Trading Statement

Sopheon PLC
30 July 2003


Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs 30th July 2003


                                  SOPHEON PLC
                                  ('Sopheon')

           AGM: Final steps in restructuring program, trading update
                         and new distribution agreement


At the Annual General Meeting of Sopheon plc (stock code : SPE) later today,
Sopheon Chairman Barry Mence will give shareholders an update on Sopheon's
restructuring program and trading, together with details of a new software
partnership agreement for certain software solutions, signed with Siemens
Business Services. Mr Mence will also be giving an overview of the new business
shape going forward and an outlook statement:

'I am pleased to report that Sopheon is reaching the final stages of the
restructuring programme announced in our 2002 Annual Report. The major points
are:

•         We have completed the sale of our North American Information
          Management (IM) business to Find/SVP of New York

•         The 6% convertible loan stock holders have approved an extension of
          its repayment until June 2005

•         Further cost reductions in North America, the Netherlands and the UK
          will form the platform for potential positive cash flow in Q4 of this 
          year

As indicated in our Annual Report, these significant steps are further progress
towards our goal of becoming a leading supplier of software and services that
enable major corporations to improve critical processes within R&D, and in
particular to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of new product
development.


As previously announced, our German operations have experienced higher losses
than might be expected in a more flexible environment, and accordingly have been
under review. The board has concluded that we should seek to divest the German
IM business, mirroring our recent US transaction, and to migrate business
development activity for software solutions in Germany towards third-party
representation. We anticipate that these steps, which are not expected to
realize any proceeds for the group, will be concluded in the near term.



Today we are also announcing the signing of an agreement for Siemens Business
Services ('SBS') to become a reseller for Sopheon's new Monitor software
solution, to be offered to approximately 1,400 Siemens units worldwide.  The
Sopheon software powers the new SBS Standardisation Competence Center's '
Compliance Direct Service' which supports product development and business
initiatives by providing timely, structured access to a broad range of
information sources containing internal and external standards and regulations.



During 2002 and the first half of 2003, trading has continued to be tough and
both the number and value of orders achieved have been lower than hoped, as
corporations continue to take cautious steps with investment. However, as
highlighted by Gartner and other analysts, PLM remains at the leading edge of
the market for enterprise software solutions, in which we hold a recognised
position. Notwithstanding this challenging environment, we have continued to
develop a solid base of customers for our software products. As announced,
notable additions to our customer base include Millipore, Amtec, and Pfizer.
Furthermore, our relationships with historic clients such as Vodafone, Pall and
GSK have deepened, with additional licence activity underpinning the growth of
existing installations at these clients.




The customer base for Accolade and the related Monitor product can now be
summarised as follows:



•            There are 20 licensed Accolade customers of which 4 have expanded
             licence populations by making multiple orders



•            A further 20 customers have taken an Accolade trial, module or
             assessment project, of which 2 represent module installations, 9 
             are active prospects for sale of a licence and the remaining 9 are 
             completed assessments.



•            There are 2 customers of Sopheon's recently launched Monitor
             solution



In addition, Sopheon has 92 healthcare institutions in the Netherlands as
customers, of which 89 use Sopheon's smaller scale laboratory solution, while 3
teaching hospitals have implemented a full-scale protocol management solution.



After our restructuring program is fully implemented at the end of this quarter,
it is planned that we will have a total of around 60 staff based in North
America, The Netherlands and the UK with distribution partners in Singapore,
Germany and Scandinavia. The fixed cost base associated with this new shape will
then be down to below £0.5m per month - around a third of the level of a year
ago - with revenue planned to exceed this figure by year end. This would
represent a doubling of revenue from our own software products division for 2003
compared to 2002.



As interest in our software solutions continues to develop, the ongoing
reduction of our cost base has given us the real potential to achieve our major
short-term objective of becoming cash flow positive in Q4 of this year. With the
corporate developments mentioned above behind us, all efforts will be focused on
the sale and implementation of our products. I feel confident this will result
in software revenue growth and higher margins as we move further towards our
longer term objective of becoming a leading international supplier of software
and services that improve the financial return on innovation and product
development investments.'



FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:


Barry Mence, Chairman          Sopheon plc                             Tel :   + 44 (0) 1483 883 000
Arif Karimjee, CFO
Adam Reynolds                  Hansard Communications                  Tel :   + 44 (0) 207 245 1100
Andrew Tan                                                                     + 44 (0) 7957 203 685
Barbara Jansen                 Citigate First Financial                Tel :   + 31 (0) 205 754 010



About Sopheon

Sopheon (LSE:SPE) is an international provider of software tools, experts and
content that help organizations improve the business impact of product
development. Sopheon enables clients to achieve higher, faster return on
innovation and product development investments through technology and
human-based decision support. The company's products and services include its
flagship Accolade(R) product development system which incorporates knowledge
network (formerly Organik(R)) expertise-sharing technology, and the Monitor
software for compliance management.  Sopheon is listed on the AIM market of the
London Stock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands.  For more
information, please visit www.sopheon.com.






                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange