Contract & Provision Updates

Anite Group PLC 07 April 2006 For immediate release 7 April 2006 Anite Group Plc Contract and Provision updates Anite Group plc, ('Anite' or 'the Group'), the worldwide IT solutions and services company, today announces updates in relation to its contract with the Department of Human Services of the State of Victoria ('SoV'), based in Melbourne, Australia, and the implementations of its Pericles software with a number of local government customers in the UK. State of Victoria The Board is pleased to confirm that Stage One of the State of Victoria contract has now successfully gone live. This important milestone means that the first stage of Anite's software is now being successfully deployed by the customer. Anite and SoV are currently in detailed negotiations regarding options to finish the final stages of the project on the most efficient basis with least cost and risk. However, following a recent review, the Board now believes that the Group will have no option but to incur further one off costs in relation to the State of Victoria contract. These additional costs are likely to run to several million pounds, and accordingly a sum will be added to the £3.1m provision carried forward at the end of October 2005, to be utilised throughout the next two financial years. While these negotiations are ongoing, it is impossible to accurately estimate the level of these costs, however as soon as these costs are finalised an announcement will be made. Pericles The latest software (Release 36) has now been successfully deployed by most customers within the Pericles user group, representing another significant milestone. Implementations have continued in line with our expectations with a further client now live on the benefits module since the interim results. The implementations will continue for a further twelve months, during which time the provision will be under continual review. In addition, we are also pleased to report that the Department of Work and Pensions' (DWP) Performance Standards Fund (PSF) has awarded Anite a £3 million contract for the second phase of its Pericles Mobile Working Project. This efficiency-driven initiative will transform the work of 31 local authority Benefits departments by enabling visiting officers to access information remotely via mobile devices. Notice of trading update and results The Group expects to announce a trading update for the year ended 30 April 2006 in early June. Steve Rowley, Anite's Chief Executive, commented: 'We are delighted that Stage One of Anite's software is now being successfully used by the State of Victoria. This represents a significant milestone for Anite. 'However, as a result of these additional costs we are now in intensive negotiations with the customer to restructure the project such that the remaining software stages are implemented with minimum risk, maximum visibility and the lowest level of costs for Anite.' A conference call for analysts will be held at 7.30am this morning. For further information, please contact: www.anite.com Anite Group plc 01753 804000 Steve Rowley, Chief Executive Christopher Humphrey, Group Finance Director Smithfield 020 7360 4900 Sara Musgrave This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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