IDS Scheer Continues Double Digit Growth and Exceeds 2Q 2003 Expectations

Business Wire, August 7, 2003

Business Editors

BERWYN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 2003

110% Increase in Net Profit Overall and Worldwide Revenue Expands

to $101.5 Million -

U.S. Operations Continue Momentum with Very Strong Growth

IDS Scheer, Inc., the leading provider of business process excellence services and tools, today announced that 2Q 2003 earnings of its corporate parent IDS Scheer AG have exceeded expectations with U.S. operations continuing to post high double-digit growth and excellent profitability. Significant milestones this quarter included two acquisitions - Groupe Expert and Plaut International business units in Eastern Europe and North America.

In the first six months of the current fiscal year, IDS Scheer's corporate parent, IDS Scheer AG, achieved worldwide profitable growth above the market average. Operating profit exceeded projections, growing by 63% to 13.3 million EUR (previous year: 8.2 million EUR)/$15.3 million USD (previous year: $9.4 million) and achieved an EBIT margin in the IDS Scheer group of 14.5% compared to 9.4% in the first half of 2002. Profit for the period grew by 110% to 8.5 million EUR (previous year: 4.1 million EUR)/$9.8 million USD (previous year: $4.7 million USD). Total revenue for the IDS Scheer Group from software and consulting for business process management increased by 5.3% to 91.6 million EUR (previous year: 87.0 million EUR)/$101.5 million USD (previous year: $99.9 million USD).

Exceptionally strong and profitable growth rates were posted in the international subsidiaries as well as in the product area. Revenue in the IDS Scheer International segment grew by nearly 15% to 37.1 million EUR (previous year: 32.2 million EUR)/$42.6 million USD (previous year: $37 million USD). Operating profit for the subsidiaries outside Germany increased sharply from 0.7 million EUR/$0.8 million USD in the first half of 2002 to 2.3 million EUR/$2.6 million USD. Revenue from products and product-related services associated with ARIS, the world's leading business process management software, increased by almost 17% to 26.5 million EUR (previous year: 22.7 million EUR)/$30.4 million USD (previous year: $26 million USD). The number of ARIS licenses worldwide grew by 21% to more than 40,600 (previous year: 33,300).

This quarter once again saw significant growth for the IDS Scheer U.S. operations -- IDS Scheer reported a high profitability in the second three months of 2003, while achieving double-digit growth rates for the second straight quarter.

"We are pleased to have a second straight quarter of double digit growth in our U.S. operations," said Dr. Mathias Kirchmer, CEO of IDS Scheer in North America "We are also excited about the prospect of the newly acquired North American operations of Plaut International which will create an additional revenue stream and profits for IDS Scheer."

Additional Growth Through Two New Acquisitions

As announced on July 28, IDS Scheer AG has acquired the North American and Eastern European business units from Plaut International, a Salzburg, Austria-based IT consulting firm. As part of the acquisition, IDS Scheer AG will gain 400 mid-sized and large customers in North America and Eastern Europe. Plaut's Eastern European unit includes local subsidiaries in Austria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Plaut's North American offices in the US and Canada operate primarily as SAP resellers in the SME (small to medium enterprise) market. Through this transaction, IDS Scheer will also acquire 450 employees from Plaut.

In June, IDS Scheer acquired 100% of the French consulting group Groupe Expert, Paris, including a strong customer base and considerable experience in the SME segment.

With these acquisitions, IDS Scheer moves into the midst of the top IT service providers in Eastern, Central, and Western Europe and North America. This positions IDS Scheer as full-service provider for large and mid-sized companies - from business process analysis and improvement, to industry-specific strategic and IT consulting, to business process outsourcing. This underlines again IDS Scheer's position as leading provider of solutions for Business Process Excellence.

About IDS Scheer, Inc.

IDS Scheer, Inc. is the global leader in providing business process consulting and software solutions. With more than 1,600 employees worldwide, IDS Scheer combines innovative technology with a range of vertical market expertise to help organizations create bottom line effects through their business process initiatives, such as General Process Improvement, Enterprise Architecture, E-business, Supply Chain Management, Customer Relationship Management and Enterprise Resource Planning. The company's ARIS product suite is the market leader in business process management, including the award-winning ARIS Toolset and ARIS Process Performance Manager (PPM) which are used by many Global 1000 organizations worldwide and consistently recognized by the industry's leading technology analyst groups. The company was founded in 1984 by August-Wilhelm Scheer, and now advises some 3,000-plus clients in more than 50 countries through its network of subsidiaries and partners. For more information, visit http://www.ids-scheer.com/us.