Barrett Business Services, Inc. Announces Net Income and Revenues for Third Quarter 1998

PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Barrett Business Services, Inc.

(Nasdaq: BBSI) reported today net income of $1,599,000 for the third quarter

ended September 30, 1998, an increase of $623,000 or 63.8% over the third

quarter of 1997. Basic and diluted earnings per share for the 1998 third

quarter were $.21, compared to $.13 for both basic and diluted earnings per

share for the same quarter of 1997. Net income for the nine months ended

September 30, 1998 amounted to $2,586,000. Basic and diluted earnings per

share for the 1998 nine-month period were $.34, compared to $.40 for basic and

$.39 for diluted earnings per share for the 1997 period.

Revenues for the third quarter ended September 30, 1998 totaled

$82.0 million, a decrease of approximately $4.0 million or 4.7% from the

$86.0 million for the same quarter a year ago. Revenues for the nine months

ended September 30, 1998 were $227.9 million, a decrease of 0.4% from the

comparable 1997 period.

William W. Sherertz, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented

that: "We are pleased with the favorable impact on earnings of our recently

implemented zone management practices and tighter operating controls. Our

earnings on a per share basis equaled a record level set two years ago. It is

important to note that our revenue trend is not a company-wide issue and is

confined to a few larger branch offices. The decline reflects a very limited

number of large customers which have been affected by various economic

conditions."

As previously reported, effective June 29, 1998, Barrett completed its

acquisition of Western Industrial Management, Inc., and of a related company,

Catch 55, Inc. (together "WIMI"), in a stock-for-stock merger. The merger

with WIMI has been accounted for as a pooling-of-interests under Accounting

Principles Board Opinion No. 16, and accordingly, all prior period financial

statements have been restated to include WIMI as though it had always been a

part of Barrett.

                                       (Unaudited)            (Unaudited)

Third Quarter Nine Months

Ended Ended

September 30, September 30,

Results of Operations 1998 1997 1998 1997

(in thousands, except

per share amounts)

Revenues:

Staffing services $44,199 $51,957 $127,289 $132,093

Professional employer

services 37,770 34,038 100,572 96,573

Total revenues 81,969 85,995 227,861 228,666

Cost of revenues:

Direct payroll costs 63,768 66,717 176,783 176,504

Payroll taxes and benefits 6,587 7,588 19,656 20,853

Workers' compensation 2,201 2,489 6,408 6,715

Safety incentives 446 464 1,146 1,168

Total cost of revenues 73,002 77,258 203,993 205,240

Gross margin 8,967 8,737 23,868 23,426

Selling, general

and administrative

expenses 5,826 6,888 17,677 17,638

Merger expenses -- -- 750 --

Amortization of intangibles 322 361 1,004 973

Income from operations 2,819 1,488 4,437 4,815

Other income 68 -- 178 83

Income before taxes 2,887 1,488 4,615 4,898

Provision for income taxes 1,288 512 2,029 1,845

Net income $ 1,599 $976 $2,586 $3,053

Basic earnings per share $.21 $.13 $.34 $.40

Weighted average number

of basic shares outstanding 7,675 7,622 7,660 7,649

Diluted earnings per share $.21 $.13 $.34 $.39

Weighted average

number of diluted

shares outstanding 7,714 7,794 7,710 7,804

The following summarizes the unaudited balance sheets at September 30,

1998 and December 31, 1997, as restated:

    ($ in thousands)

September 30, December 31,

1998 1997

Assets

Cash $4,378 $3,439

Receivables, net 24,090 21,051

Prepaids and other 2,193 1,231

Deferred tax asset 2,300 2,086

Total current assets 32,961 27,807

Intangibles, net 11,815 12,133

Property and equipment, net 5,076 4,574

Restricted marketable

securities 5,827 6,095

Other assets 403 206

$56,082 $50,815

Liabilities and Stockholders'

Equity

Current portion of long-term debt $398 $731

Line of credit payable -- 887

Income taxes payable 516 --

Accounts payable 484 1,136

Accrued payroll and benefits 13,773 10,034

Accrued workers' compensation claims 3,416 3,140

Customer safety incentives 1,198 1,073

Other accrued liabilities 694 414

Total current liabilities 20,479 17,415

Long-term debt, net 445 573

Customer deposits 869 934

Long-term workers' compensation

liabilities 625 632

Other long-term liabilities 1,198 1,030

Stockholders' equity 32,466 30,231

$56,082 $50,815

Barrett Business Services, Inc. is a human resource management company

with offices in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Arizona, Michigan,

Maryland and Delaware. For 1997, as restated, Barrett reported revenues of

$305.5 million and net income of $3.8 million.
SOURCE Barrett Business Services, Inc.
Web site: http: //www.barrettbusiness.com
Company News On-Call: http: //www.prnewswire.com/comp/082187.html or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 082187
CONTACT: William W. Sherertz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Barrett Business Services, Inc., 503-220-0988