XCH.L Regulatory News (XCH)

10 Apr 2008 07:00

Xchanging PLC10 April 2008 10 April 2008 Xchanging plc Interim Management Statement Xchanging plc, the fast-growing, international, pure play business processoutsourcing (BPO) company, is releasing its first interim management statementon its unaudited results for the three months to 31 March 2008. Financial performance update Revenue for the quarter ended 31 March 2008 grew 17% to £131m (2007: £112m).Growth was virtually all organic and was particularly strong in FinancialMarkets due to the inclusion of the Fondsdepot Bank Enterprise Partnership withAllianz Global Investors which started up in November 2007. Revenue growth forthe quarter was slightly ahead of management's expectations due to stronger thanforecast volumes and the impact of a stronger Euro. Overall, the financialperformance outlook for the year is expected to be in line with previousguidance. Acquisition In January 2008, we extended our procurement operations in France with theacquisition of 100% of the share capital of Mercuris SA, a procurementoutsourcing services company, based in Paris and serving the financial marketsand insurance industries. The principal customer of the business, Groupe Caissed'Epargne, has agreed to extend its outsourcing contract with Mercuris to 2011representing a cumulative spend value under management of €1.5bn over the lifeof the contract. This acquisition has a relatively minor impact on revenues but provides a strongplatform to target the opportunities in this exciting growth area in France.This further strengthens Xchanging's position as the European market leader inprocurement outsourcing. Board changes A number of changes to the Board have recently been announced. The Boardchanges are as follows: • John Robins, the current Chairman, who has served on the Board since 1999, will be retiring from the Board at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 22 May 2008. He will hand over the Chairmanship to Nigel Rich, currently Deputy Chairman, who brings a wealth of public company and international experience.• John Bramley, who has served on the Board since 1999, will be retiring from the Board at the AGM. He worked closely with David Andrews in the formation of Xchanging.• David Hodgson, who has served on the Board since 2000, will be retiring from the Board at the AGM, reducing the number of General Atlantic nominated Board members to one. We wish all of our retiring Board members well for the future and thank them fortheir significant contributions over their years on the Board. The Company will take the opportunity during 2008 to add new independentnon-executive directors. Looking ahead We are confident about the outlook for Xchanging due to: • The acceleration of the BPO market opportunity in the medium term supporting sustainable high growth • The long-term nature of our contracts with blue-chip customers giving us high revenue visibility • Our strong competitive position and track record as an international pure play BPO company • The margin upside opportunity driven by our low cost production and global balancing emphasis • A clear strategy for growth based on our full suite of BPO offerings and value enhancing acquisitions David Andrews, CEO of Xchanging, said "We've made a good start to 2008 whichlooks set to be a very promising year for Xchanging. The high visibility of 2008revenues from existing contracts and customers makes us confident aboutcontinuing our rapid growth. We are encouraged by the level of new BPOopportunities internationally across our range of offerings. Certainly ourinternational reach is going to be a key factor in helping major internationalcompanies streamline their back office operations as cost reduction pressuresincrease." Enquiries Xchanging plcDavid Andrews, Chief Executive OfficerRichard Houghton, Chief Financial Officer Tel: 020 7780 6999 Tulchan GroupDavid AllchurchStephen Malthouse Tel: 020 7353 4200 About Xchanging Xchanging is a fast-growing international, pure play business processoutsourcing (BPO) company with blue-chip customers. Xchanging provides complexindustry specific processing to the banking and insurance industries andprocurement, finance and accounting, and human resources services to customersacross industries. www.xchanging.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange