Business & Decision, the international consulting and data engineering company specialising in Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning and E-Business, today announced operational profit of €6.2 million for the first half of 2006; this represents 9.4% of consolidated sales turnover for the same period.

€ million	First Half of 2006	First Half of 2005	% Change
Consolidated Sales Turnover	65.8	43.2	+52%
France	42.9	33.2	+29%
Outside of France	22.9	9.9	+131%
Operational Profit	6.2	3.8	+63%
Net Profit for the Group	4.1	2.3	+78%
Net Profit per Share*	0.496	0.289	+71%

*Not Audited

Net profit has increased by 78% to €4.1 million, which represents 6.2% of consolidated sales turnover for the first half of 2006.Consolidated sales turnover for the first half of the year was €65.8 million, which represented an increase of 52% against the comparative period for 2005; 27% of this growth was organic.

Group activities from outside of France represented 35% of consolidated sales turnover for the first half of 2006.

Patrick Bensabat, Chairman of Business & Decision commented "These results are very good. Our sales turnover has grown rapidly and I believe it will grow at an even quicker pace in the future. Business & Decision is seen as a leader in the data intelligence and CRM markets. Our objectives over the coming months are to achieve this recognition in other areas of expertise such as E-Business and in specific industry sectors. During the second half of the year, Business & Decision has historically demonstrated strong organic growth and the creation of new market opportunities for the future."

For the second half of 2006, the Group is confident of demonstrating continuous growth and is expecting to meet its revenue objectives of €140 million in consolidated sales turnover for the year.

Growth of the Business Model Outside of France

Business & Decision has invested heavily in replicating its business model outside of France. The acquisitions of Mi Services (in the UK) and Cognitis Ibérica (in Spain) during the first half of 2006, has enabled the Group to attain critical mass in those respective countries, as well as strengthen its presence in North America.

This is already being realised with a two-fold increase in sales outside of France. The Group is now looking to quickly expand its strategic activities, gain more visibility and accelerate its business model to those countries outside of France.

Bensabat continues: "The first half of the year has seen us meet our objective of improving operational performance. Now, more than ever, we are looking to pursue our strategy of growth outside of France and exploit the potential of our key activities wherever they are relevant."

Growth in Each Key Area of Expertise

Business & Decision is the undisputed leader in Europe in providing data intelligence solutions and this has played a key part in the Groups performance for the first half of 2006 (+33%). This historical area of expertise accounted for 58% of the Group activities.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) continues to experience very fast growth (+69.4%) and accounted for 19% of half-yearly sales in 2006.

E-Business (+57.15%), has also contributed to continuous growth within the Group. Strong expertise and successive investments has enabled Business & Decision to reinforce its position as one of the leading E-Business organisations in France.

The Quest for New Talent

Thanks to its unique human resources model, the Business & Decision Group has experienced consistent growth and now counts over 1,700 employees as of the end of September 2006. Headcount has increased by more than 50% over the last 3 years and this has been recognised by Business & Decision being awarded a place in "Europe's 500".

Recruitment is a strategic focus for the Groups future development. For the second half of 2006 and the following year, Business & Decision has an ambitious recruitment plan to support its strong organic growth. This means that Business & Decision will be one of the largest (net) employers in France. Business & Decision currently accounts for more than 5% of employment opportunities in the computing sector within France according to Syntec.

Over the next twelve months, more than 600 new recruits will be integrated into the Group (net) and this will raise the bar even higher in terms of its standard of quality and customer service.

 The Groups human resources model is so successful that Business & Decision manage to attain an exceptional staff turnover rate of less than 5%.

About Business & Decision - www.businessdecision.com

Founded in 1992, Business & Decision is an International consulting and Systems Integration company specializing in Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and E-Business. The Group works with clients to implement systems that aim at driving business functions and performance (dashboards, reporting, consolidation etc.); help in customer relationship management (sales force automation, call centers, campaign management, analytical CRM); and assist in E-Business (intranet and extranet portals, directories and Meta directories, e-commerce, knowledge management, Open source technologies, etc.). With more than 2,800 employees worldwide, Business & Decision has developed a "complete project" approach that spans from consulting to implementation. The Group has a reputation for its functional and technological expertise and has forged partnerships with all of the key technology vendors. At present, Business & Decision has more than 1,200 clients.

 

Business & Decision has been listed on the Euronext Paris since February 2001 (compartment B / Isin code: FR 00000 7895 8 / Symbol:  BND). Business & Decision is listed in the NextEconomy segment and in the IT-Cac (technology market). For more information, visit: http://www.businessdecision.com/

Press Contact at Business & Decision
Investor relations

Pauline Cieutat - pauline.cieutat@businessdecision.com

Tel: +33 1 56 21 21 20
Fax: +33 1 56 21 21 22