Progress Software gibt die Ergebnisse des 1. Quartals bekannt

Umsätze um 20 Prozent gesteigert

Köln — 18 Mrz 2004 — Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), ein führender Anbieter von Technologien für die Entwicklung, Implementierung, Integration und Verwaltung von Geschäftsapplikationen, gibt die Finanzergebnisse für das zum 29. Februar 2004 endende erste Quartal bekannt. Die Umsätze für das Quartal stiegen um 20 % auf das Rekordergebnis US$ 86,4 Millionen, während der Umsatz im entsprechenden Vergleichszeitraum im Vorjahr noch bei $71,8 Millionen US-Dollar lag.

Der Software-Lizenz-Umsatz betrug US$ 33,9 Millionen, ein Anstieg von 33% verglichen mit US$ 25,5 Millionen zum gleichen Quartal im letzten Jahr.

Die vollständige Pressemitteilung in englischer Sprache finden Sie im Internet unter www.progress.com (einschließlich Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income).

PROGRESS SOFTWARE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

Revenue Increases 20 Percent to an All-Time High

BEDFORD, Mass., March 16, 2004—Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a supplier of leading technology to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, today announced results for its first quarter ended February 29, 2004. Revenue for the quarter was a record $86.4 million, up 20 percent (11 percent at constant currency) from $71.8 million in the first quarter of 2003. Software license revenue increased 33 percent (24 percent at constant currency) to $33.9 million from $25.5 million in the same quarter last year.

On a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, operating income increased 20 percent to $6.3 million from $5.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2003. Net income increased 9 percent to $4.6 million from $4.2 million in the same quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share were 12 cents per share, the same as in the first quarter of 2003. The results for the first quarter of fiscal 2004 included an after-tax charge of $1.8 million for in-process research and development related to the acquisition of DataDirect Technologies and an after-tax charge of $1.1 million for amortization of purchased intangibles. The results for the first quarter of fiscal 2003 included an after-tax charge of $0.1 million for in-process research and development related to the acquisition of eXcelon Corporation and an after-tax charge of $0.3 for amortization of purchased intangibles.

On a pro forma basis, operating income increased 77 percent to $10.5 million from $5.9 million in the same quarter last year. Pro forma net income increased 59 percent to $7.5 million from $4.7 million in the same quarter last year and pro forma diluted earnings per share increased 46 percent to 19 cents per share from 13 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2003. The pro forma results for each quarter presented exclude amortization of purchased intangibles and acquisition-related charges for in-process research and development.

The company's cash and short-term investments at the end of the quarter totaled $149 million. During the first quarter, the company purchased approximately 46,000 shares of its stock at a cost of $1.0 million. The company's existing repurchase authorization, under which 9.9 million shares remain available for repurchase, expires on September 30, 2004.

"Progress Software continues to significantly outperform other major software companies, and we have demonstrated our ability to rapidly integrate new operations and leverage our growth to deliver greater operating margins and sharply increased pro forma operating income, net income and EPS," said Joseph W. Alsop, co-founder and chief executive officer of Progress Software Corporation (PSC). "We not only saw a significant revenue contribution from our new DataDirect Technologies operation, but the Progress Company, Sonic Software and ObjectStore all demonstrated solid revenue increases."

New Customers and Partners Highlights include recent adoption of PSC technology, and solutions based on PSC technology, by new customers and partners including: Battens Solicitors, Chick-fil-A, Inc., El Dante SA, Enraf BV, First Command Financial Services, General Parts, Groupe Go Sport, Intersperse, Inc., Interwoven, Jireh Metal Products, Kilroy Invest, Kypera Systems Africa (Pty), Lawson Software, Minacs Worldwide, Movaris, Novalab Oy, Prologic, Record Rent A Car, Snowdrop Systems, Vertex, Vivo Stockholm and Wuppermann Datenservice.

