Briefs

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 28, 2003--SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq:SPSS), the leading provider of predictive analytics technology and services, today announced results for its third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2003.

Revenues and diluted earnings per share were $52.1 million and $0.19 in the quarter, as compared to $52.7 million and a loss per share of $(0.26) in the same period last year, respectively. Operating income improved to $4.6 million in the quarter from an operating loss of $(7.4) million in the same period last year. Included in the results for the quarter ended Sept. 30, 2002, were technology write-offs, restructuring costs and other nonrecurring charges of $10.9 million.

The company's improved profitability was primarily due to expense reduction programs implemented in the third quarter of 2002, which included a field operations restructuring, the downsizing or closing of certain facilities and the termination of certain investments. SPSS also increased its cash flow from operations to $18.8 million in the first nine months of the year, up from $13.4 million in the first half of 2003 and $(1.5) million in the same nine month period last year.

New sales of SPSS data mining tools increased by 26 percent from the third quarter in 2002, largely driven by new licenses of the company's text mining technology. Also contributing to this growth were higher new sales of Clementine and server versions of the SPSS statistical analysis tools. For example, Sallie Mae, the nation's leading provider of education funding, selected Clementine to better provide guaranteed student loans as well as information to students, parents and guidance professionals. DIRECTV, Inc., the nation's leading digital multi-channel television service provider, purchased LexiQuest(TM) to incorporate unstructured customer data from call center interactions into its overall CRM analysis initiatives

Speaking to other aspects of the third quarter, Edward Hamburg, SPSS executive vice president and chief financial officer, said, "The company's internal rate of revenue growth was flat compared to the third quarter in 2002, which tells much of the story in the current quarter. In short, revenue increases in particular product lines, vertical markets or geographies were offset by decreases in others. Almost $2 million of growth in new sales of data mining tools countered the combined declines in revenues from services, discontinued products, NetGenesis and ShowCase. Japan made up for Europe, and in the United States, growth from federal and higher education sales matched flat revenues from corporate customers and lower sales to state and local government organizations. Overall, we are holding our own in a market characterized by continued uncertainty."

See www.spss.com for more information.