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Exhibit 99.1 Press Release dated December 7, 2000
Contact:
Tracy Urquhart Heather Staples
Ask Jeeves Investor Relations Ask Jeeves Public Relations
(510) 985-7455 (510) 985-7610
[email protected] [email protected]
For Immediate Release
Ask Jeeves Revises Fourth Quarter Expectations
and Announces Management Changes
Company maintains profitability timeline and fully funded status
CEO to assume new management role; board member, A. George Battle,
assumes role as interim CEO
Emeryville, Calif., December 7, 2000 -- Ask Jeeves, Inc.(R) (Nasdaq: ASKJ),
today announced revised revenue and loss expectations for the fourth quarter
ending December 31, 2000. In a decision made jointly by Rob Wrubel and the
Board, the Company also announced that Wrubel is stepping down as CEO and
resigning his Board position. He will assume a new role as Executive Vice
President of market development focused on leading the Company's future
product development and evangelizing Ask Jeeves' value proposition to both
customers and partners. The Board has appointed current Board member A. George
(Skip) Battle as interim CEO.
Revised Fourth Quarter Expectations
For the fourth quarter 2000, Ask Jeeves expects to report consolidated revenue
of approximately $25 million and a pro forma net loss from continued operations
of approximately $18 million, or ($0.50) per share.
Adam Klein, president of Ask Jeeves, said, "The broad-based economic
slowdown has caused weakness in the online advertising market, advertising
pricing pressure and a decreased sense of urgency among Fortune 1000 companies
to implement their online initiatives. Amongst this and other factors, we have
experienced weaker than anticipated demand for our solutions, however our
relationships with existing customers remain strong. We believe the more
calculated attitude toward spending presents a more mature and more attractive
market for Ask Jeeves in the long term given the strong return on investment we
continue to deliver to our customers."
Battle added, "We are sharpening our focus on our core assets to maintain
and grow our market position as we align our business strategies with this
changing market environment. Ask Jeeves is reviewing its 2001 growth targets and
therefore cannot confirm prior 2001 revenue and operating guidance at this time,
however we believe our solid cash position is sufficient to fund our operations
to profitability, which we continue to expect to achieve in the fourth quarter
of 2001."
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Management Changes
After two and a half years as CEO, Wrubel will take on a new role in the
company. Wrubel and the Company's Board have determined that Wrubel will focus
on leading future product development and communicating with customers and
partners.
"In the last two and a half years, Rob has done an exceptional job building
the Company, its brand and culture, and has successfully led Ask Jeeves through
the first phase of growth. He built Ask Jeeves into a household name and a top
20 Web property as he also successfully grew the Company's enterprise focused
business into a market leading natural language solutions provider," said Roger
Strauch, chairman of the Board. "In the changing business climate Rob's
entrepreneurial talents and ability to conceive and develop products and markets
will be invaluable in his new role as we pursue the next stage of the Company's
growth."
"The Board and I agree that for the next phase of Ask Jeeves' development a
different set of skills are required to strengthen the Company's ability to
address the new business environment," said Wrubel. "Ask Jeeves has an
incredible market opportunity and I am excited about my redefined role, which
enables me to leverage my strengths and continue to deliver great products and
expand the awareness of our solutions among both consumers and corporations."
Mr. Battle will act as CEO until a permanent CEO is appointed. The Company
intends to conduct an internal and external search to select a permanent CEO.
Geoffrey Y. Yang, a member of the Ask Jeeves Board, will replace Mr. Battle on
the Board's compensation committee.
Mr. Battle retired from Andersen Consulting in 1995, having joined the firm in
1968 and became a partner in 1978. From 1982 he held a series of management
positions in the firm including worldwide managing partner market development
and managing partner U.S. operations and planning. Battle was also a member of
the firm's Executive Committee, Global Management Council and Partner Income
Committee. Mr. Battle is a member of the Boards of Directors of PeopleSoft,
Inc., Barra, Inc. and Fair Isaac and Company, Incorporated as well as a director
of Masters Select Equity Fund and Masters Select International, registered
investment companies.
Except for historical information contained in this press release, the foregoing
contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual
results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking
statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties, including risks and
uncertainties relating to factors such as the timely and successful development
and market acceptance of our products, services and features, our ability to
successfully attract and retain customers, the number, size and duration of
contracts, changes in advertising rates and software prices, activities of
competitors, demand for our products and services, volume of e-commerce business
and general economic conditions. The guidance contained in this press release is
based on limited information available to the Company today, which is subject to
change. Although the guidance provided in this press release may change after
today, the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-
looking statements after today. Further information about potential factors that
could affect our financial results is included in our Quarterly Reports on Form
10-Q and most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which have been filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
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About Ask Jeeves, Inc.
Ask Jeeves is a leading provider of intuitive, question answering
technologies and services that deliver a humanized online experience. Ask
Jeeves' solutions enable companies to convert online shoppers to buyers, reduce
support costs, understand customer preferences and improve customer retention.
Ask Jeeves also syndicates its solutions to portals, infomediaries, and content
and destination sites to help companies increase e-commerce and advertising
revenue. Ask Jeeves deploys its solutions on Ask Jeeves at Ask.com, Ask Jeeves
for Kids at AJKids.com and DirectHit.com, to help companies target and acquire
qualified prospects online and to provide consumers with real-time access to
information, products and services. For more information, visit
http://www.ask.com or call 510/985-7400.
# # #
Ask Jeeves is a registered trademark of Ask Jeeves, Inc. Ask Jeeves for
Kids, the "Ask!" button, Jeeves Relevant Answers, Jeeves Live and Ask.com are
trademarks and service marks of Ask Jeeves, Inc. Other trademarks and brands are
the property of their respective owners.
