Optio Software Reports Fourth Quarter Earnings

74% Growth in Q4 Software License Revenue Over Previous Quarter; Achieves Highest Quarterly Profit in Three Years


ATLANTA, April 6, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Optio(r) Software Inc. (OTCBB:OPTO), a leading provider of solutions that enhance the form, content, distribution and availability of business-critical documents and information, today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2004.

Fourth Quarter Results: Fourth quarter revenue was $7.7 million, a year-over-year increase of 18% over the $6.5 million reported in the fourth quarter of last year and a 21% increase over the $6.4 million reported in the third quarter of fiscal year 2004.

Software license revenues in the fourth quarter of 2004 were $3.6 million, a 74% increase over the $2.1 million posted in the third quarter of 2004 and a 45% increase over the $2.5 million posted in the prior year's fourth quarter. Services and maintenance revenues in the fourth quarter of 2004 were $4.1 million compared to $4.3 million in the third quarter of 2004 and $4.1 million in the fourth quarter last year.

For the three months ended Jan. 31, 2004, Optio reported net income of $889,000, representing earnings of $0.05 per basic share and $0.04 per diluted share outstanding. This compares to a loss of $878,000 or a loss of $0.05 per basic and diluted share for the same period last year. Operating expenses were $5.0 million, compared to operating expenses of $5.2 million for the third quarter of 2004 and $5.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Optio closed the quarter and the year ended Jan. 31, 2004 with $5.3 million in cash, compared to $4.4 million as of October 31, 2003 and compared to $3.9 million as of Jan. 31, 2003. The company had no outstanding balance on its line of credit as of Jan. 31, 2004.

The company's days' sales outstanding (DSOs) lengthened to 62 days in the fourth quarter 2004 compared with 53 days in the prior quarter.

"License revenues in the fourth quarter were strong, reflecting solid market acceptance and demand for our products introduced throughout fiscal year 2004 such as Optio Print Manager(tm), an SAP certified version of e.ComIntegrate(tm) and our signature healthcare product, MedEx(tm)," said Caroline Bembry, Optio's chief financial officer. "Not only did we achieve our most profitable quarter in over three years, but we continued to grow our cash balances, reporting nearly $1.0 million in cash flows from operations in the fourth quarter of 2004."

Annual Results: Total revenue for the year ended Jan. 31, 2004 was $27.3 million, compared with $27.8 million for the same period last year. Software license revenue for the year ended Jan. 31, 2004, was $10.2 million, compared to $10.4 million in the prior year. Services and maintenance revenue was $17.1 million in the year ended Jan. 31, 2004, as compared to $17.4 in the same period last year.

For the year ended Jan. 31, 2004, total operating expenses declined from $25.0 million in the prior year to $19.6 million.

Net income for the year ended Jan. 31, 2004 was $1.4 million or $0.07 per basic share and $0.06 per diluted share, a significant improvement from the $4.8 million net loss, including a $132,000 loss from discontinued operations, posted in the prior year.

"I'm pleased that we have achieved our goal of returning the company to profitability during fiscal 2004," said C. Wayne Cape, Optio's chairman, president and CEO. "I'm very proud of the entire Optio team and their extraordinary focus, determination and dedication. Going into the new year, it is our goal to build on this year's success as we sharpen our focus on providing better customer value while continuing to improve the performance of our business."

Highlights from the year ended Jan. 31, 2004, included:



  --  Significant new customers included: Alpha Natural
      Resources, Aspect Communications, Good Samaritan Hospital,
      Hamilton Sunstrand, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
      Laboratory, MedEx Inc., Mercy Health Center of Oklahoma City,
      Midmark Corporation, New Hanover Regional Medical Center,
      ReView Video LLC, ServiceMaster Consumer Services L.P.,
      Southern Regional Health System and Take 2 Interactive
      Software Europe Ltd.

  --  The formation of Optio's Enterprise Customer Advisory Board
      to provide input and feedback to help Optio enhance the overall
      customer experience; share its strategic vision in an open
      discussion format with key customers; understand business,
      economic and technology trends that influence customer
      requirements; and learn about innovative solutions created
      through the use of Optio solutions.

  --  Achieved certification for Oracle(r) applications including
      Oracle Warehouse Management (Oracle WMS) and Oracle Mobile 
      Supply Chain Application (Oracle MSCA) applications. The 
      certification process for Optio's e.ComIntegrate offering 
      includes the successful demonstration of facilities such as:
      visual design and mapping of Oracle data into Oracle WMS 
      and Oracle MSCA labels, data passing using XML, inclusion 
      of multiple format barcodes, support for a variety of 
      printer types (direct thermal / thermal transfer), enhancing
      data with identifiers and other key capabilities.

  --  Released Optio Print Manager to help customers strengthen
      their document printing infrastructure and reduce costs.
      Optio Print Manager enables assured delivery of printed
      documents and reports across enterprise network environments
      that span departments, locations, factories, divisions and
      multinational boundaries. It also enables organizations to
      easily manage enterprise print resources and load balance
      print jobs from a centralized management console.

  --  Earned SAP(r) certification for Optio e.ComIntegrate 7.7 on
      SAP's version 4.0 or later. SAP customers who take advantage
      of SAP-certified software to complement their existing
      investments in SAP solutions can benefit from faster
      implementation time and lower integration costs through the
      use of tested interfaces.

  --  Named by the QAD Global Alliance Program as a preferred
      document output management provider. As a selected partner,
      QAD will promote Optio as a preferred document output
      management partner to QAD customers, prospects, sales staff
      and management worldwide.

  --  Released the latest version of Optio e.ComIntegrate, a
      distributed output management application, for Linux.

