SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of August 7, 2000
MERANT plc
(Translation of Registrant's Name Into English)
The Lawn, Old Bath Road, Newbury, England RG14 1QN
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will
file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
Form 20-F X Form 40-F _____
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(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing
the information contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the
information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934.)
Yes X No _____
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(If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to
the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2 (b): 82-795.)
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCEMENT
Generic Announcement
Number of reports in announcement:
Not Applicable
Company Name:
MERANT plc
Full Issuer Name:
MERANT plc
AVS Security Number:
Unknown
Release Date:
IMMEDIATELY
Release Time:
IMMEDIATELY
Embargo Details:
Telephone Confirmation of Release Required:
Contact Name:
Tel. No:
Announcement Given To Third Parties:
Amendment:
Headline:
Announcement Body Information:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACTS:
MERANT
Gary Greenfield Ken Sexton
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
+1 (301) 838 5223 +1 (301) 838 5210
[email protected] [email protected]
Larry De'Ath Financial Dynamics
VP, Investor Relations Giles Sanderson/Jon Earl
+1 (301) 838 5228 United Kingdom
[email protected] +44 (0) 20 7831 3113
[email protected]
MERANT Announces Preliminary First Quarter Results
www.merant.com - August 7, 2000 - MERANT (London Stock Exchange (LSE): MRN;
Nasdaq National Market (NNM): MRNT), today released preliminary revenue and
earnings estimates for its first fiscal quarter ended July 31, 2000. MERANT
plans to announce final financial results for the first fiscal quarter on
August 22, 2000.
For the first quarter ended July 31, 2000, revenues are preliminarily
estimated to be in the range of GBP 48 million to GBP 49 million under U.K.
GAAP. Pre-tax losses before goodwill amortization are estimated to be in the
range of GBP 5.5 million to GBP 6.5 million for the first fiscal quarter. The
above pre-tax loss range is estimated before a goodwill charge of approximately
GBP 10.7 million.
Under U.S. GAAP, revenues for the first fiscal quarter are preliminarily
estimated to be in the range of $72 million to $73 million. Pre-tax losses
for the quarter ended July 31, 2000 are estimated to be in the range of $8.5
million to $9.5 million excluding goodwill amortization. The above pre-tax
loss range is estimated before a goodwill charge of approximately $3.3
million.
"We are disappointed with our revenue in the first fiscal quarter," said Gary
Greenfield, MERANT's president and chief executive officer. "Cobol license
fees worldwide have declined significantly below expectations and our
forecast. We believe that this softness indicates a faster-than-expected
shift in customer demand away from mainframe and Cobol products. In
addition, MERANT's European revenues across the board were weak and well
below forecast, and we intend to work aggressively to improve these
performance issues. Egility e-business revenue continues to grow, but didn't
accelerate as much as originally anticipated. Operating costs in the first
quarter of this fiscal year have declined by more than $10 million as
planned, compared with the fourth quarter ended April 30, 2000. We intend to
continue to thoroughly evaluate the cause for this revenue shortfall while
accelerating our e-business transition, and take action to improve execution
and return to profitability."
MERANT has scheduled a conference call today at 11:00 am EDT (4:00 pm BST)
for investors and analysts to review preliminary first quarter estimates.
The conference call telephone number for calls originating in the U.S. is
800-446- 1671. For those calls originating outside the U.S., the number is
847-413- 3362.
About MERANT
MERANT is a leading e-business software solutions company that e-enables its
customers. The MERANT Egility framework provides an e-business application
infrastructure for sustained e-business agility. MERANT Enterprise Solutions
leverage the Egility framework to deliver complete application solutions to
accelerate e-business initiatives. Founded in 1976, MERANT is a global
organization with over $360 million in annual revenues, nearly 2,000
employees and more than 500 technology partners. More than 5 million
professionals use MERANT technology and solutions at 35,000 customer sites,
including the entire Fortune 100, the majority of the Global 500 and over 400
leading dotcoms. For additional information, visit http://www.merant.com.
Investor inquiries can be forwarded to [email protected].
Forward-Looking Statements
The following statement is made in accordance with the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This announcement contains forward-
looking statements that include statements regarding expectations for
MERANT's business strategy, revenue and earnings, prospects and growth,
including the growth of MERANT's e-business solutions business and related
revenues. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated
by these forward-looking statements. Future results will be difficult to
predict as MERANT transforms its business strategy to provide e-business
solutions and away from certain of its past primary markets, including the
market for Year 2000 products and services. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially include, among others, the ability of MERANT to
effectively manage its costs against uncertain revenue expectations, the
potential for a decrease in revenue or a slowdown in revenue growth which may
be caused by delays in the timing of sales and the delivery of products or
services, the ability of MERANT to develop, release, market and sell products
and services to customers in the highly dynamic market for enterprise
application development and e-business solutions, the potential need for
enterprise application development solutions and e-business solutions to
shift based on changes in technology and customer needs, the market
acceptance of MERANT's e-business solutions and e-business solutions
generally, the effect of competitors' efforts to enter MERANT's markets and
the possible success of existing competitors in those markets, and MERANT's
ability to manage and integrate recently acquired businesses or other
businesses that it may acquire in the future. Further information on
potential factors which could affect MERANT's financial results is included
in MERANT's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended April 30, 1999, and
Quarterly Reports on Form 6-K for the quarters ended July 31, 1999, October
31, 1999, and January 31, 2000, each as submitted to the SEC and as may be
updated and amended with future filings or submissions, including MERANT's
Form 20-F for the year ended April 30, 2000. MERANT undertakes no obligation
to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking
statements contained in this announcement that may reflect events or
circumstances occurring after the date of this announcement.
Financial Statement Information
The financial information contained in this report does not constitute
statutory accounts as defined in section 240 of the U.K. Companies Act 1985.
Prior year figures are based on the audited financial statements of the
Company for the period ended April 30, 1999, which have been filed with the
U.K. Registrar of Companies; the auditors' reports on both the U.K. and U.S.
financial statements for the period ended April 30, 1999 were unqualified.
U.S. Securities Filings
As a foreign private issuer in the United States, MERANT is not required to
file quarterly reports with the SEC. MERANT voluntarily files quarterly
reports on Form 6-K which include MERANT's results for the applicable quarter
in a format similar to that of a Form 10-Q. These materials are available on
the SEC web site located at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of MERANT's Annual
Report to Shareholders and Annual Report on Form 20-F, each for the year
ended April 30, 1999, are available upon request to MERANT's offices in
Rockville, Maryland or Newbury, United Kingdom.
Trademark Notice
MERANT and Egility are trademarks of MERANT. All other trademarks as they
appear in this announcement are the property of their respective owners.
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.
MERANT plc
(Registrant)
Date: August 7, 2000 By: /s/ Kenneth A. Sexton
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Kenneth A. Sexton
Chief Financial Officer
