NW_20010221_VASCO Achieves Record Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2000 Results

Revenues for Year 2000 Increase 45% from 1999

OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – February 21, 2001 – US-based VASCO Data Security International, Inc. (NASDAQ & EASDAQ: VDSI; www.vasco.com), a global provider of security solutions that enable e-business and e-commerce, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2000. Revenues for the quarter increased 137% to a record $10,319,470, up from $4,349,841 for the fourth quarter of 1999.

For the fourth quarter of 2000, the Company reported operating income, before non-cash compensation for stock options to certain officers of the Company, of $419,252 and net income before these options of $126,908 or $0.0 per share, compared with an operating loss of $1,320,600 and a net loss of $866,296, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share, for the same period in 1999. The stock options referred to are stock options issued to officers of the Company located outside the US whose services are rendered under consulting agreements. If these officers had been employees in the US, there would be no effect on operating income, net income or earnings per share.

The Company reported revenues of $28,065,680 for the year ended December 31, 2000, a 45% increase over the prior year, in which reported revenues were $19,397,108. The Company incurred a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2000, before accounting for the stock options previously mentioned, of $3,514,160 or $0.15 per basic and diluted share. This compares with a net loss of $2,212,484 or $0.09 per basic and diluted share, for the same period of 1999. Included in the fourth quarter and year 2000 revenues is a non-monetary (barter) sale to a customer in the United States of Digipass and SnareWorks products of approximately $2,000,000.

"As we forecast to the market in our press release and conference call on January 24, the fourth quarter and the year 2000 is by far the strongest in our history,” stated Mario Houthooft, President and CEO of VASCO. “Our 45% growth in revenue from 1999 and our fourth quarter revenue of over $10 million demonstrate that VASCO has the people and products to be a market leader in a sector expected to grow to $6.8 billion by 2003. Moreover, we have demonstrated the ability to achieve a quarterly profit when our top line in the present cost structure reaches about $10.5 million of revenues. We see our Company poised for continued rapid top line growth in the year 2001, and ready to achieve our goal of sustained profitability by the end of the year.”

Dennis D. Wilson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of VASCO, noted that “VASCO has the strongest financial position in its history. Our Company had $13.8 million of cash on hand as of December 31, 2000. We expect that the Company has sufficient cash and working capital to achieve its financial goals in the year 2001. We are now self-financing and will not need to access the capital markets in the next twelve months, unless there are unforeseen capital needs, or the market conditions change
to a more favorable climate.”

Highlights

The fourth quarter of 2000 saw VASCO achieve the following business highlights:

· Introduction of SnareWorks SecureServer software for business-enabling network security drawing on the Company’s Digipass strong authentication and e-signature technology. SnareWorks SecureServer allows organizations to provide anytime, anywhere, anyhow access to their business data and processes, while ensuring that only authorized people can access a company’s confidential information.

· Named the 15th fastest growing technology company in the Chicago area as a Deloitte & Touche “Fast 50” award winner. VASCO attributes its 324% revenue growth over five years to explosive demand for e-business and e-commerce infrastructure and application security.

· Launch of the Digipass 800 hand- held “security portal” that gives any smart card holder strong authentication and e-signature capability, eliminating the need for a separate smart card reader. Also in the quarter, VASCO announced two key developments for the Digipass 800: the Company’s agreement with Proton World, whose licensees have issued a market-leading 62 million smart cards, to jointly market the Digipass 800; and the initial order for three hundred thousand Digipass 800 devices to Rabobank in the Netherlands for securing its “e-purse” smart card holders. Rabobank is currently marketing the Digipass 800 to its entire installed base of six million smart card holders.

· Formed global security alliance with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC; www.intel.com), the world's largest chip maker and a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. The companies joined forces to deliver effective, affordable network security worldwide through product cross-integration, with the partnership following and complementing VASCO’s worldwide partnerships with other leading networking companies such as Check Point and Novell.

· Entry into world’s 3rd largest banking market with signing of Hamburgische Landesbank, a top 20 German bank. The contract confirms VASCO’s leadership in providing strong authentication and e-signature security to financial institutions, with more than 160 leading banks worldwide putting their trust in VASCO to protect the online privacy and transactions of their customers.

· Launch of Digipass Soft strong authentication and e-signature software, entering rapidly growing markets and further broadening the Company’s security software product range. Digipass Soft combines VASCO’s Digipass strong authentication and e-signature security with the flexibility of a software-based security platform. The Company is also integrating Digipass Soft with existing software packages and applications offered by third-party software vendors worldwide, as well as developing – on its own and with VASCO’s rapidly growing number of partners around the world – Digipass strong authentication and e-signature capability on market-leading platforms, including smart cards, personal digital assistants, and mobile phones.

· Opening of sales office in Singapore to accelerate expansion in booming Asia-Pacific region and enhance service to existing customers. The demand for security products that support remote transactions and access to corporate networks is expected to grow more than 30% each year in the Asia-Pacific region, making it one of the fastest growing markets in the world. On February 15, 2001, the Company announced that OCBC Bank, the second-largest bank in Singapore, is relying on VASCO to secure its innovative e-banking initiatives.

· Appointment of marketing veteran as worldwide marketing executive to further drive the Company’s brand awareness and revenue. Stephen L. Axel brings his 20+ years of strategic and tactical marketing experience to a new position of Chief Marketing Officer, aggressively building VASCO’s brand equity and market share across all VASCO’s channels.

VASCO will hold a conference call to discuss its financial results on Wednesday, February 21, 2001 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. A live webcast of this conference call will be available at www.vcall.com; participants should register for the webcast approximately 15 minutes prior to the event to download and install any necessary software. A replay of the conference call will be available from 2:00 p.m. Eastern time on February 21, 2001, through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on February 23, 2001. To access the replay
from the US call +1 888 845 7412; to access the replay from outside the US call +1 402 220 1135.


VASCO Data Security International, Inc. reported the following:

4th quarter results.pdf

Note: The Company's financial results for the four 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® and SnareWorks® products offers end-to-end security through strong authentication and digital signature, true Single Sign-On, access control and advanced entitlements, web portal security, 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 Brokat, Check Point Software Technologies, Computer Associates, Identikey, Intel, Netlife, Novell, Proton World, and Ubizen. More information is available at http://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 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): Nico Tempelaere
Outsource
+32 2 361 31 20
[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]