Q4 Trading Update
July 08 2003 - 3:00AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:2449N
Surfcontrol PLC
08 July 2003
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SurfControl plc
Analyst briefing and trading update
Continued strong performance in 4th quarter ending 30 June 2003
London, England (8 July, 2003) - SurfControl plc, (London:SRF, Nasdaq Europe:
SRFC), the world's Number One Web and E-mail filtering company, is today holding
a 'teach-in' for financial analysts at 9:30am at the Company's HQ in Congleton,
Cheshire. There will be a series of presentations given by the senior executive
management team intended to offer financial analysts an opportunity to better
understand SurfControl's Web and E-mail filtering business. The presentation
documents will be available for download from the Company's web site later
today.
The presentations will cover the following areas:
* An overview of the global market place, developments in the
competitive environment and the Company's stated growth strategy.
* The Company's progress and development in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the
US and the further expansion of the global reseller channel.
* An overview of the product management, and research and development
functions of the Company including demonstrations of the Company's latest E-mail
and Web filtering products and the recently launched products for the IM and P2P
markets.
* The Company's FY03 invoicing and cash performance, business model
including exchange rates and taxation, and the Company's revenue recognition
policy.
Regarding current trading, Steve Purdham, Chief Executive Officer, states:
"The simplest way to describe Q4 invoicing is 'Record Month, Record Quarter,
Record Year.' Since the announcement of our third quarter results we have
continued to see strong demand for our comprehensive range of web and e-mail
filtering solutions, fuelled by the need to stop unwanted content such as Spam
and pornography. Trading has progressed well in our fourth quarter and
consequently, we expect a successful outcome for the year when we report our
fourth quarter and full year results on Tuesday 9 September.
Invoicing levels have continued to grow such that invoicing for the 12 months to
June 30, 2003 will reach almost $92m, an increase of approximately 41% over last
year (FY02: $65.2m). Invoicing in the fourth quarter represented our highest
quarterly total ever, and at almost $30 million, increased approximately by 43%
over the fourth quarter last year (FY02 Q4: $20.8m). In the fourth quarter we
have continued to see sales trends which generate increasing proportions of
deferred revenue, which will further assist forward visibility for next year. As
a result, we expect to meet current market expectations for the 12 months to
June 30, 2003, with the added benefit of enhanced revenue visibility and cash
flow going into the next fiscal year to June 30, 2004.
Cash flow generation has remained strong, and we expect operating cash flow in
the fourth quarter to exceed $8m with total operating cash flow for the year in
excess of $24m. Total year-end cash balances are expected to exceed $61m.
According to IDC's latest data (July 03) SurfControl was confirmed as the leader
in the Content Security Market for 2002 with a 13% market share of an expanded
market opportunity. The Content Security Market is now expected to be worth
almost $2 billion by 2007. We are confident that our focus on providing the
tools to enable organisations to stop unwanted content means we are well
positioned to benefit from this continued expansion predicted in the sector."
The figures in this statement are unaudited. SurfControl will release its
audited financial statements for the 12 months to June 30, 2003, and announce
its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter to 30 June 2003, on
Tuesday 9 September 2003.
For further information:
SurfControl plc
Steve Purdham steve.purdham@surfcontrol.com +44 (0)1260 296 200
Simon Wilson simon.wilson@surfcontrol.com +44 (0)1260 296 200
Tom Moriarty tom.moriarty@surfcontrol.com +44 (0)7769 937 626
ICIS
Caroline Evans-Jones info@icisnet.com +44 (0)7779 664 584
About SurfControl
SurfControl plc, the world's number one Web and e-mail filtering company, is the
only company in the security market offering a total content security solution
that combines Web and e-mail filtering technology with the industry's largest,
most accurate and relevant content database and adaptive reasoning tools to
automate content recognition. SurfControl is the leading content security
company in the secure content management market, which analysts expect to reach
nearly $6.5 billion in 2007.
SurfControl's Internet monitoring and policy management solutions are flexible,
scaleable and interoperable to meet the diverse needs of all its markets --
corporate, education, home and OEM. SurfControl, which can be installed in any
network environment, offers a choice of platform independent or integrated
solutions. SurfControl has world-class partners, including Microsoft, Check
Point, Cisco, IBM and Nokia, as well as a customer base that includes many of
the world's largest corporations.
The company offers the most sophisticated yet easy to use technology, the best
understanding of market needs and a global reach unmatched in the industry.
SurfControl has been recognized as the fastest growing company in the North of
England at the U.K. Deloitte & Touche 2002 Technology Fast 50, and was honored
as Company of the Year at the 2002 techMARK Awards.
For further information and news on SurfControl, please visit http://
www.surfcontrol.com..
Caution concerning forward-looking statements
Any statements contained in this announcement that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its plans,
intentions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, a number of important factors could cause SurfControl's actual
future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such
forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements herein speak only as
of today. SurfControl expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to
update or revise such information.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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