Agresso reports record profitability for Third Quarter (Q3)

Q3 sales for Unit 4 Agresso yield highest EBITDA margin ever

With significant orders across the whole Unit 4 Agresso group, Q3 2009 was better than expected. The original expectation was that Q3 would end slightly below the same period in 2008, since that was a record 3rd quarter at the time (EBITDA +63%). But after a good July and August 2009, September was the best month of the year for the group, with record profitability. Agresso North America contributed substantially to this successful quarter, with September deals totaling over $3.3 million.

In September 2009, Unit 4 Agresso scored a significant order from one of the most prestigious universities in the US, which offers further growth potential in coming years. Growth was also seen in the public sector in the UK. A number of deals which were expected in the beginning of Q4 were closed this quarter.

Q3 results [1]
The total Q3 revenue amounted to $123 million (€ 90.1 million), a decrease of 6% compared with the reported revenues over third quarter of 2008. Based on constant currencies, the revenues declined 3%.

The gross margin increased from 90.2% in Q3 2008 to 91.2% in Q3 2009.
The EBITDA rose in total by 13% to $25.8 million (€ 18.9 million) – due principally to synergies and cost savings. The EBITDA margin in Q3 2009 was 21.0%, compared to 17.5% in Q3 2008.

CFO Edwin van Leeuwen said: “Although it’s too early to say that the economy is improving, we are glad that we have reduced the pressure on Q4. For the rest of the year (Q4) we need only a slightly higher EBITDA than Q3 to make our target. It is encouraging to see us continuing to win substantial deals for Agresso and CODA, particularly in competition with the large, traditional ERP players.

Financialforce.com - which was officially announced two weeks ago - is showing a high level of attention and leads, keeping the new sales team busy on both sides of the Atlantic.”

For more detailed information about Unit 4 Agresso, please visit www.unit4agresso.com 

[1]  Unaudited and compared with reported Q3-2008

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About Unit4Agresso
Unit 4 Agresso is a leading international producer of business software. With offices in 14 European countries, 5 countries outside Europe and sales activities in several other countries a revenue of €194 million was realized in the first half year of 2008. Unit 4 Agresso is headquartered in Sliedrecht, the Netherlands. At the end of 2008, Unit 4 Agresso had 3,537 employees.

About Agresso
Agresso (http://www.agressona.com/) is a $500 million enterprise resource planning (ERP) company, listed in the Netherlands as Unit 4 Agresso (Dutch Stock Exchange EURONEXT-U4AGR) and one of the top five providers of ERP solutions for professional services and public sector organizations. Agresso offers a uniquely integrated data/ process/ delivery  architecture designed specifically for Businesses Living IN Change (BLINC) ™.  Agresso is known as "The ERP Market's Definition of Agility" as it allows an unlimited amount of ongoing, post-implementation changes without the typical external IT costs and intervention that nets billions of dollars in revenue to the market leaders. Over 2,900 companies and organizations in 100 countries deploy Agresso Business World for both operational support and strategic management. The company’s role-based, Web Services and Services-Oriented Architecture (SOA) enabled solutions include:  Financial Management, Human Resources and Payroll, Procurement Management, Project Costing and Billing, Reporting and Analytics, Business Process Automation, Field Services and Asset Maintenance, and CRM.