| Record First Quarter + deal w/Microsoft 
 biz.yahoo.com
 
 Thursday October 19, 4:01 pm Eastern Time
 Press Release
 NetIQ Corporation Announces Record First Quarter Revenue and Earnings
 SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 2000--NetIQ® Corporation (Nasdaq:NTIQ - news), a leading provider of e-business infrastructure management software that enables organizations to optimize the performance and availability of their Microsoft Windows NT- and Windows 2000-based systems and applications, today reported record revenue and earnings for its first fiscal quarter ended Sept. 30, 2000.
 
 Total revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2000 increased to $30,529,000, compared to $7,586,000 in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. Excluding amortization of goodwill and other intangibles and stock-based compensation, net income for the quarter was $6,510,000, or $0.16 per diluted share, compared to net income of $650,000 or $0.04 per diluted share in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year.
 
 This is the first quarter in which the operations for Mission Critical Software have been included for the entire period. The merger of Mission Critical Software with NetIQ was completed on May 12, 2000. On a pro forma basis, including Mission Critical and other acquired companies, revenue in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year was $19,315,000. Also on a pro forma basis, and excluding amortization of goodwill and other intangibles and stock-based compensation, net income for in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year was $868,000, or $0.02 per diluted share.
 
 ``We kicked off the new fiscal year as a new company with a new organizational structure and a new corporate identity. We continued to expand our business with new and returning customers, built a world-class organization and increased profitability,'' said Ching-Fa Hwang, CEO at NetIQ Corporation. ``The results are extremely satisfying and indicate strong market acceptance of our new company and our technology.
 
 ``In addition, we announced a significant license, development and marketing agreement with Microsoft, which positions NetIQ as Microsoft's Premier Independent Software Vendor for solutions built on Microsoft's operations management technology,'' he continued. ``We look forward to the opportunities that lie ahead for us to deliver the most comprehensive solutions for managing both Windows- and non-Windows-based platforms, applications and devices.''
 
 First Quarter Operating highlights:
 
 Microsoft Corporation and NetIQ Corporation entered into a licensing, development and marketing agreement in which NetIQ granted a perpetual license in NetIQ's Operations Manager technology to Microsoft for $175 million, to be paid over a period of three years, and agreed to other development and marketing programs and fees.
 NetIQ Corporation acquired Software Realization Inc., a professional services company focused on delivering packaged training and deployment offerings to our partners and customers;
 Microsoft Consulting Services commenced using the NetIQ Domain Migration Administrator, Netware Migrator, and Server Consolidator products to assist customers worldwide in accelerating the migration from Windows NT Servers and Novell NetWare to Windows 2000;
 Unisys Corporation licensed a version of our AppManager technology to be included with Unisys' e-@action Enterprise Server systems;
 DeskTalk signed an agreement to resell NetIQ's application and infrastructure performance management software to e-businesses and managed service providers;
 Integration activities relating to the merger were completed successfully during Q1, and significant new products such as File and Storage Administrator, Exchange Migrator, AppManager for Conferencing Server, Pegasus 3.0 and AppAnalyzer were introduced;
 NetIQ sold software licenses to more than 300 new customers and realized more than 50% of its license revenue from existing customers.
 NetIQ Analyst/Investor Conference Call
 
 NetIQ will conduct a conference call at 1:45 p.m. PDT today to discuss results in more detail and to provide guidance for the fiscal year.
 
 Call in numbers: 719/457-2626 and 800/967-7135
 Replay: 719/457-0820 and 888/203-1112
 Confirmation code: 451774
 
 About NetIQ Corporation
 
 NetIQ (Nasdaq:NTIQ - news), with over 2000 customers, is a leading provider of e-business infrastructure management software encompassing application, directory, server and network performance management. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with development and operational personnel in Houston, Raleigh, N.C., and Bellevue, Wash. For more information please visit NetIQ's Web site at netiq.com or call 408/330-7000.
 
