In the first quarter of 2015, ENGlobal Corp. (NASDAQ: ENG) demonstrated its versatility, expertly navigating the recent downturn in energy commodity prices despite the market’s softness.

“We have pared the Company down to a smaller, more focused operation and reduced the risk profile of the projects we are undertaking, in addition to controlling overhead costs,” stated William Coskey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ENGlobal. “These and other actions have allowed the Company to remain profitable, with positive cash flow during this downturn.”

ENGlobal’s Engineering and Construction group aided in these promising results, recording over 57 percent of the company’s total revenue for the quarter while receiving a gross profit margin of 15.5 percent by providing a host of engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) services. In recent years, the company’s global reputation for consistently designing and delivering complex midstream and downstream products has allowed ENGlobal to carve out sustainable market share within the industry. This strong growth and history of providing quality work has allowed the company to maintain a constant presence on Engineering News Record’s annual list of the Top 500 engineering design firms for more than a decade.

In addition to a world-class safety performance record, the company’s Engineering and Construction group has attained multiple alliance agreements with leading industry clients. ENGlobal’s comprehensive range of services, which includes everything from feasibility studies and conceptual design to turnkey project responsibility, should ensure that the company continues to improve its financial results alongside a recovering energy market.

“While there is always room for improvement, I believe we are in a strong financial position and poised for future growth,” stated Mark Hess, Chief Financial Officer of ENGlobal. “We ended the first quarter with a healthy cash balance and working capital of $24.4 million, and have no borrowings under our current credit facility.”

The company’s ability to remain profitable despite the continued softness of the energy sector is a testament to the quality of ENGlobal’s leadership team, and this leadership will remain imperative as market conditions make initial movements towards recovery. Moving forward, it appears likely that a continued focus on minimized overhead costs and low risk projects will be vital to the company’s financial success in the months to come. As gasoline prices continue to hover near their highest point since late in 2014, ENGlobal’s growth will likely depend on the sustained improvement of overall project activity in the energy sector.

For more information, visit www.englobal.com

Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) has made significant strides toward continued growth in the global payments market in recent months. In the first quarter of 2015, the company recorded $5.5 million in total revenue, which was a year-over-year increase of approximately 15 percent. Net Element’s efforts to improve its balance sheet in recent quarters have been equally impressive. Over the past five quarters, the company has reduced its outstanding debt from approximately $31 million at the end of 2013 to just over $4 million as of its latest financial filing. Moving forward, this fiscal flexibility should provide Net Element with an opportunity to maximize its overall market share across a collection of vital sectors.

“We’re pleased with our continued growth in revenues and reduced costs for the first quarter of 2015,” Oleg Firer, chief executive officer of Net Element, stated in a news release. “Going forward we will continue to focus on increased gross margins through acquisitions and providing additional, higher margin services such as Aptito.”

Aptito, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, provides complete business management solutions and cloud-based point of sale services to the hospitality sector. In 2014, the platform was awarded the silver medal at the Best in Biz Awards for its innovative approach to restaurant payments. Building on its early success, Net Element has continued to improve the platform in recent weeks. Earlier this month, the company announced the launch of an updated version of Aptito, integrating EMV chip technology and Apple Pay™ into its transactional processing platform.

“These upgrades provide a competitive edge to the product and should facilitate Aptito sales efforts and increase transactional revenue,” continued Firer. “By delivering these tools our goal is to help grow the business of our customers and assure greater transactional volume for Net Element.”

Net Element has also made strides toward growth through acquisition. Through the pending acquisition of PayOnline, Net Element addresses the growing market for mobile payment solutions. On Thursday, the company announced the addition of iOS compatibility to PayOnline’s proven mobile payments network. According to a study by the company, approximately 19 percent of online payments processed during the first quarter of 2015 were completed via mobile device, and, among those, 59 percent were completed using iOS, further demonstrating the massive growth potential for Net Element in the future.

Building on continued financial improvement and market share growth, Net Element is in a formidable position to strive for sustainable investor returns in the months to come.

For more information, visit www.netelement.com

SilverSun Technologies, Inc. (OTCQB: SSNT) took a major step toward the future on Thursday through the unveiling of its new corporate website. The new site is designed to provide meaningful insight and perspective on the company’s growing business platform to shareholders, prospective investors and potential new business partners through a combination of intuitive navigation, video and user-friendly support resources.

“SilverSun has enjoyed remarkable growth over the past several years, with our diverse, yet complementary, product and service offerings expanding to meet the evolving business management needs of our valued customers,” Mark Meller, chairman and chief executive officer of SilverSun stated in a news release. “We felt the time had come to create a web presence that more accurately conveys our vision… and delivers our many stakeholders with a much more rich and engaging user experience.”

