RESTON, Va., Jan. 24, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Red Branch Technologies Inc. (Pink Sheets:RBTI) CEO, Doug Foran, issued a letter to shareholders today in which he reviewed accomplishments from 2007 and outlined Company initiatives for the 2008 fiscal year. The letter reads as follows:
Dear Fellow Red Branch Technologies Shareholder,
A few weeks ago, as the world bid farewell to 2007 and Red Branch Management was strategizing on how to position the Company as world class competitor in the $75 billion U.S. online business travel market in 2008, I found myself reflecting on the year past and our many accomplishments as a company. Ultimately, in the context of forward progress, it often helps to look back to see where you have come from in order to get a better sense of where you are going. In that spirit, I decided to take a few moments to summarize 2007 for our loyal shareholders and to paint the way forward as Red Branch transitions from a development organization into a marketing and sales focused company.
In many respects, 2007 was a foundational year for Red Branch, as we spent most of the 12 month period building a scalable corporate framework, increasing our capital base through prudent fundraising and strategic acquisitions and finally, completing two best-of-breed "next generation" products for the global business traveler, corporate and individual alike. Without a doubt, the highest profile developments came at the corporate level as we completed a reverse triangular merger to transform Red Branch Technologies from a privately held company into a publicly traded entity. We also completed a "game changing" strategic acquisition that added significantly to both our operational capabilities as well as our capital base.
Early in 2007, Red Branch Technologies acquired Trava Inc., d/b/a Magellan360(r). This key strategic acquisition immediately enabled the company to provide one-stop e-ticket fulfillment to customers and manage all the back office financial processing aspects of online travel transactions. With subsequent investments made to automate the booking-to-fulfillment process, we effectively entered the ranks of a few elite companies that can book, issue an e-ticket, and perform all the functions required for accounting and bank settlement without human intervention. This "touch-less" fulfillment will provide Red Branch with distinct competitive and operational advantages in 2008 and beyond, as we will be able to minimize growth in corporate overhead even as users and sales scale dramatically. From a capital standpoint, the Magellan360 acquisition contributed an existing and organically growing seven-figure revenue base from which to build. More importantly this acquisition provided Red Branch with the ability to offer customers hotel and rental car booking in addition to air travel -- a capability that will effectively double or triple the value of each transaction, and thereby accelerate the revenues we collect from our travelers' purchases.
Operationally, we also directed significant resources to completely upgrading our computing and network platforms in 2007. We relocated our network operations center to a "carrier grade" Level (3) location in Ashburn, Virginia -- one of the finest facilities in the United States for security and bandwidth access. We dramatically increased our storage capacity through equipment upgrades and installed redundant servers -- running multiple quad-core processors -- that provide all the computing power we need to provide the highest level of service and lowest response time available online today. Coupled with our next generation products, this infrastructure allows us to provide travelers with a complete itinerary -- air, car and hotel -- in less than 35 seconds, while adhering to the most specific of individual or corporate travel preferences. No competitor in the market even comes close in terms of capability and response time.
Important as the aforementioned accomplishments and their potential future impacts are in the context of the company's growth, we are most proud of the products we built in 2007 and will be launching in the current year. An unyielding commitment to quality, painstaking attention paid to anticipating a business travelers' every need and the top development talent in the industry collaborated in the past year to create mTravel(tm), our corporate enterprise travel solution, and my/mTravel(tm), our online product for the individual business traveler -- two products that we believe will set a new benchmark for business travel convenience, security and personal choice.
In December of 2007, our my/mTravel product was unveiled through a "controlled introduction" to a select group of 50 seasoned business travelers picked for their background in early stage software products and online travel savvy. Several of the constituents in this early adopter group are Chief Technology Officers and VPs of Product Development as well as business travel professionals with deep travel product experience. Their enthusiastic response has been encouraging while their detailed feedback has provided useful insight about how to improve the product. In the first quarter of 2008 we will begin to expand the number of "controlled introduction" travelers to confirm the robustness and reliability of my/mTravel that we have experienced so far, feeding new travelers into the system over a period of 60 days. After this period, and if the introduction follows its current successful track, we will open up registration to the business traveler community at-large and begin accelerating revenue growth. Later in 2008, when launched, our corporate enterprise solution, mTravel, will provide Red Branch with new revenue opportunities while providing large and middle market enterprises with a full travel suite that can adhere to often-complex and rigid employee-specific travel policies while minimizing or eliminating altogether costs associated with "maverick buying", un-used or lost tickets, policy abuses and scheduling error.