 Safe Harbor Statement
 
 Statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are ``forward-looking'' statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company's future results could differ materially from the results discussed herein. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include the risks inherent in technology businesses, including the timing and successful development of technology; our ability to retain and hire technical personnel and other employees; changing relationships with customers, suppliers and strategic partners; unanticipated costs associated with development and marketing activities; customer acceptance of new product offerings; pricing of new products, and competition in our various product lines. For a more complete discussion of risks and uncertainties see the section entitled ``Factors That May Affect Future Results'' in the company's annual report on Form 10-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
 NetIQ, the NetIQ logo, AppManager, File and Storage Administrator, Operations Manager, Domain Migration Administrator, Netware Migrator, Server Consolidator, Exchange Migrator and Pegasus are trademarks or registered trademarks of NetIQ Corporation. All other company or product names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
 
 NetIQ Corporation
 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
 (In thousands)
 
 Sept. 30,        June 30,
 2000             2000
 (Unaudited)
 -------------    ------------
 ASSETS
 
 Current assets:
 Cash and cash equivalents                 $74,457         $187,610
 Short-term investments                    244,794          145,916
 Accounts receivable, net                   18,689           10,744
 Prepaid expenses                            3,134            3,478
 -----------      -----------
 Total current assets                  341,074          347,748
 -----------      -----------
 Property and
 equipment, net                             36,365            7,181
 Goodwill and other
 intangibles, net                        1,244,173        1,365,891
 Other assets                                   935              941
 -----------      -----------
 Total assets                         $1,622,547       $1,721,761
 ===========      ===========
 LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
 
 Current liabilities:
 Accounts payable                           $3,352           $2,044
 Accrued compensation and
 related benefits                           7,453            5,023
 Other liabilities                           8,846           11,285
 Deferred revenue                           20,385           17,687
 -----------      -----------
 Total current
 liabilities                             40,036           36,039
 -----------      -----------
 Stockholders' equity:
 Common stock                            1,768,782        1,760,396
 Deferred stock-based
 compensation                              (1,109)          (1,286)
 Accumulated deficit                      (185,055)         (73,271)
 Accumulated other
 comprehensive loss                          (107)            (117)
 -----------      -----------
 Total stockholders'
 equity                               1,582,511        1,685,722
 -----------      -----------
 Total liabilities and
 stockholders' equity                $1,622,547       $1,721,761
 ===========      ===========
 
 NetIQ Corporation
 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
 (In thousands, except per share amounts)
 
 Three Months
 Ended September 30,
 (Unaudited)
 -------------------
 2000            1999
 ------          ------
 Software license revenue                    $23,066          $6,221
 Service revenue                               7,463           1,365
 ---------       ---------
 Total revenue                              30,529           7,586
 ---------       ---------
 Cost of software license revenue                345             156
 Cost of service revenue                       1,346             419
 ---------       ---------
 Total cost of revenue                       1,691             575
 ---------       ---------
 Gross profit                                 28,838           7,011
 ---------       ---------
 Operating expenses:
 Sales and marketing                        15,156           4,124
 Research and development                    6,609           1,709
 General and administration                  2,212             754
 Stock-based compensation                      170             178
 Amortization of goodwill
 and other intangibles                    119,394              --
 ---------       ---------
 Total operating expenses                143,541           6,765
 ---------       ---------
 Income (loss) from operations              (114,703)            246
 ---------       ---------
 Interest income, net                          5,819             348
 ---------       ---------
 Income (loss) before
 income taxes                              (108,884)            594
 
 Income taxes                                  2,900             122
 ---------       ---------
 Net income (loss)                         $(111,784)           $472
 =========       =========
 Basic net income (loss)
 per share                                   $(3.00)          $0.04
 
 Shares used to compute basic
 net income (loss) per share                 37,286          11,696
 
 Diluted net income (loss)
 per share                                   $(3.00)          $0.03
 
 Shares used to compute
 diluted net income (loss)
 per share                                   37,286          15,785
 
 SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION:
 
 Net income excluding stock-
 based compensation,
 amortization of goodwill
 and other intangibles, and
 related income tax effects                  $6,510            $650
 =========       =========
 Diluted net income per share                  $0.16           $0.04
 
 Shares used to compute
 diluted net income per share                41,561          15,785
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