Sopheon plc, the international provider of software and services that improve the financial return from innovation and product development investments, announces its first interim management statement for the period since 1 January 2011 to the date of this announcement, in line with the requirements of the EU Transparency Directive.
After an excellent close to 2010, Sopheon has continued to add business since the start of the year during which period we have closed 11 new and extension license orders, in addition to a number of substantial services engagements. Business from existing customers remains strong. Revenue visibility for the full year from contracted business and recurring revenue streams now stands at £6.1 million, compared to £5.2 million on 24 March, the time of our last update, and £5.6 million at the time of our statement issued in May last year. Gross cash at the end of the first quarter of 2011 stood at £3.0 million.
Our sales pipeline continues to show encouraging activity, and we are engaged in contract discussions with a number of new and existing customers to sign additional business. Our services teams on both sides of the Atlantic are also experiencing good levels of activity. In addition to balancing services resources to meet this demand, we are also continuing to add a small number of staff in commercial and product development roles. This builds on the recruitment of Gert Staal (VP of EMEA region) and Don Sarno (VP of Product Development) respectively, as announced earlier this year. Nevertheless, customers are still thorough and cautious in their procurement practices. Accurate prediction of the timing and value of individual sales remains difficult, and we in turn weigh our own investment decisions with care.
Market interest in Sopheon’s solutions is showing a strong positive trend. Nearly twice as many prospective buyers visited our website and responded to our promotional campaigns in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2010. This surge is partly attributable to prominent third-party affirmation of the value of our software. In April, Martin Butler Research, the U.K. based IT analyst firm, published a profile on Sopheon stating, “It really doesn’t matter what sector a business operates in, Sopheon’s solutions provide an opportunity for much greater product development efficiency and accuracy.” Earlier in the year, we were named one of the top ten suppliers of new product development and introduction solutions to manufacturers in consumer packaged goods markets, based on a survey of senior-executive readers of Consumer Goods Technology magazine. Going forward, we are also likely to benefit from a recent decision by Gartner, the influential global IT research firm, to increase its emphasis during the remainder of 2011 on the segment of the product lifecycle management market in which Sopheon operates.