2004 ASX Announcements

Objective Corporation Final Results FY2004

Record Revenue $27.1m up 77%; Record NPAT $5.4m up 157%

Objective Corporation Limited (ASX:OCL), a leading provider of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions, today announced a record revenue result of $27.2 million, a 77% increase over the previous year and a record after tax profit of $5.4 million, a 157% increase on the previous corresponding year.

Objective's balance sheet continued to strengthen, recording a 66% increase in net assets to $12.0 million. Cash at 30 June was $10.6 million. The company remains debt free and has no intangible assets.

Directors declared a fully franked dividend of 1.25 cents per share.

Financial Summary

Mr Tony Walls, Executive Chairman, Objective Corporation, said, "The record revenue and profit are encouraging and this represents another milestone for the company. New contract wins and extensions with government departments and blue chip customers have underpinned our success, enabling us to record our third consecutive year of revenue growth since listing.

"International sales revenue exceeded domestic sales for the first time. Objective generated 61% of its revenue offshore. We have expanded our international footprint, and now have 11 offices in 7 countries. The proportion of international sales revenue compared to domestic sales is expected to increase.

"Objective's growth is entirely organic and to the best of our knowledge, measured by revenue, Objective is now the largest non-North American ECM software provider, which provides a strong competitive advantage in markets in which we operate," he said.

Operational Highlights

During the year, Objective delivered solid growth, signing a record number of new customers in both Europe and Asia Pacific. Market acceptance increased significantly in the public sector in all targeted geographical regions.

"Our government customers seek robust, easy to use and low risk enterprise software solutions. Our strong sales growth is indicative of the success of our R&D program in being able to meet this demand. Further, our direct business model of working closely with customers to implement and evolve their solutions is widely regarded by customers as key to the success of their enterprise solutions," said Mr Walls.

Europe

Record sales revenue in Europe of $14.2 million represented an increase of 230% on the previous year, and was a direct result of Objective's long-term strategy and significant regional investment.

A highlight for the region was the selection of Objective by the Scottish Executive as the standard for integrated document and records management, for the Scottish government. This major contract helps demonstrate the company's capability for large-scale, seamless systems that span multiple government agencies.

Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific contributed revenues of $12.4 million, an increase of 17% on the previous year.
The company signed new contracts in Australia and New Zealand, including New Zealand's largest government department, The Ministry of Social Development, the Australian Government Solicitor, and the state of South Australia's Department of Treasury and Finance, and the Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Research & Development

In financial year 2004 the company invested $3.6 million toward research and development, a 34% increase on the previous year. This amount was fully expensed.

"Objective's software has gained an enviable reputation for its ease of use, security and scalability for large enterprise applications," said Mr Walls.

Objective remains committed to developing world-class, market-leading software. A further increase in R&D investment is planned for the 2005 financial year.

Outlook

Objective anticipates substantial organic growth in revenue and profitability in the year ahead. The ECM market worldwide continues to grow at a significant rate.

Mr Walls said, "The nature of our industry means that sales lead times can be long, however the resulting contracts often span many years. Our investment in long-term opportunities will contribute to the company's results in future periods.

"A key focus of our executive team is to maintain an appropriate balance between profitability and investment in our future growth. The benefits of this are delivered to all of our stakeholders: our customers, our people and our shareholders.

"Objective Corporation is built on the outstanding talents of our people. The board and management would like to thank all of our stakeholders for their contribution and commitment to our shared success," said Mr Walls.

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