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SmartPros® Ltd. Reports Profitable Results for Fiscal Year 2004

Company Achieves Record Annual Revenue and Net Income;
Date Set for Annual Meeting of Stockholders


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- HAWTHORNE, N.Y. -- Mar. 10, 2005 -- SmartPros Ltd. (AMEX: PED), a leader in the field of accredited professional education and corporate training, today reported record financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2004.

Fiscal Year 2004 Highlights:

  • Revenues increased approximately 18.3% to $10.2 million from $8.6 million.
  • Gross profit margins improved to 60.6% from 59.4%.
  • Operating expenses remained relatively stable at $5.4 million compared to $5.3 million.
  • Net income rose to $711,000, or $0.23 per basic and diluted share, compared to a $315,000 loss, or $0.12 loss per basic and diluted share, reported in the prior year.
  • Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for 2004 was $1.5 million compared to $434,000 in 2003.

As of December 31, 2004, the Company had approximately $6.8 million in cash and investments, working capital of $3.4 million and stockholders' equity of approximately $6.4 million.

Operational Highlights for 2004:

  • In October, SmartPros successfully completed an Initial Public Offering, realizing net proceeds of approximately $6.0 million, and began trading on the American Stock Exchange.
  • Net revenue from sales of SmartPros' accounting/finance products grew in both absolute terms and as a percentage of total revenues. In 2004, net revenues from SmartPros' accounting/finance and related products grew 8% to $6.7 million in 2004, compared to $6.2 million in 2003. 2004 subscription-based net revenues from accounting/finance products were $6.1 million compared to $5.5 million in 2003.
  • ADP, a leading provider of integrated outsourced payroll and human resources services, expanded its relationship with SmartPros to provide Continuing Professional Education programs to accountants.
  • Working Values, Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, formed a strategic relationship with FIRSTGlobal Investigations, a division of BDO Seidman LLP, to provide ethics and integrity training to corporate clients.

Allen Greene, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SmartPros, noted, "2004 can be characterized as a year of exciting growth and market emergence for SmartPros. After spending over two decades operating as a private company, we are delighted to now have the opportunity to share our ongoing success with the public and with those who have demonstrated their confidence in us by becoming valued shareholders. Without exception, every member of the SmartPros' team is committed to the profitable growth of our Company and increasing shareholder value. As such, 2005 holds great promise for us and we hope that it will be another defining year for SmartPros."

SmartPros has set April 19, 2004 as the record date for shareholders permitted to vote at the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be held at the Comfort Inn in Hawthorne, New York on June 9, 2005 at 10:00 A.M. Eastern.

The Company will host a teleconference this afternoon beginning at 4:30 PM Eastern Standard Time, and invites all interested parties to join management in a discussion regarding the Company's year end financial results. The conference call can be accessed via telephone by dialing toll free 1-800-257-7063. For those unable to participate in the live event, a replay of the call will be available on http://ir.smartpros.com for a period of 90 days.

A copy of this news announcement is immediately accessible via http://ir.smartpros.com. The corresponding Form 10-KSB will be filed with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission later this month and be accessible at that time via the Company's web site at http://ir.smartpros.com.

FINANCIAL CHARTS TO FOLLOW





About SmartPros Ltd.
Founded 1981, SmartPros Ltd. is an industry leader in the field of accredited professional education. Its products and services are primarily focused in the accredited professional areas of corporate accounting, financial management, public accounting, governmental and not-for-profit accounting, ethics and compliance, and engineering. SmartPros' customers include over half of Fortune 500 companies, as well as the major firms and associations in each of its professional markets. SmartPros provides education and content publishing and development services in a variety of media including Web, CD-ROM and video. Our subscription libraries feature hundreds of course titles and 1,000+ hours of accredited education. SmartPros' proprietary Professional Education Center (PEC) Learning Management System (LMS) offers enterprise distribution and administration of education content and information. In addition, SmartPros produces a popular news and information portal for accounting and finance professionals that services 300,000+ visitors and 100,000+ subscribers per month. Visit: www.smartpros.com

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause our actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expresses or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in our filings with Securities and Exchange Commission.


Visit SmartPros' Investor Relations section for additional information.


For more information, please contact:
Shane Gillispie
Marketing and eCommerce
SmartPros Ltd.
253-863-8280
shanegillispie@smartpros.com

Andrea Strittmatter
Account Executive
Elite Financial Communications Group, LLC
407-585-1080
ped@efcg.net


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