Interim Management Statement
Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs, Thursday 8rd November 2012
SOPHEON PLC
("Sopheon" or the "Company")
INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT
Sopheon plc, the international provider of software and services that improve
the financial return from innovation and new product development investments,
issues its interim management statement for the period since 1 July 2012 to
date.
In our interim report issued at the end of August, we reported good growth in
first half results compared to 2011, with revenues for the half year of £6.2m
(2011: £4.7m) and revenue visibility for 2012 of £9.9m. After adding further
business in the third quarter, we are pleased to report an increase in revenue
visibility for 2012 to over £11.7m, compared to £9.6m at the same time last
year. Full year revenues for 2011 were £10.3m.
Our sales pipeline contains a healthy mix of opportunities from new and
existing clients, and we expect to add more business in the remaining months of
the year, with corresponding increases in visibility. Growth is driving need
for additional resources, and we expect to continue steady recruitment through
the coming period. As noted in the past, our reported revenues are sensitive to
the timing and value of individual order events, particularly in these
uncertain economic times, and we will approach these investment decisions with
due caution. A key hire in recent weeks is the recruitment of Mike Frichol to
spearhead global marketing. Mike has a great deal of experience with emerging
high growth software companies, and has held a number of senior positions in
the industry at companies such as Great Plains Software, Infor, and Microsoft.
As noted in our interim report, the Board is actively considering a corporate
restructuring that would include a reduction of capital to eliminate the bulk
of the accumulated deficit on the profit and loss account, and also a
consolidation of shares. If implemented, these changes (which would be subject
to shareholder and other approvals) would improve the profile of the balance
sheet, bring forward the potential for the Company to have distributable
reserves, and reduce the shareholder count. Sopheon's share register lists
approximately 4,000 individual shareholders, of which 80% have interests of £
100 or less. This is before taking into account shareholders with individual
holdings held via broker accounts, or held in the Netherlands. This is expected
to show a similar profile of a disproportionately large number of very small
shareholdings for a company of Sopheon's size. The Board is considering dealing
with this imbalance through a 2000:1 share consolidation, shortly followed by a
1:100 share split to bring the final ratio to 20:1. Although not yet confirmed,
a process along these lines would have the effect of eliminating shareholdings
of less than 2000 shares, which at today's price is roughly equal to £100. It
would also have the effect of rounding down larger shareholdings to the nearest
multiple of 2000. It is anticipated that the fractions released by the
foregoing would be consolidated and sold in the market on behalf of underlying
shareholders. The Board will continue to announce further details of its plans
in this area as they evolve.
A definition of how visibility is calculated was provided in our half-yearly
report published on 23August 2012.
For further information contact:
Barry Mence, Chairman Sopheon plc + 44 (0) 1483 685
735
Arif Karimjee, CFO Sopheon plc + 44 (0) 1483 685
735
Charlotte Stranner / Victoria Bates finnCap + 44 (0) 20 7600
1658
Heather Armstrong Newgate Threadneedle + 44 (0) 20 7653
9842
Claire Verhagen Citigate First + 31 (0) 205 754
Financial 010
About Sopheon
Sopheon (LSE: SPE) is an international provider of software and services.
Sopheon's solutions structure, align and manage innovation processes to help
organizations generate more revenues and profits from new products. Sopheon's
solutions are used by industry leaders throughout the world, including BASF,
Corning, Electrolux, Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Philips and SABMiller. Sopheon
is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Euronext in
the Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.sopheon.com.
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