Sysgroup Regulatory News (SYS)

16 Jan 2007 17:28

System C Healthcare plc16 January 2007 System C Healthcare plc ("System C" or "the Company") Trading Statement Current trading As we said at the time of our preliminary results in September 2006, System Ccontinues to operate in challenging conditions in our core English market. Within the NHS National Programme for IT ("the National Programme"), Accenture's announcement in September 2006 of their withdrawal from the National Programme, and the final transfer of LSP responsibilities from Accenture to CSC in the North East and East clusters on January 8th 2007, led to a hiatus in deployments during this period. Now that the LSP situation has been resolved, deployment progress on the National Programme is beginning to improve, but it is now clear that the ramp-up will be more gradual than the rapid acceleration we had previously expected. Under these circumstances, whilst prospects for the latter months of this financial year are improved, the Board now expects to announce results that, whilst profitable, will be significantly below current market expectations for the year ending 31st May 2007. Contract negotiations Looking ahead, System C is currently concluding contract details with a numberof clients within the National Programme, and we are confident that, once thesenegotiations have been successfully completed, we will have a contracted orderbook that underwrites a significant proportion of our Services revenue in thefinancial year ending 31st May 2008. Also, our specialist expertise andexcellent reputation in our marketplace puts us in a strong position to secureadditional work and expand upon the contracted minimum order book. Contract wins Outside the National Programme, we have continued to diversify into the privatesector and have secured a new contract to provide specialist IT healthcaresupport services to a major player in diagnostic services. We are also delighted to announce that we have signed a framework agreement fora major multi-million pound contract to supply our MedWay Patient Management andElectronic Patient Record system and various ancillary products and services toan independent healthcare community. This is the first large-scale systemprocurement of its type for some time, and it is very encouraging that we wereable to win it against competition from all the major global product suppliers.This success demonstrates the strength of our MedWay product suite, and as aresult, we now have a forward order book that covers a significant proportion ofour Product revenues for the financial year ending May 31st 2008. Interim results We will be announcing our half-year results on 24th January 2007, and despitethe difficult trading conditions, the Company expects to announce a modestprofit before tax for the half year ending 30th November 2006. Conclusion The Board continues to believe that healthcare informatics has a strong future,and despite these turbulent times, we continue to focus on building the longterm order book, expanding the client base, and protecting our strong cashposition. We are ensuring that we retain flexibility in our business to supportlong term opportunities, and will be placing increasing focus on the creation ofnew products for both the UK and international healthcare markets. 16 January 2007 Notes to Editors About System C System C Healthcare plc, established in 1983, specialises in the provision ofinformation systems and solutions to the healthcare sector. Its team ofprofessionals has an average of 14 years healthcare experience and can provideall aspects of systems design, development and deployment services. System C isfounded upon the belief that IT solutions, when effectively implemented, cansignificantly contribute towards improving patient care. System C has installed patient-focused IT systems at over 30 NHS Trusts. Thecompany also offers a wide range of services to Local Service Providers, the NHSand third-party suppliers. These include programme/project/change management,design, build and test, implementation, training, data migration, interfacingand helpdesk/support services. System C employs around 180 staff who are divided between the company's officesin Maidstone, Warrington and Bristol as well as being located throughout the UKat customer sites. System C was recently voted 60th in the Sunday Times 100 bestSMEs to work for in 2006. The company has ISO 9001 quality accreditation andencourages staff development through the National Standard, Investors in People,and has accreditation from the Institute of IT Training. System C is a member ofHealth Level Seven UK (HL7 UK), a group of leading suppliers promoting effectiveand consistent implementation of healthcare information standards in the UK.Website: www.systemc.com For further information please contact System C Healthcare plcJim Horsburgh, ChairmanDr Ian Denley, Chief ExecutiveAndrew Coll, Finance Director Tel: 01622 691 616 MaitlandEmma BurdettBrian Hudspith Tel: 020 7379 5151 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange