Sonic Foundry Reports First Quarter 2008 Results

      MADISON, Wis., Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sonic Foundry, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media communications and
knowledge management, today announced fiscal first quarter results:

      --    Revenues were $2.5 million, down 27 percent from fiscal Q1 2007
      --    GAAP net loss of $3.5 million or $0.10 per diluted share
      --    Non-GAAP net loss of $3.1 million or $0.09 per diluted share
      --    Billings of $2.7 million
      --    Service revenues of $1.6 million, up 82 percent from fiscal Q1 2007

      Non-GAAP net loss primarily excludes all non-cash related expenses of
stock compensation, depreciation and amortization. A reconciliation between GAAP
and non-GAAP results is provided at the end of this press release.

      At December 31, 2007, an accumulated $3.2 million of unearned revenue was
billed and deferred, of which the company expects to realize $1.4 million in the
upcoming quarter. Total gross margins for the first quarter of fiscal 2008 were
75 percent of revenues compared to 78 percent in the previous year.

      As reported in January, new product updates currently being released in
the fiscal second quarter for the education market coupled with slowing licensed
software sales to the corporate market contributed to weaker first quarter
results. The company is experiencing a significant transition in its business
activity, with education and training applications expected to drive the
company's sales activities going forward. Likewise, Sonic Foundry expects that
weakening economic conditions will expand market demand for more outsourced
services versus licensed sales within both the corporate and education sectors.
Over the last two years, the company has made extensive capital and technology
investments to advance its services model with comprehensive hosting, content
processing and e-commerce capabilities that position Sonic Foundry well to
deliver more diversified business services.

      By concentrating on markets with the greatest potential, the company was
also able to initiate measures that are expected to reduce its operating costs
by an estimated $4 million annually. Confirming previous guidance, Sonic Foundry
anticipates the newly introduced cost saving measures to advance the pace of
achieving profitability during fiscal 2008. In addition, given the expected
longer-term impact, greater operating leverage is now expected for fiscal 2009
and beyond.

      While higher education accounts historically represented approximately
half of the company's sales pipeline activity, the education sales pipeline is
now over 60 percent and expected to climb. Sonic Foundry is accelerating its
product and service offerings to address accelerating demand from the
convergence of technology and education. The company recently unveiled its
Mediasite 4.3 release, the first announcement under the company's
next-generation education initiative, designed to expand the company's footprint
in higher education markets.

      The 4.3 release reflects the company's collaboration with Microsoft Corp.
to add support for Microsoft Silverlight. Silverlight is a cross-browser,
cross-platform plug-in that supports rich media experiences on the web. Its
seamless and quick installation provides a consistent Mediasite experience for
both Windows and Macintosh users on a variety of browsers including Microsoft
Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. With this latest release of the company's
award-winning and patented webcasting and knowledge management platform, Sonic
Foundry has taken the first steps in designing a next generation multimedia
solution to simplify and enhance the playing of rich media applications,
particularly for the multi-device environment of the modern college campus.



      Additional highlights of the first quarter fiscal 2008 include multiple
awards for the company and its Mediasite platform including:

      --    Frost & Sullivan 2007 Global Market Leadership Award with 41 percent
            share of the world lecture capture and broadcast solutions market
      --    Datamonitor acknowledgement as "Innovative Vendor" and "Early Market
            Leader" for lecture capture in higher education
      --    Bersin & Associates 2007 Learning Leader award for Best Tool in the
            Vendor Innovation category
      --    Finalist for reader-nominated Best of 2007 Elearning! Magazine
            awards for Best Presentation Tool
      --    Top 10 Best Products and a 4-Star Rating from Training Media Review

      "Our continued efforts to build the business for maximum scale and
efficiency while targeting the right customer base required us to make some
tough decisions in the short term. It was also necessary to establish the proper
operating infrastructure to enable a greater mix of products and services that
in turn will align our business to education and training applications. Given
the current market uptake for our newly introduced product offerings and our
constant attention to where market demand lies, we now resume our growth
objectives to advance our overall market share," said Rimas Buinevicius,
chairman and CEO of Sonic Foundry.

