029 Group SE

Earnings Release • May 6, 2004

News Details

Ad-hoc | 6 May 2004 08:30

Brainpower N.V. First Quarter Results 2004

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Brainpower N.V. First Quarter Results 2004 Brainpower N.V. (Deutsche Börse, Prime Standard: BPW), provider of analytic applications, technology and data management solutions to the investment management community, announces results for the First Quarter ended March 31, 2004. Revenues equaled 1.48 million Euros, up 4% from the first quarter 2003 results. EBITDA losses reduced to 682,000 Euros from an EBITDA loss of 1.65 million Euros in the year ago period. “We continue to experience great interest in our new product line-up as reflected in our increased sales pipeline for both asset management and wealth management”, stated Rocco Pellegrinelli, Chief Executive Officer of Brainpower. “However, sales cycles remain long with new business signed during the quarter in line with the fourth quarter 2003. We have seen continued strong interest in our private client advisory product, Brainpower ProActiv(TM), where we signed a further two contracts in the quarter in Switzerland. In the meantime, we have implemented a further cost reduction plan. This is targeted primarily at non-sales related parts of the organisation and we are looking to achieve 1.2 million Euros in annualized savings and expect to see the full impact of the new cost reduction plan in the second half of the year. As part of the cost reduction plan there was a restructuring charge of 92,000 Euros in the quarter.” Bill Holwell, Chief Financial Officer, added, “As I have previously stated, the shift by some clients from term to perpetual licenses with upfront fees causes some revenue variability on a quarterly basis. We anticipate this to continue moving forward, but expect to see revenues trending upwards. We showed strong cash flow from operations in the quarter, in fact our best since Brainpower’s IPO. Cash used in operations equaled 82,000 Euros, down from 1.32 million Euros used in the first quarter of 2003. However, due to our six- monthly invoicing pattern we expect cash used in operations to be higher in the second quarter of 2004 than the first. The company has access to short-term credit facilities to cover expected future cash outflows, however, Brainpower is assessing funding alternatives to ensure that the company has further funding available if required.” end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 06.05.2004 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: ABOUT BRAINPOWER Brainpower provides analytic applications, technology and data management solutions to the global investment management community. Brainpower’s distinctive approach to addressing the portfolio manager’s workflow delivers middle-office functionality and analytic power, and back-office reporting capabilities to the front office – on the fly. Customers include leading players in the fields of asset management, private banking and online financial services. Brainpower is currently represented in major financial centers including: Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Lugano, Milan, Madrid, New York and Zurich. For further information see: http://www.brainpowerweb.com or contact: Curtis E. Fox Director, Communications & Investor Relations Brainpower N.V. Tel : +44 (0) 20 7337 9123 Email: cfox@brainpowerweb.com ——————————————————————————– WKN: 553169; ISIN: NL0000238228; Index: Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 060830 Mai 04