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EXHIBIT 99.1
[REDIFF.COM LOGO]
REDIFF.COM INDIA LIMITED REPORTS RECORD FIRST QUARTER
ENDED JUNE 30, 2000 FINANCIAL RESULTS
Mumbai, India - July 17, 2000 -- Rediff.com India Limited (Nasdaq: REDF), one of
India's leading Internet portals focussing on India and the global Indian
community, announced today its first quarter ended June 30, 2000, financial
results.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Net revenues increase by 231% compared to same quarter 1999
- Page views increase 70% from previous quarter, to a record 290 million
- Gross margins maintained at 60% +
- Loss per ADS decreases by 6% from previous quarter
- Rediffmail subscribers increase 58% to 1.0 million as of June 30, 2000
- The Nike Shop at Rediff.com launched
- Rediff.com signs agreement to provide Wireless Access Protocol
"Rediff.com has had a historic first quarter 2000. The company successfully
listed on Nasdaq with a rousing welcome, amidst volatile market conditions,
increasing over 60 percent in its stock price on the first day of trading," said
Ajit Balakrishnan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Rediff.com. "Today, I
am very pleased to report that we have completed this quarter with strong
revenue growth, a significant increase in subscribers and a decrease in loss per
American Depository Share (ADS)," concluded Mr. Balakrishnan.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
Rediff.com revenues for the quarter ended June 2000 increased to US$873,000,
representing an increase of 231 percent over the corresponding quarter 1999.
Revenues grew by 53 percent compared to the previous quarter, 1999. The
Marketplace revenue grew to 5.8 percent of total revenue, up from 4.5 percent of
total revenue in the previous quarter.
Page views increased to a record 290 million for the quarter ended June 2000,
representing a 346 percent increase from the same quarter 1999. Page views for
the quarter, increased by 70 percent over the previous quarter. Net revenue per
1000 page views was maintained at $3.00 for the quarter ended June 2000,
reflecting consistent growth in net revenue to match the rapid momentum in
growth of page views resulting from increased community offerings.
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Gross margins were maintained at 60 percent plus. Net loss on a weighted
average, decreased by 6 percent to ($0.136) from ($0.144) in the previous
quarter.
Registered Rediffmail users increased to 1.0 million, up 58 percent as of June
30, 2000 from March 31, 2000. This represents an increase of over 21 times over
the same quarter 1999. Rediff.com launched version 2.0 of Rediffmail during the
quarter ended June 2000, with significantly more enhanced features and services.
ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
In mid-June, Rediff.com signed a significant agreement with Nike, extending
Rediff.com's strategy to help global brands test-market India through the
Marketplace, by making Nike's India online shopping site available to Indians
exclusively through Rediff.com. This marks the first time that the entire range
of Nike products has been made available online outside of the U.S.
To further increase Rediff.com's global network distribution, the company signed
an agreement with Orange, one of India's leading cellular service providers,
providing customer access to the RediffMobile edition, using wireless access
protocal, or WAP. Rediff.com is the first portal to offer WAP services to
customers in India.
Rediff.com's Internet innovations gained increased accolades with Rediff.com
being honored with the best `Net Media' site award and the people's favorite
`Multilingual' site award at the annual CHIP Dishnet DSL Web Awards, organized
by PC magazine CHIP of the Jasubhai Group and Dishnet DSL.
As of June 30,2000, Rediff.com had 180 employees.
ABOUT REDIFF.COM
Founded in 1996, Rediff.com India Limited is one of the leading Internet
portals, focussing on India and the global Indian community. Currently,
Rediff.com's web site consists of interest specific channels, extensive
community features, local language editions, sophisticated search capabilities
and online shopping. Rediff.com also provides users extensive Internet community
offerings, which include e-mail, chat, instant messaging and personal homepages,
all tailored to Indian interests. Rediff.com has developed its offerings based
on the demands and the requirements of its users. The company also has a U.S.
edition of its site, with content relevant to the Indian community in the United
States.
Except for historical information and discussions contained herein, statements
included in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements." These
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those that may be projected by
these forward looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not
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limited to competition, acquisitions, attracting, recruiting and retaining
highly skilled employees, technology, law and regulatory policy and managing
risks associated with consumer transactions as well as other risks detailed in
the reports filed by Rediff.com India Limited with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Rediff.com India Limited undertakes no obligation to update
forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date
thereof.
Company Contact: Investor Relations Contact:
Debasis Ghosh Sandra Moreno
Rediff.com India Limited Thomson Financial Investor Relations
[email protected] [email protected]
+91-22-444-9144 212-701-1867
-Table to follow-
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SUMMARY OF OPERATIONS
ALL FIGURES IN US DOLLAR THOUSANDS (`000s)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
Quarter ended Year ended
June 30, `00 March 31, `00 March 31, `00
( Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited)
------------ ------------- -------------
<S> <C> <C> <C>
NET REVENUE $ 873 $ 572 $ 1514
Cost of Revenue 344 227 561
GROSS MARGIN 529 345 954
GROSS MARGIN % 61% 60% 63%
Selling & Marketing
Expenses 2360 2407 5276
Product Development
Expenses 468 380 866
General & administrative
Expenses 789 721 1727
TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 3617 3508 7869
OPERATING INCOME (3,088) (3,163) (6,915)
Other Income ( Net ) 217 247 250
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NET LOSS (2,871) (2,916) (6,666)
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</TABLE>
Note:
The above Net Income has been restated for the prior periods. Rediff MarketPlace
is a low touch model where the company assumes no inventory risk. Consistent
with this model we are disclosing marketplace revenues on net basis, i.e. Net of
cost of goods sold.
