RNS Number:3649C
Cedar Group PLC
20 April 2001

20 April 2001



                               Cedar Group plc

                                Trading update



Cedar Group plc ("Cedar"), the global enterprise solutions company announces a
trading update for the year ended 31st March 2001. Full results will be
announced on June 12th.



Highlights:



-  Group Revenue for the year ending March 31st 2001 is expected to be at
least #110m (2000 #36.3m).  This is in line with analysts' expectations.

-  Pre Tax Profit (adjusted for goodwill amortisation) is expected to be in
the range of #11.5m to #13.0m  (2000 #5.8m).  This is in line with the lower
half of the range of analysts' expectations.

-  The integration of ESG, which was acquired during October 2000, is
progressing well.  The turnaround resulted in a profitable 4th quarter for the
US operation while the European 4th quarter revenues were the highest ever.
ESG is expected to show revenues of #38m.

-  Other ESG performance indicators show consultant utilisation is running at
68% with a March rate in excess of 70%. Average charge out rate remains at #
100 per hour.  The backlog of contracted revenues is #30m with a weighted
average pipeline of #50m.  Staff attrition rates remain below 15%.

-  Cedar is confident of its cash position with a committed overdraft facility
of #20m at the Bank of Scotland (of which #6m is currently utilised) and a net
debt of #2m at 31st March 2001.  Cedar expects to generate cash in the year
ending 31st March 2002.



Update on operations & significant contract wins:



In the UK, growth in traditional markets has been good.   Business wins
include ten new local government contracts for Financial Management with
particular interest in Cedar Track which enables local authorities to comply
with "Best Value" guidelines.  New contracts for the provision of data
management/warehousing include projects with Prudential Europe worth over #1m,
the commencement of a General Insurance data warehouse for Norwich Union for #
0.75m and a Data Migration project with Pearl Assurance for #1.5m.



The PeopleSoft relationship remains strong.  The success that PeopleSoft had
for the quarter ended December 31st 2000 has resulted in a series of long term
service contracts for Cedar.  In the US these include the delivery of the
largest ever student administration system for California State University
with an initial multi-million dollar contract over 3 years. Other PeopleSoft
projects include a 12 month, $7m HR implementation for New York State
Thruways, an $8.5m HR contract with New York City Agencies which will provide
a solution across 62 agencies covering 500,000 staff and an additional $1.3m
contract with New York State Courts System to deliver a management consulting
strategy for HR.  The company has also won a significant global contract with
Saab.



Cedar has broadened its supply side partner base and is now implementing the
SAP Human Resources solution for a number of new customers including a $1.2m
contract with Wishard Hospital in the US, a $0.5m contract with Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) and a contract with 12 month revenues at #1.6m
for the global pharmaceutical company Aventis Pasteur delivering a solution
over 3 continents.



The Asia-Pacific operation of ESG is continuing to show good growth, with a
new PeopleSoft implementation for Fosters Brewing Group in Australia and a
management consulting contract with Emirates Bank in Dubai.



Cedar, and its partner COI, have been selected by Siemens AG to assist Siemens
sites globally on the implementation of Archiving SAP data over the next 3
years. Initial projects include Siemens Medical in Germany for #1.5m.



Outlook

Looking ahead to the current year, whilst Cedar has seen few signs of
slowdown, the company is aware of the uncertain and changing outlook for the
industry.  Consequently the company will monitor the first half performance
and adjust its plans accordingly.



Footnote

All numbers in this statement are currently unaudited





Enquiries:



Cedar                                                   Tel:  01932 584 000

Mike Harrison, Managing Director

Mike Hosie, Finance Director



Financial Dynamics                                  Tel: 020 7831 3113

Giles Sanderson / Ben Atwell
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