4th May 2007 17:31
Micro Focus International plc ("Micro Focus" or "the Group",LSE:MCRO.L) announces a positive update on trading for the full yearto April 30, 2007. £ Following a successful end to the financial year, in which ahigher than expected number of larger value transactions were closed,Micro Focus expects to report total revenues, including revenues fromthe HAL Knowledge Solutions acquisition announced on Nov. 3, 2006, ofapproximately US$170 million (2006: US$143.7 million). Group EBITDA,excluding exceptional items and stock based compensation, for thetwelve months to April 30, 2007 is expected to be approximately US$65million (2006: US$38.8 million). £ Further details will be provided in the preliminary resultsstatement for the full year to April 30, 2007 to be announced on June28, 2007. £ Acquisition of Acucorp Inc. £ In addition, Micro Focus announces that it has agreed to acquireAcucorp Inc. ("Acucorp") for a total cash consideration of US$40.7million, paid in full on completion, plus a working capital adjustmentcapped at a maximum value of US$250,000. £ Acucorp's technology is highly complementary to Micro Focus' corebusiness and the acquisition provides the opportunity for Micro Focusto expand its reach into the small and medium-sized enterprise ("SME")market. £ In the year to December 2006, Acucorp generated an operatingprofit of US$3.0 million and its gross assets as at December 31, 2006were US$13.1 million. Following the acquisition, Micro Focus plans torestructure the business and aims to increase margins over time to alevel consistent with Micro Focus' existing business. The consequentrestructuring charge is expected to be approximately US$8.0 million inthe financial year to April 30, 2008. £ "We are encouraged by the progress that we have made across theGroup in our first full year of trading under the new managementteam," said Stephen Kelly, chief executive officer at Micro Focus."Solid revenue growth, combined with a firm control of expenses, hasresulted in a significant increase in profits compared with the prioryear period. This performance has exceeded our expectations thanks tobetter than anticipated closure rates of larger value transactions inthe final quarter. We remain firmly focused on sales execution goingforward. £ "The acquisition of Acucorp is consistent with Micro Focus'strategy of expanding our core areas of expertise. We anticipate thatthe acquisition of Acucorp will contribute revenues of approximately$17 million in FY2008." £ About Micro Focus £ Micro Focus, a member of the FTSE 250, provides innovativesoftware that allows companies to dramatically improve the businessvalue of their enterprise applications. Micro Focus EnterpriseApplication Modernization and Management software enables customers'business applications to respond rapidly to market changes and embracemodern architectures with reduced cost and risk. For additionalinformation please visit www.microfocus.com. £ About Acucorp Inc. £ Acucorp provides innovative technologies for the modernization andenhancement of business-critical applications. In addition to bothmodernizing and enhancing existing assets, Acucorp's innovativesoftware solutions provide interoperability and portability to morethan 600 different computing platforms. The company, founded in 1988,has headquarters in San Diego, California, regional offices throughoutEurope and distributors around the world. £ Micro Focus is a registered trademark of Micro Focus. All otherproducts mentioned in this announcement are trademarks of theirrespective owners. Copyright Business Wire 2007Related Shares:
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