Trading Update

SDL plc

Trading update

26 November 2012 - Maidenhead, UK - SDL plc, a leader in the emerging market for Global Information Management ("GIM") solutions, announces that it expects a profits shortfall of between £3 million to £4million against current market expectations for the financial year ending Dec 31 2012.

Following a review of the business conducted by Mark Lancaster, recently appointed CEO, the Board has concluded that

·; SDL will take a more cautious view of percentage-of-completion and cost-to-complete of certain services contracts in the second half of the financial year. This will result in a profit shortfall in the current financial year of approximately £2 million in the language services division.

·; Management forecasts for the year are now considered to be too optimistic against market expectations. Poor sales and marketing execution, coupled with the unstable macro economic environment is expected to result in a further shortfall of £1 million to £2million.

The Board therefore expects SDL to be able to report revenues of approximately £270 million to £272 million and profits before tax and amortization of approximately £36 million to £37 million for the year end 31 December 2012.

Mark Lancaster, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"Having stepped back into the role of CEO a month ago, I have, alongside our CFO Matthew Knight, undertaken a review of the business and the revenue and profit forecasts. The financial effect is to reduce our profit by about £3million to £4 million in the current year."

He went on to say

"Despite the short term shortfalls in the business, I feel more confident in SDL's technology stack and service solutions than I have ever been. I believe we have a unique combination of technology. In 2013 we will make additional investments in sales and marketing to drive long term growth. We expect this additional investment to be between £3million to £4 million in 2013.

As we look further forward to 2014 and beyond, we expect to see sustained growth in our technology revenues and improved profit contribution."

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About SDL

SDL enables global businesses to engage with their customers in the language, the media and at the moment they choose. We help businesses manage their brands, drive global revenues, accelerate speed to market and enrich their customers' experience. SDL's enterprise-ready innovative technology and service solutions span the entire customer journey and include social listening and marketing analytics, campaign management, language management and services, video and written content creation, web content management, dynamic technical documentation publication and eCommerce. SDL solutions drive global reach across multiple languages, cultures, channels and media. SDL has over 1,500 enterprise customers, 400 partners and a global infrastructure of 70 offices in 38 countries. For more information, visit www.sdl.com