NW_20001025_VASCO reports strong third quarter revenues

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – October 25, 2000 – VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ & EASDAQ: VDSI), a global provider of enterprise-wide security solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2000. Revenues for the quarter increased 16% to $5,669,766, up from $4,895,060 for the third quarter of 1999.
For the third quarter of 2000, the Company reported a net loss, excluding non-cash expense from stock options issued to officers, of $1,630,754 or $0.07 per share, compared with a net loss of $331,137, or $0.01 per share, for the third quarter of 1999. The Company's net loss for the quarter was $2,302,422 or $0.09 per share, after the non-cash charge of $671,668 attributable to stock options issued to officers of the Company located outside the US whose services are rendered under consulting agreements. If these officers were employees in the US, no charge would be required.
The Company reported revenues of $17,746,210 for the nine months ended September 30, 2000, an 18% increase over the corresponding period in 1999, in which reported revenues were $15,047,267. The Company incurred a net loss for the first nine months of 2000 of $4,312,736 or $0.17 per share. This compares with a net loss of $1,346,188 or $0.05 per share, for the same period of 1999.
"The Company continues to experience strong demand for its Digipass strong authentication and digital signature products and its SnareWorks enterprise security software product line,” stated Mr. Mario Houthooft, President and CEO of VASCO. “As with many US corporations, our third quarter results were negatively affected by the weakness of the Euro. To illustrate, using the currency translation rate in effect during 1999, revenues for the third quarter of 2000 would have increased by 28% over the same period of the previous year. The Company also negotiated a major SnareWorks software contract during the third quarter, but all the elements were not in place to recognize revenue until the first week of October. As a result, we expect fourth quarter 2000 revenue to exceed original forecasts by approximately $1.5 million, bringing total revenues for the year 2000 in line with analyst estimates.”

Worldwide Alignment of Sales and R&D Activities
The Company noted that as a result of the increased integration and cross-fertilization of its IntelliSoft and IdentiSoft divisions, it has merged its respective worldwide sales and R&D organizations, eliminating IntelliSoft and IdentiSoft as separate business units.
“The complementary nature of both the people and the technology of these divisions has consistently led to innovative new products, such as SnareWorks SecureServer, which was introduced just after the close of the third quarter and which has been extremely well received,” said Mr. Houthooft. “To truly maximize the potential of these divisions, we have consolidated the sales and R&D activities. We strongly believe that through the unification of our product development, product offerings, and product message, we will enjoy greater cross-selling opportunities and increased economies of scale in our sales and marketing efforts. More importantly, we will drive the growth of our business as a fully integrated worldwide organization with one common goal,” he concluded.
Mr. Jan Valcke, previously Vice President and General Manager of VASCO’s IdentiSoft division, will manage the worldwide sales, marketing, business development, and product management organization for both the Digipass and SnareWorks product lines. Sales for both product lines have been consolidated in a worldwide organization led by a sales director for the Americas and a sales director for Europe and Asia/Pacific.
Mr. Jonathan Chinitz, previously Vice President and General Manager of VASCO’s IntelliSoft division, will head up worldwide research & development activities for all of the Company’s product lines. He will coordinate R&D activities at VASCO’s development centers located in Silicon Valley, Chicago, Baltimore, Brussels, and Bordeaux.
Highlights for the quarter:

- Signing Worldwide Commercial and Financial Partnership with Ubizen – VASCO formed a worldwide partnership with e-security solutions company Ubizen (EASDAQ: UBIZ; www.ubizen.com) that was supported by Ubizen’s $15 million investment in VASCO. The commercial and financial agreement gives VASCO enhanced capability for accelerating the execution of its worldwide growth strategy.
- Joining Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 Indexes – Demonstrating rapid growth as a global e-security company, VASCO joined the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes, part of a family of US market benchmarks that are extensively used by investment managers as key investing benchmarks. Today, more than $177 billion is invested in funds that use Russell’s US stock indexes as their model.
- Establishing Operations in the Heart of Silicon Valley – Through the acquisition of Invincible Data Systems, VASCO instantly gained a presence in one of the largest and most dynamic business regions in the world, with every aspect of the Company – from sales and R&D to business development – expected to benefit greatly.
- Announcing Single Largest Contract – During the quarter, VASCO announced that it had won a $7.3 million contract from the US Department of Defense to secure its worldwide Healthcare Information System with SnareWorks software.
- Surpassing Five Million Digipass Sales Milestone – In the quarter, VASCO crossed a major sales milestone with the sale of its five millionth Digipass strong authentication and digital signature device.

VASCO will hold an investor conference call at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 25, 2000 that will be webcast live at www.vcall.com. The webcast will be archived for 90 days. A replay of the call will also be available from October 25, 2000 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, through October 27, 2000 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. To access the replay from North America call +1-888-266-2081; from outside North America call +1-703-925-2533. At the prompt, enter access code 4680568.
VASCO Data Security International, Inc. reported the following:

Note: The Company's financial results for the first three quarters of 1999 have been restated to reflect the acquisition of IntelliSoft Corp., which occurred in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 and has been accounted for as a pooling of interests.
About VASCO
VASCO secures the enterprise from the mainframe to the Internet with infrastructure solutions that enable secure e-business and e-commerce, protect sensitive information, and safeguard the identity of users. The company’s family of Digipass™, VACMAN®, and SnareWorks™ products offers end-to-end security through true Single Sign-On, access control and advanced entitlements, web portal security, strong user authentication, and PKI enablement, while sharply reducing the time and effort required to deploy and manage security. VASCO’s customers include hundreds of financial institutions, blue-chip corporations, and government agencies in more than 50 countries, among them ABN AMRO Bank, Shell, 3M, Ericsson, Rabobank, SEB, First Union, Liberty Mutual, Cable and Wireless, Nokia, DaimlerChrysler, Volvo, US Department of Defense, European Commission, US Coast Guard, University of Groningen, and Duke University. VASCO’s partners include Check Point Software Technologies, Computer Associates, Intel, Lernout & Hauspie, Novell, Proton World, and Ubizen. More information is available at www.vasco.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing words such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” and similar words, is forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.
Reference is made to the Company’s public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission for further information regarding the Company and its operations.
For more information please contact:

Americas:
Media: Kerry Roche, Bridgeman Communications, +1 617 742 7270, [email protected]
Investor Relations: Todd Fromer, KCSA Public Relations Worldwide, +1 212 682 6300, [email protected]
VASCO: Mike Lange, +1 630 932 8844, [email protected]

Europe/Asia:
Media (Benelux): Bob Pieters, Anthonissen & Associates, +32 3 286 7777, [email protected]
Media (Europe/Asia): Sven Kersten, HBI, +49 89 99 38 87 33, [email protected]
Investor Relations: Annemieke Blondeel, LBConsult, +44 208 308 7080, [email protected]
VASCO: Ariane Bosmans, +32 2 456 9810, [email protected]