About Optio

More than 5,000 customers worldwide use Optio solutions to reduce the cost and complexity of document-driven business processes and extend the value of enterprise technology investments. Optio's document output management solutions improve the form, content, distribution and availability of business-critical documents across global networks of digital destinations such as print, fax, e-mail, portals and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Optio is headquartered in Atlanta and maintains international offices in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. More information about Optio (OTCBB:OPTO) is available at: www.optiosoftware.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes statements and other matters that could be considered to be forward-looking and subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based on management's current expectations or beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, risks associated with Optio's reliance on strategic marketing and reseller relationships, the collectibility of Optio's accounts receivable and note receivable (specifically, the M2 note receivable), fluctuations in operating results because of acquisitions or dispositions, changes in competition, changes in economic conditions in the U.S. and in other countries in which Optio currently does business (both general and relative to the technology industry), delays or inability in developing new or unique software, market acceptance of new products, the failure of new products to operate as anticipated, expectation of achieving and sustaining operating profits and earnings, including the timing of such cash flow and company performance, disputes regarding Optio's intellectual property, risks relating to the delisting of our stock, possible adverse results of pending or future litigation, or risks associated with Optio's international operations. In addition, other written or oral statements that constitute forward-looking statements may be made by or on behalf of Optio. These and additional factors are set forth in "Safe Harbor Compliance Statement for Forward-Looking Statements" included as Exhibit 99.1 to Optio's most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. You should carefully review these risks and additional risks described in other documents Optio files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Report of Form 10-K that Optio will file before April 31, 2004.

Optio is a registered trademark and Optio Print Manager, MedEx and Optio e.ComIntegrate are trademarks of Optio Software, Inc. Other products mentioned in this document are registered, trademarked or service marked by their respective owners.



                               OPTIO SOFTWARE, INC.
                      Consolidated Statements of Operations
                       (in thousands, except per share data)

                   Three Months Ended             Year Ended
                       January 31,                January 31,
                --------------------------  ------------------------
                    2004          2003          2004          2003
                -----------   ------------  -----------   ----------
                      
 Revenue:       
  License fees  $     3,570   $     2,462   $    10,205   $   10,445
  Services, 
  maintenance, 
  and other           4,143         4,087        17,110       17,379
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
                      7,713         6,549        27,315       27,824
 Cost of 
  revenue:
  License fees          151           187           436          549
  Services, 
  maintenance, 
  and other           1,766         1,547         6,358        7,808
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
                      1,917         1,734         6,794        8,357
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
                      5,796         4,815        20,521       19,467
 Operating 
  expenses:
  Sales and 
   marketing          2,590         2,782         9,448       12,821
  Research and 
   development        1,109           888         4,078        4,278
  General and 
   administra-
   tive               1,205         1,865         4,572        6,962
  Impairment of
   M2 Systems 
   note 
   receivable            --            --           900           --
  Depreciation
   and 
   amortization         110           216           553          920
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
                      5,014         5,751        19,551       24,981

                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
 Income (loss) 
  from 
  operations            782          (936)          970       (5,514)

 Other income 
  (expense):
  Interest 
   income                41            54           171          233
  Interest
   expense               (4)          (21)          (17)         (51)
  Other                  14            21            45           44
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
                         51            54           199          226
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
 Income (loss) 
  before income
  taxes                 833          (882)        1,169       (5,288)
 Income tax 
  benefit                56            93           202          578
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
 Income (loss)
  from 
  continuing
  operations            889          (789)        1,371       (4,710)
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
 Loss from 
  discontinued 
  operations             --           (89)           --         (132)
                -----------   -----------   -----------   ----------
 Net income 
 (loss)         $       889   $      (878)  $     1,371   $   (4,842)
                ===========   ============  ===========   ==========

 Net income 
  (loss) per 
  share - basic $      0.05   $     (0.05)  $      0.07   $    (0.26)
                ===========   ============  ===========   ==========
 Net income 
 (loss)
  per share - 
  diluted       $      0.04   $     (0.05)  $     0.06   $    (0.26)
                ===========   ============  ===========   ==========
 Weighted 
  average
  shares 
  outstanding 
  - basic        19,239,435    19,127,498    19,190,661   18,962,662
                ===========   ===========   ===========   ==========

 Weighted 
  average
  shares 
  outstanding 
  - diluted      22,639,822    19,127,498    21,313,286   18,962,662
                ===========   ===========   ===========   ==========

                   
                             OPTIO SOFTWARE, INC.
                     Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                               (in thousands)

                                January 31,         January 31,
                                   2004                2003
                               -----------         -----------
 ASSETS
 Current Assets:
  Cash and cash 
   equivalents                    $ 5,328             $ 3,902
  Accounts 
   receivable, net                  5,293               4,112
  Note receivable
   from M2                            310                 101
  Other current 
   assets                             502               1,605
                               -----------         -----------
 Total current
  assets                           11,433               9,720

 Property and 
  equipment, net                      541                 912
 Note receivable                    2,376               3,571
 Other assets                         110                 240
                               -----------         -----------
 Total assets                    $ 14,460            $ 14,443
                               ===========         ===========
                               
 LIABILITIES AND  
  SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

 Current liabilities:    
  Accounts payable                $ 1,026             $ 1,656
  Other accrued 
   liabilities                      2,627               3,657
 Deferred revenue                   6,256               5,849
 Current portion of
  debt and capital 
  lease  
  obligations                          76                 118
                               -----------         -----------                             
 Total current 
  liabilities                       9,985              11,280

 Long-term portion 
  of debt and 
  capital lease 
  obligations                          87                 167
 Long-term accrued 
  expenses                            101                 130
 Deferred revenue                      --                  92
 Shareholders' 
  equity                            4,287               2,774
                               -----------         -----------
 Total liabilities 
  and shareholders'
  equity                         $ 14,460            $ 14,443
                               ===========         ===========


            

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