In recent months, the company has made significant progress in expanding its industry presence. In the first quarter of 2015, SilverSun built on its recent financial progress, posting an increase of over 31 percent in year-over-year revenue. Likewise, the company’s EBITDA was recorded at $669,923, an increase of 140 percent over the same period in 2014.

“[O]ur cash position, strong balance sheet, and ever increasing recurring revenue give us confidence that we will continue to achieve positive results throughout 2015,” concluded Meller.

In May, SilverSun set the stage for continued expansion through the announcement of an acquisition deal involving preeminent computer and network services provider ProductiveTech, Inc. Through this acquisition agreement, the company expects to add more than $1.7 million in annual revenue to its recent financial performance, as well as gaining a strategic foothold in the New Jersey managed service provider industry. According to the company’s news release, this acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of the current quarter.

Moving forward, SilverSun will continue to make preparations for its forecast uplisting to NASDAQ, which the company’s management team has named as its primary objective during 2015. When completed, SilverSun is expected to significantly increase its visibility with institutional investors and increase the attractiveness of its stock as a currency, improving the path for sustainable growth through acquisition in the years to come.

For prospective investors, SilverSun’s recent moves have put it in a strong position to realize improved returns in the future. Look for the company to leverage its newly acquired assets to promote continued growth within the expanding business technology solutions and services market.

For more information, visit www.silversuntech.com

Galenfeha has a prime focus on the petroleum industry. An engineering, manufacturing and product development company, Galenfeha concentrates on providing engineering services and alternative power generation products particularly to natural gas producers. Stored energy systems and chemical injection pumps are also included in the company’s offerings.

Since it was founded, the Texas-based corporation has focused on developing innovative products that decrease its customers’ energy production costs, from carbon footprints and hazardous waste to other non-sustainable aspects of producing energy.

Corporate Values
Galenfeha holds tightly to its mission to assist energy producers and users of traditional stored energy products in becoming more efficient, and it meets these goals by creating new products that perform better than current technology and reduce environmental impact.

The company is proud of the values that guide its business operations, especially with its management team continuing to uphold the highest levels of business ethics and personal integrity in various transactions and interactions.

Environment & Society
Galenfeha intends to provide contractual engineering services. It also means to develop and manufacture products to reduce for its customers the costs related with energy production.

Just recently, Galenfeha developed a new stored energy product with no heavy metal chemistry. This is a key initiative at the company: to develop more efficient ways to power products that require stored energy than what has historically been accomplished with traditional methods.

Research & Development
Through research and development, the company is discovering and developing different methods for producing energy more efficiently. By developing new tools for production, the company is also helping its clients meet new environmental demands.

When it comes to product development, engineering and manufacturing, the company employs incredible maneuverability. Innovation matters at Galenfeha.

For more information, visit www.galenfeha.com

Let us hear your thoughts: Galenfeha, Inc. Message Board

Visualant is a Seattle-based provider of chromatic-based identification and diagnostic solutions for which the company recently received an eighth patent. Leveraging its Spectral Pattern Matching™ (SPM) technology, Visualant is pioneering the use of structured light and validating its position as a photonics innovator.

While Visualant participates in the photonics sector with multi-billion dollar companies like IPG Photonics Corp. (NASDAQ:IPGP), the company enjoys minimal competition when it comes to product application in the public space. IPG Photonics’ business, for example, centers on the use of high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers for use primarily in materials processing. Another heavy-hitting photonics player is Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ: COHN), which uses its photonics-based solutions for microelectronics, scientific research and government programs, original equipment manufacturer components and instrumentation, and materials processing markets.

Visualant has a different focus. Its patented, award-winning SPM technology works by directing structured light onto a substance or material, through a liquid or gas, or off a surface, to capture a unique ChromaID™. This ChromaID can be used to identify, detect, or diagnosis markers invisible to the human eye, enabling analyses that could only previously be performed by large and expensive lab-based tests.

ChromaID is so accurate that it can differentiate between Aspirin and generic-grade aspirin, different milk types, or even distinguish Stoli vodka vs. Smirnoff. This capability makes the technology applicable for a wide range of industries, including pharmaceuticals, paint, security, food safety, medical diagnostics, cosmetics and environmental, for a variety of uses that include authenticating pharmaceuticals, access cards, currency liquids and foods; diagnosing water purity, impurities in aviation jet fuel, soil composition; and a multitude of medical, environmental and agricultural diagnostics.

