Basware Reports Record Earnings for 2009 Despite Tough Market Conditions 

Record Operating Profit of 11.8 Million Euros

ESPOO, Finland, Jan. 26, 2010 -- Basware, the leading provider of purchase to pay solutions, disclosed its full-year earnings reporting a record turnover of 93 million euros. Regardless of the challenging market situation throughout 2009, full year net sales grew by 7.6 percent. Basware succeeded well in all of its markets, with most units meeting or exceeding their objectives for the year. The company anticipates that net sales will continue to develop positively in 2010 and operating profit is expected to represent 10 to 15 percent of net sales.
"Operating profit for the full year was record-high and grew by 36.2 percent, which is an extraordinary performance in recession," comments Basware CEO Ilkka Sihvo. “Our operating profit was 11.8 million euros and accounted for 12.8 percent of our net sales. Net sales grew by 7.6 percent. Our Connectivity services offering was most successful and grew as much as 72.0 percent. These new services have improved our competitiveness and we have made agreements with large international companies on different continents.”

Across the entire company, the Norwegian, Finnish, German and North American Enterprise Purchase to Pay units surpassed their objectives for 2009.  Basware also made one of its biggest license sales ever during the third quarter with the State of South Australia. The deal boosted business in Australia significantly, supporting the business acquisition of TAG Services Pty in Australia earlier in the year. As a result of the acquisition, Basware extended its global reach further providing its customers with full support and services across all time zones.  According to its strategy for 2009–2012, Basware aims for growth in all of its markets. U.S., UK and Germany will continue to have a strategic position, the main focus being on the U.S. market with more weight on the direct operational model.

“The last quarter of the year succeeded according to the plan. Operating profit remained at the level of the previous year and was over 15 percent of net sales,” continued Sihvo. “During the last quarter Connectivity services and the software as a service business accelerated their growth to 162.3 percent being an excellent recession performance. We also succeeded in closing large deals during the last quarter in North America."

In previous economic downturns, the demand for Basware's products and services has remained at a more positive level than the general economic market as the company's software solutions provide businesses with substantial cost savings.  During the year, Basware succeeded particularly well in growing the Connectivity services business, securing customer accounts with major international corporations. Basware is now able to exchange all the documentation related to the purchase-to-pay process in a single solution, including the exchange of e-invoices and procurement messages, scanning services and supplier activation.
Basware continues to actively follow the market situation and adjusts strategy execution accordingly to correspond to the changing strategic landscape.
About Basware
Basware is the global leader in purchase-to-pay solutions with more than 1,500 customers and 850,000 users in over 50 countries around the world. With Basware, organizations can reduce the cost of buying and paying for goods and services and gain visibility and control of their entire spending process by automating manual processes, from sourcing, contract management, purchasing and supplier collaboration to invoice automation.  Basware solutions and services enable substantial cost reductions across businesses and deliver value by providing compliance and control, as well as fast return on investment. The solutions are distributed and implemented, either on site or as a service, in Europe, the US, and Asia-Pacific through an extensive network of Basware offices and business partners. www.basware.com. 

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