Spar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRP)

TARRYTOWN, NY--(Marketwire - Sep 17, 2012) - SPAR Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGRP) (the "Company" or "SPAR Group"), a leading supplier of retail merchandising and other marketing services throughout the United States and internationally, today announced that the company has acquired 51% of a U.S. based company that provides merchandising services to multiple Fortune 500 companies. The company is currently generating approximately $3 million in annual revenue specializing primarily on in-store merchandising and new store opening and remodeling projects. 

"SPAR Group is pleased to announce the expansion of our domestic business," said Gary Raymond, Chief Executive Officer of SPAR Group Inc. "This acquisition is part of management's strategic plan to expand the overall scope of our U.S. based merchandising efforts in order to establish the company as the true market leader within the domestic retail merchandising industry. This acquisition, coupled with several additional U.S. opportunities, will allow us to strengthen our long-term competitive position in our targeted markets and enable us to service a broader range of retailers and manufacturers. We are pleased to tell our shareholders that this transaction combined with our recent international contract awards and newly announced Romania joint venture, place SPAR Group on a growth trajectory to achieve over $100 million in revenue going forward."

TARRYTOWN, NY--(Marketwire - Aug 16, 2012) - SPAR Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGRP), a diversified international merchandising and marketing services company that provides a broad array of services worldwide to help companies improve their sales, today announced the signing of a joint venture agreement to expand its operations in Romania. SPAR Group will control a 51% ownership interest in the company, SPAR Business Ideas Provider SRL, also known as SPAR BIP. SPAR BIP will specialize in the area of in-store merchandising. 

"Management is extremely pleased with our most recent endeavor within the Romanian market, and we fully expect this addition to provide accretive earnings to our international business," stated Gary Raymond, Chief Executive Officer of SPAR Group. "The New Venture has numerous marquee clients such as Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, and Nestlé. Management intends to leverage SPAR BIP's longstanding strategic relationships in order to expand our global footprint, increase market share and elevate our status as a leader within the merchandising and marketing services industry. We expect this new agreement to contribute approximately $4 million in revenue on an annual basis. Going forward, we will continue to evaluate similar opportunities and acquire similar profitable companies throughout 2012." 

Established in 2004, Business Ideas Provider SRL maintains contracts with Fortune 500 companies such as The Coca-Cola Company (KO), Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT), Nestlé S.A. (NSRGY), JTI, and Metro and has become the largest provider of in-store merchandising services in Romania since 2010. "What differentiates us from our competition is that we always try to innovate and develop more value added products for our clients. Our partnership with SPAR will bring added worldwide marketing and merchandising expertise and vision. We look forward to applying that vision and experience to our field teams to provide a superior product to our customers," said Eugen Saulea, Managing Director and Partner of SPAR BIP.

TARRYTOWN, NY--(Marketwire - Aug 13, 2012) - SPAR Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGRP) (the "Company" or "SPAR Group"), a leading supplier of retail merchandising and other marketing services throughout the United States and internationally, announced today that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 500,000 shares of its Common Stock. Purchases would be made from time to time in the open market and through privately-negotiated transactions, subject to general market and other conditions. 

Mr. Gary Raymond, President and CEO of SPAR Group, stated, "We're pleased that the strength of our business fundamentals allows us to demonstrate our confidence through this stock repurchase program. This investment by the Company reflects our positive outlook on our cash-flow and earnings going forward. SPAR Group is dedicated to leveraging its strong capital structure to further improve shareholder value."

The Company's buyback program will be financed out of internally generated corporate funds. Shares acquired would be available, from time to time, for issuance under restricted stock awards or upon the exercise of stock options through its existing stock compensation plan, and for other corporate purposes. SPAR Group may terminate or limit the stock repurchase program at any time.

Fourth Quarter and Year End Highlights:

Year End:

• Net revenue increased 10% to $63.2 million compared to $57.5 million in 2009;
• Gross profit increased 20% on improved margins to $21.0 million compared to $17.5 million in 2009;
• Operating income increased 9 fold to $2.8 million compared to $322,000 in 2009; and
• Net income increased 4 fold to $2.2 million or $0.11 per share compared to $502,000 or $0.03 per share in 2009.

For the Fourth Quarter:

• Both domestic and international net revenues increased over 30%;
• International gross profit increased 42.5% to $2.6 million in 2010;
• Operating income increased 13 fold to $1.7 million compared to $123,000 in 2009;
• International operating income improved to $247,000 compared to an operating loss of $504,000 last year; and
• Net income increased 4 fold to $1.2 million or $0.06 per share.

"We are very proud to announce the significant financial improvements for 2010 after having to overcome significant economic hurdles globally over the last two years in the consumer products industry. The worldwide slowdown forced management to rethink our strategy and create a very lean, highly efficient organization that could withstand the worst of times but have significant earnings power as the business environment improved. The hard work and positive execution by our team has enabled us to announce an increase of 332% in our net income to $0.11 per share for 2010," stated Gary Raymond, President and Chief Executive Officer of SPAR Group. "Our strong financial results in the 2010 fourth quarter and fiscal year provide proof that our company is able to grow profitably even during difficult economic times and further underscores our confidence in our ability to generate double-digit sales and earnings gains. We believe that demand for SPAR Group's services is continuing to grow in 2011, as many of our large manufacturing and retail clients report improved sales driven by increased consumer confidence. We will continue to capitalize on the significant growth opportunities available to us from both the domestic and international operations, as we further expand our presence within the global merchandising services industry."