CMG Croma Grp

RNS Number:7002H
CMG PLC
22 March 2000


 CMG ACQUIRES UTILITIES SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS COMPANY IN UK
                            

CMG plc, the European ICT services group, announces that
it has acquired on 21st March Software Resource Ltd
(SRL), a specialist IT solutions company based in
Maidstone, Kent.  SRL is market leader in the provision
of packaged system solutions for meter-reading to the
deregulated utility sector.  Its products are
complementary to those of CMG which has been building a
successful niche in utilities over the last few years
and has already integrated the two companies' systems in
some customer applications.

SRL was formed in 1991 and currently employs 18 people
and 12 freelancers. In the financial year to end August
1999 the company had a turnover of #1.5 million, up 136%
on the previous year, and profit before tax and interest
of #842k.  The maximum consideration to be paid in cash
is #7 million and the company is expected to make a
positive contribution to CMG's earnings before goodwill
amortisation in 2000.

SRL's customers include AccuRead (formally part of
British Gas), Eastern Energy, Midlands Electricity,
Seeboard and Yorkshire Electricity.  Reflecting the
reputation of both CMG and SRL in the sector, the
business will be called CMG Software Resource Ltd and
will be integrated into CMG's Utilities Division with
SRL's founders, Steven and Peter Connon, as joint
managers.

Ian Taylor, Country Chairman of CMG's UK operations,
commented:

   "The acquisition of SRL significantly enhances CMG's
   products and consultancy services within the
   utilities sector, encompassing all areas of the
   emerging de-regulated marketplace from generation
   and distribution to supply and now metering.  The
   product portfolio fits well with our established
   Archipel product set so that we can now provide end-
   to-end management of the contractual, registration
   and metering processes.  Both companies target the
   same market and client relationships will be
   strengthened through a more integrated approach."


Cor Stutterheim, Chairman of CMG added :

   "We continue to pursue our strategy of adding to our
   organic growth through acquisition when we identify
   suitable businesses with good management, like
   minded people and established customer relationships
   in our chosen sectors."


CMG's 1999 full year results, which were announced on 21
February 2000, showed revenue growth of 37% to #609
million and profit growth (before tax and goodwill
amortisation) of 46% to #85.3 million.


For further information please contact:

Ian Taylor, Country Chairman, CMG UK
Tel: +44 (0) 171 592 4000

Tony Richards, Group Communications Manager, CMG plc
Tel: +44 (0) 171 592 4000

Jan Massier, Group Communications (Amsterdam), CMG B.V.
Tel: +31 (0) 20 67 20 444

Toby Mountford, Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: +44 (0) 171 638 9571

About CMG

CMG plc is a leading Information & Communications
Technology (ICT) services group, providing business
information solutions through consultancy, systems
development & integration, software applications and
managed services.  Established in 1964, CMG operates
from European bases in The Netherlands, the UK, Germany,
France and Belgium, implementing and supporting
applications for clients around the world.  The Group
includes a global product business for mobile
telecommunications with support centres in Europe, the
Americas and Asia Pacific.  CMG is listed on both the
London and  Amsterdam stock exchanges.

CMG has proven knowledge, products and solutions in the
finance, trade transport & industry, telecommunications,
media, energy, utility and government markets.  The
Group also provides outsourced business services ranging
from payroll processing and personnel administration to
call centres and networked systems.

CMG works alongside its customers to generate success
for them.  Through the quality of its services and the
long term commitment of its staff, CMG adds value to its
customers' businesses and thereby creates a basis for
the Group's long term success.

Notes for Editors

CMG in Utilities

CMG has been providing consultancy and solutions to the
utilities market for many years, predominantly in the
Distribution and Supply business streams.

Following the successful development of a trading system
for Kinetica (now part of Powergen) in 1996, development
of the Archipel range of solutions commenced for the
deregulating gas and electricity market, with the first
three modules launched in 1998:

* Supply Point Administration (SPA), providing links to
  BG Transco identifying which customers are served by
  which gas shipper.
* Transport Invoice Reconciliation (TIR) which enables
  the gas shippers to validate the gas transportation
  charges levied by BG Transco.
* Meter Reading Management (MRM) which enables the
  capture and processing of meter readings from the
  various agencies.

Customers of the above include Powergen, Eastern Group
and Seeboard.

Three further modules are under development for delivery
to the first client in the first half of this year:

* Sales  Administration  & Contract  Management  (SA/CM)
  provides  full  management of the  customer  lifecycle
  through acquisition, registration and renewal
* Customer    Services   (CS)   manages   the   customer
  relationship
* Billing  provides full industrial & commercial billing
  functionality in a variety of media

As  part  of  this  phase  of Archipel,  an  interactive
workflow  environment is provided  throughout.   A  full
dual-fuel  solution, encompassing all electricity  flows
will  be  available towards the end of 2000 creating  an
architecture  that will enable multi-product  scenarios.
This  will  also  be  available as  a  fully  outsourced
managed service.


SRL Packaged Solutions

The company currently provides three major packaged
solutions to the Utilities market:

* MRS 2000 (Meter Reading Solution) captures and manages
  meter information from a range of meter reading
  devices and customer supplied information via the
  Internet and Interactive Voice Recorders. The software
  includes workflow management and an integrated
  management data repository.
* URMS (Unbundled Read Management System) supports
  independent gas supply companies that have 'unbundled'
  their meter reading from Transco.
* SRLDP (Dual Fuel Portfolio Management Software) is a
  new flagship product that delivers a Trading
  Arrangements 2000 certified NHHDC solution (Non-Half
  Hourly Data Collection is primarily the domestic
  market) for the electricity market whilst
  incorporating all functionality from URMS into a dual
  fuel portfolio management solution.


END

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