GOA Gemstone

RNS Number:0722V
GOAL PLC
25 April 2002

GOAL plc



TRADING UPDATE



The Board of GOAL plc ("GOAL") has reviewed the preliminary outcome for the year
ended 31 March 2002. The level of new sales and renewals achieved and the
consequential lower value of hardware supplied in respect of servers, coupled
with the timing of recognition of revenues over the year just ended and the
current year, means that turnover for the year ended 31 March 2002 is expected
to be approximately £0.6m.  Although, this is below market expectations, the
Board believes that, as a result of its monitoring and tight control of costs,
cash balances will be in the order of £3.4m.  This, together with losses per
share, is expected to be in line with market expectations.



The past year has been one of evolution as the experience gained from the first
year of operation has been translated into significant enhancements to the
services we provide to schools. The School Continuous Improvement (SCI)
Programme, launched in October 2001, provides a fully integrated planning,
training and support package built around GOAL assessments and a new data
monitoring facility.  The revised and improved service also overcomes the
technical connectivity difficulties experienced in a significant proportion of
schools which were early users of the initial product.  The SCI package now
includes a dedicated file server, pre-installed with assessment software.  We
have entered into an agreement with RM plc for the supply of this equipment.



The responses to the SCI Programme have been positive and at the financial
year-end 137 schools had purchased the service.  We indicated in our Interim
Report for 2001 that forecasting customer take-up is difficult to predict.
Although the momentum of sales is gathering pace the actual levels are lower
than estimated last September.  A positive development has been that the average
invoiced annual revenue per school, based on the SCI Programme, has risen to
£2,066 compared to £540 for the initial GOAL product.  By 31 March 2002, a total
of £436,000 SCI sales contracts had been secured, of which £135,000 has been
recognised in that year.  The remaining £301,000 relates to the period 2002/03
and beyond as some service agreements run for up to five years and this also
reflects our accounting practice to allocate licence income over the period to
which it relates.



Of the 137 schools, 54 of the SCI customers are upgrades from the old 'tests
only' system.  The renewals programme for our products and services is ongoing
and, as anticipated, a number of schools have chosen not to upgrade to the SCI
Programme or continue with the 'tests only' system.  This reflects the
connectivity difficulties experienced in the early days and a programme of
follow up visits is being put in place to ensure these schools are fully aware
of the benefits of the new SCI Programme which has been developed to overcome
the earlier issues.



In total 972 schools now have access to GOAL products and services, and
discussions are actively progressing with LEAs and EAZs which in total represent
approximately 3,500 schools, although we would not expect to achieve 100%
coverage in any one area at this stage.



In September 2001, the Company set cumulative market penetration targets of
2,500 schools for the current academic year and 5,000 for the following year.
Although sales patterns remain difficult to forecast, the Board now considers
these targets to have been overly optimistic given the experience gained since
launching the SCI Programme.



At the same time as the SCI Programme has been developed, the establishment of
the GOAL presence as a force in the education market has continued apace.  Links
with potential commercial partners have continued to strengthen and a number of
joint product development opportunities are being considered.



Close working links have also been established with a number of key government
departments and agencies, and we anticipate these will lead to opportunities to
pilot the use of the GOAL system to support wider applications in the field of
education and learning.



The Group's Preliminary Results are expected to be announced by the middle of
June.


Enquiries:
Nigel Snook, Chief Executive                                  Fiona Tooley

(Mobile: 07970 563199)                                        (Mobile: 07785 703523)
Andy Clayton, Finance Director                                Katie Hall

(Mobile: 07778 498369)                                        (Mobile: 07980 274790)
GOAL plc                                                      Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Tel: 01926 887575                                             Tel: 0121 455 8370
Email: info@goalplc.co.uk
Web-site: www.goalplc.co.uk





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