Growth for 'Strongest Ever' SPSS

MR software provider SPSS has announced record revenues for the fourth quarter of 2005. Over the year, revenue from new licences increased by 12%, and total revenues by 5%. Operating income more than doubled, and SPSS CEO Jack Noonan says the company ended the year 'in the strongest position in its history'.

Three months ending 31 December 2005 (results for Q4 2004 are in brackets)
Revenues $62.2m ($60.5m)
Diluted earnings per diluted share (EPS) $0.30 ($0.20)
Operating income $8.6m or 14% of total revenues ($3.7m, 6%)

Full year ending 31 December 2005 (results for 2004 in brackets)
Revenues $236.1m ($224.1m)
New license revenues $107.6m ($95.8m)
Diluted earnings per diluted share (EPS) $0.85 ($0.31)
Operating income $28m or 12% of total revenues

The company states that operating income increased through the combination of record revenues and a 4% decrease in operating expenses, resulting from productivity gains and cost management.

SPSS signed software license or service agreements during the fourth quarter of 2005 with organizations including: Alliance & Leicester, Avis Europe, Banco Popular North America, City of New York, Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications, Interior Health Authority (Canada), Publicis Groupe Media; RentWay, The Pennsylvania State University, and Vodafone.

During the year, the company released Dimensions 3.0, an upgraded version of its survey software; SPSS 14.0, an enhanced version of its flagship statistical software package; and an upgraded version of its ShowCase Suite, a business intelligence and data mining solution.

Commenting on the results, Noonan said: 'Our financial foundation is solid, and we're well positioned for the future. There is mounting evidence that the future will involve a larger role for predictive analytics. SPSS is prepared to meet this demand.'

Raymond Panza, the company's Chief Financial Officer, said the results were driven by 'a disciplined company-wide operational strategy - to sustain a culture of progress focused on increasing revenues, improving productivity and greater cost-efficiencies'. He added: 'With cash flow and cash at record levels, the company has both the financial strength and flexibility for achieving continued growth.'

Panza predicts 2006 first quarter revenues of between $58m and $60m, with EPS between $0.14 and $0.20. For the 2006 fiscal year, he expects revenues of between $248m and $254m, with EPS between $0.98 and $1.09.

The company is online at www.spss.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.