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Final Results

25/11/2003 7:01am

UK Regulatory


RNS Number:4450S
Intec Telecom Systems PLC
25 November 2003

 Intec Telecom Systems PLC - Audited Preliminary results for the year ended 30
                                 September 2003



 Adjusted profit before tax up 150% to #5.4 million on turnover increased 7% to
 #50.7 million; substantial growth in customer base to over 550 installations.

Intec Telecom Systems PLC (LSE:ITL, "Intec" or "the Company"), a leading global
provider of Operations Support Systems software for telecoms companies, today
announces its audited results for the year ended 30 September 2003. The Company
is pleased to report a substantial rise in profitability, increased revenues,
and a customer base that now exceeds 550 installations. During 2003 Intec has
also made two important acquisitions and brought several key new products to
market to address the requirements of future telecoms services.


                       FINANCIAL AND OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS


  * Revenues for the year ended 30 September 2003 increased by 7% to #50.7
    million (year ended 30 September 2002: #47.5 million).
  * Adjusted profit before tax substantially increased to #5.4 million (2002:
    #2.2m).
  * Positive operating cash inflow of #8.5 million generated during the year
    (2002: inflow of #2.8 million).
  * Operating loss of #1.9 million attributable to goodwill and intangible
    amortisation of #7.2 million.
  * Loss before tax #1.8 million (2002: #13.5 million)
  * Customer base increased by 44% to 551 contracted installations, with
    important new customer wins in the UK, US, Europe, Latin America, Asia and
    Eastern Europe.
  * Two acquisitions, Digiquant A/S, and a unit of Ericsson, concluded during
    the year.
  * Operating cost reductions, combined with gross margin improvement to 70%
    (2002: 67%), enhance earnings and cashflow.
  * Cash and cash equivalents stand at #15.3 million
  * Several new products introduced to complement core billing and mediation
    families.


Commenting on the results, Mike Frayne, Executive Chairman said "Intec's
strategy in 2003 has been to focus on the best possible operation of our current
business combined with careful investment in new products that will meet future
needs. We also continued to execute a considered strategy for acquisitions. I am
pleased to report that, despite a telecoms environment that has been
economically constrained, Intec has grown both revenues and earnings as well as
increasing investment in new, forward-looking products. Although we see
continued competitive conditions in 2004 I am cautiously optimistic that Intec
can move further ahead in all areas of performance."

Kevin Adams, Chief Executive, added, "Intec has set the pace in its core OSS
markets in 2003, with a steady flow of high-profile customer wins, key
acquisitions and forward-looking product releases.  Passing the 500 installation
mark is a watershed achievement that underlines the success of our policy of
high-quality, profitable growth.  We have also had good momentum in new customer
wins with over 100 new or acquired customers."


There will be an analyst meeting at 09:15 hours today (25 November 2003) at RW
Baird, Mint House, 77 Mansell Street, London E1 8AF, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7488 1212.


Enquiries

Intec Telecom Systems PLC
Mike Frayne, Executive Chairman        +44 (0) 1483 745800
Kevin Adams, Chief Executive Officer   +44 (0) 1483 745800
Andrew Rodaway                         +44 (0) 7768 808082
                                       andrew.rodaway@intec-telecom-systems.com


RW Baird                               +44 (0) 20 7667 8416
Shaun Dobson                           sdobson@rwbaird.com


Cubitt Consulting                      +44 (0) 20 7367 5100
Fergus Wylie                           fergus.wylie@cubitt.com




        Intec Telecom Systems PLC - Full year results to 30 September 2003

                        Executive Chairman's Statement

A year ago I noted a telecoms market that would continue to be very competitive
for vendors as well as increasingly technically challenging for service
providers and their suppliers. Intec's strategy in 2003 has therefore been to
focus on the best possible execution of our current business combined with
careful investment in new products that will meet future needs. We also
continued to execute a considered strategy for acquisitions. I am pleased to
report that, despite a telecoms environment that has been economically
constrained overall, Intec has grown both revenues and earnings as well as
increasing investment in new, forward-looking products.

Through a combination of increased revenues, up 7% to #50.7 million, and careful
control of operating costs Intec has delivered adjusted pre-tax profits
increased by 150% to #5.4 million, despite adverse currency movements. We have
also been able to generate positive operating cash flow at #8.5m. These are
substantial achievements within an industry sector that remains capital
expenditure-constrained and where pricing pressure and competitor activity have
been intense. Intec's hard-working professional staff have made this possible
and I thank them wholeheartedly for their efforts.

