SPE.L Regulatory News (SPE)

18 Jan 2005 07:00

Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs Tuesday 18 January 2005 SOPHEON PLC (`Sopheon' or `the Company') TRADING UPDATE Sopheon plc, the international provider of solutions that improve the returnfrom innovation and product development, announces that the Company's EBITDAresult for the final quarter of 2004 is expected to be positive, and that theconsolidated annual EBITDA loss for 2004 is expected to be in line with brokerforecasts of ‚£1.15m (2003 - ‚£4.07m). Sales growth over the prior year achievedin Sopheon's continuing software business is substantial, however, totalreported revenues for 2004 are expected to be moderately below brokerforecasts. This expectation is due in part to the weakness in the dollar duringthe later stages of the year. Nevertheless the overall effect of the weakdollar is expected to have been marginally positive, due to the fact that alarge portion of Sopheon's costs are dollar denominated.As indicated in earlier announcements, the final quarter performance wasdependent on completion of major sales in December. Sopheon was successful insigning three such orders. Each customer is a global leader in its respectiveindustry and a widely recognized name, and two of the transactions includedlicense fees of around $600,000. Apart from their financial and brand value,these deals underpin Sopheon's credentials in two industries with significantidentified potential: fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and financial services.Several other transactions were concluded during the quarter, primarily in thechemicals sector, where we already have a substantial base of customers. Wecontinue to focus on pipeline creation and extending business with existingcustomers. An excellent example of the latter is BASF. Developed as a customerthrough one of Sopheon's distribution partners, BASF began implementation ofAccolade a year ago. Our relationship with this chemicals industry leader hasgrown rapidly since then, and BASF is now one of four Sopheon clients that havecontracted for 2000 or more Accolade seat-licenses.Sopheon made important progress in 2004 in positioning itself for the longerterm by securing partnerships on two fronts: strategic alliances in keymarkets, and distribution partners in geographical areas outside the Company'sexisting sphere of operations. As a result of this effort we are part ofMicrosoft's Collaborative Product Development initiative. Since announcement ofthe program in October, Microsoft and Sopheon have been working together toenhance and promote the integration of their technologies. To enabledevelopment efforts arising from this and other initiatives, and with supportfrom Microsoft, Sopheon implemented a controlled expansion in R&D resources,recruiting into our Denver development center. During the year Sopheon alsoundertook a successful balance sheet restructuring, and continues to haveaccess to the group's ¢â€š¬10m equity line, of which over 90% remains untapped.Financial expectations noted above are subject to the completion of theyear-end financial close process. Consistent with prior years, Sopheon plans toissue its 2004 preliminary results around the end of March.Sopheon's Chairman, Barry Mence said:"Achieving a positive quarterly result is an important milestone for Sopheon.We are focused on the challenge of maintaining this momentum into the firsthalf of 2005, encouraged by our recent successes and the opportunities that arebuilding through our strategic relationships."For further information contact:Barry Mence, Chairman Sopheon plc Tel : + 44 (0) 1483 685 735 Arif Karimjee, CFO Adam Reynolds Hansard Communications Tel : + 44 (0) 207 245 1100 Andrew Tan + 44 (0) 7957 203 685 Barbara Jansen Citigate First Financial Tel : + 31 (0) 205 754 010About SopheonSopheon (LSE:SPE) is an international provider of software and services thathelp organizations improve the business impact of product development. TheSopheon Accolade‚® product development system automates gate- or phase-basedproduct development (PD) processes and provides strategic decision support thatallows companies to improve innovation, cut product development spending wasteand shorten time to market. Sopheon is listed on the AIM market of the LondonStock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands. For more information,please visit www.sopheon.com.END