2003/2004 Results: targets exceeded

• Entirely organic growth: 13%
• Operating margin: 11.2%
• Net liquid funds rapidly increasing

Paris June 23, 2004 – SoluCom (ISIN: FR0004036036) announced today its annual results for its fiscal 2003/2004 ending March 31, 2004.

Key figures

* tax savings +1.7 M€
** one time Arfcome goodwill amortisation -6.6 M€

Entirely organic growth: 13%

At 31 March 2004, SoluCom had achieved annual, consolidated sales revenue of € 27.2 million, significantly higher than the target of € 24 million, set at the beginning of the year.

In a particularly difficult market, marked by a 10% drop in consulting business (Syntec – 2003 Balance Sheet), SoluCom has increased its rate of growth, with organic growth of 13%, which follows 11% in 2002/2003.

Operating margin: 11.2%

Operating profits increased by 42% to € 3.1 million. Operating profits are 11.2%, which is 2.2% higher than in the previous period. The subsidiary Idesys, which had lost slightly in the first half, became profitable again for the period as a whole.

Net profit before depreciation of goodwill was 8.3%, taking into account an exceptional item of € 0.2 million and non-operating revenue of € 0.2 million.

Net liquid funds rapidly increasing

At 31 March 2004, the Group had a solid financial structure, with shareholders' equity of € 10.1 million and net liquid funds rapidly increasing at € 3.5 million (€ 0.6 million at 31 March 2003).

Cash flow is € 2.7 million. Optimization of requirements for working capital continued with a drop of € 1.2 million, following a drop of € 1.1 million in the 2002/2003 financial year.

It will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting to be held on 30 September 2004, to distribute a dividend of €0.24 (€0.36 with a 50% tax credit), which is double that of the previous period.

Proven staying power, a strengthened Group

Between 2001 and 2004 the Group has demonstrated staying power, maintaining organic growth of over 10% annually and an annual operating margin of more than 8.5%.

During the 2003/2004 financial year, SoluCom continued the adjustment of its occupation rate, which reached 82%, while continuing the growth in staff (+6% in the second half). Prices dropped only 2.8%.

The Group has scored many sales successes, winning 20 new major accounts, including Air Liquide, Azur-GMF, Française des Jeux, Kingfisher, Nouvelles Frontières, RFF (Réseau Ferré de France) and Unedic.

At the same time, SoluCom has carried off several major projects, the most striking being the overhaul of the Siemens AG global network.

Ambitions and prospects
“The 2004/2005 financial year has opened in a more positive market climate, with positive operating indicators, even though prices remain under pressure”, says Pascal Imbert, CEO of SoluCom. “With the momentum from the last financial year and by absorbing an expected drop in occupation on certain major projects, the Group intends to continue growth at a rate of at least 10%. While investing to prepare for the future, SoluCom seeks to maintain a high profitability rate, with an operating margin of about 10%”.

Looking to 2007, the Group's target is to double in size to become Number 1 in the infrastructure consulting market, without deviating from its strategy: a strategy based on a single profession and a priority target of the 200 premier major accounts in France.

About the SoluCom Group

The SoluCom Group is active in infrastructure consulting and engineering in the telecoms and networks, work stations & servers, security and software infrastructures segments. The Group has positioned itself in very high value-added services.

The Solucom Group's client roster includes some very prestigious names, all of which are very large accounts including: Air France, Anpe, Arcelor, Auchan, BNP-Paribas, Cegetel, CNAM-TS, Crédit Agricole, EDF, E.Leclerc, France Télécom, Groupama, La Poste, L'Oréal, LVMH, Ministères des Affaires Etrangères et de la Justice, Nouvelles Frontières, PSA Peugeot Citroën, PPR, Renault, Siemens AG, SNCF, Société Générale, Suez, Total, Unedic, Valeo, Veolia Environnement.

SoluCom trades on the NextEconomy segment of Euronext Paris.


ISIN: FR0004036036 – FTSE: 972, IT services -– LCO

Next financial releases : Q1 revenues fiscal 2004/2005, 29/07/2004.

Find all our releases on : www.solucom.fr