During 2003 Intec has noted many opportunities to acquire other companies in its
sector, frequently at modest valuations. However, we have a clear strategy and
process only to seek acquisitions that will truly add value to the business and
position us better for the future. Our acquisition criteria include the ability
to enhance our financial performance, to bring useful market or technical
benefits to the business, or to increase our penetration of major customers. We
also seek organisations which will be a good cultural fit for Intec, where we
will be able to integrate them successfully while retaining their individual
strengths. We continue to track opportunities and we will not hesitate to pursue
those that we feel will be beneficial to the business, as well as good value for
shareholders.

With these criteria in mind Intec made two important acquisitions during the
2003 financial year. In November 2002 we announced the acquisition of the '
Settler' business unit from Ericsson. This unit was formerly one of Intec's
strongest competitors in the interconnect billing market. Its acquisition
brought us 31 new customers around the world as well as a distribution
arrangement with Ericsson for the renamed 'InterconnecT Settler' product. The
agreement also covers the Settler development team in Sweden and exclusive
worldwide rights to develop and market the Settler product range. Other acquired
expertise and technology has allowed us to launch two new products in 2003,
InterconnecT Optimised Routing and InterconnecT Automated Reconciliation.

In September 2003 we announced the acquisition of Digiquant A/S of Denmark, a
provider of OSS technology focused on the next-generation market space.
Digiquant brings Intec two key assets - a revenue stream from new and existing
customers which amounted to some Euro16 million in 2003, and a truly world-class
product set that provides end-to-end capabilities for the management and billing
of advanced services such as Voice-over-IP. Digiquant also has a good customer
base of around 50 companies and a highly-experienced professional staff  whose
skills are complementary to those within Intec.

Intec invests strongly in its products and underlying technologies. We consider
the level of investment we make to be a core strength of the business and a
major competitive differentiator against other vendors that have slashed
development and support budgets as they strive for profitability or even
survival. Yet we remain constantly aware of the need to balance investment with
potential and actual returns. During 2003 we have further refined our Product
Operations processes to be ever more focused on business performance with
regular examination at executive management level of profit and market potential
for all development projects.

During the year we have launched several important new products, notably the
Intec Dynamic Charging Platform (DCP) which addresses critical revenue
generation requirements for operators delivering advanced services such as
entertainment, mobile commerce and multimedia messaging. DCP is the first
offering in a range of new products which will complement our existing
technologies and extend our reach into new areas such as Voice-over-IP billing.
Our core product lines of convergent mediation (Inter-mediatE), interconnect
billing (InterconnecT) and service activation (Inter-activatE) have justified
our view that they remain critical components of the infrastructure of a
telecoms company, with key wins in high-profile customers.

In 2004 we see further evidence of a slow recovery in trading conditions in the
telecoms sector with many operators indicating their intentions to invest
cautiously in new projects that address next-generation service requirements. We
must balance this optimism with natural caution concerning ongoing competitive
pressures within the OSS vendor community, capital expenditure constraints
across the telecoms industry, and global concerns over political, economic and
security issues. Overall we are very pleased with Intec's progress in these
challenging markets and we look forward to 2004 as another year of opportunity
for further progress.





Mike Frayne
Executive Chairman
24 November 2003



Commenting on the results, Kevin Adams, Chief Executive Officer said:

In 2003 Intec has become a stronger, more profitable, more capable business.
Against a backdrop of competitive market conditions we have improved our
financial performance, market share, customer base and product capabilities. We
have concluded two important acquisitions and brought key, next-generation
products to market. A particular highlight of the year was winning certification
to the TL9000/ISO9001 quality standard for our Atlanta Centre of Excellence. We
have had good momentum in new customer wins with 114 new or acquired customers.
We also won two of the industry's most prestigious product awards, for both our
interconnect and mediation product lines.

One trend we have noted in 2003 is a growing focus by customers on financial
performance of vendors. Many OSS suppliers remain financially fragile or with
high levels of cash expenditure, and their long-term viability is clearly a
cause for customer concern. Intec continues to pursue its policy of tight
financial management, improved profitability and good cash flow. The
high-profile customers we have been able to secure in 2003 are evidence not only
of our good product and support capabilities but also that our stability and
long-term investment plans are seen as a benefit of doing business with us.

