then Parliamentary Assistant of the Minister of Economic Development of Quebec addressing iWeb’s staff, clients and partners and shareholders.

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IP network capacity has quintupled over the past year.

Montreal, Quebec, January 19 – With its most recent expansion, iWeb’s network now totals 50 Gbps. In order to meet a constantly greater demand for bandwidth from clients with web-based applications such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and video services, the global internet hosting provider’s network has more than quintupled in the past year, growing from 9 Gbps to 50 Gbps today.

“The fact is that many companies today are using web-based technologies to keep IT spending under control, or to reduce spending. IT budget restrictions mean that the companies we work with are outsourcing their infrastructure to iWeb faster than planned in order to meet their targets.” says Eric Chouinard, iWeb’s President and CEO. He adds that “New technologies are increasingly web-based, and our clients require more bandwidth every month.”

The network combines a total of 9 major telecommunications carriers into iWeb’s award-winning network, which uses BGP routing to ensure performance and reliability.
“Combined with the ever increasing bandwidth requirements of newer applications, we are constantly surprised with some of the innovative solutions our clients have put online – things we would not have imagined 5 years ago!” says iWeb’s President of Products and Technology, Martin Leclair. “Capacity is scheduled to increase again shortly and continually throughout the coming year, which is a clear indication of the direction in which technologies are heading – everything is going online” confirms the enthusiastic co-founder of iWeb. 

The Montreal-based company, whose financial results are scheduled to be published later this week, will be rolling out marketing campaigns to promote related bandwidth and dedicated server hosting services. Since becoming a public company in 2004, iWeb has been steadily growing to become one of Canada’s largest IP hosting firms.

About iWeb

iWeb is a worldwide provider of Internet hosting services and IT Infrastructure, and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (IWB.V). With three secure data centers, all in Montreal, iWeb has carved out an enviable position on the international scene with more than 60% of its revenues from abroad. 

Founded in 1996 in Montreal, iWeb has recently completed a $22M financing agreement with investment banking giant Goldman Sachs. iWeb now has over 150 full-time employees providing Dedicated Server hosting, Co-location and Web Hosting services to more than 17 000 customers in 145 countries. More information is available at the company’s website: http://iweb.com/about-us/

For more information: 

Bernard Dahl
Director, Communications and Public Relations
iWeb Group Inc.
514-286-4242 ext 115
bdahl@iweb.com

Philip Tousignant
Chief Financial Officer
iWeb Group Inc.
514-286-4242 ext 149 
ptousignant@iweb.com

We were pleased and happy to learn that we were rated among the top hosting companies in December!  

Findmyhost confirmed that iWeb came out on top for its Co-Location Editor’s Choice Award, this is the seventh time in 2008 that we have had the pleasure of being ranked first.

Two days earlier, Dedicated Server Directory announced that iWeb had been selected as a UNIX Server award winning provider, coming in second.

We would like to think that this might have something to do with the recent network expansions. In fact, in 2008 we have quadrupled the total network capacity to 43 Gbps and added 4 additional telecom  carriers (for a total of 9), which earned us a spot in the November Netcraft ranking.

All the credit goes to our System administrators, Network administrators and our customer service team -congratulations guys!

After what has been a very exciting year, the entire team and family at iWeb wishes you a very merry holiday season;

More specifically, we wish you success, health, wealth, happiness and a bit of luck (if you need it) :-)

Thank you for being an important part of the successes of our 12th and busiest year, we look forward to continue working with you in 2009! Hopefully, together we can make the web a little bit better for everyone, one project at a time.

Until then;

Cheers, Happy Holidays and all the best!!!

Reputed firm Netcraft has officially published its ranking of the most reliable hosting companies for November 2008.

The iWeb network is in the top 8, specifically ranking third among the top hosting companies. 

So far in 2008, several upgrades, updates and new carriers have been added to increase network performance and reliability – Congratulations to the network administration team for maintaining such a high quality of service for the IP network!!

The Montreal Canadiens‘ centennial celebrations now extend online with the official website highlighting the history of legendary Hockey Club, available at ourhistory.canadiens.com.

The project’s developers have trusted iWeb’s infrastructure to ensure the performance and availability of the site during the anticipated high-traffic periods, notably because of iWeb’s experience with projects whose performance and availability are key success factors.

A site of this magnitude and depth is a historic first in the world of professional sports. “Our History” is an easy to use site where virtually all aspects of the history of the organization can be viewed. Visitors of the groundbreaking site have access to hundreds of player’s biographies, thousands of videos, photos and statistics as well as the detailed results of every game played by the Habs in the last 100 years.

“We are delighted to be helping fans enjoy this historic element of the Montreal Canadiens’ centennial celebrations,” says Eric Chouinard, President and CEO of iWeb. The creative teams at Bluesponge and Turbulent Media completed the development portion of the site, after which iWeb designed, configured and provisioned a dedicated server “cluster“; an advanced setup which will ensure top performance at all times; “a vital element to the success of any large-scale project.” insists Mr. Chouinard.

“It’s important to have a reliable infrastructure, but it must also be flexible, scalable and should be able to adjust very quickly when traffic increases,” added Marc Beaudet, President of Turbulent Media, who worked on the site in partnership with Montreal firm Bluesponge; interactive partner of the Montreal Canadiens.

The historic site is located at: http://ourhistory.canadiens.com

The Montreal Canadiens‘ centennial celebrations now extend online with the official website highlighting the history of legendary Hockey Club, available at ourhistory.canadiens.com. 

The project’s developers have trusted iWeb’s infrastructure to ensure the performance and availability of the site during the anticipated high-traffic periods, notably because of iWeb’s experience with projects whose performance and availability are key success factors. 
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