Yvonne Hill and her husband Stephen, 55, joined Bartercard seven years ago shortly after taking over the 24-bed Hotel Penzance and The Bay Restaurant.They hoped that bartering would bring them additional custom and today they trade close to £100,000 a year via Bartercard – split evenly between buying and selling.

They earn their trade pounds by filling vacant rooms with Bartercard members or through the restaurant.

‘There are times of the year when our hotel is full and we know we can generate cash payments,’ says Mr Hill.

‘There are other times when we can’t – and that’s when Bartercard comes into its own.’

Bartercard, established in 1991, has 75,000 member businesses worldwide, 4,000 of which are located in the UK. Bartercard utilizes credit card technology to record transactions.

• Employee costs were reduced by more than $1,300,000 compared to the first three quarters of 2008.
• Total Liabilities were reduced by more than $1.5 million compared to December 31, 2008.
• Net income from operations improved by more than $1,100,000 over the same nine months of 2008.
• Unrestricted cash available has increased by 94.9% since December 31, 2008.
• 190,006 shares were repurchased and added to treasury stock since December 31, 2008.

In the quarter ending September 9th, compared to the previous year:

• Generated gross revenues of $3,526,792, substantially flat compared to revenue of $3,537,840 in the third quarter of 2008.
• Operating expenses in the third quarter were $3,169,126, a 9.8% decrease compared to $3,511,054 in the third quarter of 2008. The decrease is primarily due to efficiencies realized in personnel and administrative costs.
• The combination of revenue change and expense controls resulted in net operating income of $357,666 for the quarter, compared to $26,786 in the third quarter of 2008.
• After adjusting for interest and income tax expense, the net profit for the current period was $214,180, compared to a net loss of $121,516 in the third quarter of 2008.
• Operating profit or EBITDA – earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization – for the quarter totaled $748,792, a 67.8% increase over the $446,417 reported in the third quarter of 2008.

Congratulations to IMS for weathering the economic storm well and seeing a significant increase in operating profit over last year!

will be used exclusively by the Borrower for working capital and other regular and valid purposes. The Borrower will not, without the prior written consent of the Bank, redeem, purchase, or retire any of the capital stock or declare or pay any dividends, or make any other payments or distributions of a similar type or nature including withdrawal distributions.

According to the same filing

Steven White, Chairman and CEO noted, “There is currently no outstanding balance under this line of credit and we have no immediate plans for use.  However, we felt it prudent to increase our access to additional capital in order to position us to take advantage of potential opportunities. U.S. Bank has been a great partner over the years and we appreciate the support it has provided to help us expand our business.”

Timothy J. Flynn, Vice President of Commercial Banking for U.S. Bank, commented, “We are pleased with ITEX’s consistent financial performance and overall success during the last six years.  During this period, ITEX has done an exceptional job strengthening its balance sheet, increasing positive cash flow, eliminating debt associated with its acquisitions, and demonstrating sound fiscal management.  These factors, along with our positive and open communications with ITEX’s management, were instrumental in approving the increase in the line of credit limit.”