NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS INC
10-Q, 1999-09-13
COMPUTER PROCESSING & DATA PREPARATION
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                UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
                                    FORM 10-Q





[X]  QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
     SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended: July 31, 1999

Commission File Number: 0-3713


                         NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC.
       -----------------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          Minnesota                                       41-0850527
- -------------------------------                      --------------------
(State or other jurisdiction of                        (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                       Identification Number)


       11000 Prairie Lakes Drive
        Eden Prairie, Minnesota                             55344
- ----------------------------------------                 ----------
(Address of principal executive offices)                 (Zip Code)


Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (612)829-3000

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required
to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during
the preceding 12 months and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days. Yes [X] No [ ]


Indicate the number of shares  outstanding  of each of the  issuer's  classes of
common stock, as of the last practicable date:

The number of shares of common stock,  par value $.03 per  share,outstanding  on
September 7, 1999, was 31,922,517.

<PAGE>


PART I.  FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1.  Financial Statements
NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (unaudited)



                                       Second Quarter          Year-to-Date
                                     -------------------    -------------------
                                       1999       1998        1999        1998
                                     --------   --------    --------   --------
                                      (In thousands, except per share amounts)
REVENUES
  Information services               $ 97,301   $ 73,497    $169,165   $122,282
  Product Sales                        53,073     41,556      93,225     78,065
  Maintenance and Support              17,290     13,075      31,091     25,696
                                     --------   --------    --------   --------
    Total revenues                   $167,664   $128,128    $293,481   $226,043

COST OF REVENUES
  Cost of information services         65,671     50,592     118,991     86,982
  Cost of product sales                21,623     17,482      37,271     33,495
  Cost of maintenance and support      10,206      8,778      18,924     16,767
                                     --------   --------    --------   --------
    Gross margin                       70,164     51,276     118,295     88,799

OPERATING EXPENSES
  Sales and marketing                  18,969     16,508      35,541     31,580
  Research and development              4,740      2,383       8,413      4,716
  General and administrative           24,270     15,671      40,525     26,828
                                     --------   --------    --------   --------
INCOME FROM OPERATIONS                 22,185     16,714      33,816     25,675

  Interest expense                        266        215         428        533
  Other (income) expense, net             (41)       157         325        305
                                     --------   --------    --------   --------
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES             21,960     16,342      33,063     24,837

  Income taxes                          8,800      6,600      13,250     10,000
                                     --------   --------    --------   --------
NET INCOME                           $ 13,160   $  9,742    $ 19,813   $ 14,837
                                     ========   ========    ========   ========
EARNINGS PER SHARE
  Basic                              $   0.42   $   0.31    $   0.63   $   0.48
  Diluted                            $   0.40   $   0.30    $   0.60   $   0.46

WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING
  Basic                                31,714     30,987      31,597     30,900
  Diluted                              33,027     32,524      32,940     32,416


See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.


<PAGE>


NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited)



                                            July 31,      January 31,
                                              1999          1999
                                           --------      -----------
                                                 (In thousands)
ASSETS

CURRENT ASSETS
  Cash and cash equivalents                $ 19,679        $ 16,310
  Receivables                               134,746         128,751
  Inventories:
    Finished products                         5,527           5,096
    Scoring services and work in process     20,350          14,442
    Raw materials and purchased parts         3,229           2,253
                                           --------        --------
      Total inventories                      29,106          21,791

  Prepaid expenses and other                  8,499           7,225
                                           --------        --------
                    TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS    192,030         174,077

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
  Land, buildings and improvements           65,863          63,018
  Machinery and equipment                   176,007         152,414
  Accumulated depreciation                 (122,667)       (109,416)
                                           --------        --------
    Net property, plant and equipment       119,203         106,016

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES, NET
  Acquired and internally developed
    software products                        10,797          12,170
  Educational content and
    assessment instruments                   24,338           8,835
                                           --------        --------
    Total intellectual properties            35,135          21,005

OTHER ASSETS, NET
  Goodwill                                   58,000          52,840
  Other assets                               10,193           8,533
                                           --------        --------
    Total other assets                       68,193          61,373
                                           --------        --------
                    TOTAL ASSETS           $414,561        $362,471
                                           ========        ========


See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.


