In the second quarter, Norman ASA had net revenues of NOK 58.5 million, EBITDA of NOK 9.1 million (16% margin) and a pre-tax profit of NOK 7.9 million.

"The second quarter has been a challenging quarter, but we are satisfied that we have continuing good profitability", says Henning Hansen, President & CEO of Norman ASA. "In a market characterised by generally limited willingness by companies to invest as well as at times strong competition, it is good to see that we continue to deliver good results".

Virus control with 19% EBITDA margin in the first half year

Virus control, Norman's largest business unit, had net revenues of NOK 86.8 million in the first half year. This is 4% higher than the same period last year. EBITDA for the period was NOK 16.7 million, a margin of 19%. For the second quarter, net revenue was NOK 41.9 million and EBITDA was NOK 7.3 million, a margin of 18%.

While net revenue in Norway was in line with last year, Norman is continuing to grow in Europe with 12% in the first half year and 6% in the second quarter. The lower revenue in the first and second quarters was mainly due to lower revenue in the US.

During the quarter, Norman released and delivered a new version of the Norman Sandbox, a technology which ensures that Norman's customers are in a better position to detect viruses that the anti-virus industry isn't already aware of. Furthermore, this technology gives Norman a competitive advantage by speeding up the detection of new viruses. In addition, the company released its Norman Gateway Protection product range which includes a server-based anti-spam solution.

In June, Norman received another "100% award" from Virus Bulletin, the independent test organisation, and is therefore still one of the three best vendors when it comes to these awards. The test was performed this time on Microsoft's Windows XP operating system.

Ibas - margin improved by 5% from the first quarter

In the first half year, Ibas had net revenues of NOK 33.7 million. This was marginally lower than for the same period last year. EBITDA for the period was NOK 2.8 million, a margin of 8%.

In the second quarter, Ibas had net revenues of NOK 16.6 million. This was marginally lower than in the first quarter. While revenue was lower than expected in April, demand improved during the course of the quarter. EBITDA for the period was NOK 1.8 million, a margin of 11% compared to 6% in the previous quarter.

During the second quarter, Ibas has continued to balances its cost base up against the market- and seasonal demands for the company's products and services.

In June, Bjørn Arne Skogstad was hired as the new managing director of Ibas, and he will commence on 1st September. Arve Saghaug, the current managing director, will continue as an Ibas board member.

Financial situation and future expectations

After the payment of a dividend of NOK 15.9 million to its shareholders in April, the company increased its cash balances by NOK 7.9 million in the second quarter 2003 to NOK 77 million.

The company will continue its strong focus on profitability and expects continued good profitability and a continuing positive cash flow in 2003.

Enclosed is a summary of the preliminary financial statements for the 2nd quarter 2003.

For further information, 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.com