The balance of business in 2003 has reflected general market trends as well as
Intec's growing maturity as a software and services company. New licence sales,
while down on 2002 figures, still represent 23% of turnover, a very robust
result in present markets. Both recurring revenue and professional services have
grown with our recurring revenue reaching a very satisfactory 50% of turnover,
up from 42% in 2002. Our growing customer base, and high levels of customer
satisfaction, are the key factors in this good result.

Intec has had a strong focus on operating costs in 2003 as part of our drive to
enhance profitability and cash flow. The telecoms industry has been an
environment where margins and discretionary expenditure have been under constant
pressure. Intec has therefore adjusted its own business model appropriately. By
eliminating low-return expenditure, re-organising for greater productivity,
adopting more cost-efficient processes, and seeking better value in our own
purchases we have been able to trim many cost areas substantially without any
material impact on business performance. Cost of sales, distribution and general
administration are all lower in 2003 compared to 2002. The only area with a
material increase has been development, reflecting our expanded portfolio of
products as well as important new investment to meet the needs of new markets.
Staff numbers, before the acquisition of Digiquant, have remained essentially
static, indicating increased productivity.

Our core products, InterconnecT and Inter-mediatE, retain their market
leadership with over 200 and 130 installed sites respectively. New customer wins
announced in 2003 include Belgacom Mobile, Ukrainian Mobile Communications,
Slovak Telekom, VimpelCom, US Cellular, Taiwan's first 3G operator APBW, Telikom
Papua New Guinea, Eircom, ChinaSat, Swisscom Mobile, Mobilkom Austria and many
others. These cover all areas of the telecoms industry, from major fixed-line
providers through to next-generation mobile carriers, underlining the truly
convergent capabilities of Intec's products.

The acquisitions we have made, plus good growth in our existing customer base,
have allowed us to report the milestone figure of  over 550 active customer
installations at the end of our business year, representing almost 400 separate
companies as Intec customers. Intec now counts over half of the world's top 100
telecoms companies as customers, including all of the top five by market
capitalisation. This quality of customer base gives us very solid recurring
revenue streams and good cross-selling opportunities.  Intec also has, I
believe, one of the lowest rates of customer churn in the OSS industry as a
result of dedicated efforts to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction. It
is a source of pride to Intec that almost all of the customers won in the early
years of our existence remain with us.

2003 has been another good year of progress at Intec towards our long term
objective of building a stronger, more successful business within the OSS
sector. Market conditions have continued to be competitive, but Intec has
responded with good growth and substantially improved operating results. Our
acquisitions of Digiquant and the Ericsson Settler business have been two
highlights of the year and we are pleased with their progress and future
potential. Our investment in new products and the development of existing
systems positions us very well as a supplier to the world's telecommunications
market, particularly for advanced services.



Kevin Adams,
Chief Executive Officer
24 November 2003





INTEC TELECOM SYSTEMS PLC



FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Year ended 30 September 2003


                                                         Note                2003            2002         %
                                                                            #'000           #'000     change            
                                                                                      
Revenue                                                                     50,673          47,474    7%

Adjusted profit before tax                               (i)                 5,390           2,157    150%

EBITDA before exceptional items                          (ii)                7,222           3,739    93%

Operating loss                                                             (1,914)        (13,325)

Basic loss per share                                                       (1.59p)         (7.94p)

Adjusted earnings per share                              (iii)               2.17p           0.46p



Notes to the Financial Highlights                                           #'000           #'000

(i)     Loss before tax                                                    (1,780)        (13,483)
Amortisation of goodwill and other intangibles                               7,170           7,079
Impairment of goodwill                                                           -           7,464
Writedown of investments                                                         -             321
Exceptional item (Poland debtor provision)                                       -             776
Adjusted profit before tax                                                   5,390           2,157

(ii)    Adjusted profit before tax                                           5,390           2,157
Net interest income                                                          (134)           (163)
Depreciation                                                                 1,966           1,745
EBITDA before exceptional items                                              7,222           3,739
(iii)   Adjusted earnings per share calculation based on
the following adjusted earnings after tax:
Loss after tax                                                             (3,042)        (14,782)
Amortisation of goodwill and other intangible assets                         7,170           7,079
Impairment of goodwill                                                           -           7,464
Writedown of investments                                                         -             321
Exceptional item (Poland debtor provision)                                       -             776
Adjusted earnings after tax                                                  4,128             858


KEY CUSTOMER DATA                                                             2003            2002
                                                                               No.             No.

Cumulative:
Contracted customer base                                                       314             254
Contracted customers from current year acquisitions                             72              18
Total contracted customer base                                                 386             272          42%
Cumulative:
Contracted installations                                                       442             359
Contracted installations from current year acquisitions                        108              24
Total contracted installation base                                             551             383          44%



CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
For the year ended 30 September 2003


                                                                  Before     Intangible
                                                              intangible   amortisation                   
                                                            amortisation       (note 6)       Total       Total    
                                                    Note            2003           2003        2003        2002
                                                                   #'000          #'000       #'000       #'000
                                                                                              
TURNOVER
Continuing operations                                             48,079                     48,079      45,853
Acquisitions                                                       2,594                      2,594       1,621
Total turnover                                      2             50,673                     50,673      47,474

Cost of sales                                                   (15,172)                   (15,172)    (15,430)
Gross profit                                                      35,501                     35,501      32,044

Distribution costs                                               (8,784)                    (8,784)     (9,945)

Administrative expenses:
Development expenditure                                         (10,073)              -    (10,073)     (8,026)
Amortisation of goodwill and other intangible       6                  -        (7,170)     (7,170)     (7,079)
assets
Impairment of goodwill                                                 -              -           -     (7,464)
Exceptional item                                                       -              -           -       (776)
Other administrative expenses                                   (11,388)              -    (11,388)    (12,079)

Total administrative expenses                                   (21,461)        (7,170)    (28,631)    (35,424)

OPERATING LOSS
Continuing operations                                              4,913        (6,455)     (1,542)    (12,294)
Acquisitions                                                         343          (715)       (372)     (1,031)
Group operating loss                                               5,256        (7,170)     (1,914)    (13,325)

Amount written off investments                                         -              -           -       (321)

Interest receivable and similar income                               340              -         340         494
Interest payable and similar charges                               (206)              -       (206)       (331)
LOSS ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES BEFORE TAXATION                        5,390        (7,170)     (1,780)    (13,483)
                                                                  
Tax charge on loss on ordinary activities           4            (1,262)              -     (1,262)     (1,299)
LOSS ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES AFTER TAXATION AND
RETAINED LOSS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR TRANSFERRED TO
RESERVES                                                           4,128        (7,170)     (3,042)    (14,782)         
                           

(Loss)/earnings per share - adjusted/basic and      5              2.17p        (3.76)p     (1.59)p     (7.94p)
diluted

Adjusted earnings per ordinary share has been calculated and disclosed above as
the directors consider it gives a more comparable indication of underlying
trading performance.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES
For the year ended 30 September 2003

                                                                                          2003         2002
                                                                                         #'000        #'000

LOSS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR                                                              (3,042)     (14,782)
Exchange translation differences arising on foreign currency net                           (278)        (557)
investments

TOTAL RECOGNISED GAINS AND LOSSES IN THE YEAR                                            (3,320)     (15,339)



RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN CONSOLIDATED SHAREHOLDERS'
FUNDS
30 September 2003


                                                                                          2003         2002
                                                                                         #'000        #'000

Loss for the financial year                                                              (3,042)     (14,782)
Other recognised gains and losses relating to the year                                     (278)        (557)
Issue of share capital net of associated expenses                                          6,727        3,353
Other reserve                                                                                236      (2,497)
Increase/(decrease)  in shareholders' funds                                                3,643     (14,483)
Opening shareholders' funds                                                               86,207      100,690
Closing shareholders' funds                                                               89,850       86,207



CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

30 September 2003



                                                          Note                            2003         2002
                                                                                         #'000        #'000

FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets                                         6                               69,106       63,422
Tangible assets                                                                            4,400        2,910
Investments                                                                                  101          101
                                                                                          73,607       66,433

CURRENT ASSETS
Stocks                                                                                         3           64
Debtors                                                   7                               22,648       17,965
Investments                                                                                5,616        5,151
Cash at bank and in hand                                                                   9,724        8,156
                                                                                          37,991       31,336
CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year            8                              (6,996)      (4,126)
NET CURRENT ASSETS                                                                        30,995       27,210

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES                                                    104,602       93,643

CREDITORS: amounts falling due after more than one year   9                                 (69)            -

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES AND CHARGES                    10                             (2,050)            -

ACCRUALS AND DEFERRED INCOME                              11                            (12,633)      (7,436)
TOTAL NET ASSETS                                                                          89,850       86,207
CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Called up share capital                                   12                               2,066        1,903
Share premium account                                     12                             238,697      238,652
Merger reserve                                            12                               6,768          249
Other reserve                                             12                                 236            -
Foreign exchange reserve                                  12                               (986)        (708)
Profit and loss account                                   12                           (156,931)    (153,889)
EQUITY SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS                                                                89,850       86,207





CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
30 September 2003
                                                                        Note                2003        2002
                                                                                           #'000       #'000

Net cash inflow from operating activities                               (i)                8,537       2,770
Returns on investments and servicing of finance
Interest received                                                                            340         494
Interest paid and similar items                                                             (79)       (327)
Interest element of finance lease rental payments                                              -         (4)
                                                                                             261         163
Taxation
UK Corporation taxation paid                                                                   -        (10)
Overseas taxation paid                                                                     (898)       (378)
                                                                                           (898)       (388)
Capital expenditure and financial investment
Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets                                                (2,056)     (1,651)
Proceeds on disposal of fixed assets                                                          49          59
                                                                                         (2,007)     (1,592)
Acquisitions
Investment in subsidiaries                                                               (3,694)     (5,222)
Net cash acquired with subsidiaries                                                          505           6
                                                                                         (3,189)     (5,216)
Cash inflow/(outflow) before management of liquid resources and
financing
                                                                                           2,704     (4,263)
Management of liquid resources
Increase in cash investments/term deposits                                                 (459)     (2,252)
Payments received from escrow                                                                  -          52

Financing
Issue of ordinary share capital                                                               59           -
Share issue costs charged to the share premium account                                      (11)           -
Repayment of loan acquired with subsidiaries                                               (720)           -
Capital element of finance lease payments                                                      -       (188)
Increase/(decrease) in cash in the year                                 (ii),(iii)         1,573     (6,651)



NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT
Year ended 30 September 2003

(i)     Reconciliation of operating LOSS to net cash IN FLOW from operating 
        activities

                                                                                            2003         2002
                                                                                           #'000        #'000
                                                                                       
Operating loss                                                                            (1,914)     (13,325)
Depreciation                                                                                1,966        1,745
Amortisation of goodwill and other intangible assets                                        7,170        7,079
Impairment of goodwill                                                                          -        7,464
Gain on disposal of fixed assets                                                              (5)         (25)
Decrease/(increase) in stock                                                                   61         (39)
Increase in debtors                                                                         (894)        (172)
Increase in creditors                                                                       2,153           43
Net cash inflow from operating activities                                                   8,537        2,770

 (ii)   Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net FUNDS

                                                                                            2003         2002
                                                                                           #'000        #'000

Increase/(decrease) in cash in the year                                                    1,573      (6,651)
Net cash outflow from decrease in finance lease                                                -          188
Net cash outflow from decrease in debt acquired with subsidiary                              720            -
Net cash outflow from increase in liquid resources                                           459        2,200
Change in net funds resulting from cashflows                                               2,752      (4,263)
Finance leases acquired with subsidiary                                                    (210)            -
Debt acquired with subsidiary                                                              (720)            -
Translation differences                                                                        1        (195)
Movement in net funds                                                                      1,823      (4,458)
Net funds at 1 October                                                                    13,307       17,765
Net funds at 30 September                                                                 15,130       13,307

(iii)    Analysis of movement in net FUNDS

                                         30 September    Acquisitions                  Foreign       
                                                 2002  excluding cash                 exchange    30 September
                                                #'000   and overdraft  Cash flow   translation            2003
                                                                 #000      #'000         #'000           #'000
                                                      

Cash in hand and at bank                        8,156              -       1,573           (5)           9,724
Finance leases                                      -          (210)           -             -           (210)
Debt due within one year                            -          (720)         720             -               -
Cash investments/term deposits                  5,151              -         459             6           5,616
Total                                          13,307          (930)       2,752             1          15,130



NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION



1.     BASIS OF PREPARATION

The financial information set out in this preliminary announcement does not
constitute the company's statutory accounts for the years ended 30 September
2003 or 2002, but is derived from those accounts.  Statutory accounts for 2002
have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2003 will be
delivered following the company's annual general meeting.  The auditors have
reported on those accounts; their report was unqualified and did not contain
statements under Section 237(2) or 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985.

