Norman ASA had net revenues of kr 150 million in the first 3 quarters of 2000. This was 17% more than the same period last year, as adjusted for Ibas's repairs business which has been sold. As a result of a strategy process, the company has now decided to separate out its 3 business units: virus control, data recovery/erasure, and security solutions. The priority moving forward will be to increase revenue growth within all 3 business units.

The operating loss for the first 3 quarters of 2000 was NOK 6.3 million, after a provision for social taxes on outstanding options of NOK 2.1 million, as compared to an operating loss of NOK 8.5 million for the same period last year. The pre-tax loss was NOK 4.3 million, as compared to NOK 3.4 million last year.

- The 3^rd quarter 2000 had a lower growth rate than previous quarters, says President & CEO Bjørn Fosli – in the 3^rd quarter 1999, we had a strong growth in virus control revenues as customers sought to protect themselves against the ”year 2000” virus. In the 3^rd quarter, Norman has also experienced that sales to larger customers have been postponed, awaiting the new version of Norman Virus Control which will first be delivered to customers at the end of November.

The planned investments in sales and R&D, announced at the previous quarterly presentations, have been carried out in this period and the operating results also reflect costs in connection with the acquisition of the product rights from AEC Ltd which was also completed during the period. This acquisition represents a strategic investment which gives Norman basis technology and competence within the field of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital signatures.

Exciting projects with great potential

In the 3^rd quarter, Norman has been pre-qualified to 2 exciting projects working together with larger US partners. Norman together with EDS, is one of 5 consortia fighting for the contracts to deliver smart card systems to the US authorities. The contracts are estimated at USD 1.5 billion over 10 years. - We strongly believe that EDS/Norman will get a share of these contracts, says Fosli – the first proposals are now being evaluated and the first deliveries are expected in spring 2001. Norman is also, together with its partner SRA, pre-qualified as one of 11 consortia to bid for contracts to deliver risk analysis systems to the US authorities.

Telenor Telehuset has signed a contract with Norman to locate erasure stations at Telehuset's shops in Norway. Its customers can either get their disks or PCs erased at Telehuset, or can purchase Expert Eraser and perform the erasure themselves.

Libertysurf, an ISP provider, has chosen Norman as its partner in Norway to secure its customers. The contract with Libertysurf covers the Norman Virus Control, Norman Personal Firewall and Norman Privacy products and also gives Norman the scope to deliver similar solutions to Libertysurf companies in other European countries. Norman separates out into stand alone business units to increase focus and revenue

The board and management of Norman have, as a result of a strategy review, decided to separate out its 3 business units: virus control, data recovery/erasure (Ibas), and security solutions. These business units will function separately in the market place. – Norman has developed leading technology within 3 exciting fields, says Fosli. In order to have focus on each of these areas, which find themselves in differing stages of ”maturity”, we have decided to separate the company into stand alone business units. Each of these units will have its own vision, targets and strategies for the future, and the growth objectives will differ greatly. –This process will enhance the underlying values for each unit and will simplify possible future strategic partnerships or alliances, says Fosli.

Aim to be one of 5 largest virus control vendors in the world

The virus control business unit will encompass the Norman Virus Control, Norman Personal Firewall and Norman Privacy products. It will have the objective of growing with 35% or more and with an EBITDA margin of 20% within each of the next years – and in 2003 will be one of the 5 largest virus control vendors in the world. Its target will be the ”business to business” market, with focus on larger companies. Also OEM sales and sales to the ISP/ASP market will play an important role. – With Norman Virus Control version 5, we have a solution for large corporates that is in a class of its own, with leading technology that simplifies the management and administration in large networks, says Jan Kristensen, general manager for the business unit.

Ibas will consolidate the market

Ibas, which today has about 40% of the European market for data recovery services, has the vision of leading the development of this market through organic growth, strategic alliances and acquisitions. – The market has few players, says Arve Saghaug, general manager for the business unit.

Secure erasure, which is already a focus area for Ibas, and computer forensic are services that have a high level of synergy with data recovery. – Computer forensic will be a new business area for Ibas from next year, says Saghaug. It involves the analysis and documentation of activities perfomed on a computer in a legally rigorous way. Customers will include the police and legal authorities. This will take advantage of Ibas's existing competence in a new way and within an exciting and fast growing area, says Saghaug.

Security Solutions, a future area of stong growth

The security solutions business unit will encompass the Norman Access Control, Norman Security Server, Norman Security Suite and Norman Risk Check products. Its focus will be on delivering solutions to protect data, either stored on a machine or being transmitted over the internet. The market for these types of solutions is forecast by Gartner Group and Data Monitor, among others, to be among the fastest growing with the field of IT security with the next years.

- Through the acquisition of the PKI product rights from AEC Ltd, Norman is well positioned in this market with recognised products, and will now invest heavily to build up distribution, both through acquisitions and organic growth, says Bjørn Fosli, who will also be general manager for the business unit. –Our aim is to be the leading vendor of these types of solutions to the SME market in Europe with 2003, with triple digit growth in the next years.

For further information, please contact Svein Ramsay Goli, Chairman of the Board of Norman ASA (mob + 47 907 56 757) or Bjørn Fosli, President & CEO of Norman ASA, (tel + 47-67-10-97-17; mob + 47-905-18-468) /www.norman.no

Norman ASA

Consolidated income statements (only annual figures are subject to statutory audit)

Analysis of revenue and operating margin by product group – January to September 2000

Analysis of research & development costs included in total operating expenses

Analysis of net financial items

Consolidated balance sheets (only annual figures are subject to statutory audit)

Notes to the consolidated financial statements

1. Figures for 1998 have been restated and reclassified in accordance with the new Norwegian Accounting Law effective from 1^st January 1999. There were no material adjustments to the 1998 figures arising from the implementation of the new Norwegian Accounting Law.
2. Results for the repairs business of Ibas AS have been consolidated up to 1^st June 2000, the effective date of sale to InfoCare ASA. Comparative figures have not been restated for this.
3. The intangible product rights acquired from AEC Ltd for kr 22 million represents a strategic investment that will expand the functionality of Norman's existing security solution product range to incorporate public key infrastructure and digital signature technology. Accordingly, the product rights are deemed to provide significant future value over the long term and is therefore being amortised over a perod of 15 years.

Lysaker, 27^th October 2000 The Board of Directors of Norman ASA Svein Ramsay Goli         Chairman