To: Gilbert Drapeau who wrote (176 ) 3/14/2001 8:30:09 AM From: Gilbert Drapeau Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 192 NURUN Reaffirms its Positive Outlook for 2001 MONTREAL, QUEBEC--MARCH 14, 2001 - 08:00 EST NURUN Inc., a subsidiary of Quebecor Inc., today reaffirmed its positive outlook for 2001, based on the expansion of the Company's international network and the steady growth in its revenue backlog. The Company expects double digit revenue growth, gross margin year-over-year improvement and positive EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for 2001. Additional and more detailed guidance on the Company's financial outlook will be given at the time of its first quarter earnings announcement. "The performance of our e-business services should improve on a sequential basis throughout the year as business picks up in our existing offices and as we build momentum in the new offices we are opening in Europe and the United States at the request of our major clients such as L'Oréal," said Jacques-Hervé Roubert, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Over the past few months and weeks, we have won or renewed a number of major accounts, including General Motors in Detroit, units of PPR (Pinault-Printemps-La Redoute) Group in Paris, MTV and Galbani in Italy, as well as several others in Montreal, Quebec City and New York, and our longstanding clients such as L'Oréal and Danone continue to give us new projects. Although business conditions remain difficult, we have every reason to be optimistic about the medium and long-term prospects for our e-business services," added Mr. Roubert. During the last six months, NURUN completed a major restructuring and refocused on its core activities, which should also generate benefits in the coming quarters and longer term. /T/ * The Company has exited marginally profitable activities to concentrate on e-business as well as its subsidiary Mindready which recently completed its IPO. * Cost reduction measures have been implemented, mainly at the corporate office, for recurring annual cost savings of $2 million. * The balance sheet has been addressed with a major goodwill and asset write-down, positioning the Company for future profitability. * The Company is implementing a major program to re-engineer and harmonize business processes across its network in order to improve operating efficiencies, productivity and return on investment. * In sales and marketing, NURUN has mobilized its resources to benefit from its close relationship with Quebecor World, its sister company, particularly to leverage global and U.S. accounts. * Finally, the NURUN management team has gained experience and maturity with the arrival of several new members, particularly in the strategic areas of operations and finance. /T/ The Company enjoys a sound financial position, with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $73.9 million at the beginning of 2001. The Company also notes that its exclusion from the TSE 300 was not related in any way to its financial or operational performance. NURUN Inc. NURUN Inc. (Toronto Stock Exchange: IFN), a subsidiary of the Quebecor Inc. group, is a leading global network developing e-business strategies designed to support multi-channel sales and marketing activities for select clients in the "click and mortar" environment. NURUN employs more than 1,200 professionals in 19 major cities worldwide. More information about NURUN can be found at www.nurun.com. Forward-Looking Statements Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this document are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Reform Litigation Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Those risks include, among others, changes in customer demand for our services, changes in labor and equipment costs and availability, seasonal changes in customer orders, pricing actions by our competitors and general changes in economic conditions.