Ascential hits profits, fifth consecutive quarter of growth

Ascential Software, the global enterprise data integration leader, has maintained its consistent performance with strong financial results for the second quarter ended 30 June.

On a GAAP basis, Q2 2003 revenue was $39.9 million, up 43% from $28 million in the same quarter last year and up 13% from $35.3 million in Q1 this year. Licence revenue was $21 million, up 39% from $15.1 million in Q2 2002, and up 10% from $19.2 million in Q1. Net income grew to $0.7 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to a net loss of $0.5 million, or ($0.01) per share in Q1.

"Ascential has shown continuous growth since first listing as an independent entity and has delivered record quarterly revenue and profitability in the second quarter," says Julian Field, MD of Centerfield Software, local Ascential representative. "The company has now achieved five consecutive quarters of sequential revenue growth, reflecting the momentum and impact it is having on the enterprise data integration market."

Ascential`s list of technology firsts was further extended in the second quarter with the announcement of Enterprise Integration Suite 7.0 with Real-Time Integration (RTI) services. This release enables customers to achieve on-demand integration of critical business information through the seamless interoperability of Ascential `s data integration solutions in a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

During the second quarter, Ascential signed 78 new customers including BEA Systems, Daewoo Capital Management, National Bank of Canada and Toyota Financial Services. It also expanded its dealings with 142 existing customers including ABN AMRO, Boeing, Caterpillar, China Mobile, DaimlerChrysler, and General Motors.

Peter Gyenes, chairman and CEO of Ascential, adds: "Our activity levels and our pipeline continue to be robust, reflecting the market`s strong validation of our strategy to deliver the broadest suite of data integration software. Based on year-to-date results, the company is projecting annual revenue growth of 35%-38% for 2003 relative to 2002."