<PAGE>


NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited)



                                               July 31,     January 31,
                                                1999           1999
                                              --------      -----------
                                                   (In thousands)
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

CURRENT LIABILITIES
  Current maturities of long-term debt        $  8,092       $  3,758
  Accounts payable                              34,487         35,809
  Accrued expenses                              66,484         51,779
  Deferred income                               42,167         32,209
  Income taxes                                   3,275          3,883
                                              --------       --------
               TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES       154,505        127,438

LONG-TERM DEBT -- less current maturities        5,895          5,597

DEFERRED INCOME TAXES                            6,703          2,570

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES                        -              -

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
  Preferred stock                                    -              -
  Common stock--issued and outstanding -
  31,826 and 31,467 shares, respectively           955            944
  Paid-in capital                               13,233         10,760
  Retained earnings                            237,226        220,625
  Accumulated other comprehensive income -
    Foreign currency translation adjustment     (2,533)        (3,880)
  Deferred compensation                         (1,423)        (1,583)
                                              --------       --------
               TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY      247,458        226,866
                                              --------       --------
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY    $414,561       $362,471
                                              ========       ========


See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.


<PAGE>


NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (unaudited)


                                                 Year-to-Date Through July 31,
                                                 -----------------------------
                                                       1999         1998
                                                     --------     --------
                                                         (In thousands)
OPERATING ACTIVITIES
  Net income                                         $ 19,813     $ 14,837
  Depreciation, amortization and other
    noncash expenses                                   17,991       16,322
  Provision for deferred income taxes                    (499)      (1,043)
  Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
    Accounts receivable                                (5,087)     (13,275)
    Inventory and other current assets                 (8,375)     (14,633)
    Accounts payable and accrued expenses              11,302        7,572
    Deferred income                                     6,593        6,825
                                                     --------     --------
      Net cash provided by operating activities        41,738       16,605

INVESTING ACTIVITIES
  Purchases of property, plant and equipment          (15,597)     (11,588)
  Purchases of business systems                        (7,683)      (3,775)
  Acquisitions, net                                   (19,059)      (4,600)
  Other, net                                            1,317         (984)
                                                     --------     --------
      Net cash used in investing activities           (41,022)     (20,947)

FINANCING ACTIVITIES
  Net increase (decrease) in revolving
    credit borrowings                                   5,000            -
  Net repayment of borrowings                            (268)      (5,770)
  Issuance (repurchase) of common stock, net            1,084          389
  Dividends paid                                       (3,163)      (3,108)
                                                     --------     --------
      Net cash provided by (used in)
        financing activities                            2,653       (8,489)

      Increase (decrease) in cash and
        cash equivalents                                3,369      (12,831)


CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - beginning of period        16,310       23,267
                                                     --------     --------
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - end of period            $ 19,679     $ 10,436
                                                     ========     ========


See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.


<PAGE>


NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Note A - The accompanying  unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been
prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and, therefore, do not
include  all the  information  and  footnotes  required  by  generally  accepted
accounting  principles  for  complete  financial  statements.  In the opinion of
management,  all adjustments  (which include only normal recurring  adjustments)
necessary to present  fairly the  consolidated  financial  position,  results of
operations  and cash  flows  for all  periods  presented  have  been  made.  The
consolidated  results of  operations  for the period ended July 31, 1999 are not
necessarily  indicative  of the  operating  results that may be expected for the
entire fiscal year ending  January 29, 2000. For further  information,  refer to
the Consolidated Financial Statements and footnotes thereto included in National
Computer Systems, Inc. and Subsidiaries' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended January 31, 1999.

Note B -  Effective  February  1, 1999,  the  Company  adopted a 4-4-5,  13-week
quarterly  accounting  cycle with the fiscal year ending on the Saturday nearest
to January 31. The four fiscal  quarters in the current  year will end on May 1,
1999,  July 31, 1999,  October 30, 1999 and January 29, 2000. The impact of this
change in the Company's  quarterly and annual financial  results in 1999 will be
insignificant.

