Earnings and M

Earnings and M&A Wrap-up
Revenues and earnings dip for many CRM vendors; two mergers give call center players a boost in the market

by David Myron

Reynolds and Reynolds Co. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year ending September 30, 2002. Fourth quarter revenues of $256.7 million were 2 percent ahead of last year's $251.7 million. Fourth quarter earnings per share of 43 cents were 19 percent ahead of last year's 36 cents. For the fiscal year, earnings per share from continuing operations were $1.58, 21 percent higher than last year's $1.31. Annual revenues of $992.4 million were down slightly compared to the previous year.

Amdocs Limited reported that for the fourth quarter ended September 30, 2002, revenue was $355.5 million, a decrease of 14.4 percent from last year's fourth quarter. Excluding acquisition-related costs and other non-recurring items and related tax effects, net income decreased 47.9 percent to $40.7 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, compared to net income of $78.3 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001. The company reported cash flow of $82 million in the quarter and a revenue increase of 5.2 percent (totaling $1.6 billion for fiscal 2002). The company expects to report between $333 million and $338 million in revenue and proforma EPS of $0.18 to $0.20 for the first quarter of fiscal year 2003.

Braun Consulting a professional services firm, delivering customer-focused business solutions, on Thursday reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2002. Revenue before project expense reimbursements for the third quarter of 2002 was $8.8 million, a decrease of 51 percent from revenue of $17.8 million for the same period one year ago. Total revenue for the third quarter of 2002, including reimbursable project expenses, was $9.6 million, a decrease of 51 percent from total revenue of $19.8 million for the same period a year ago.

Sand Technology Inc., a Montreal-based provider of high-performance analytic software and solutions, earlier this week announced results for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2002, showing an increase in sales of 23.7 percent over the previous year. For the year, Sand posted a net loss of $14,812,001 or $1.12 per share on sales of $13,922,077 as compared to a net loss of $8,522,676 or $0.71 per share on sales of $11,258,528 for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2001.

Nice Systems Ltd., a provider of multimedia recording solutions, applications, and related professional services for business interaction management, last week reported $38.5 million in revenue last quarter compared with $33.8 million for the third quarter of 2001 and $38.2 million for the second quarter of 2002. The filing marks a one-year revenue jump of 14 percent.
Mergers & Acquisitions:

Separately, Nice Systems Ltd. this week completed its acquisition of the assets of Thales Contact Solutions (TCS), a developer of customer-facing technology for public safety, wholesale trading, and call centers. The assets of TCS, a unit of the Information Technology and Services business segment within the $10.3 billion Thales Group, was acquired for $30 million in cash at closing plus 2,187,500 shares of Nice Systems common stock. Additional contingent cash payments of up to $10 million in 2003, $7.5 million in 2004, and $7.5 million in 2005 are possible if certain financial performance criteria are met as part of a three-year earn-out agreement covering 2002 through 2004.

Centerforce Technologies Inc., a provider of optimization software for call centers, this week merged with RightForce, a developer of workforce management solutions. The merger brings together a one-two punch of both inbound and outbound call center solutions. RightForce products for inbound contact centers have focused on intelligent workforce management and optimization applications -- forecasting and scheduling proper staff levels to efficiently handle customers through multiple channels -- incoming calls, email, fax, and Web contacts. CenterForce offers products for outbound call scheduling, staff forecasting, and performance analytics, as well as a score card application for inbound, outbound, and blended centers. Both firms are privately held and financial details of the merger were not disclosed. The new organization will operate under the name CenterForce Technologies Inc., and continue to operate in Bethesda, MD.

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