      Sonic Foundry will host a corporate webcast today for analysts and
investors to discuss its first quarter fiscal 2008 results at 3:30 p.m. CT/4:30
p.m. ET. It will use its patented rich media communications system, Mediasite,
to webcast the presentation for both live and on-demand viewing. To access the
presentation, go to http://www.sonicfoundry.com/q1. An archive of the webcast
will be available for 30 days.

                        EXPLANATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES

      To supplement our financial results presented on a GAAP basis, we use the
measure of non-GAAP net loss in our financial presentation, which exclude
certain non-cash costs. These costs include stock-based compensation which we
believe is helpful in understanding our past financial performance and our
future results. Our non-GAAP financial measure is not meant to be considered in
isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures, and should be read
only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in
accordance with GAAP. Our management regularly uses our supplemental non-GAAP
financial measures internally to understand, manage and evaluate our business
and make operating decisions. These non-GAAP measures are among the factors
management uses in planning for and forecasting future periods. Our non-GAAP
financial measures reflect adjustments based on the following items, as well as
the related income tax effects:

      --    Stock-based compensation expenses: We adopted FASB Statement No.
            123R, Share-Based Payments, on October 1, 2005, under the modified
            prospective method. Statement 123R requires us to record non-cash
            operating expenses associated with stock option awards at their
            estimated fair values. Prior to our Statement 123R adoption, we were
            required to record stock-based compensation expenses at intrinsic
            value, which was zero since we only issue stock options at the
            market price of our stock on the date issued. In accordance with the
            modified prospective method, our financial statements for prior
            periods have not been restated to reflect, and do not include, the
            changes in methodology to expense options at fair values in
            accordance with Statement 123R. Stock-based compensation is a key
            incentive offered to our employees. We believe such compensation
            contributed to the revenues earned during the periods presented and
            also believe it will contribute to the generation of future period
            revenues. As a result, we continue to evaluate our business
            performance excluding stock-based compensation expenses.



      --    Depreciation and amortization of intangible and other assets
            expenses: We have excluded the effect of depreciation and
            amortization of assets from our pro-forma net loss. Amortization of
            intangible assets expense varies in amount and frequency and it is
            significantly affected by the timing and size of our acquisitions.
            Depreciation and amortization of asset costs is a non-cash expense
            that includes the periodic write-off of tooling, product design and
            other assets that contributed to revenues earned during the periods
            presented and will contribute to future period revenues as well.
            Amortization expenses will recur in future periods.

      About Sonic Foundry(R), Inc.

      Founded in 1991, Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO, http://www.sonicfoundry.com)
is the recognized market leader for rich media communications and knowledge
management, providing enterprise solutions and services that link an
information-driven world. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the company has received
numerous awards including the 2007 Frost & Sullivan Global Market Leadership
Award, Ziff Davis Media's Baseline Magazine's sixth fastest-growing software
company with sales under $150 million and Deloitte's Technology Fast 500. Named
a Bersin & Associates 2007 Learning Leader, Sonic Foundry's webcasting and
knowledge management solutions are trusted by education institutions, Fortune
500 companies and government agencies for a variety of critical communication
needs. Sonic Foundry is changing the way organizations communicate via the web
and how people around the globe receive vital information needed for education,
business, professional advancement and safety. Product and service names
mentioned herein are the trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. or their respective
owners.

      Certain statements contained in this news release regarding matters that
are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Because such
forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may
differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
include, but are not limited to, uncertainties pertaining to continued market
acceptance for Sonic Foundry's products, its ability to succeed in capturing
significant revenues from media services and/or systems, the effect of new
competitors in its market, integration of acquired business and other risk
factors identified from time to time in its filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.



