EXHIBIT 99.1
FOR: SKILLSOFT PLC
COMPANY CONTACT:
Tom McDonald
Chief Financial Officer
(603) 324-3000, x4232
INVESTOR CONTACTS:
Michael Polyviou/ Peter Schmidt
Financial Dynamics
(212) 850-5748
SKILLSOFT ANNOUNCES GOODWILL IMPAIRMENT
CHARGE TAKEN IN FISCAL 2005 ASSOCIATED WITH SMARTCERTIFY
PREVIOUSLY RELEASED FINANCIALS UPDATED
NASHUA, NH, APRIL 15, 2005 - SkillSoft PLC (NASDAQ: SKIL), a leading
provider of content resources and complementary technologies for integrated
enterprise learning, today announced that it has completed the evaluation and
market assessment of the Retail Certification Segment of its business,
SmartCertify, in connection with the possible sale or closure of such business.
As previously disclosed in SkillSoft's press release dated March 14, 2005,
the Company has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with respect to the
sale of its retail IT certification business, SmartCertify. In the event the
transaction is not consummated as anticipated, the Company indicated that it
will shut down the operation. In connection with either of these scenarios,
SkillSoft began the process of evaluating whether or not an impairment of the
SmartCertify business existed at January 31, 2005. In its March 30, 2005 press
release announcing financial results for the fiscal year ended January 2005,
SkillSoft stated that if it concluded that an impairment charge existed, the
related charge would be reflected in the Company's fiscal 2005 results when
reported in its Annual Report on Form 10-K. Based on the Company's attempts to
sell the business and the results of the valuation done by an independent third
party valuation firm during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, SkillSoft has
determined that there is no goodwill associated with the Retail Certification
Segment and, as a result, has recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $19.3
million in the fiscal year ended January 31, 2005 (fiscal 2005).
As disclosed in SkillSoft's March 30, 2005 press release, the Company's
net loss was $9.5 million, or $0.09 per share, for its fiscal 2005 fourth
quarter. The effect of the impairment charge increases the Company's net loss
for its fiscal 2005 fourth quarter to $28.8 million, or $0.27 per share. For
fiscal 2005, the originally reported net loss was $0.8 million, or $0.01 per
share. The effect of the impairment charge increases the net loss for fiscal
2005 to $20.1 million, or $0.19 per share. This impairment charge is reflected
in the financial statements to be contained in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K, which will be filed effective on Monday April 18, 2005.
The impact on earnings for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2006 with
respect to the sale or shutdown of the SmartCertify business unit will be
announced when the transaction is finalized or the alternative course of action
is implemented.
ABOUT SKILLSOFT
SkillSoft is a leading provider of comprehensive e-learning content and
technology products for business and IT professionals within the Global 2000.
SkillSoft's multi-modal learning solutions support and enhance the speed and
effectiveness of both formal and informal learning processes and integrate
SkillSoft's in-depth content resources, learning management platform, virtual
classroom technology and support services.
Content offerings include SkillSoft's business and IT skills courseware
collections; ITPro(TM), BusinessPro(TM), FinancePro(TM), EngineeringPro(TM),
OfficeEssentials(TM) and ExecSummaries(TM) Referenceware(R) collections by
Books24x7(R); and health and safety compliance courseware by GoTrain.
SkillSoft's complementary technologies include SkillPort(R), the Company's
learning management platform with its powerful Search-and-Learn capabilities,
and SkillSoft(R) Dialogue(TM), the Company's newly introduced virtual classroom
offering with associated tools for blended learning solutions. For more
information, visit http://www.skillsoft.com.
SkillSoft, the SkillSoft logo, Ahead of the Learning Curve, SkillPort,
Search-and-Learn, SkillChoice, Books24x7, Referenceware, ITPro, BusinessPro,
OfficeEssentials, EngineeringPro, ExecSummaries, Express Guide and SkillSoft
Dialogue are trademarks or registered trademarks of SkillSoft PLC in the United
States and certain other countries.
This release includes information that constitutes forward-looking statements
made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements involve risk and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
indicated by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or
contribute to such differences include competitive pressures, changes in
customer demands or industry standards, adverse economic conditions, loss of key
personnel, litigation and other risk factors disclosed under the heading
"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations - Future Operating Results" in SkillSoft's Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the quarter ended October 31, 2004, as filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements provided by the Company in
this press release represent the Company's views as of April 15, 2005. The
Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause the
Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically
disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not
be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to
the date of this release.
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