Note C - The following table is a reconciliation  of the earnings  numerator and
the  weighted-average  shares  denominator used in the calculations of basic and
diluted earnings per share (in thousands, except per share data):


                                          Second Quarter        Year-to-Date
                                       --------------------  ------------------
                                          1999      1998       1999      1998
                                       ---------  ---------  --------  --------
Earnings:
  Net income for
    basic earnings per share             $13,160   $ 9,742    $19,813   $14,837

  Adjustments for dilutive securities:
    Interest expense on convertible
      debentures, net of tax                  43        59         84       110
                                         -------   -------    -------   -------
  Adjusted net income for diluted
    earnings per share                   $13,203   $ 9,801    $19,897   $14,947
                                         =======   =======    =======   =======
Weighted Average Share:
  Basic average shares                    31,714    30,987     31,597    30,900
  Adjustments for dilutive securities:
    Employee stock options, net of
      tax proceeds                           895       956        920       928
    Contingent stock awards, net of
      tax proceeds                            35        73         36        79
    Convertible debentures                   383       508        387       509
                                         -------   -------    -------   -------
  Diluted average shares                  33,027    32,524     32,940    32,416
                                         =======   =======    =======   =======
Basic earnings per share                 $  0.42   $  0.31    $  0.63   $  0.48
                                         =======   =======    =======   =======
Diluted earnings per share               $  0.40   $  0.30    $  0.60   $  0.46
                                         =======   =======    =======   =======


<PAGE>


Note D - The Company has  10,000,000  shares of $.01 par value  Preferred  Stock
authorized of which none is  outstanding.  100,000,000  shares of $.03 par value
Common Stock are authorized.

Note E - The  components  of  comprehensive  income for the 1999 and 1998 second
quarter and year-to-date are as follows (in thousands):


                                         Second Quarter       Year-to-Date
                                       ------------------   ----------------
                                        1999      1998       1999      1998
                                       ------    ------     ------    ------

      Net income                      $13,160   $ 9,742    $19,813   $14,837
      Foreign currency translation
        adjustments                       344      (776)     1,347      (761)
                                       ------    ------     ------    ------
      Comprehensive income            $13,504   $ 8,966    $21,160   $14,076
                                      =======   =======    =======   =======

Note F - As  previously  disclosed,  the  Company  was served with a summons and
complaint  in a lawsuit  filed  against  the Company by a former  customer.  The
lawsuit  alleges  certain claims against the Company in connection  with certain
loan processing and servicing agreements and seeks out-of-pocket  damages,  lost
profits and  compensation for  extraordinary  defaults and lost interest that it
claims resulted from breaches of these  agreements by the Company.  The customer
also  seeks to have the  Company  acquire  certain  student  loans  with  unpaid
principal,  interest and late charges,  which loans it claims are, or have been,
in default  and were  incorrectly  processed  or serviced  by the  Company.  The
Company  has  tendered  the defense of the claims to its insurer and the insurer
accepted the defense  subject to a reservation of rights.  The Company has filed
an answer to the  complaint  denying  the  claims,  and the  Company  intends to
vigorously  defend  against the lawsuit.  In  addition,  the Company has filed a
counterclaim  against  the former  customer  and a corporate  affiliate  seeking
compensatory  damages and  contribution  and  indemnity.  The  Company  does not
believe that the outcome of this litigation  would result in a material  adverse
effect  on  the  Company's   consolidated   financial  position  or  results  of
operations.

Note G - On May 28, 1999 the Company acquired NovaNET  Learning,  Inc. (NLI), an
interactive,  online  curriculum  content  company.  The  transaction  has  been
accounted for as a purchase,  and,  accordingly,  NLI's operations subsequent to
the closing date will be consolidated with the Company's. The purchase price was
$19.1 million in cash and has been primarily  allocated to  educational  content
($16.3  million),  goodwill ($7.1 million) and $4.6 million of deferred taxes in
accordance  with SFAS 109,  Accounting  for Income  Taxes.  The  transaction  is
expected to add approximately $15 million to current year revenues.

Note H - The  Company has five  reportable  business  segments;  the table below
presents information by segment.

<PAGE>

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>


                                  Assessments   Education                  Data
                                   & Testing    Software &    NCS       Collection
                                   Services     Services    Services      Systems   International    Totals
                                  -----------  -----------  ----------  ---------- --------------  ---------
Second Quarter Ended 7/31/99

<S>                                <C>          <C>          <C>          <C>          <C>          <C>
  Revenues                         $ 53,930     $ 44,481     $35,437      $21,823      $11,993      $167,664

  Income from operations             15,084        5,758       4,818        5,771        1,037        32,468

Second Quarter Ended 7/31/98

  Revenues                         $ 47,652     $ 26,652     $22,617      $20,194      $11,013      $128,128

  Income from operations             13,561        2,613       2,253        3,456          837        22,720



Year-to-Date through 7/31/99

  Revenues                         $ 85,857     $ 72,807     $69,234      $42,653      $22,930      $293,481

  Income from operations             18,818        6,889      10,304       11,018        2,065        49,094

Year-to-Date through 7/31/98

  Revenues                         $ 72,090      $48,099     $44,429      $38,735      $22,690      $226,043

  Income from operations             17,195        3,116       4,517        7,815        1,432        34,075

</TABLE>

The  difference  between  segment totals and the Company's  consolidated  totals
consist  of central  general  and  administrative  expenses,  and  non-operating
expenses,  all of which are not allocated to the  segments.  No major changes in
segment  assets  have  occurred  since  January  31,  1999,  other  than the NLI
acquisition  described  in  Note G,  which  assets  are a part of the  Education
Software & Services segment.


