| Fri 25 Oct 2002, 12:01 | | Frontrange Limited - Quaterly Market Update |
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FRONTRANGE LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number 1997/09928/06)
("FrontRange Limited" or "the company")
Share code: FRO ISIN : ZAE000035325
FrontRange Solutions, Inc.
Market Update for quarter ended 30 September 2002
FrontRange Solutions, Inc. ("FrontRange Solutions"), the 84%-owned subsidiary of
JSE-listed FrontRange Limited, announced today that the July to September
quarter had seen a solid increase in its cash position. FrontRange Solutions is
based in Colorado, USA, and is a developer of Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) software applications for mainstream businesses worldwide.
"FrontRange Solutions increased its cash reserves by US$1,8-million, or nearly
R19-million, during this quarter. This demonstrates solid cash management in a
tough market. The September quarter is traditionally our slowest quarter of the
year, coinciding with the US and European summer holidays," says Dana Buys,
chief executive of FrontRange Limited.
FrontRange has changed its quarterly reporting format to comply with amended JSE
requirements. The company previously included more details in its quarterly
updates, including profit disclosure. However, the JSE requires an audit review
for such reporting going forward, and the company believes that the cost of two
additional audit reviews a year is too high to warrant doing this, given the
global nature of its business and its aggressive drive to contain costs.
FrontRange Solutions continues to perform very well relative to its peer group
and delivered revenues in excess of $18-million for the quarter, only marginally
less than the revenue achieved in the same quarter last year. Thanks to the
significant and ongoing focus on expense control, the company dramatically
improved on its profitability compared to the prior year equivalent quarter.
In line with expectations stated in the SENS announcement on 22 August 2002
entitled "FrontRange Limited Reviewed Results for the year ended 30 June 2002",
FrontRange Solutions produced a small loss in the quarter ended 30 September
2002. As it follows the group`s June year-end, the first quarter is
traditionally FrontRange Solutions` weakest quarter, and this year also included
the launch of its next generation CustomerIQ software and annual reseller
partner conferences in both the US and Europe. "While we remain cautious in our
view of the world markets, we remain committed to delivering a modest profit for
the full year to June 2003," says Buys.
The current quarter will see significant new product releases across the
company`s product set: GoldMine Version 6 and HEAT Version 7 are both on track
for November release, and the first two vertical market implementations for
GoldMine CustomerIQ are due to ship this quarter. The new products will ensure
that the FrontRange product set remains at the forefront of its markets
globally.
Christopher Fletcher, vice president and research director with the Aberdeen
Group, a leading independent market analysis and positioning organisation, has
endorsed GoldMine CustomerIQ saying: "GoldMine`s vertical industry focus and its
adoption of Microsoft .NET is exactly in line with where this industry is
headed. CRM applications for the mid-market have to provide usable functionality
and need to integrate with web and back office applications virtually right out
of the box."
FrontRange Solutions employs around 500 people in nine countries and has a user
base of nearly 1,5 million people at more than 125 000 companies worldwide.
The company`s core and integrated mid-market CRM products include HEAT, a leader
in customer service and support software, and GoldMine, a leader in business
contact management and sales and marketing automation software. HEAT and
GoldMine are well-established and strong brands in their global markets.
Sponsor
Nedcor Investment Bank Limited
Date: 25/10/2002 10:15:00 AM Produced by the JSE SENS Department
