STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 4, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Intentia (Other OTC:IAINF) (Stockholm:INTb):
Declined earnings due to postponed contracts were only partly offset by lower costs.
-- License revenue fell by 29 percent to SEK 316 million (443) in
October-December and by 12 percent to SEK 1,057 million (1,201) in
January-December.
-- License orders received were down by 31 percent to SEK 343
million (498) in October-December and by 21 percent to SEK 980
million (1,238) in January-December.
-- Consulting revenue declined by 19 percent to SEK 677 million
(834) in October-December and by 8 percent to SEK 2,539 million
(2,756) in January-December.
-- The ongoing cost effectiveness effort continued to steadily
reduce costs. In the fourth quarter, the total number of employees
declined by 60 and costs were 11 percent below the same period of
2001.
-- Operating earnings amounted to SEK -3 million (106) in
October-December and SEK -107 million (100) in January-December.
-- Due to a temporary increase in accounts receivable at year-end,
the cash flow from operating activities was SEK -3 million (371) for
October-December. The cash flow from operating activities totaled SEK
86 million (322) for January-December.
-- Given a persistently weak market that is difficult to assess,
net revenue growth is expected to be slow in 2003. The ongoing cost
effectiveness effort is expected to reduce costs by at least SEK 150
million for 2003. Intentia expects an operating profit and improved
cash flow.
Group Progress
Owing to a further slowdown in the business cycle, the market for enterprise applications exhibited weak trends during the year. Growth was poor compared to past years. Leading sector analysts believe that growth was negative in 2002. The global economy continued to slow down during the year, while additional uneasiness with respect to international security developments contributed to the uncertainty. The general state of the market made it difficult to assess how and when particular contracts will be signed. As a result, there were abnormally large fluctuations among the various quarters during the year. The 2001 trend of extended procurement periods for many contracts continued, while the number of large orders in the market declined noticeably. The tendency in both 2001 and 2002 was for an increasing number of customers to replace single large contacts with a series of smaller ones without necessarily dividing them up among multiple suppliers.
The market for enterprise applications is currently characterized by excess capacity. Although a number of small players remain, they have not had the ability in recent years to carry out the costly long-term projects required to expand their product offering and thereby safeguard their competitiveness. In light of the difficult market of the last few years, competition has stiffened among the various suppliers. Prices have declined as a result.
Presentation of the "Announcement of 2002 Accounts" can be downloaded from the following link: http://reports.huginonline.com/890398/112936.pdf