<PAGE>


Item 2.  Management's  Discussion  and  Analysis  of Results of  Operations  and
Financial Condition

National  Computer  Systems,  Inc.  is a  global  information  services  company
providing  software,  services and systems for the  collection,  management  and
interpretation  of data. The Company  markets these products and services to the
education,  commercial,  and  government  markets  through  its  five  operating
segments.

Recap of 1999 Second Quarter Results

For the quarter ended July 31, 1999,  total revenues  increased by $39.5 million
or 30.9% from the quarter ended July 31, 1998.  Overall  gross margin  increased
1.8% as a percent of revenue,  and gross margin dollars  increased $18.9 million
or 36.8%.  Income from  operations  increased $5.5 million or 32.7%.  Net income
increased  35.1%,  and earnings per share (diluted)  increased 33.3% to $.40 per
share from $.30 in the prior year second quarter.

On a year-to-date basis, total revenues increased by $67.4 million or 29.8% over
the same period in the prior year.  Overall  gross  margin  increased  1.0% as a
percent of revenue,  and gross margin dollars  increased $29.5 million or 33.2%.
Income from operations  year-to-date increased $8.1 million or 31.7%. Net income
increased  33.5%,  and earnings per share (diluted)  increased 30.4% to $.60 per
share from $.46 in the prior year.

Revenues

Increases in revenues for the three month and  year-to-date  periods  ended July
31, 1999 and 1998 by revenue category were as follows:

                                      Quarter         Year-to-date
                                      -------         ------------
          Information services         +32.4%              +38.3%
          Product sales                +27.7%              +19.4%
          Maintenance and support      +32.2%              +21.0%

            Overall                    +30.9%              +29.8%

Of the $39.5 million of overall revenue  increase in the second quarter of 1999,
60% was  attributable  to growth in  information  services (70% of $67.4 million
year-to-date).  For both the second quarter and  year-to-date,  growth came from
several  sources:  government and commercial  outsourcing,  K-12  networking and
professional services related to education software,  and assessment and testing
services.

Second  quarter  increases  in product  sales came  principally  from  education
software  licensing and related  network  hardware.  Increased  maintenance  and
support  revenues  were  also the  result of  increased  support  revenues  from
education software.

By major market,  for the second  quarter,  revenues grew 31% from the education
market and 30% from the large scale data management (non-education) market. On a
year-to-date  basis,  the  increases  were  33%  from  education  and  23%  from
non-education.

Cost of Revenues and Gross Margins

For the  second  quarter  the  Company's  overall  gross  margin as a percent of
revenue  increased  by  1.8%,  with the  improvement  in each  revenue  category
(information  services,  product sales,  and maintenance and support) in dollars
and as a percentage of revenue.  This improvement  reflects increased efficiency
of service  and  product  delivery  at higher  volumes,  especially  in software
support. The same variances were seen in each category on a year-to-date basis.

Operating Expenses

Sales and  marketing  expenses  increased  $2.5  million or 14.9% in the quarter
ended July 31, 1999,  over the prior year second  quarter.  As a  percentage  of
revenues, second quarter sales and marketing expenses declined by 1.6 percentage
points,  due primarily to the  relatively  lower selling costs  associated  with
information  services  revenues.  On a year-to-date  basis,  these expenses grew
12.5%, but decreased 1.9 percentage points as a percentage of revenue.

Research and  development  costs  nearly  doubled to $4.7 million in the quarter
ended  July 31,  1999 as  compared  to the prior  year (and  increased  78% on a
year-to-date  basis),  reflecting more research and development  spending in the
education software  business.  For the full year, these expenses are expected to
continue  at higher  levels for fiscal  1999 than  fiscal  1998,  as the Company
continues its investment in software products and test processing technology.

