Nov 4, 1997: TMP Worldwide Reports Record Third Quarter

Commissions and Fees of $66,724,000
Internet Revenue of $4,714,00
Operating Profit of $10,301,000
Net Income of $4,128,000
EBITDA of $13,740,000

New York, N.Y., November 4, 1997 -- TMP Worldwide, (NASDAQ: TMPW), the world's largest yellow page advertising agency, one of the world's largest recruitment advertising agencies and a leader in online recruiting, today announced record results for the third quarter of 1997. The company reported commissions and fees of $66,724,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 1997 compared to $48,207,000 for the third quarter of 1996, an increase of 38%.

Internet revenue increased 138% to $4,714,000 in the third quarter of 1997 from $1,984,000 in the third quarter of 1996. Recruitment advertising commissions and fees were $33,385,000 for the third quarter of 1997, compared to $18,424,000 for the third quarter of 1996, an 81% increase. Yellow page advertising commissions and fees were $28,625,000 for the third quarter of 1997, as compared to $27,799,000 for the third quarter of 1996. The company reported an operating profit for the third quarter of 1997 of $10,301,000, as compared to $3,286,000 for the comparable period in 1996, a 213% increase. This increase reflects the company's higher revenue margin and consolidation efficiencies.

For the quarter ended September 30, 1997, net income applicable to common and Class B common stockholders was $4,128,000 or $0.17 per share, on 24,533,000 weighted average shares outstanding as compared to a pro forma net loss applicable to common and Class B common stockholders of ($149,000), or ($0.01) per share for the third quarter of 1996 on 19,421,000 weighted average shares outstanding.

Earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased 198% to $13,740,000 for the third quarter of 1997, versus $4,606,000 for the comparable period in 1996.

"We had an exciting and active third quarter," said Andrew J. McKelvey, chairman and CEO of TMP Worldwide. "In addition to posting record numbers across the board, we completed the largest acquisition in the history of recruitment advertising, completed our second public offering and announced alliances with several of the Internet's most dominant players."

Record Nine Month Performance

TMP reported commissions and fees of $167,343,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 1997, compared to $118,870,000 for the year-earlier period, an increase of 41%. Internet revenue increased 201% to $12,922,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 1997 from $4,299,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 1996. The company reported an operating profit for the first nine months of 1997 of $21,302,000 compared to $10,038,000 for the same period in 1996, an increase of 112%.

For the nine months ended September 30, 1997, net income applicable to common and Class B common stockholders was $7,423,000 or $0.31 per share, on 24,110,000 weighted average shares outstanding as compared to a pro forma net loss applicable to common and Class B common stockholders of ($25,000) for the nine months ended September 30, 1996 on 19,276,000 weighted average shares outstanding. EBITDA for the first nine months of 1997 was $30,895,000 versus $15,636,000 for the same period in 1996, an increase of 98%. As with the third quarter, these results are a reflection of TMP's revenue margin improvements and consolidation efficiencies.

Acquisition of Austin Knight Ltd. Completed

TMP made history in the third quarter and firmly secured its position at the top of the recruitment advertising industry with the acquisition of Austin Knight Ltd., a large global recruitment advertising network with 24 offices worldwide. The acquisition, the largest ever in the recruitment advertising industry, is the most powerful example yet of the company's ongoing strategy to consolidate this industry. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Austin Knight had 1996 commissions and fees of approximately $47.6 million.

"We've completed more than 65 acquisitions during the last ten years and our purchase of Austin Knight was definitely one of the more significant," said McKelvey. "It's also important to note, however, that while our aggressive acquisition strategy continues, we are also adding new clients to our roster organically."

TMP secured a number of new yellow page, recruitment and Internet accounts during the third quarter including the U.S. Air Force Reserve Command, Morgan Stanley and American Airlines.

TMP Completed Second Public Offering

On September 22, TMP announced the completion of its second public offering of 4.0 million shares, of which 1.6 million were sold by certain stockholders, at a price of $23 per share. The sale raised approximately $65 million for the company, consisting of $52.4 million resulting from the sale of company stock and $12.9 million resulting from the repayment of company loans by selling shareholders.

The offering was led by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and was co-managed by Goldman, Sachs & Co., BT Alex. Brown, Montgomery Securities and Ladenburg Thalman & Co, Inc. The net proceeds were used to pay down outstanding debt, including debt incurred on the acquisition of Austin Knight.

Top Web Names Added to Alliance List During the third quarter, TMP announced that it secured premium positions for its online recruitment Web sites, The Monster Board (www.monster.com) and Online Career Center (OCC) (www.occ.com), as it continued to partner with some of the Internet's dominant players. TMP Web sites are available through two of the Web's largest distributors of information and services as a result of third quarter agreements with Yahoo! Classifieds and Excite.

The company also signed an advertising agreement with America Online giving The Monster Board and OCC premium advertising positioning in AOL's Employment Classifieds Area. The Monster Board and OCC ads also are positioned in three other AOL sites in the Employment Classifieds. In addition, Microsoft and The Monster Board announced an exclusive strategic relationship to provide Microsoft Certified Solution Providers (MCSPs) with an Internet-based solution for finding employees, as part of the Microsoft Skills 2000 initiative to narrow the information technology skills gap. Other third quarter alliances include Forbes Digital Tool, Great Places to Live and NetNoir Online.

According to McKelvey, the company will continue to look for opportunities to increase exposure to the high quality jobs and corporations found on its Web sites. Collectively, The Monster Board and OCC receive approximately two million unique visits a month, according to a September Nielsen I/PRO. In addition, Media Metrix/PC Meter's September's ratings reported that The Monster Board is the Web's top ranked career site.

Special Note

The above statements include forward-looking statements based on current management expectations. Factors that could cause future results to differ from these expectations include the following: risks associated with acquisitions, competition and seasonality. Additional factors are described in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Founded in 1967, TMP Worldwide is the world's largest yellow page and one of the world's largest recruitment advertising agencies with more than 2,800 employees in 11 countries. TMP's clients include more than 70 of the Fortune 100 and more than 285 of the Fortune 500 companies. The company's Internet offerings include The Monster Board, (www.monster.com), the premier career center on the World Wide Web; Online Career Center, the Internet's earliest career site; MedSearch, (