                               Sonic Foundry, Inc.
                           Consolidated Balance Sheets
                      (in thousands, except for share data)
                                   (Unaudited)

                                                    December 31,   September 30,
                                                        2007            2007
Assets
Current assets:
 Cash and cash equivalents                          $     6,167     $     8,008
 Accounts receivable, net of allowances
 of $190 and $270                                         2,346           5,001
 Inventories                                                664             204
 Prepaid expenses and other current assets                  724             975
 Total current assets                                     9,901          14,188
Property and equipment:
 Leasehold improvements                                     975             975
 Computer equipment                                       2,300           2,267
 Furniture and fixtures                                     461             461
   Total property and equipment                           3,736           3,703
   Less accumulated depreciation                          1,688           1,520
     Net property and equipment                           2,048           2,183
Other assets:
 Goodwill and other intangibles, net of
  amortization of $1,659 and $1,656                       7,607           7,610
Total assets                                        $    19,556     $    23,981

Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities:
 Accounts payable                                   $       948     $     1,512
 Accrued liabilities                                        602           1,023
 Unearned revenue                                         3,203           3,314
 Current portion of notes payable                           333             333
 Current portion of capital lease obligation                 63              66
 Total current liabilities                                5,149           6,248

 Long-term portion of notes payable                         473             556
 Long-term portion of capital lease obligations              57              69
 Other liabilities                                          325             348
 Total liabilities                                        6,004           7,221

Stockholders' equity:
 Preferred stock, $.01 par value, authorized
  5,000,000 shares; none issued and outstanding              --              --
 5% preferred stock, Series B, voting,
  cumulative, convertible, $.01 par value
  (liquidation preference at par), authorized
  10,000,000 shares, none issued and outstanding             --              --
 Common stock, $.01 par value, authorized
  100,000,000 shares; 35,695,003 and 35,684,503
  shares issued and 35,567,836 and 35,557,336
  shares outstanding                                        357             357
 Additional paid-in capital                             183,860         183,528
 Accumulated deficit                                   (170,470)       (166,930)
 Receivable for common stock issued                         (26)            (26)
 Treasury stock, at cost, 127,167 shares                   (169)           (169)
 Total stockholders' equity                              13,552          16,760
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity          $    19,556     $    23,981



                               Sonic Foundry, Inc.
                      Consolidated Statements of Operations
                    (in thousands, except for per share data)
                                   (Unaudited)

                                                Three Months Ended
                                                   December  31,
                                              2007               2006
Revenue:
Product                                  $        942       $      2,586
Services                                        1,558                878
Other                                              20                  9
Total revenue                                   2,520              3,473
Cost of revenue:
Product                                           510                773
Services                                          112                 --
Total cost of revenue                             622                773
Gross margin                                    1,898              2,700

Operating expenses:
Selling and marketing expenses                  3,546              2,504
General and administrative expenses               978                970
Product development expenses                      946                675
  Total operating expenses                      5,470              4,149
Loss from operations                           (3,572)            (1,449)

Other income, net                                  32                 20
Net loss                                 $     (3,540)      $     (1,429)

Net loss per common share:
 - basic and diluted                     $      (0.10)      $      (0.04)

Weighted average common shares
 - basic and diluted                       35,561,814         32,362,612



                 Non-GAAP Consolidated Statements of Operations
                                 (in thousands)



                                  Fiscal Quarter Ended                       Fiscal Quarter Ended
                                    December 31, 2007                          December 31, 2006
                             GAAP         Adj(1)       Non-GAAP        GAAP          Adj(1)      Non-GAAP
                                                                              
Revenues                  $   2,520            --     $   2,520     $   3,473            --     $   3,473

Cost of revenue                 622            --           622           773           (53)          720

Total Operating
 expenses                     5,470          (442)        5,028         4,149          (305)        3,844

Loss from
 operations                  (3,572)          442        (3,130)       (1,449)         (358)       (1,091)

Other income                     32            --            32            20            --            20

Net loss                  $  (3,540)    $     442     $  (3,098)    $  (1,429)    $    (358)    $  (1,071)

Diluted net loss
 per common
 share                    $   (0.10)    $    0.01     $   (0.09)    $   (0.04)    $    0.01     $   (0.04)

(1)Adjustments
 consist of the
 following:

Amortization
 (in COGS)                                     --                                        53
Depreciation
 (in G&A)                                     171                                       156
Stock-based
 compensation(2)                              271                                       149

Total non-GAAP
 adjustments                                  442                                       358

(2) Stock-based
 compensation is
 included in the
 following GAAP
 operating expenses:

Selling and
 marketing                                    172                                        95
General and
 administrative                                38                                        19
Research and
 development                                   61                                        35

Total
 stock-based
 compensation                                               271                                        149


SOURCE Sonic Foundry Inc.