International Monetary Upgraded to 'Buy/4,' With $0.60 Target, Says Investrend Analyst Gary Vassalotti

(financialwire.net via COMTEX), December 20, 2004 -- International Monetary Systems, Inc. (INLM) has been upgraded to "Speculative Buy/4," with a target valuation of $0.60, according to Investrend Research analyst Gary Vassalotti.

International Monetary Exchange is a barter company. The barter industry is highly fragmented providing ample opportunity for INLM to expand in sales and profitability through acquisitions, said Vassalotti.

INLM's primary operating company is Continental Trade Exchange (CTE), with a trading volume of $32mm, and operating revenue of $3.972mm, an increase of 42.4%. CTE receives sales from several revenue streams:

A cash fee paid for handling the transaction (12%: 6% buyer, 6% seller fees) equating to around $3.8mm (2003) given a trade volume of $32mm;

A $595 cash membership fee;

Monthly maintenance fees ($10 cash / $10 in trade dollars). With 7,000 clients, INLM receives $70,000 per month in cash dollars and $70,000 in trade dollars for its own account; and

Cash earned through sales of goods purchased with its own trade dollars.

CTE's business strategy has been to purchase exchanges partly in cash and partly in stock, paid out over several years to the current owners.

CTE has been growing sales at a faster rate than the general industry, due to being able to take advantage of acquisitions. Sales have been growing at a 5-year average rate of +26%, vs. the industry growth rate of 11.9%. Recent revenue growth at CTE has been even larger

INLM has a strong balance sheet with good cash position. The company's current ratio is 1.78x.

The asset side of the balance sheet shown above shows a large cash balance (Cash and Restricted Cash) of $414,253. INLM's cash balance (unrestricted) has grown about 2%, even after spending on acquisitions.

"INLM is a compelling buy. It is because of the small float that I have rated the company Buy/4 and not a Strong Buy/5," the analyst concluded.

The full report, including important disclosures and disclaimers, is available at http://www.investrendresearch.com , at the company's InvestorPower page at http://www.investrend.com/company/list.asp?sPathParam=yes Investors are advised to read those disclosures carefully before trading in the equities of any enrolled company.

International Monetary is enrolled in Investrend Research's pioneering professional research program, which facilitates independent analysts to provide coverage for shareholders in companies that otherwise would have little or no analyst following. Enrollment fees for Institutional coverage are $29,800, and the fees were paid by the company. Analysts are paid in advance of initial reports by Investrend Research to eliminate pecuniary interest, and neither the analyst nor anyone associated with Investrend Research may own or trade in the stocks of a company under coverage.

Anyone interested in receiving alerts regarding International Monetary research should email contact@investrend.com with "INLM" in the subject line.

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