The preliminary announcement was approved by the Board of Directors on 24
November 2003.

The 2002 balance sheet has been restated to reflect a reclassification of
accruals. In the balance sheet, accruals of #3,080,000 which were included in
creditors due within one year at 30 September 2002 are now included in accruals
and deferred income on the face of the balance sheet.


2.      TURNOVER AND SEGMENTAL REPORTING

Geographic areas - analysis by origin
                                          Total turnover       Inter-segment turnover     External turnover
                                         2003         2002       2003         2002         2003        2002
                                        #'000        #'000      #'000        #'000        #'000       #'000
Turnover
United Kingdom                          25,965     21,059        (576)      (1,509)      25,389      19,550
Continental Europe                         612        166            -            -         612         166
Asia-Pacific                               549      1,758            -            -         549       1,758
Africa                                     765         89            -            -         765          89
North America and Canada                23,528     25,566      (1,857)        (600)      21,671      24,966
South America                            1,687        945            -            -       1,687         945
                                        53,106     49,583      (2,433)      (2,109)      50,673      47,474

Geographic markets - analysis by destination
                                                                                              Turnover by
                                                                                              destination
                                                                                            2003        2002
                                                                                           #'000       #'000

United Kingdom                                                                             5,135       3,519
Continental Europe                                                                        10,979       9,753
Eastern Europe                                                                             2,902       1,235
Middle East                                                                                1,077         728
Africa                                                                                     1,670       1,687

Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)                                   Sub total         21,763      16,922
Asia-Pacific                                                                               6,621       5,521
North America and Canada                                                                  15,538      21,058
Caribbean and Latin America                                                                6,751       3,973

                                                                                          50,673      47,474

Turnover by type
Turnover by activity is set out below.
                                                                                              Turnover by
                                                                                                activity
                                                                                            2003        2002
                                                                                           #'000       #'000

Licence Sales                                                                              11,635      15,481
Professional services income:
Implementation, migration, consulting and training                                         11,620       8,730
Hardware                                                                                      113         576
Non-Telecom - custom network solutions                                                      2,052       2,957

                                                               Sub-total                   13,785      12,263

Recurring income:
ASP Service                                                                                 3,532       2,761
Volume upgrade licences                                                                     3,442       1,928
Support and maintenance fees                                                               18,279      15,041

                                                               Sub-total                   25,253      19,730

                                                                                           50,673      47,474

Loss before taxation
Year ended 30 September 2003               Before                                                      After
                                     amortisation                                               amortisation
                                  of goodwill and                                            of goodwill and
                                      exceptional   Amortisation      Goodwill   Exceptional      exceptional
                                            items    of goodwill    impairment         items           items
                                            #'000          #'000         #'000         #'000           #'000     

United Kingdom                              2,528        (2,574)             -             -           (46)
Continental Europe                            384           (69)             -             -            315
Asia-Pacific                                  660              -             -             -            660
Africa                                        594              -             -             -            594
North America & Canada                        710        (4,527)             -             -        (3,817)
Caribbean and Latin America                   514              -             -             -            514

Loss before taxation                        5,390        (7,170)             -             -        (1,780)


                                       
Year ended 30 September 2002               Before                                                      After
                                     amortisation                                               amortisation
                                  of goodwill and                                            of goodwill and
                                      exceptional   Amortisation      Goodwill   Exceptional      exceptional
                                            items    of goodwill    impairment         items           items
                                            #'000          #'000         #'000         #'000           #'000    

United Kingdom                                613        (1,652)       (1,684)       (1,097)        (3,820)
Continental Europe                            185           (74)             -             -            111
Asia-Pacific                                  187          (420)       (5,780)             -        (6,013)
Africa                                         64          (548)             -             -          (484)
North America & Canada                        948        (4,385)             -             -        (3,437)
South America                                 160              -             -             -            160
Loss before taxation                        2,157        (7,079)       (7,464)       (1,097)       (13,483)

In 2002, exceptional items comprised the write down of own shares #175,000, a
write down of the Polish associate investment of #146,000 and provision against
debtor balance with the Polish associate of #776,000.

