Princeton Review names new chairman
By: Catherine Tymkiw
Published: March 30, 2007 - 12:46 pm
Princeton Review Inc. named a new chairman and hired a consulting team as it reported disappointing quarterly results.
The company, which has seen its operating expenses grow 4.6% last year, said it has experienced significant margin erosion.
“Our latest operating results argue that much remains to be done,” said Chief Executive John Katzman in a statement. Mr. Katzman also said he was stepping down as chairman of the board and that the test-preparation company has hired consultants “to help us improve and accelerate the revamping of our cost structure.”
Longtime board member Howard Tullman will become the new chairman. Mr. Tullman is president of Kendal College in Evanston, Ill., and chairman of the board of The Cobalt Group, a Seattle-based provider of Internet services and B2B marketplaces for the automotive industry. He has been a member of Princeton Review’s board since 2000.
The company’s stock has lagged well below its 2001 initial public offering of $11 a share. Princeton Review’s stock fell as much as 5.9% to $5.12 during morning trading and was down 1% intraday.
The Manhattan company lost $4.2 million or 15 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $4.1 million, or 15 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue grew 10.4% to $35.7 million.
Revenue from Princeton Review’s test-preparation services unit, which accounts for more than half of the company’s total, surged 21%, to $17.1 million. Admissions-services revenue declined 7.4%, to $3.4 million, due to lower counseling revenue related to a discontinued contract. Revenue from K-12 services was flat at $11.6 million.