Futuremedia wins Contract with Royal Mail for new
Learning For All* Offering
Expected additional revenue to Futuremedia
of approximately $ 3.2 Million (£ 2 million) to $ 4.8 Million (£ 3 million)
over 3 years
Brighton, England, 6 November 2003 - E-Learning solutions provider
Futuremedia Plc (NASDAQ: FMDAY) today announced that it has won a three-year
exclusive contract for the promotion and delivery of its Learning For All*
programme to over 200,000 Royal Mail employees. The programme will
immediately be made available to eligible employees. The financial impact of
this contract to Futuremedia will depend on, among other factors, the level
of Royal Mail employee participation; however, based on Futuremedia's
current assumptions, it expects that the contract will generate
approximately £ 2 - 3 Million ($ 3.2 - 4.8 Million) of additional revenue
over 3 years.
Learning For All* is designed to complement the existing corporate
e-Learning programme by providing access for employees who do not have
Internet access at work, or who work in an environment not conducive to
learning. The package provides the employee with a PC, Internet access,
generic e-Learning programmes for the family and personal use, as well as
access to business specific e-Learning programmes. In order to appeal also
to employees who are not familiar with the use of PCs and the Internet, the
PC will be installed at the participants' home, connected to the Internet,
and the participant will be given a demonstration.
The cost to employees is discounted through UK Government supported tax
incentives and the buying power of Royal Mail. As a result, employees can
participate in the programme for as little as £4.75 ($ 7.60) per week
depending on use.
Tony McCarthy, Group Director, People & Organisational Development of Royal
Mail, stated: "Ensuring we have skilled and motivated people is critical to
the success of our organisation and a big challenge. Our people often work
difficult hours in environments that do not always lend themselves to
learning. Providing the chance for a PC at home and supporting its use for
learning is exactly the sort of practical common sense initiative that makes
a real difference to our people. The programme provides our employees,
particularly those with school age children, with low cost access to a whole
range of learning opportunities. "
Mr McCarthy continued: "We have been working very closely with Futuremedia
during the past year to put this in place. Futuremedia will manage the full
programme for us. This new contract builds on their successful
implementation and operation of our corporate e-Learning programme, as well
as their focus on partnering to bring real value to large corporate
customers like us."
Mats Johansson, Chief Executive of Futuremedia, stated: "We are very pleased
to expand our service provision to The Royal Mail beyond the limits of PC
access at work. This will allow us to more fully provide the value of
e-Learning to Royal Mail and we are confident that the Learning For All*
model now pioneered by Royal Mail will become a core component of many
organisations' learning strategies. We have also lined up an exciting group
of partners/suppliers for this scheme, details of which will be announced in
due course."
Mr. Johansson continued: "We are also pleased that the significant
investments we have made in expanding our relationship with Royal Mail and
in building our Learning For All* business during the past six months have
resulted in us winning this contract. Although the exact financial outcome
is dependant on Royal Mail employee participation we anticipate a rapid and
material impact which we will report on when such information is available
to us. As a high profile programme we also expect that this contract will
further the growth prospects of our Learning For All* business at a time
when the market for such programmes is rapidly expanding."
About Futuremedia
Futuremedia plc (est. 1983) is a Solutions Provider in the growing
e-learning market with 20 years experience in the interactive media field
supplying products and services to industrial and commercial business
sectors and government, mainly in the UK and Continental Europe.
The Company has a proven track record in providing knowledge and training
via its proprietary Learning Management System which in its largest
application has a capacity for 240,000 users.
Futuremedia's customers include Royal Mail, Syngenta, BUPA, BT, Daimler
Chrysler, GSK, Channel Four, IDEA and Hilton International. Training content
from partners SmartForce, Centra Software, SkillSoft and NETg is supplied
and supported.
Learning For All(tm) is a registered trademark of Futuremedia.
Futuremedia can be found on the Web at <http://www.futuremedia.co.uk>
About Royal Mail
Royal Mail Group plc is a public limited company wholly owned by the UK
Government, which is its sole shareholder. In the UK the company operates
under three trusted brands - Royal Mail, Parcelforce Worldwide and Post
Office Ltd. Royal Mail Group has annual sales of over £8 billion and a
workforce of over 200,000. Royal Mail delivers over 82 million items a
day to 27 million addresses around the UK. Parcelforce Worldwide provides
customers with access to the world's largest delivery network, covering 239
countries and territories. Through Post Office Ltd the company has the
largest retail network in the UK with around 17,000 Post Office branches.
These are visited by 28 million people each week.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934:
This press release contains forward-looking statements related to future
results and speaks only of the Company's expectations as of the date hereof.
Such statements include discussions concerning Company's future financial
performance and the future performance of the Company's products. Such
statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause
actual results to differ materially from expectations. The risks and
uncertainties include the early stage of the Internet and intranet learning
and communications market, the management of growth, the ability of the
Company to develop and successfully market new products, to integrate
acquisitions, rapid technological change and competition, and other factors
detailed in the Company's filings with the US Securities and Exchange
Commission. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to release
publicly any updates or revisions to any such statement to reflect any
change in expectations or in information on which any such statement is
based. All product names and trademarks mentioned herein are trademarks of
Futuremedia or their respective owners.
Press information: Kay Phelps, The PR Department for Futuremedia,
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>; M: +44
7710 043244;
Investor relations: Mats Johansson, CEO T: +44 1273-829700, or
[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah Rands
Courseware Services Manager
Futuremedia PLC
Tel: 01273 829729
Mobile: 07906 106051
Fax: 01273 829702
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