Beta Systems Software AG

Earnings Release • Feb 6, 2002

News Details

Ad-hoc | 6 February 2002 08:01

BETA Systems Software english

IMPORTANT CONTRACTS IN FOURTH QUARTER 2001 AND GUIDANCE Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– IMPORTANT CONTRACTS IN FOURTH QUARTER 2001 AND GUIDANCE – Sales successes underline ongoing implementation of the “Eight Step” turnaround program – Increasing product sales synergies provide Beta Systems with competitive advantage – Full Year top-line growth expected to be approximately 9% – Full Year EBT expected to be a loss of Euro 7.3 to 7.8 million (unaudited) Berlin, February 6, 2002 – Beta Systems Software AG (Neuer Markt: BSS), a leading provider of high performance intelligent data management solutions, today announced it secured a number of important contracts in the fourth quarter of 2001. The achievements in the fourth quarter were closely linked to the ongoing implementation of the Company”s “Eight Step” turnaround program, announced during the AGM in May 2001. In addition, management announced that it expects to achieve approximately 9% revenue growth for the full year 2001. Earnings before taxes (EBT) for the Full Year 2001 are expected to be a loss of Euro 7.3 to 7.8 million. The losses include a number of one-time items with no effect on the Company’s cash position. In detail, these are a Euro 3,3 million one-time write-off of the goodwill of the Company’s US subsidiary Tantia Technologies in the second quarter of 2001, a Euro 2.6 million impairment charge for capitalized software costs reflecting the performance of the US subsidiary Tantia in the fourth quarter 2001 and other impairments on financial and investment assets totalling to Euro 2.0 million. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 06.02.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: The largest order was a licensing agreement with dvs, the IT provider for the East German Sparkasse Organization (a large savings bank network). License volume was over Euro 1 million, to be recognized in the fourth quarter 2001 with a further service agreement over three years. The contract is one of the largest in Beta Systems” history. Furthermore, in Germany, Beta Systems signed other important deals with R+V- Versicherung and DATEV eG for new licenses and licence upgrades respectively. In the public sector, Beta Systems received orders from the Rechenzentrum Region Stuttgart GmbH (RZRS, Computation Centre for the Region Stuttgart) and the Kommunales Rechenzentrum Baden-Franken in Karlsruhe GmbH (KRBF). Beta Systems was selected as the vendor of choice for the integration of these two data centers in Baden-Württemberg. The two data centers were created as a result of the integration of seven data centers during a previous consolidation. Beta Systems also closed a number of notable contracts in the rest of Europe near the end of the year. A good example is a contract in Switzerland with Banca del Gottardo in Lugano, one of the leading private banks, which chose to implement VIDiDOC(R) solutions. Approximately 1,200 bank employees will use the new bank-wide document management system. Karl-Joachim Veigel, CEO of Beta Systems Software AG commented, “Despite a tough business environment Beta Systems is continuing to improve its business operations and I am pleased to report that we expect to achieve Full Year 2001 revenue growth of around 9%. Unfortunatly, revenue growth in the US was lower than expected in the fourth quarter, partly as a result of the events in September. This in turn had a negative impact on our results due to an impairment charge for capitalized software costs. That said, the implementation of our ‘Eight Step’ turnaround program is progressing and the revenue growth reflects its success to date.” Ralf Männlein, Board Member of Beta Systems Software AG and responsible for Marketing and Sales stated, “The contracts which came in at the end of 2001 are good examples of our cross-business unit sales synergies. The combination of Data Center solutions with VIDiDOC(R) components for document/output management is becoming an increasingly unique feature of Beta Systems” product offering. This suite of data management solutions really sets us apart from the competition.” Mr. Männlein continued, “Data center consolidation is currently a core industry focus. The driving forces behind the contracts with the data centers in Baden- Württemberg were to standardize the software used in the very large data centers that remain aftYn(- ‘k tions and to optimize operations. We continue to demonstrate why Beta Systems is extremely well positioned in this area and has become the market leader in Germany. Our commitment to customer focus combined with high performance, robust and cost minimizing technology has enabled us to strenghten this position.” AUDITED FULL YEAR 2001 RESULTS WILL BE MADE PUBLIC ON MARCH 20, 2002 AND FURTHER EXPLAINED IN A CONFERENCE CALL WITH BETA SYSTEMS” MANAGEMENT. Contact: Investor Relations Arne Bassler Beta Systems Software AG Tel.: +49 (0)30 726 118 -170 Fax: +49 (0)30 726 118 -881 e-mail: arne.bassler@betasystems.com ——————————————————————————– WKN: 522 440; ISIN: DE0005224406; Index: Listed: Neuer Markt Frankfurt und im Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München und Stuttgart 060801 Feb 02