General and administrative expenses increased $8.6 million for the quarter ended
July 31, 1999 from the prior year quarter.  As a percentage of revenue,  general
and administrative  expense increased 2.3 percentage points from 12.2% to 14.5%.
On a year-to-date  basis the increase was $13.7 million,  from 11.9% of revenues
to 13.8%. These expenses increased due to general growth and costs related to an
improvement of the Company's employee benefit package  (particularly  vacation),
variable  compensation  accrued  because of  favorable  operating  results,  and
increases in internal management information systems.

Non-operating Expenses

Interest  expense  remained  insignificant  for  both  the  second  quarter  and
year-to-date. Other expense, net, was insignificant for all periods presented.

Provision for Income Taxes

The effective income tax rate was a constant 40% for all periods presented.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

For the  six-month  period  ended July 31,  1999,  the Company  generated  $41.7
million of cash flow from  operating  activities as compared to $16.6 million in
the same period of the prior  year.  Cash was used  principally  to fund the NLI
acquisition  of $19.1 million,  investments in property,  plant and equipment of
$15.6 million and business systems of $7.7 million, and to pay dividends of $3.2
million.  The Company expects for the remainder of fiscal 1999 that its positive
cash flows from  operations  will be adequate to fund its normal  financing  and
investing  activities.  In addition,  the Company generally  anticipates funding
internal  growth and  acquisitions  with its cash and cash  equivalents on hand,
excess cash flows from operations, and an existing revolving credit facility.

Impact of Year 2000

Many currently  installed computer systems and software are coded to accept only
two-digit  entries in the date code fields.  These date code fields will need to
accept  four-digit  entries to distinguish  21st century dates from 20th century
dates. This problem could result in system failures or  miscalculations  causing
disruptions of business operations  (including,  among other things, a temporary
inability  to process  transactions,  send  invoices or engage in other  similar
business activities). As a result, many companies' computer systems and software
will  need to be  upgraded  or  replaced  in  order to  comply  with  Year  2000
requirements. The potential global impact of the Year 2000 problem is not known,
and, if not corrected in a timely manner,  could affect the Company and the U.S.
and world economy generally.

The Company's product  development  processes currently contain steps to include
Year 2000 compliance  verification for all current and future products.  Most of
the Company's  products are currently  Year 2000  compliant,  and all continuing
products are expected to be compliant before December 31, 1999.

The Company has a full-time Year 2000 program  leader and a team  (consisting of
representatives  from  each of its  business  units)  to  address  internal  and
external  Year 2000 issues.  The  Company's  internal  financial  and other "IT"
computer  systems have been reviewed to assess and remediate Year 2000 problems,
as have other "non-IT" systems such as security,  HVAC and telephone systems. In
addition,  executive  management  regularly monitors the status of the Company's
Year 2000 remediation plans. The Company's Year 2000 compliance program includes
the following phases:  identifying  systems with date sensitive points that will
need to be addressed;  carrying out remediation  work to modify those systems or
convert  to  new  systems;   conducting   validation   testing  of  systems  and
applications to ensure compliance; and transition preparedness activities. As of
the filing date, the Company believes its products and internal systems are Year
2000 compliant in all material respects. The majority of future work consists of
transition activities described below.

Through  July 31,  1999,  the  Company  has  spent  approximately  $6.2  million
addressing Year 2000 issues ($1.5 million in fiscal 1997, $3.3 million in fiscal
1998, and $1.4 million thus far in fiscal 1999.) The Company expects to incur an
additional  $0.6 million of Year 2000  expenses  during the  remainder of fiscal
1999. These costs are below original estimates and consist primarily of internal
resources,  with relatively minor external costs. All amounts are being expensed
currently  and  are  included  in  the  Company's  future  operating  plans  and
expectations. In addition, the Company has also made, and will continue to make,
significant  capital  investments  to enhance its internal  business and service
delivery systems.  However, these investments are not driven principally by Year
2000 considerations.

In addition,  the Company is requesting assurances from its major suppliers that
they are  addressing  the Year 2000  issue and that  products  purchased  by the
Company  from such  suppliers  will  function  properly in the Year 2000.  Also,
contacts are being made with the Company's  major  customers.  These actions are
intended to help mitigate the possible external impact of the Year 2000 problem.
However,  it is  impossible to fully assess the  potential  consequences  to the
Company  of the Year  2000  problem  in the  event  service  interruptions  from
suppliers   occur  or  in  the  event  that  there  are   disruptions   in  such
infrastructure areas as utilities, communications,  transportation,  banking and
government.