                                                      Excluding       Including      
                                                    unamortised     Unamortised     unamortised
                                                       goodwill        goodwill        goodwill       
                                                           2003            2003            2003            2002
                                                          #'000           #'000           #'000           #'000       
Net assets

United Kingdom                                           10,348           3,030          13,378          17,125
Continental Europe                                        1,389           9,718          11,107            (58)
Africa                                                    (219)               -           (219)           (464)
Asia-Pacific                                               (16)               -            (16)             494
North America and Canada                                 10,095          55,091          65,186          68,902
Caribbean and Latin America                                 414               -             414             208

Net assets                                               22,011          67,839          89,850          86,207




It is neither practicable nor meaningful to allocate either profit before
taxation or net assets by client location or activity.


3.      ACQUISITIONS

a)      Current year acquisitions

Settler

On 18 December 2002, the Group acquired Ericsson AB's 'Settler' interconnect
billing product unit, including the Settler development team and worldwide
rights to develop and market the Settler product range.  The total
consideration, settled in cash, amounted to US$5.1 million (#3.0 million plus
acquisition costs of #0.1 million) as disclosed below.

Goodwill arising on acquisition has been capitalised and is being amortised over
four years from the date of acquisition. Goodwill charged in the period amounts
to #646,000.  The 'Settler' business contributed #2,014,000 to revenue in the
period from 18 December 2002 to 30 September 2003.


Net liabilities at date of acquisition                                                         Provisional
And provisional fair value                                                                     fair value
                                                                                               #'000

Creditors                                                                                              (176)
Goodwill arising on acquisition                                                                        3,299

                                                                                                       3,123

Consideration paid in cash                                                                             2,990
Acquisition costs                                                                                        133

                                                                                                       3,123



Digiquant A/S

On 17 September 2003, the Group acquired Digiquant A/S.  The total consideration
amounted to Euro9.5 million (#6.7 million) and has been satisfied through the issue
of 15,958,510 ordinary shares.  635,152 ordinary shares remain to be allotted in
exchange for shares held by present and former employees.   Acquisition costs
were #0.2 million.

Goodwill arising on acquisition has been capitalised and is being amortised over
five years from the date of acquisition. Goodwill charged in the period amounts
to #69,000.  Digiquant contributed #580,000 to revenue in the period from 17
September 2003 to 30 September 2003.


Net assets at date of acquisition                                                                Provisional
And provisional fair value                                                                        fair value
                                                                                                       #'000

Tangible fixed assets                                                                                  1,076
Debtors                                                                                                3,172
Long term deposits                                                                                       606
Cash                                                                                                     505
Creditors(falling due within one year)                                                               (3,493)
Creditors(falling due after one year)                                                                  (141)
Provisions for liabilities and charges                                                               (2,074)
Accruals and deferred income                                                                         (2,596)
Goodwill arising on acquisition                                                                        9,787
                                                                                                       6,842
Consideration paid in shares                                                                           6,679
Acquisition costs                                                                                        163

                                                                                                       6,842

b)      Reconciliation to cash flow statement
                                                                                                       #'000

Consideration for Settler business                                                                     2,990
Acquisition costs - Digiquant                                                                            163
Acquisition costs - Settler                                                                              133
Deferred consideration payments on prior year acquisition.                                               408

                                                                                                       3,694



4       TAX ON LOSS ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES


                                                                                            2003         2002
                                                                                           #'000        #'000

Current taxation:
UK corporation tax at 30% (2002: 30%)                                                        555            -
Overseas taxation                                                                            974        1,098
Prior year adjustment                                                                      (127)          273
Total current tax                                                                          1,402        1,371

Deferred taxation:
Origination and reversal of timing differences                                             (140)         (72)
Tax on loss on ordinary activities                                                         1,262        1,299

The standard rate of current tax for the year is 30% (2002: 34%), based on the
UK Corporation tax rate, since the largest source of the Group's revenues is in
the UK.

It is expected that the tax charges will continue to be reduced by the benefit
of tax deductions for goodwill in the USA.


5       (LOSS)/EARNINGS PER ORDINARY SHARE


                                                                                           2003          2002
                                                                                          #'000         #'000

Basic and diluted loss                                                                   (3,042)      (14,782)
Amortisation of goodwill and other intangible assets                                       7,170         7,079
Impairment of goodwill                                                                         -         7,464
Amounts written off investments                                                                -           321
Exceptional Poland debtor provision                                                            -           776
Adjusted earnings after tax                                                                4,128           858
                                                                                          Number        Number

Basic  and diluted weighted average number of shares                                 190,889,194   186,219,551
                                                                                          Pence         Pence

Basic and diluted loss per ordinary share                                                 (1.59)        (7.94)
Amortisation of goodwill and other intangible assets                                        3.76          3.80
Impairment of goodwill                                                                         -          4.01
Amounts written off investments                                                                -          0.17
Exceptional Poland debtor provision                                                            -          0.42
Adjusted earnings per ordinary share                                                        2.17          0.46

For the year ended 30 September 2003 and the year ended 30 September 2002, none
of the potential ordinary shares (including company share options) are dilutive
and therefore they are excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share.