Other Recent Highlights PSC announced the completion of the DataDirect acquisition. http://investors.progress.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=86919&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=480278& The Progress Company announced the release of Progress® OpenEdge™ 10, the foundation for its component-based approach to building distributed applications for Service Oriented Architectures (SOA). http://www.progress.com/company_info/news_views/pressrelease_207195/pritem.ssp? Prebon Yamane, a premier broker for worldwide financial institutions, selected SonicMQ® as its global messaging infrastructure. http://www.sonicsoftware.com/news_events/press/pressitem/pressrelease_192543/index.ssp? PeerDirect Corporation announced PeerDirect™ Remote Office, a product suite that provides independent software vendors (ISVs) and enterprise IT departments with the ability to build applications and deploy data directly to remote offices while synchronized and managed from a single data center. http://www.peerdirect.com/news/pressitem/pressrelease_196663/index.ssp? ObjectStore announced the first EPC-compliant database technology for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). http://www.progress.com/company_info/news_views/pressrelease_188974/pritem.ssp? DataDirect Technologies' SupportLink Technical Support Program won the NorthFace Award for customer service for the third year in a row. http://www.datadirect.com/news/releases/20040224.asp

Business Outlook • The company is providing the following guidance for the fiscal second quarter ending May 31, 2004: • Revenue is expected to be in the range of $88 million to $90 million. GAAP operating income is expected to be in the range of $10 million to $11 million, including amortization of purchased intangibles of $1.9 million. • GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of 19 cents to 20 cents. • On a pro forma basis, operating income is expected to be in the range of $11.9 million to $12.9 million excluding amortization of purchased intangibles of $1.9 million. • On a pro forma basis, diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of 22 cents to 23 cents excluding approximately 3 cents per share for amortization of purchased intangibles. The company is providing the following guidance for the fiscal year ended November 30, 2004: • Revenue is expected to be in the range of $360 million to $365 million. GAAP operating income is expected to be in the range of $40 million to $43 million, including amortization of purchased intangibles of $7.1 million and in-process research and development of $2.6 million. • GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of 73 cents to 76 cents. • On a pro forma basis, operating income is expected to be in the range of $49.7 million to $52.7 million excluding amortization of purchased intangibles of $7.1 million and in-process research and development of $2.6 million. • On a pro forma basis, diluted earnings per share are expected to be in the range of 90 cents to 93 cents excluding approximately 12 cents per share for amortization of purchased intangibles and approximately 5 cents per share for an acquisition-related charge for in-process research and development.

Legal Notice Regarding Pro Forma Financial Information The company provides pro forma operating income, net income and earnings per share as additional information for investors. These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). Such measures are intended to supplement GAAP and may be different from pro forma measures used by other companies. The company believes that the pro forma results described in this release are useful for an understanding of its ongoing operations and provide additional detail and an alternative method of assessing its operating results. Management of the company uses these pro forma results to compare the company's performance to that of prior periods for analysis of trends, and for budget and planning purposes. A reconciliation of pro forma adjustments to the company's GAAP financial results is included in the tables below.

Safe Harbor Statement

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including but not limited to the following: the receipt and shipment of new orders, the timely release of enhancements to the company's products, the growth rates of certain market segments, the positioning of the company's products in those market segments, variations in the demand for customer service and technical support, pricing pressures and the competitive environment in the software industry, business and consumer use of the Internet, and the company's ability to penetrate international markets and manage its international operations. The company undertakes no obligation to update information contained in this release. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with the company's business, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Progress and OpenEdge are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. SonicMQ is a registered trademark of Sonic Software Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. PeerDirect is a trademark or registered trademark of PeerDirect Corporation in the U.S. and Canada. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Über Progress Software Corporation

Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS) mit Hauptsitz in Bedford, Massachusetts, USA, bietet Applikations-Infrastruktur-Software für die Entwicklung, Implementierung, Integration und das Management von Geschäftsanwendungen. Das Ziel dabei ist, den Nutzen der IT und der damit gesteuerten Geschäftsprozesse zu maximieren, und gleichzeitig die damit verbundene Komplexität und die Total Cost of Ownership zu minimieren. Hauptsitz von Progress Software in Deutschland ist Köln. Weitere Informationen: www.progress.com/de oder Tel. +49-221-935 79-0.

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