COPPELL, Texas---March 7, 2000--TST/Impreso, Inc. (Nasdaq National Market: ``TSTI''), a leading manufacturer and distributor of paper and film hard copy imaging products for commercial and home office applications, and owner of the successful HotSheet.com online web reference directory, today announced shareholder approval of the creation of a parent holding company, Impreso.com, Inc., at the Company's Annual Meeting on March 7, 2000. As a result of this shareholder approval, existing TST/Impreso, Inc. shareholders will receive shares in Impreso.com, Inc., and Impreso.com, Inc. will hold shares of TST/Impreso, Inc.
EFFECTIVE MARCH 8, 2000, THE COMPANY'S COMMON STOCK WILL BEGIN TRADING ON THE NASDAQ NATIONAL MARKET UNDER THE NEW PARENT COMPANY TICKER SYMBOL ``ZCOM'', AND TRADING UNDER THE SYMBOL ``TSTI'' WILL CEASE.
Impreso.com, Inc. will also receive a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock in Hotsheet.com, Inc., which will own as its primary asset the HotSheet.com directory. This will result in a holding company structure with two sibling subsidiaries.
``The new holding company structure represents an initial step by management in its strategy to maximize the shareholder value of our HotSheet.com online web portal,'' stated Marshall Sorokwasz, Chief Executive Officer of Impreso.com, Inc. ``Management believes that a holding company structure will benefit our shareholders and will allow our respective operating companies greater flexibility in their future dealings with the investment community. To finance the operations and growth of the HotSheet.com web portal, we intend to initially raise $10 million through private placements of equity in Hotsheet.com, Inc.''
HotSheet.com, which was established in 1995, has focused on providing Internet users an easy method to access the most popular sites on the World Wide Web. The main directory is a well-organized single page featuring over 500 carefully selected links in more than 20 major categories. ``HotSheet.com is currently generating approximately 12 million hits and being accessed by an estimated 800,000 unique users for more than 3.5 million page views per month, and we believe it can evolve into a valuable shareholder asset by developing revenues through advertising and sales commissions, click-through fees, and site product sales,'' noted Mr. Sorokwasz at the Annual Meeting. ``Our business plan envisions using the money raised in the equity financings to increase our monthly individual unique users from 800,000 to 10,000,000 within eighteen to twenty-four months following the completion of the private placements.''
HotSheet.com is also announcing new usage analysis features that will increase revenue and maintain the quality of links featured on the page. Data is now being captured to determine the sites visited most by HotSheet.com users. While this information will help HotSheet.com management internally, it will also be packaged for resale. ``The unique feature of our statistical data is that it provides side-by-side comparisons of top sites within link categories,'' explained Sorokwasz. ``This can help a site determine how its traffic compares to peer websites also listed on HotSheet.com. We think our statistics will prove valuable to these sites by allowing them to analyze their traffic patterns in comparison to websites with a similar focus.''
Additional services provided by HotSheet.com include: Hot Sheet Super Search, a metasearch service that combines results from multiple web search engines and ranks the results by relevance; my.HotSheet, a recently enhanced service that lets users create their own personalized page of categorized favorite links; HotSheet Search Portal, which provides direct input to many leading search engines; and SHOPsheet.com, a quick-loading page with links to the Web's premier shopping sites.
In his comments at the Annual Meeting, Mr. Sorokwasz also discussed the new value-added products which TST/Impreso, Inc expects to introduce during FY2000. ``We expanded our product line to include wide-format engineering rolls and wide-format ink jet media during the first half of Fiscal 2000, and our plans for the second half of the fiscal year anticipate the introduction of processed laser cut sheets; greeting cards and business cards with gloss, matte and plain finishes; labels; and branded uncoated ink jet paper for laser printers. We have been pleased with customers' acceptance of our specialty and branded products, and a broader product line should allow TST/Impreso to strengthen its position in the market.''
``While our first quarter earnings declined slightly from prior-year levels, due to higher inventory carrying costs and the short-term impact of higher raw paper prices upon gross margins, we expect earnings to improve during the final three quarters of the fiscal year,'' observed Mr. Sorokwasz. ``Sales of our branded and specialty imaging products continue to gain momentum through new and existing channels of distribution, and we are negotiating with a number of customers regarding private label programs.''
Impreso.com is a holding company for TST/Impreso, Inc. and HotSheet.com, Inc. TST/Impreso, Inc. is a manufacturer and distributor of hard copy imaging products for commercial and home use in domestic and international markets. Headquartered in Coppell, Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth metroplex), TST/Impreso operates three manufacturing plants and distributes its products through 47 warehouse locations. HotSheet.com, Inc. primarily owns HotSheet.com, a single-page, online Internet directory with categorized links to premier web destinations. The Company's website domains are www.hotsheet.com, www.impreso.com, www.shopsheet.com, and www.tstimpreso.com.
The common stock of TST/Impreso, Inc. trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ``TSTI''. Effective March 8, 2000, the shares will begin trading on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ``ZCOM'', and trading under the symbol ``TSTI'' will cease.
This press release may include statements that constitute ``forward-looking'' statements, usually containing the words ``believe'', ``estimate'', ``project'', ``expect'' or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company's products in the marketplace, competitive factors, new products and technological changes, paper prices and raw material costs, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.
For further information, please contact:
Marshall Sorokwasz
(972) 462-0100 (ext. 103)
-or-
RJ Falkner & Company, Inc.
Investor Relations Counsel
(800) 377-9893
e-mail: [email protected]