LGS Group Announces an Increase in Revenue and Earnings
AUGUST 9, 1999
MONTREAL, QUEBEC--For the first quarter ended June 30, 1999, LGS
Group Inc. posted revenue of $63.6 million, an increase of 33
percent compared to revenue of $47.7 million reached in the
corresponding quarter in the previous fiscal year. Net earnings
grew to $2.2 million compared to last year's $1.9 million. Net
earnings per share, however, stood at 17.4 cents, compared to 18.4
cents last year, while the weighted average number of shares
outstanding increased from 10.1 million in 1998 to 12.8 million in1999.
The first quarter of fiscal 2000, although up compared to the
corresponding quarter in 1999, shows signs of slowing down when
compared with the fourth quarter of 1999, the result of
circumstances that stand to affect all information technology
services providers. According to Andre Gauthier, senior executive
vice president of LGS Group Inc., this slowdown is related to the
fact that many clients have put any new IT projects on the back
burner so that they can deal with unexpected fallout associated
with the new millennium. Mr. Gauthier also believes that LGS will
likely feel the impact of this in the second quarter. However,
industry observers forecast recovery before the end of our fiscal year.
"Furthermore, highlighted Raymond Lafontaine, president of LGS
Group, the company is showing profit in its European activities,
which brought in 1.5 cents per share. We also acquired BlueChip
Informatica, in Verona, Italy. Over the past quarter we have
accelerated sales efforts among customers of our new electronic
business unit and launched a new specialized practice in the area
of customer relations management (CRM), following on the heels of
our strategic partnersip agreement with Siebel."
LGS Group Inc. is one of the top consulting companies in
information technology in Canada and specializes in systems
management and integration. LGS, with annual revenues over $230
million, has a professional work force of over 2,200 in 20 offices
located in Canada, the United States and Europe. The company is
active in many public and private sectors.
This release may contain statements about the future that involve
risks and uncertainties that might affect the projected results.
Among the potential risks and uncertainties is the capacity to
supply services, to set prices, to keep mandates and successfully
complete them, the availability of technical staff, and
competition. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in the
LGS Annual Report under the heading Risk Management. |
