7/20...SCNT Reports Stellar Fiscal First Quarter Results
Expanding Global Enterprise Relationships Fuel Revenue and Earnings Growth
SAN FRANCISCO, July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Scient (Nasdaq: SCNT - news), The eBusiness Systems Innovator(TM), today reported its financial results for its first fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2000.
Revenues for the first fiscal quarter were $91.4 million, a sequential increase of 39% over revenues of $65.8 million for the fourth fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2000, and an increase of over 450% over revenues of $16.4 million for the same period a year ago. Total headcount grew to 1,499 colleagues, up from 1,180 at the end of the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000. Professional services headcount grew to 1,040 colleagues, up from 828 at the end of the prior quarter.
Professional services margins were 58% for the quarter, up from 57% in the prior fiscal quarter and 52% in the same period a year ago. Scient improved its level of profitability in the first fiscal quarter, generating pro forma net income (fully taxed, excluding stock compensation charges) of $5.2 million, representing earnings per diluted share of $0.06. This compares to a pro forma net income of $3.4 million, or earnings per diluted share of $0.04, in the prior quarter, and a pro forma net loss of $4.0 million, or net loss per diluted share of $0.06, in the same period a year ago.
Commenting on these results, Bob Howe, Chairman and CEO of Scient, stated, ``We are very pleased with Scient's results for the first fiscal quarter. In this quarter, we helped 7 of our clients launch their eBusinesses, including 6 enterprise or enterprise-backed clients such as AT&T, Hewitt and Wells Fargo. We are excited about the quality of our clients worldwide, as demand for our services remains strong across each of our 7 global business units, including our newly launched global Health & Wellness business unit.''
``In addition to reporting continued rapid revenue growth, Scient improved its operating metrics and its level of profitability in the quarter,'' added Bill Kurtz, Executive Vice President and CFO of Scient. ``We believe that Scient remains differentiated by our ability to leverage the investments we have made to improve profitability while continuing to outpace the industry growth rates.''
``Scient remains committed to global expansion,'' commented Bob Howe. ``We are pleased to have announced the launch of our presence in France through the acquisition of AXIDIA, further enabling us to serve our clients on a global basis. We also continued our domestic expansion through the launch of our office in Summit, New Jersey. By leveraging our strong global brand and our 1,499 colleagues in 13 offices worldwide, we believe we can continue to drive the innovation, scale and leverage of our business on a global basis.''
Fiscal Q1 Operational Highlights
-- Served 62 clients, including 12 new clients
-- 48 enterprise or enterprise-backed clients across all business units
-- 14 venture capital-backed startup clients
-- 7 international clients
-- Helped 7 clients successfully launch their eBusinesses, including:
-- AT&T (third successful launch)
-- CampusDoor (Internet resources for planning and financing education)
-- eLuxury (luxury lifestyle destination)
-- FasTurn (e-marketplace for the global apparel industry)
-- PowerSpring (natural gas eMarketplace subsidiary of Metretek)
-- Sageo (a Hewitt eBusiness which delivers health and welfare benefits
over the Internet)
-- Wells Fargo
-- Extended relationship with Hotwire (Internet destination for
value-oriented consumers and brand sensitive suppliers backed by
Texas Pacific Group and major commercial airline partners) through
signed Operations engagement.
-- Launched global Health & Wellness business unit to focus on the
pharmaceutical, biotech, genomics and medical products segments, as
well as consumer health and wellness eBusinesses. Current clients
include Sageo (see above) and Skila, a global healthcare intelligence
and eKnowledge provider, as well as startups including Acurian and
BenefitPoint. The global Health & Wellness business unit is headed by
industry veteran Steven Yecies, who assumes the role of General
Manager, Global Health & Wellness.
-- Launched presence in France through the announcement of an agreement to
acquire AXIDIA, a leading Paris-based eBusiness services firm. AXIDIA
was founded in 1995 and offers eBusiness consulting, applications and
infrastructure and security services to its France-based clients,
including AXA, L'Oreal and Yves St. Laurent. The addition of AXIDIA's
42 colleagues will help launch Scient's presence in France.
-- Continued domestic expansion through the opening of the Summit,
New Jersey office
-- Hosted eBriefings in Austin, Chicago and Silicon Valley
About Scient®: The eBusiness Systems Innovator(TM)
Scient is the premier firm in systems innovation. Scient delivers electronic businesses to create unassailable market positions for clients. Scient provides:
eBusiness strategy.
eBusinesses that are rapidly architected, engineered, and delivered.
Just-in-time innovations that enhance and extend eBusinesses.
Headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Dallas, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Silicon Valley, London, Munich, Paris and Singapore, Scient can be reached at www.scient.com or 415-733-8200. |