ChromaID also reads and records visible and invisible chromatic markers from virtually any material – profile scan stored in database. Discovery scans are stored in a database and matched to original to identify, authenticate or diagnose, such as for use in crime scene analysis, process control, law enforcement and homeland security, and the identification of substances.

As an example of practical application in food products, Visualant recently signed a one-year option agreement with Benemilk Ltd, a joint venture of Raisio plc and Intellectual Ventures (IV), under which Benemilk has the right to evaluate ChromaID for quality assurance or quality control tests performed in connection with the production of dairy products and to exclusively license such technology on a worldwide basis.

Visualant’s latest (eight) patent further validates the company’s intellectual property, company CEO and founder Ron Erickson recently stated in a news release, and solidifies Visualant’s patent portfolio as a continuation of the original series of patents filed by the company on the ChromaID technology beginning in 2007.

This patent covers the application of the ChromaID technology in the fields of manufacturing, process quality control, authentication of financial and identity documents, use with biological tissues related to diagnosis and security, as well as the deterioration of manufactured materials and monitoring of liquids, fuels and lubricants. It also protects methods for networking the functioning of the ChromaID technology for database building and access for comparing data acquired by one ChromaID device with those collected by other devices.

The company has several additional patents pending and said it plans to file new patents to extend the reach of its foundational ChromaID technology.

For more information, visit www.visualant.net

Star Mountain Resources is a precious metals mining company focused on the initiation, production and expansion of acquired mineral resources in the Star Mountain Mining District in Beaver County, Utah. The company’s primary project in the region, the Chopar Mine project, consists of 116 lode-mining claims and four metalliferous mineral lease sections located within a 2,320 acre area approximately five miles west of Milford, Utah. To date, SMRS’s exploration efforts have included geological analysis and a limited reverse circulation and core drilling program.

In January, SMRS took a major step toward making the Chopar project financially viable by retaining geological research and consulting company Mine Mappers, LLC. Through this partnership, the company will be able to more effectively evaluate prior exploration history and prepare a scope of work for a comprehensive exploration program to thoroughly evaluate the mineral potential of its holdings. In particular, the district’s high potential for large concentrations of skarn, which is a type of rock commonly associated with mineable accumulations of metallic ores, is an encouraging indication for SMRS moving forward.

“The presence of skarn mineralization in outcrop, in historic mines and in drill core and chips is encouraging,” Dr. Mark Osterberg, president and chief operating officer of SMRS, stated in a news release. “The extent of zones affected by contact metasomatism is potentially large enough to host ore bodies of size and grade to interest junior and major mining concerns.”

The Star Mountain Mining District, which is dotted with historic mines dating back to the late 1800s, has a long and storied history within the mining industry. Despite prior mining efforts, the company believes that the application of modern exploration tools will reveal additional resources that were previously unattainable. Leveraging the region’s mild climate and accessibility to nearby rail lines and roads, SMRS will look to translate this potential into sustainable returns in the years to come.

SMRS will utilize a discovery-based business model to grow its industry presence in the future. The company plans to thoroughly explore and initially develop its leasehold before seeking senior industry partners to assist in the capital-intensive development and operation phases. Building on this strategy, SMRS will also continue to seek quality projects that can be evaluated on their own technical and financial merit.

For prospective investors, the company’s continued exploration of its Chopar project could provide a strong platform to realize significant returns. Look for SMRS to continue to explore the geological environments of its leasehold in the coming months in an effort to determine the presence of potentially viable copper or gold deposits.

For more information, visit www.starmountainresources.com

DATATRAK International, Inc. (OTCQX: DTRK) is a worldwide technology services company delivering unified eClinical® solutions and related services designed to safely accelerate every drug, biologic and device from concept to cure. The company’s proprietary DATATRAK ONE® Unified Experience™ platform provides users with an all-in one clinical enterprise solution complete with all of the necessary components to effectively design, deliver and manage clinical trials. DATATRAK’s groundbreaking software solution currently supports preclinical through phase IV drug and device studies in multiple languages around the world.

Earlier this month, DATATRAK built on its industry-leading software suite through the introduction of UX CTMS 360™. Using this revolutionary startup solution, clinical trials can be initiated at the click of a button without the need for programming expertise. By effectively eliminating the risks and time required to integrate data across multiple systems, the company’s clinical trial management system provides clients with an immediate return on investment.

“The industry has struggled long enough with data silos and expensive third party consulting fees,” Laurence P. Birch, chairman and chief executive officer of DATATRAK, stated in a news release. “With the introduction of UX CTMS 360, we strip away that complexity and expense… [providing] an immediate view of all clinical and operational data across studies.”

