Back to press releasesNEWARK, N.J. – November 22, 2002 – IDT Corporation (NYSE:IDT.B, IDT), a multinational carrier, telephone and technology company, is proud to announce that it has moved up to number 44 in the Business Week Info Tech 100, a ranking of the top technology companies in the world, based on their performance over the past 12 months. IDT was previously ranked 96 on the list. The results of the comprehensive survey are published in the Monday, November 25, 2002 edition of Business Week.
“Moving up in the Business Week Info Tech 100 is really important to me, because it is not just a listing of the top telecom companies, but of the world’s top technology companies,” said Howard Jonas, Chairman, IDT Corporation. “Looking at the list, it’s evident that the companies that have relied on their monopoly status are losing ground. The future in Telecom belongs to those companies, like IDT, which can innovate and develop new technologies to provide more efficient, cost effective and reliable communications for people around the globe.”
In addition to an overall ranking of 44 in the Business Week Info Tech 100, IDT received top ranking in the “Total Shareholder Return” (TSR) category of the entire telecommunications sector. Business Week reports that IDT had a TSR of 41.7 %, which is based on data compiled by Standard & Poor’s.
“Just as communications technology evolved from the telegraph to the telephone, IDT along with IDT Winstar and Net2Phone continues to push the technological envelope even further,” said Jim Courter, IDT’s CEO and Vice Chairman. “And while we’re proud that IDT has evolved from a telecom to a ‘teletech’, it is most gratifying to see that IDT has been able to grow with measured steps, without losing sight of its responsibilities to its shareholders, customers or employees.”
In October 2002, IDT’s consumer long distance service was given a “thumbs up,” the highest ranking given by The Wall Street Journal, in its independent survey of cellular and long distance telephone companies. In the survey of long distance carriers, which included all the major carriers, including MCI, Sprint and AT&T, IDT received the best overall ratings. The Wall Street Journal survey said, “In an age of impossible-to-decipher bills, IDT stands out as an exception. The discount carrier’s rate structure is so simple (five-cents-a-minute round the clock) reading the bill doesn’t require a calculator to weed out hidden fees and charges. And the tax section includes only actual taxes, not added fees that go to the carrier.”
IDT Corporation, through its IDT Telecom subsidiary, is a facilities-based, multinational carrier that provides a broad range of telecommunications services to its retail and wholesale customers worldwide. IDT Telecom, by means of its own national telecommunications backbone and fiber optic network infrastructure, provides its customers with integrated and competitively priced international and domestic long distance telephony and prepaid calling cards. IDT and Liberty Media own 95% and 5 % of IDT Telecom, respectively. IDT Media is the IDT subsidiary principally responsible for the Company’s initiatives in media, new video technologies and print media.
Through its various subsidiaries, IDT has interests in several telecom, Internet-related and media companies. IDT acquired assets of Winstar Communications in December 2001. IDT Corporation common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbols IDT.B and IDT. As of October 18, 2002, there were about 54.1 million shares of Class B common stock (IDT.B) outstanding, and about 25.0 million shares of common stock (IDT). Of these, approximately 4.0 million shares of Class B common stock and approximately 5.4 million shares of common stock were held by IDT Corporation.
Except for historical information, all of the expectations and assumptions contained in the foregoing are forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, involving risks and uncertainties. These statements refer to our plans to implement our growth strategy, improve our financial performance, expand our infrastructure, develop new products and services, expand our customer base and enter international markets. The forward looking statements also include our expectations concerning factors affecting the markets for our products, including the demand for long distance telecommunications, and Internet access services. These forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results that we anticipate. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those risks discussed in this release. In addition to the factors specifically noted in the forward looking statements, other important factors that could result in those differences include (a) general economic conditions in the telecommunications and Internet markets, including inflation, recession, interest rates, and other economic factors; (b) casualty to or other disruption of our facilities and operations; (c) those discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10K for the period ended July 31, 2002 and (d) other factors that generally affect the business of telecommunications, Internet and other communications companies. We assume no obligation to update these forward looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from the results anticipated in the forward looking statements.
