Select countryLysaker, 6 November 2001
Norman ASA had net revenues of NOK 46.6 million in 3rd quarter 2001, which was 19% more than the same period last year. EBITDA from Norman's continuing activities was NOK 7 million this quarter.
- It is reassuring to see that despite the difficult economic conditions, the company still managed to grow organically and that both business units have good profitability, says Henning Hansen, President & CEO. The third quarter was a challenging one with major virus attacks such as Nimda and Code Red. Nimda infected 2.2 million PCs in one day and the consequences were significant. This shows just how important it is to protect against this type of external threat and that there is little to indicate that this will become less significant in future.
32% growth and 18% EBITDA margin in Ibas
In 3rd quarter, Ibas had net revenues of NOK 17.2 million, an organic growth of 32% compared with the same period last year. EBITDA was NOK 3.1 million for the period. The secure erasure business is the fastest growing part of Ibas and during this quarter the company signed a series of strategic agreements which prove a growing awareness of the risks of disposing of PCs and servers. Ibas, among others, signed an agreement where the Danish customs authorities will use the ExpertErasure software to secure the deletion of data for the next 4 years. In addition, similar agreements were signed with the Danish central police authorities and with UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland) in Switzerland.
After several larger computer forensic projects during the course of this year, this business is now expected to have the largest future growth within the group. Through these projects, the company has proved the success of the methods and models that have been developed, based on an existing expertise built up over many years, and will therefore continue to build up this special competence by hiring several new employees.
Virus control with increased growth
Virus control, Norman's largest business unit, had net revenues of NOK 29.4 million in 3rd quarter. Compared with the same period last year, this was a growth of 12%. EBITDA for the period was NOK 4.6 million.
Norman Virus Control confirmed its position as one of the market's leading solutions for virus protection. The company once again achieved 100% awards in tests from the vendor-independent organisation, Virus Bulletin. Since releasing Norman Virus Control version 5 to the market, this is one of only three products that has scored 100% in all these tests - This confirms that our strategy of focusing on our core businesses is right, says Henning Hansen.
Cost control
Norman continued its strong focus on costs, though cost reductions in the 3rd quarter were partly due to periodisation of costs during the holiday period.
Company structure and financial situation
As previously announced, the board of Norman has decided to propose that the general meeting resolution to demerge the Security Solutions business unit be reversed. Restructuring costs in connection with the winding up of NOK 37.4 million are mainly related to the write-off of product rights and other net assets and have been expensed in 3rd quarter.
As at 30th September 2001, Norman had a cash balance of NOK 30 million and unused overdraft facilities of NOK 10 million. The board are therefore of the opinion that Norman has no requirement to raise further capital.
Enclosed is a summary of the preliminary financial statements for the 3rd quarter 2001. For further inform-ation, please contact Svein Ramsay Goli, Chairman of the Board (mobile + 47 907 56 757) or Henning Hansen, President & CEO, (office + 47 67 10 97 17; mobile + 47 908 81 192) /www.norman.no