ReadSoft carries out cost savings program

ReadSoft carries out cost savings program Due to lower sales than expected during 2001, ReadSoft intends to carry out a cost savings program which will reduce the staff by 80 employees in Sweden and abroad. These measures are taken in order to adapt to a market slow-down and a growth which has been lower than planned. The savings program will affect 80 employees, approximately 35 in Sweden. The sales organization will only be affected marginally. Lowered personnel costs and other measures will save 15-20 MSEK each quarter, starting next year. By using these measures, ReadSoft will save 12-15 MSEK during the fourth quarter of this year. The costs for the saving program will amount to approximately 8-10 MSEK, which will burden the fourth quarter of this year. Jan Andersson, MD at ReadSoft comments the cost savings program: "Despite a 23 percent increase in revenue during the first six months of the year, our sales were lower than expected due to a weakening market climate. We see no market climate improvement for the third quarter and the recent events in the U.S. have increased the uncertainty for the fourth quarter and the future. The reporting for the third quarter is not yet fully completed, but we anticipate lower growth and a larger loss than expected for the quarter. Due to this we now initiate the cost savings program, which will reduce our costs by 60-80 MSEK on an annual basis. With these actions we create opportunities for a positive result and cash flow for the year 2002. The interim report for the third quarter will be presented on the 25th of October. For more information, please contact: ReadSoft AB Jan Andersson, MD ReadSoft, Pho: +46-(0)708 - 37 66 00 Olof Engvall, Information Services Manager, Pho: +46-(0)708 - 37 66 70 E-mail: olof.engvall@readsoft.com www.readsoft.com ReadSoft is the market leader in the development and sales of software for automatic data capture, which is software that automatically registers and interprets data on forms and invoices in paper or electronic format. Since its establishment in 1991,ReadSoft has evolved into a global corporation with thirteen subsidiaries in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, The UK, The US, Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. The annual growth, for the last five years, has been approximately 70%. In 2000 the turnover was 31 MUSD. In May the Swedish business magazine Veckans Affärer awarded ReadSoft the title "IT- Company of the year 2001". ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/02/20011002BIT00080/bit0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2001/10/02/20011002BIT00080/bit0002.pdf