In recent months, DATATRAK has made significant progress toward expanding its market share in the life sciences market. In the first quarter of 2015, the company recorded a 35 percent year-over-year increase in new contract sales as a result of continued investment in sales and marketing efforts. This increase in contract sales resulted in a backlog of $27.8 million, an increase of 7 percent over the end of 2014. In April, the company laid the groundwork for continued improvement in the future by opening its Chicago office, expanding its physical presence in one of the country’s leading life sciences markets.

“The success we’re seeing in new contract sales is a positive for the business overall,” continued Birch. “New clients often become our most dedicated partners, setting the stage for future revenue growth.”

For more information, visit www.datatrak.com

The continually evolving healthcare market presents significant challenges for sector operators; not only when it comes to complying with the latest regulatory demands, but the complex logistical realities of patient care as well. MIT Holding (OTC: MITD) has assembled a unique mix of offerings that allows it to act, via a growing portfolio of contractual and affiliate agreements, as well as key licenses, in the role of a single-source provider to a variety of outpatient service and other markets. One of the most important relationships established by the company is with the originator of automated, on-demand online referral packets, Curaspan Health Group. Curaspan, a recognized Health Information Exchange and Patient Transition software company that helps connect providers, payers and suppliers through secure patient-transition network technologies and assists patients through their transition between different phases of care, is an important ally for MIT Holding’s ability to deliver winning solutions across the aforementioned markets, which are rapidly expanding as more and more people realize the benefits of outpatient care.

Markets like in-home infusion therapy, or the administration of medication through (typically) injection or catheter, is one of the top service areas enabled by MIT Holding’s contract with Curaspan. In-home infusion therapy has proven to be as safe and effective as inpatient care across for many diseases, is more convenient and comfortable for the patient, and generally results in better care and patient outcomes.

The contract provides MIT Holding access to a real-time market consisting of the patients from over 5,400 Curaspan affiliated medical facilities. By sending out a registered nurse to consult with the patient, conduct the administration of infusion care, help establish the patient’s medication and equipment needs in greater detail, as well as make determinations about any follow up appointments, additional therapy, or billing and insurance, MIT Holding is able to establish tightly-knit relationships and a stable commercial footprint.

Furthermore, MIT Holding – which specializes in providing an entire menu of such in-home recovery services and even operates ambulatory centers in Georgia through its subsidiaries – liaises directly with customers and is able to establish meaningful contact before the patient even leaves the healthcare facility. This personal contact allows the MIT Holding representative to map out a comprehensive home recovery template tailored to the individual.

With direct contact and MIT Holding’s tailored approach, outpatient care becomes an easy option for the end user, even before the cost savings over staying in the hospital have entered the equation.

The in-home infusion segment of the outpatient market alone is headed steadily upward from the $15.9 billion seen last year and is expected to reach a global market of over $26.7 billion within just the next five years (Persistence Market Research), growing at a CAGR of around 9.0 percent on the strength of increasingly aged populations around the globe, and increasing incident rates of chronic diseases which require infusion therapy.

This is particularly true in North America and Europe, infusion therapy’s two largest markets, where antibiotics and anti-infective indications represent the mainstay for major sector players like Baxter (NYSE: BAX) and CareFusion (NYSE: CFN), and are set to outpace the underlying infusion therapy market by around 0.8 percent CAGR over the same interval.

By 2050, 19 percent of the U.S. population will be over the age of 65; the incidence rate of chronic conditions is expected to follow suit, with estimates that over 170 million Americans will suffer some form of chronic disease by as early as 2030 (Harris Williams & Co.).

At the same time, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will continue to bring huge numbers of previously uninsured patients into the market. With nearly 11.7 million of the previously forecast 32 million uninsured set to be covered under the ACA already added to the rolls in state and federal marketplaces as of March 2015, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, we are already starting to see the leading edge of this massive trend. The implications for outpatient care could be enormous.

For an in-home comprehensive health recovery services company like MIT Holding, this underlying phenomenology will continue to be a growth driver for many years to come, undergirding the company’s business model with a firm foundation that will only increasingly seek out the convenience and savings benefits its service offerings can provide. Taking care of the patient’s needs from hospital discharge through to recovery, and yet being able to provide as much as a 90 percent savings over equivalent care if it took place in a hospital setting, is a key factor that will continue to fuel MIT Holding’s revenue fire, helping the company extend the success of a profitable 2014. First quarter 2015 revenues were double that of the year prior.

