BVRP Software Group Announces Financial Results for the Third Quarter of 2003; Excellent Performance by the Group; Major Increases in Turnover and Profit

Business Wire, Nov 13, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LEVALLOIS PERRET, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2003

Quarterly Operating Profits: EUR0.9 Million / 8.2% of Turnover

The BVRP Software Group has recorded an excellent third quarter for 2003 with a consolidated quarterly turnover of EUR11.5 million, up by 55.2% in comparison with the third quarter last year, and a quarterly operating profit of EUR0.9 million, representing 8.2% of turnover (unaudited figures).

At the end of September consolidated turnover for the first 3 quarters of the year reached EUR33.2 million, an increase of 21.1% over the same period last year. Operating profit reached EUR2.1 million, representing 6.5% of sales.

Consolidated profit and loss statement


EUR in thousands                            Jan - Sept  % of turnover
                                               2003
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Turnover                                     33,200
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Other operating income                        1,551
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Total operating income                       34,751
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Raw materials and commodity purchases         7,929         23.9%
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Other purchases and external costs            8,801         26.5%
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Personnel overheads                          10,780         32.5%
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Depreciation, depletion and amortisation      1,796          5.4%
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Other operating costs                         3,290          9.9%
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Total operating costs                        32,596
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Operating profit                              2,155          6.5%
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Financial profit or loss                      -334
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Pre-tax trading profit                        1,821
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Note: as 2003 is the first year for which quarterly data have been collated, no comparable data are available for last financial year.

These rises in turnover and income are indicative of sustained increases throughout 2003 with turnover for the third quarter up by 14.6%, and operating profit up by 36.6%, over the preceding quarter.

These renewed activity levels, helped by high growth in retail sales during September across all geographical areas - including France where the market has been sluggish so far - have directly improved operating ratios. Operating profit at the end of September was almost double that of last year (at the end of September 2002, operating profit was around EUR1.1 million using internal estimates) due to gross margin rates being maintained alongside relatively stable fixed costs.

Financial results, which were little affected by exchange fluctuations thanks to prudent hedging policies, showed a loss of EUR0.3 million.

Lastly, following the successful share capital increase carried out in September and the acquisition of Mediagold, the Group's funds now exceed EUR18 million for financial debts of EUR14.1 million and an equity capital of EUR23 million.

About BVRP Software

With subsidiaries based in France, Germany, Great Britain and the United States, the BVRP Software Group, a worldwide leading publisher of Communications and Mobility software, is also a major provider of personal and professional software designed for Multimedia, Security and Troubleshooting. BVRP is a developer and producer of best-selling software with almost two decades experience. BVRP products are marketed in over 100 countries, through e-commerce, OEM partnerships and IT resellers. In June 2003, BVRP Group formed Avanquest Global Software Publishing, a coalition of software publishers offering worldwide publishing resources to software developers everywhere. Ranked in the European Software Top 50 by Infoconomist in September 2002, the group posted revenue of $37.5 M and a net income of EUR5.4 M in 2002. Since December 1996, BVRP Software has been listed on the Nouveau Marche of the Paris Stock Exchange (Euronext: 5478). Additional information on BVRP is available at http://www.bvrp.com.