Press release
27 February 2002

Interim sales: +20.6%
Interim operating profit: +14.4%

Euro thousands

Second quarter

6 months

FY01/02

FY00/01

FY01/02

FY00/01

Change (%)

Consolidated sales

9 101

8 185

17 687

14 663

+20,6%

Operating profit (IAS)

898

714

1 428

1 248

+14,4%

Net financial items

-7

209

152

246

-38,3%

Attributable net profit

478

444

882

898

-1,8%

Year ending on 30 June 2002

Sys-com, an IT consultancy and services company serving major corporate accounts in the financial industry and quoted on the Paris Bourse's Second Marché (Bloomberg: SYS, Reuters: SYS.PA, Sicovam: 7519), reports a +20.6% rise in consolidated revenues during the first half of its fiscal year ending on 30 June 2002, and a 14.4% increase in IAS operating profit.

Despite the sharp economic slowdown, first-half consolidated sales rose 20.6% - 14.5% on a comparable structure basis - to € 17.7 m on 31 December 2001, versus € 14.7 m in the first half of FY00/01.

In the second quarter of FY01/02, consolidated sales came to € 9.1 m, up 11.2% year-on-year.

Operating profit rose 14.4% to € 1.4 m. This figure takes into account an IAS adjustment, which reduced reported operating profit by € –0.480 m.

The drop in net financial items was attributable to the fact that the figures of the previous year's first half factored in a € 0.13 m capital gain on the disposal of a stake in Audisoft.

Attributable net profit was flat at € 0.9 m.

Despite the weak economic environment, Sys-Com delivered a strong performance. Key drivers of this performance were the company's tight management policies, in particular a pragmatic approach to headcount and a cost-cutting plan.

I - H1 highlights

Tighter cost control: the FY01/02 business plan, which took into account the deteriorating business climate, provided for strict cost management. We implemented this policy more actively from September, which helped us cap the rise in spending at 10.4% on a comparable structure basis, compared with a 14.5% increase in revenues.

Optimising the organisation: to enhance the company's visibility, its shareholders approved a plan at the AGM to set up Sys-com's operating arm as a separate subsidiary. The cost of this demerger was expensed as a one-off item (€ 534,000). In addition, our sales team was strengthened with the recruitment of two heads of department.

Declining staff turnover: the company's staff turnover, which stood at 23.8% in FY00/01, fell by 3 points during the half-year to 20.8%. In the calendar fourth quarter, it was 17.7%.

Maintained rates: against a backdrop of mounting competition, we maintained our rates, even in IT services.

Inter-contract downtime: deteriorating market conditions have led to a higher than expected inter-contract downtime in IT services/development and particularly in Management Consulting. During the period, we only recruited organisation consultants and senior engineers. This allowed us to keep inter-contract downtime at 10% of the total work force.

II - Outlook for the second half

Sales and profitability: attributable net profit is expected to lie within a € 2-2.2 m range, on revenues of around € 36-37 m.

Although economic indicators suggest the outlook is improving, the third quarter of Sys-Com's fiscal year remains beset by uncertainty. We therefore expect second-half sales to be in line with last year's H2 figure.

On the other hand, the full impact of the cost-cutting plan will be felt in the second half, as will that of the recovery plan set up specifically for the management consultancy business. Mr Lionel Madier, who replaced Mr Jean François Deney as Chairman of 3D Harmony, is responsible for the execution of this plan.

Staff turnover should come to around 15% during the period.

Rates: the competitive pressure since the beginning of the year will only have an impact on new contract wins, and will therefore only marginally affect our average rates.

Inter-contract downtime: January and February displayed the same seasonal patterns as in previous years. On average, during the half-year, the overall inter-contract downtime should come to around 14%. Combined with the drop in training volumes, this decrease will have no impact on the company's productivity.

III - Consolidated income statement
to 31 December 2001

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT OF THE SYS-COM GROUP (in K€ '000)

31-Dec-2001

30-June-2001

31-Dec-2000

Actual

Actual

Pro forma

6 months

%

12 months

%

6 months

%

Sales

17 688

100 %

34 176

100 %

16 039

100 %

Other operating revenues

301

313

47

Purchases

2 244

12,7%

5 457

16,0%

2 549

15,9%

Personnel charges (1)

11 983

67,7%

21 622

63,3%

10 054

62,7%

Other operating charges

1 231

7,0%

2 531

7,4%

1 494

9,3%

Taxes other than CIT

445

2,5%

658

1,9%

277

1,7%

Net depreciation and provisions

657

3,7%

750

2,2%

389

2,4%

Operating profit (2)

1 428

8,1%

3 471

10,2%

1 323

8,2%

Net financial income

152

0,9%

303

0,9%

233

1,5%

Underlying profit of consolidated companies

1 580

8,9%

3 774

11,0%

1 556

9,7%

Net exceptional items

-54

-0,3%

111

0,3%

56

0,4%

Corporate income tax (2)

613

3,5%

1 478

4,3%

653

4,1%

Net profit of consolidated companies

913

5,2%

2 408

7,0%

960

6,0%

Affiliates

0

0

0

Total net profit

913

5,2%

2 408

7,0%

960

6,0%

Minorities

31

0,2%

78

0,2%

38

0,2%

NET PROFIT (group share) (2)

882

5,0%

2 330

6,8%

921

5,7%

Number of shares

1 775 234

1 813 680

1 813 680

Earnings per share (euro)

0,50

1,28

0,51

(1) Including profit-sharing.
(2) Impact of recognition of retirement commitments since June 2001.

VI - Consolidated balance sheet
to 31 December 2001

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET OF THE SYS-COM GROUP (in K€ '000)

ASSETS

31-Dec-2001

30-June-2001

Goodwill

Fixed intangible assets

4 221

5 184

Fixed tangible assets

879

759

Financial investments

614

533

Affiliates

0

0

Fixed assets

5 714

6 476

Stocks & WIP

0

0

Accounts & notes receivable

10 590

12 619

Other receivables & accruals

1 652

1 743

Marketable securities

1 756

3 743

Cash

4 448

1 074

Current assets

18 446

19 179

TOTAL ASSETS

24 160

25 655

Shareholders' equity & liabilities

31-Dec-2001

30-June-2001

Capital (1)

1 183

1 209

Share-premium account (1)

5 263

6 370

Reserves and consolidated net profit (2)

4 519

2 859

Other

0

0

Shareholders equity (group share)

10 966

10 439

Minorities

56

105

Reserves for contingencies and charges

387

270

Loans & bank borrowings

1 264

963

Accounts & notes payable

1 051

1 534

Other debt & accruals

10 436

12 345

Debt

12 751

14 842

TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY & LIABILITIES

24 160

25 655

(1) of the consolidating parent company.

(2) Of which:

31-Dec-2001

30-June-2001

Net earnings of the year

882

2 330

Impact of cancellation of treasury shares

-74

-1381

Cancelled treasury shares following decision made at combined shareholders’ meeting

-1132

Contacts

Sys-com Group
Jean-François GAUTIER
Head of Financial Information

Tel: (33) 1 53 32 30 00
Fax: (33) 1 56 35 33 95

jfgautier@sys-com-group.com

CIC Securities
Marie-Jo Maestracci
Stéphanie STAHR

Tel : 01 45 96 77 01/ 77 83
Fax : 01 45 96 77 99

maestrmr@sdm.cic.fr

MP Conseil
Michelle Pilczer
Fabienne Rodriguez

Tel : 01 47 10 94 94
Fax : 01 47 10 94 95

mpconseil@mpconseil.com