The company also rents and sells robust medical equipment for the home, a market on track to hit $12.6 billion by 2018 in the U.S. alone, according to a study published last year by market analysts Freedonia, growing at a CAGR of 8.2 percent from the roughly $8.5 billion seen last year. The increase in chronic diseases like cancer, kidney failure and respiratory disorders will be a major contributing factor to rising demand for hardware like oxygen concentrators needed for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and the like.

Another key advantage MIT Holding has is access to specialty drugs and custom compound pharmaceuticals, allowing the company to cost effectively address the medicinal needs of its patient customers and offer compelling availability/affordability advantages. With the specialty pharmaceuticals market at over $78 billion last year (Drug Channels Institute), MIT Holding is in a prime position to compete with the 250 plus URAC-accredited (Utilization Review Accreditation Commission) specialty pharmacies out there (including about 100 “In Process” companies expected to achieve accreditation this year), possessing an established customer pool that is built on comprehensive services and face-to-face contact. The company also distributes wholesale pharmaceuticals in the U.S. and overseas via its subsidiaries.

With MIT Holding and its affiliates now able to direct bill and receive payments from over 138 of the country’s top regional and national carriers on behalf of patients, carriers like Medicare/Medicaid, as well as major players like Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Cigna (NYSE: CI), the company is now more confident than ever about its business model. The company leverages a model built on the medical and financial benefits of a smooth patient transition that takes them all the way through from their discharge at the hospital to recovery within the comfort and familiarity of their own home.

Learn more by visiting the company’s newly overhauled website at www.mitholdinginc.com

Let us hear your thoughts: MIT Holding, Inc. Message Board

Net Element, which operates a payments-as-a-service platform for small to medium enterprises (“SME”) in the U.S., Russian Federation and other international markets, today officially announced that payment solutions provider PayOnline has released a new mobile payments solution for iOS (iPhone or iPad) mobile apps.

Net Element currently manages, operates and is in the process of integrating the PayOnline group of companies pending closing of Net Element’s acquisition of the company.

The new software developer kit (SDK) enables integration of PayOnline transaction processing into iPad and iPhone apps. Ural Airlines, Russia’s sixth largest airline, is one of the first PayOnline clients to accept payments using an iOS app.

PayOnline estimates 19 percent of its online payments processed during the first quarter were via mobile — an increase of 157 percent year-over-year, with 59 percent of those being iOS (iPhone, iPad).

“Our Pay-Mobile solution combines cutting edge mobile payments innovation with stability and security, baseline components of all PayOnline products,” Marat Abasaliev, general director of PayOnline, stated in the news release.

For more information visit www.netelement.com

Auxilio, Inc. (OTCQB: AUXO) is a leading provider of printer volume, device management and data security process improvement solutions for many of the nation’s top hospitals and health systems. Under its unique business model, the company takes full responsibility for healthcare customers’ on-site print environment, providing hospitals with a collection of potential benefits – including reduced operational costs, increased employee productivity and improved patient care standards. Auxilio’s extensive national portfolio currently includes a network of over 220 hospital campuses managing over 1.5 billion documents each year.

In recent years, Auxilio has utilized an acquisition-based growth strategy to rapidly increase its market share in the healthcare industry. In 2014, the company acquired Delphiis, an information security consulting and SaaS technology provider. Shortly after the acquisition, Auxilio expanded its presence in the industry through the launch of its security solutions group, which helps hospitals and health systems develop strategies to mitigate risk. In March, the company built on this growth through the acquisition of Redspin, a leading provider of security risk assessment and penetration testing services for the healthcare industry.

“This [Redspin] acquisition fits squarely with our strategy of identifying complementary technology and services, led by dynamic leaders who understand the market, have the ability to scale and who can help us take this business to the next level,” Joseph J. Flynn, president and chief executive officer of Auxilio, stated in a news release.

In the first quarter of 2015, Auxilio recorded $13.8 million in total revenue, realizing a 35 percent year-over-year increase. In addition to improved results from its security offerings, the company secured a five-year contract for managed print services (MPS) with one of the largest health systems in the United States, which could provide the company with revenue of more than $50 million over the next five years.

“We are pleased to see the initial stages of a new growth trend from both MPS and our security solutions group and expect continued momentum through 2015,” continued Flynn. “Our goal is to invest in areas of our business where we can garnish the best returns, including business with shorter sales cycles and recurring, higher margin revenues.”

For prospective shareholders, Auxilio’s rapid growth within the medical industry makes it an intriguing investment opportunity moving forward. As the company continues to expand the market share of its security offerings and build on the established presence of its MPS, Auxilio is in a strategic position to realize sustainable returns in the years to come.

For more information, visit www.auxilioinc.com