RNS Number:7996N
Charteris PLC
22 July 2003

                                 Charteris plc


                                 Trading update

At the time of announcing the interim results in March, the Directors commented
that 2003 had so far brought little by way of refreshed confidence or impetus
for clients to commit to capital expenditure; if anything, market conditions had
worsened. Since then Charteris has been making good progress with its
diversification strategy and the pipeline of prospects has been building up
well. However, the time to convert prospects into orders has continued to be
extended, particularly in the financial services sector. As a result the
Company's performance in both the current financial year ending 31 July 2003 and
the next financial year is likely to be below market expectations.


The Directors have continued to give very careful consideration to striking the
right balance between making significant cost reductions to improve performance
in the short term and preserving the fundamental strengths of the business for
the medium term. The Company's cost run rate in the current financial year,
excluding the amortisation of goodwill and exceptional items, has been reduced
by just under one third (compared to the previous financial year). This has been
achieved through headcount reduction and tight management of overhead spend. The
Company's flexible remuneration policies have also helped to align professional
costs with reduced revenue. Nevertheless the directors expect that delays on new
orders will now lead to a small loss (before goodwill and exceptionals) in the
financial year 2002/03.


Charteris has a strong financial position with total cash balances at 22 July
2003 in excess of #3M and net cash balances of around #2M.


The Company has maintained good relationships with a range of financial services
organisations and these are expected to lead to increased levels of business in
due course. Charteris is also making progress on its strategy of diversification
into new market sectors, particularly government and retail. We were delighted
to be selected by the Office of Government Commerce for their services catalogue
(S-Cat), which will give greater access to expanding public sector markets. We
have also won new clients in both central and local government. Our Retail
Practice continues to build strong relationships with leading High Street
retailers and has successfully delivered a cutting edge e-auction system, which
will act as a strong reference site for further advanced technical solutions
using .NET technology.


The Directors believe that Charteris has a sales pipeline which is stronger and
deeper than at any time this financial year. The market is beginning to show
some signs of improvement, but the Directors expect recovery to be gradual. We
currently see good prospects for the Company to achieve some year-on-year growth
in revenue in the financial year 2003/04 and to return to monthly profitability
in the course of the year.


Charteris continues to be focussed on growth. The Directors believe that the
Company has maintained the strengths to deal with the challenges of current
market conditions, and established the foundations for new and broadly based
growth as conditions improve.


Charteris expects to announce results for the year ending 31 July 2003 in the
middle of October 2003.

Press enquiries:

David Pickering, Chief Executive                        Tel: 020 7600 9199

Marsali Harwood, Finance Director                       Tel : 020 7600 9199

Zoe Biddick / James Benjamin, Biddicks                  Tel: 020 7448 1000



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