We will also be unveiling some new and differentiating features, standalone and add-on products that we developed in 2007 to complement our mTravel and my/mTravel product launches in 2008, including our "24-hour VOID" feature and our IdentiFlyer(r) online personal security product, among a host of others. The 24-hour VOID feature extends travelers a 24-hour window in which to cancel travel arrangements without penalty -- something most of the online competition does not give their travelers because they prefer to collect the $100 cancellation fee. It also paves the way for Red Branch to provide "touch-less" online refunds and ticket exchanges in the future -- something that we know will delight business travelers. Our IdentiFlyer(r) online personal security product, on the other hand, utilizes what security experts call "two-factor authentication" to protect our customers from Identity Theft and Credit Card fraud, a considerable liability in the online business travel industry. Be on the lookout for them in the New Year and a bevy of other innovative developments to complement our already impressive list of products and features.
On the marketing front we have claimed the business travel space as Red Branch's exclusive domain. No company to-date has stood up and pledged to know more, care more and do more for the business traveler than ours. Our "With You all the way"(tm) branding tag line reflects the breadth of our commitment and we will drive this message to the market through our product performance, features relevance and industry partnerships. All the while putting the business traveler first, earning their trust and benefiting from their loyalty and recruitment of new travelers. Soon, we will highlight some exciting industry partnerships to help fuel our early growth.
While 2008 promises to be a breakout year for our company, one where we will begin to realize meaningful economic fruit from our development efforts as we make the shift from being a predominantly development stage enterprise into a marketing and sale focused organization with high expectations for growth and market success, we resolve to maintain a level of fiscal responsibility that will reward shareholders and create value. A large part of this involves consistently looking to improve (a/k/a not significantly dilute) the company's current capital structure as we move forward. Currently, the capital structure of Red Branch Technologies consists of 200 Million Authorized Shares, of which 92 Million common shares are Issued and Outstanding. Additionally, there are currently less than 6.7 Million common shares in the DTC system constituting the "tradable float". While there are no new debentures, Reg-D 504 common equity issuances, warrants or options in place or planned, we will need to look to the capital markets in 2008 to finalize the development and launch of our mTravel product and to market our my/mTravel product. With that said, it is our promise to shareholders to maintain their equity value and negotiate the most beneficial financing terms possible when it comes time to cross that bridge.
In summation, we are fortunate to have a great product suite bringing innovative value to the single fastest growing online market segment in the travel industry, one that is growing at a compound annual growth rate of better than 20% and currently exhibits over $75 Billion in annual revenue. While these statistics in and of themselves are exciting, we believe that we are preparing to launch the finest business travel products yet -- products we believe will generate, accelerated growth and rewarding revenue and earnings streams in the coming 12 to 24 months.
I believe Red Branch Technologies stands on the precipice of global recognition and look forward to embarking on our next leg of growth and creating meaningful value for our shareholders as we share many new exciting developments with you in the coming days, weeks and months.
Sincerely, Doug Foran, CEO Red Branch Technologies, Inc.
About Red Branch Technologies, Inc. (Pink Sheets:RBTI)
Red Branch Technologies, Inc. makes business travel easier, more secure and more responsive for both the hard-charging business traveler and the corporation by meeting travel needs at each point in the travel cycle. The company's innovative my/mTravel(r) and mTravel(r) products automate the business travel process from planning and booking to en route services and support, through post travel reporting and unused ticket redemption. Red Branch's Magellan360, provides agency and net-delivered back office services to independent professional travel marketers. For more information, please visit: www.redbranchtechnologies.com
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Safe Harbor
This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Red Branch Technologies, Inc., and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.