PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Back to Press ReleasesToronto Stock Exchange Symbol: SXCSystems Xcellence Announces FY 2001 Year End Results Conference Call and Restructuring InitiativeConference Call to Be Held on May 16, 2001MILTON, Ontario (May 9, 2001) -- Systems Xcellence Inc. (TSE: SXC) announced today that it would issue its results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended February 28, 2001 at the opening of the markets on Tuesday, May 15, 2001. A conference call will be held to review the financial results, a restructuring initiative, and provide an update on the ongoing integration of the ComCoTec acquisition on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. To access the conference call, please dial 1-888-799-1277. A re-broadcast of the call can be accessed until midnight on Wednesday, May 23, 2001 by calling 1-800-558-5253 and entering reservation number 18726394#. The company also announced today a significant restructuring initiative resulting from the acquisition of ComCoTec, Inc. (completed on March 8, 2001), as well as from general market conditions. The Company has spent the past two months assessing its combined cost structure to ensure it can deliver the highest quality products and services to its growing customer base, while capturing all of the available cost and revenue synergies resulting from the increase in its size and scope. In addition, market conditions have caused several major new customer prospects to delay buying decisions until later this calendar year. As a result, staff reductions will be achieved through a combination of attrition and layoffs that are expected to reduce the current combined workforce of 286 employees by up to 30%. The Company is also reviewing additional potential synergies within its combined organization that could result in further facility reductions, asset write-downs and/or workforce changes. The Company will provide guidance about the magnitude and timing of restructuring provisions to be taken and estimated annual cost savings as soon as the restructure plan is finalized. "In this challenging environment, we're staying focused on our strategy and working hard to achieve the right balance between adjusting costs and expenses. We will continue to make the necessary investments in areas such as R&D to assure that we come out of this corporate integration and economic slowdown strong and well-positioned," said Gordon Glenn, Chief Executive Officer. Additionally, Glenn stated that "The Company will take action to manage expenses including maintaining tight control of discretionary spending, improving the span of control through the combination of management positions and rapidly integrating product and customer support functions". Systems Xcellence is headquartered in Milton, Ontario with offices in Lombard, Illinois, Victoria, British Columbia and Scottsdale, Arizona and provides advanced online transaction processing solutions for the healthcare benefits management industry. The Company combines robust software products, business expertise and services to deliver superior solutions to the ever-changing managed care sector. The Company's shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol SXC. Systems Xcellence can be found on the Internet at http://www.sxc.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the Management Discussion and Analysis published in the Company's annual report. For more information, please contact: Irwin Studen, Chief Financial Officer, or Email: investors@sx.com |