Based on its  assessments to date,  the Company  believes it will not experience
any material disruption as a result of Year 2000 problems in internal processes,
information  processing or interfaces with major  customers,  or with processing
orders and billing.  However, if certain critical third-party providers, such as
those providers supplying  electricity,  water or telephone service,  experience
difficulties  resulting in disruption  of service to the Company,  a shutdown of
the Company's  operations at individual  facilities could occur for the duration
of the  disruption.  While the Company  currently  believes such  disruptions of
basic  services and facility  shutdowns are  unlikely,  there can be no absolute
assurance that they will not occur.

The Company  believes that the most likely worst case Year 2000 scenario will be
that NCS products do not operate  properly for  customers who have not installed
Year 2000  compliant  versions of NCS  products  or have not  updated  their own
computing platform or network infrastructure to be operational in the Year 2000.
The Company has  developed,  and  continues to refine,  transition  preparedness
plans to respond to a  significantly  increased  number of customer calls at all
its  support  locations  to address  these Year 2000  problems.  The Company has
developed contingency plans to provide for continuity of processing in Year 2000
and will  continue to test and monitor  these  plans over the  remainder  of the
year.

Assuming no major disruption in service from utility companies or other critical
third-party  providers,  the Company believes that it will be able to manage its
total  Year  2000  transition  without  any  material  effect  on the  Company's
consolidated results of operations or financial condition.

The  statements  which are not  historical  or current  facts or are  "goals" or
"expectations" contained in this report constitute "forward-looking" statements,
as  defined  in the  Private  Securities  Litigation  Reform Act of 1995 and are
subject to certain risks and  uncertainties  that could cause actual  results to
differ materially.  The Cautionary Statements filed by the Company as Exhibit 99
to the  Annual  Report on Form 10-K for the year ended  January  31,  1999,  are
incorporated herein by reference, and stockholders and prospective investors are
specifically  referred to such Cautionary Statements for a discussion of factors
which could  affect the  Company's  operations  and  forward-looking  statements
contained herein.


<PAGE>


PART II.  OTHER INFORMATION

Item 6.  Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K

    (a)  Exhibits.
         27.  Financial Data Schedule

    (b)  No reports on Form 8-K were filed for the three  months  ended July 31,
         1999.



                                  SIGNATURES


Pursuant  to the  requirements  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                                  NATIONAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS, INC.



                                  /s/ Jeffrey W. Taylor
                                  ---------------------------
                                   Jeffrey W. Taylor
                                   Vice President and
                                     Chief Financial Officer



Dated:  September 13, 1999



<TABLE> <S> <C>

<ARTICLE>                                          5
<LEGEND>
This schedule contains summary information extracted from the financial
statements for National Computer Systems, Inc. and Subsidiaries, for
the fiscal year ended January 29, 2000, and is qualified in its entirety
by reference to such financial statements.
</LEGEND>

<MULTIPLIER>                                                       1000
<CURRENCY>                                         U.S. Dollars

<S>                                                  <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE>                                      3-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END>                                  JAN-29-2000
<PERIOD-START>                                     MAY-02-1999
<PERIOD-END>                                       JUL-31-1999
<EXCHANGE-RATE>                                    1
<CASH>                                                            19679
<SECURITIES>                                                          0
<RECEIVABLES>                                                    134746
<ALLOWANCES>                                                          0
<INVENTORY>                                                       29106
<CURRENT-ASSETS>                                                 192030
<PP&E>                                                           241870
<DEPRECIATION>                                                  (122667)
<TOTAL-ASSETS>                                                   414561
<CURRENT-LIABILITIES>                                            154505
<BONDS>                                                               0
                                                 0
                                                           0
<COMMON>                                                            955
<OTHER-SE>                                                       246503
<TOTAL-LIABILITY-AND-EQUITY>                                     414561
<SALES>                                                           53073
<TOTAL-REVENUES>                                                 167664
<CGS>                                                             21623
<TOTAL-COSTS>                                                     97500
<OTHER-EXPENSES>                                                  47979
<LOSS-PROVISION>                                                      0
<INTEREST-EXPENSE>                                                  266
<INCOME-PRETAX>                                                   21960
<INCOME-TAX>                                                       8800
<INCOME-CONTINUING>                                               13160
<DISCONTINUED>                                                        0
<EXTRAORDINARY>                                                       0
<CHANGES>                                                             0
<NET-INCOME>                                                      13160
<EPS-BASIC>                                                      0.41
<EPS-DILUTED>                                                      0.40




</TABLE>


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