Pre-Paid Legal Announces 2010 3rd Quarter Production Results
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<p>ADA, Okla., <span class="xn-chron">Oct. 1</span> /CNW/ -- Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. (NYSE: PPD) reported new memberships produced and new sales associates enrolled for the 2010 third quarter. During the 3rd quarter of 2010, new memberships produced decreased 28.1% to 125,912 during the 2010 quarter compared to 175,022 for the 2009 quarter and new sales associates enrolled decreased 51.8% to 36,329 from the 75,398 enrolled in the 3rd quarter of 2009.</p>
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<p>On a sequential quarterly basis, new memberships produced and new associates enrolled remained virtually unchanged while new membership fees written decreased 1.1% and our active membership base decreased by 16,602 memberships.</p>
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Three Months Ended:
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New Memberships: 9/30/2010 9/30/2009 6/30/2010
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New legal service membership sales 121,277 166,377 120,443
New "stand-alone" IDT membership sales 4,635 8,645 4,974
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Total new membership sales 125,912 175,022 125,417
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New "add-on" IDT membership sales 75,027 112,653 75,593
Average Annual Membership fee $328.17 $325.60 $333.29
Active Memberships:
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Active legal service memberships at end of
period 1,403,848 1,455,492 1,419,673
Active "stand-alone" IDT memberships at
end of period (see note below) 89,285 90,063 90,062
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Total active memberships at end of period 1,493,133 1,545,555 1,509,735
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Active "add-on" IDT memberships at end of
period (see note below) 689,409 710,795 697,468
New Sales Associates:
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New sales associates recruited 36,329 75,398 36,313
Average enrollment fee paid by new sales
associates $65.34 $79.31 $70.58
Average Membership fee in force:
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Average Annual Membership fee $303.70 $302.86 $303.74
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Note - reflects 3,924 net transfers from "add-on" status to "stand-
alone" status during the quarter.
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<p>Our total active membership fees in force decreased 3.1% during the last twelve months. Membership persistency rate (defined as the number of memberships in force at the end of a 12 month period as a percentage of the total of memberships in force at the beginning of such period, plus new memberships sold during such period) was 71.8% for the 12 month period ended <span class="xn-chron">September 30, 2010</span>, a decrease from the 72.6% for the 12 month period ended <span class="xn-chron">September 30, 2009</span>.</p>
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<p>During the 2010 3rd quarter, we returned <span class="xn-money">$8.5 million</span> to shareholders through the repurchase of 162,648 shares of common stock, at an average per share price of <span class="xn-money">$52.49</span>. Since <span class="xn-chron">April 1999</span>, we have returned <span class="xn-money">$471.8 million</span> to shareholders through the purchase of 15.4 million shares, at an average price of <span class="xn-money">$30.66</span> per share, and <span class="xn-money">$17.1 million</span> in dividends for a combined total of <span class="xn-money">$488.9 million</span> representing more than 100% of our net earnings during the same timeframe.</p>
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<p>We anticipate announcing our 2010 third quarter financial results on <span class="xn-chron">Monday, October 25, 2010</span> after the market closes. The Company will conduct a conference call to present the third quarter results on <span class="xn-chron">Wednesday, October 27, 2010</span>, at <span class="xn-chron">8:30 a.m. Eastern Time</span>. The conference call will be webcast on the investor relations' page of <a href="http://www.prepaidlegal.com">www.prepaidlegal.com</a> or may be accessed by dialing (720) 545-0046. Audio replay will be available beginning at <span class="xn-chron">10:30 a.m. Eastern Time</span> on <span class="xn-chron">October 27, 2010</span> and will run through midnight <span class="xn-chron">Wednesday, November 3, 2010</span> by dialing (706) 645-9291; conference ID for the replay is 15768290. The presentation will be available on the web site indefinitely by selecting "Earnings Calls" under the "Investor Relations" section. Questions may be submitted prior to the call via email to <a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a>.</p>
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About Us
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<p>We believe our products are one of a kind, life events legal service plans. Our plans provide for legal service benefits provided through a network of independent law firms across the U.S. and <span class="xn-location">Canada</span>, and include unlimited attorney consultation, will preparation, traffic violation defense, automobile-related criminal charges defense, letter writing, document preparation and review and a general trial defense benefit. We have an identity theft restoration product we think is also one of a kind due to the combination of our identity theft restoration partner and our provider law firms. More information about us and our products can be found at our homepage at <a href="http://www.prepaidlegal.com">http://www.prepaidlegal.com</a>.</p>
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Forward-Looking Statements
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<p>Statements in this press release, other than purely historical information, regarding our future plans and objectives and expected operating results, dividends and share repurchases and statements of the assumptions underlying such statements, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The forward-looking statements contained herein are based on certain assumptions that may not be correct. They are subject to risks and uncertainties incident to our business that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the reports and statements filed by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including (among others) those listed in our Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, and include the risks that our membership persistency or renewal rates may decline, that we may not be able to continue to grow our memberships and earnings, that we are dependent on the continued active participation of our principal executive officer, that pending or future litigation may have a material adverse effect on us if resolved unfavorably to us, that we may have compromises of our information security, that consumer purchases of discretionary items may be impacted by a downturn in the economy, that we could be adversely affected by regulatory developments, that competition could adversely affect us, that we are substantially dependent on our marketing force, that our stock price may be affected by short sellers, that we have been unable to increase our employee group membership sales, that our active premium in force is not indicative of future revenue as a result of changes in active memberships from cancellations and additional membership sales and that we have repurchased more than half of our outstanding shares. Please refer to pages 16 through 19 of our 2009 Form 10-K and pages 7 and 8 of our <span class="xn-chron">June 30, 2010</span> Form 10-Q for a more complete description of these risks. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements in this release.</p>
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For further information: Steve Williamson of Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc., +1-580-436-1234 Web Site: http://www.prepaidlegal.com
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