6.      INTANGIBLE ASSETS


                                                                               IPR     Goodwill        Total
                                                                             #'000        #'000        #'000
Cost
At 1 October 2002                                                            2,032      218,111      220,143
Additions                                                                        -       13,078       13,078
Disposal                                                                         -        (220)        (220)
Translation differences                                                       (10)            -         (10)
At 30 September 2003                                                         2,022      230,969      232,991
Accumulated amortisation
At 1 October 2002                                                              538      156,183      156,721
Amortisation                                                                   222        6,948        7,170
Translation differences                                                        (6)            -          (6)
At 30 September 2003                                                           754      163,131      163,885
Net book value
At 30 September 2003                                                         1,268       67,838       69,106
At 30 September 2002                                                         1,494       61,928       63,422

The disposal relates to a reduction in estimated deferred consideration to be
paid on the prior year acquisition of the operational support systems business
from ICL.


7.     DEBTORS

                                                                                             2003         2002
                                                                                            #'000        #'000

Trade debtors                                                                               13,815       13,676
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings                                                          -            -
Corporation tax recoverable                                                                    196          196
Overseas tax recoverable                                                                        85           63
Deferred tax                                                                                   240           72
Other debtors                                                                                  438          238
Prepayments and accrued income
Due within one year                                                                          7,285        3,720
Due after more than one year                                                                   589            -
                                                                                            22,648       17,965

The prepayments and accrued income due after more than one year relate to
deposits on leased properties due after more than five years.


8.      CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR


                                                                                              2003         2002
                                                                                             #'000        #'000

Bank loans and overdrafts                                                                      125            -
Obligations under finance leases                                                               141            -
Trade creditors                                                                              2,233        1,767
Corporation tax                                                                              1,169          454
Overseas tax                                                                                   625          516
Other creditors including taxation and social security                                       2,604          686
Deferred/contingent consideration                                                               99          703
                                                                                             6,996        4,126

9.       CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR


                                                                                              2003         2002
                                                                                             #'000        #'000

Obligations under finance leases                                                                69            -
Maturity of obligations under finance leases
Within one year                                                                                141            -
More than one year but less than five years                                                     69            -
                                                                                               210            -

10.      PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES AND CHARGES


                                                                                             2003         2002
                                                                                            #'000        #'000

Onerous lease commitments                                                                    2,050            -

The amounts disclosed above relate to future estimated losses on sub-let lease
commitments acquired with the Digiquant Group.  Amounts provided relate to the
period up to the first option to break on two properties in Denmark and Atlanta,
USA.  The first option to break on the Denmark lease is in 2011 and accordingly
the provision above includes the discounted fair value of the future losses up
to this point.

11.      ACCRUALS AND DEFERRED INCOME


                                                                                             2003         2002
                                                                                            #'000        #'000

Amounts falling due within one year
Accruals                                                                                     5,924        1,670
Deferred income                                                                              6,709        5,766
                                                                                            12,633        7,436



12.      STATEMENT OF MOVEMENTS ON SHARE CAPITAL AND RESERVES
                                  Called      Share                            Foreign     Profit
                                up share    premium       Merger      Other   exchange    and loss
                                 capital     account     reserve    reserve    reserve     account       Total
                                   #'000       #'000       #'000      #'000      #'000       #'000       #'000

As at 1 October 2002               1,903     238,652        249          -       (708)   (153,889)     86,207
Issues of ordinary shares            163          56      6,519          -           -           -      6,738
Share issue expenses                   -        (11)          -          -           -           -       (11)
Shares to be issued                    -           -          -        236           -           -        236
Loss for the year                      -           -          -          -           -     (3,042)    (3,042)
Foreign exchange translation           -           -          -          -       (278)           -      (278)
                                    

At 30 September 2003               2,066     238,697      6,768        236       (986)   (156,931)     89,850



END


                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

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