SkillSoft Corporation achieves profitability in fiscal fourth quarter

SkillSoft Corporation, providing e-Learning solutions for Global 2000 companies, reported financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and full year ending January 31, 2002.

The company reported total revenue of $15.2 million for the fiscal 2002 fourth quarter, which represented an 89% increase from $8.0 million in the fiscal 2001 fourth quarter, and a 36% increase from $11.2 million in the fiscal 2002 third quarter. Gross margin increased to 94.0%, compared to 93.5% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001. For the third quarter of fiscal 2002, gross margin was 94.8%. The company achieved profitability for the first time since its inception.

ìWe entered the e-Learning market with a sound, levereagable business model designed to capitalise on the strong growth dynamics for critical business skills e- Learning. Our results show that our business model and strategy can be quite successful, even as the market evolves due to changes in the economy and purchasing habits of our customers,î commented Chuck Moran, chairman, president and CEO.

ìAs a result of our recent acquisition of Books24x7.com, we are now in a position to market a flexible, digital, referenceware library offering alongside our existing content library. In challenging economic periods, such as we are experiencing today, customers are finding SkillSoftís high quality content and digital referenceware to be a high value-add, cost effective resource for workforce development and performance support,î added Kevin Young, managing director of SkillSoft International.

SkillSoft introduced 221 new products during the 2002 fiscal fourth quarter. The company ended fiscal year 2002 with 1220 courses, clearly exceeding its goal of more than 1,000 by January 31, 2002.

For the year ended January 31, 2002, SkillSoft reported revenue of $44.3 million, up significantly from $19.3 million in the year ended January 31, 2001. During the year, SkillSoft expanded its client roster with the addition of leading companies such as JD Edwards and General Motors and renewed relationships with many quality customers, such as Verizon and Raytheon. SkillSoft added 180 new customers during the year.

www.skillsoft.com