Genesys Conferencing Reports First Quarter Results for 2005

5/11/2005

Reston, Virginia, and Montpellier, France – May 12, 2005 – Genesys Conferencing (Euronext Eurolist: FR0004270270) (NASDAQ: GNSY), a global multimedia conferencing service leader, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2005. All results are reported under new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). For purposes of comparison, financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2004, have been stated under IFRS and may differ from the results previously reported for this period under French GAAP.

First Quarter 2005 Operating Highlights

Total volume increased 28.5% to 464 million minutes
Genesys Meeting Center automated services volume increased 34.6% to 428 million minutes
Volume based on Multimedia Minute pricing increased to 80 million minutes, a 40.7% sequential growth rate from the fourth quarter of 2004
Revenue1 was €34.1 million, up 1.0% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2004 and down 5.8% from the first quarter of 2004
Gross margin increased 200 basis points to 64.0%
EBITDA2, excluding stock-based compensation, was €6.3 million, an 18.4% EBITDA margin
Net Income was €2.7 million or €0.15 per share

“Genesys Meeting Center automated and multimedia conferencing services continue to gain significant penetration of the global and large enterprise market,” stated Francois Legros, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Volume is up, net profitability is up and we are successfully meeting the industry’s challenges head-on.”

First Quarter 2005 Operating Performance

In the first quarter of 2005, revenue1 was €34.1 million, down 5.8% compared with revenue of €36.2 in the first quarter of 2004. In U.S. dollars, first quarter 2005 revenue was $44.8 million, down 1.1% compared to $45.3 million in the first quarter of 2004. Revenue from Genesys Meeting Center services was 78.0% of revenue. Revenue also reflects a greater percentage of global and large enterprise customers and the growing adoption of Multimedia Minute priced services.

Gross margin for the first quarter of 2005 was 64.0% compared to 62.0% for the first quarter of 2004, a 200 basis point increase despite the higher percentage of revenue from high-volume, large enterprise customers that traditionally have lower margins. Gross margin improvement largely reflects the company’s migration of revenue from attended to automated services and the cost efficiency of the Genesys Meeting Center technology platform.

Selling, general and administrative expenses, excluding restructuring and non-recurring charges, were €17.7 million in the first quarter of 2005, down 6.3% compared to €18.9 million in the first quarter of 2004. Including restructuring and non-recurring charges, selling, general and administrative expenses were €18.0 million in the first quarter of 2005 compared to €20.8 million in the first quarter of 2004. The decline in operating expenses largely reflects the company’s cost-reduction initiatives. Compared to the first quarter of 2004, general and administrative expenses of €7.9 million were down €0.9 million or 10.0%, while the company has increased its sales and marketing expenditures to €9.2 million, up 2.2% compared to the first quarter of 2004 and up 15.0% compared to the fourth quarter of 2004.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA2), excluding stock-based compensation expense, was €6.3 million for the first quarter 2005, an 18.4% EBITDA margin compared to €4.8 million and 13.3%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2004. EBITDA for the first quarter of 2005 includes charges of €326,000 recorded in connection with the integration of the company’s video conferencing division into its core sales, research & development and administrative functions. Stock-based compensation expense, as reported under newly adopted IFRS, was €306,000 and €386,000 for the first quarters of 2005 and 2004, respectively.

Net income was €2.7 million, or €0.15 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2005 compared to a net loss of €(3.2) million or €(0.18) per share in the first quarter of 2004. Net income improved partly due to the reduction in finance charges to €584,000, down from €2.3 million in the first quarter of 2004, and the reduction in amortization expense to €701,000 down from €1.7 million in the first quarter of 2004. Finance charges declined by €1.7 million compared to the first quarter of 2004 as a result of a €1.2 million improvement in foreign exchange gain/loss and a reduction in interest expense of €444,000.

As of March 31, 2005, the company’s cash3 was €7.5 million after deducting bank overdrafts. On April 30, 2005, the company made its semi-annual principal and interest expense payments of €4.6 million and €1.9 million, respectively, under its existing senior credit facility.

“The company is executing its plan of generating strong volume growth and optimizing operating expenses,” stated Michael Savage, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. “As a result, cash flow from operations continues to enable the company to meet its obligations while providing the company the flexibility to increase sales activities, further penetrate global markets and expand our technological capabilities.”

Conference Call and Webcast

Chief Executive Officer Francois Legros and Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer Michael E. Savage will host a conference call on Thursday, May 12, 2005, at 5:30 p.m. Central European Time or 11:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time to discuss first quarter 2005 financial results. The conference call will be webcast live and may be accessed at www.genesys.com. A replay of the call will be available at www.genesys.com.

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(1) Please refer to the note “Impact of Exchange Rates” for information regarding the calculation of U.S. dollar amounts.
(2) See attached note to consolidated statements of operations for reconciliation of Operating Income and EBITDA. The company believes that EBITDA is a meaningful measure of performance, because it presents the company’s results of operations without the non-cash impact of depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is reported excluding stock-based compensation expense.
(3) Cash includes cash and cash equivalents less bank overdrafts.

Financial Tables to Follow

Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards

As previously reported, effective January 1, 2005, the company has adopted IFRS. The company previously reported under French Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (French GAAP). The company also continues to report in the United States under U.S. GAAP, and it files those statements with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Impact of Exchange Rates

The company serves large enterprises on a worldwide basis. As a result, the company has extensive international operations and, thus, significant exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, in particular those of the U.S. dollar. In 2003, the U.S. dollar declined significantly compared to the euro, and its value further declined during 2004. As a result, the comparability of the company’s revenues and results of operations expressed in euros were significantly impacted. The company prepares its consolidated financial statements in euros. In order to demonstrate the impact of the decline of the U.S. dollar on its revenues from the first quarter of 2004 to the first quarter of 2005, the company has recalculated its revenues as if its functional currency had been the U.S. dollar rather than the euro. For this purpose, the company has used the average for each quarter of the daily euro/U.S. dollar exchange rate for the first quarters of 2004 and 2005, respectively, which are the rates it used for translation purposes in its consolidated income statement.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical information or statements of current condition. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include statements concerning the parties' intent, belief or current expectations regarding future events and trends affecting the parties' financial condition or results of operations. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Some of these factors are described in the Form 20-F that was filed by Genesys with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 2, 2005. Although management of the parties believe that their expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information currently available to them, they cannot assure you that the expectations will prove to have been correct. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. In any event, these statements speak only as of the date of this release. Except to the extent required by law, the parties undertake no obligation to revise or update any of them to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release, or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events.

About Genesys Conferencing

Genesys Conferencing is a leading provider of integrated Web, audio and video conferencing services to thousands of organizations worldwide, including more than 200 of the Fortune Global 500. The company’s services are designed to meet the full range of communication needs within the large enterprise, from collaborative team meetings to high-profile online events. The company’s flagship product, Genesys Meeting Center, provides a single-platform multimedia conferencing solution that is easy to use and available on demand. With offices in 24 countries across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the company offers an unmatched global presence and strong local support. Genesys Conferencing is publicly traded on Euronext in France (ISIN FR0004270270) and on the NASDAQ in the U.S. (GNSY). Additional information is available at www.genesys.com.

At Genesys Conferencing

Michael E. Savage
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Phone: +1 703 736-7100
michael.savage@genesys.com

Marine Pouvreau
Investor Relations Manager
Phone: +1 703 733-2140
marine.pouvreau@genesys.com