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Formjet reports strong operating performance 

of its Ability Office Suite

Formjet plc, the AIM listed alternative software vendor is pleased to report solid performance in its subsidiary, Ability Sales International Ltd (ASI Ability) following a number of high profile alliances entered into during the last three months.

Highlights

• ASI Ability Sales have increased by over £½m compared to the same period last year.

• Significant bundle deals secured with Tier One vendors.

• TV shopping channel exposure and excellent sell-through.

• Pre-installs on Intel Atom-based Fizzbooks.

• Ability Office software 'on a stick' ideally suited to Netbooks which do not feature optical drives.

• ASI Ability resellers up by over 100 in six months.

• ASI Ability recognised as a true value alternative to Microsoft.

• First deliveries of Carphone Warehouse Netbooks in the stores pre Christmas. 

• Strong pipeline of opportunity for 2009.

Throughout the year, high-profile notebook bundle deals with Tier One vendors via ASI's distributor Micro Peripherals Ltd have resulted in highly successful sell-throughs. These actions, combined with Ability Home Office being installed as standard on Fizzbooks - a version of the Intel Classmate Mini-Notebook - are rapidly increasing the numbers of Ability users. Moreover, Notebooks provided to the reseller channel as part of the 3 Mobile offering are being bundled with ASI Ability Office.

October 2008 saw the launch of Ability Office 'on a stick' with the software shipping on a USB deliverable. ASI has appointed Micro Peripherals as exclusive distributors of this new innovation, which has already seen just under 30,000 units shipped in only two months.

In November 2008, Formjet announced a deal with The Carphone Warehouse that will see Ability Office pre-installed on up to 100,000 PCs a month for shipment via the retailer into the UK market.

This new visibility has also driven an increase in resellers wanting to stock the Ability product range with over a hundred new resellers signing up and actively trading in Q3 and Q4 2008.

Mark Kahr, Director at Micro Peripherals, commented that the distributor had already experienced considerable success in both stand-alone boxed sales and bundled sales of Ability. He further remarked: 'With the USB version of ASI Ability Office, our resellers can now fulfil their customers' core software needs without in any way negating the crucial lower-priced value proposition inherent in Netbooks.'

Formjet plc Chairman, Lyndon Chapman added: 'The success of ASI Ability this year has resulted in a significant increase in sales of the brand. This ramp in demand is expected to continue into 2009 as Netbook products accelerate their share of the portable computing sector, further aided by a growing demand for Intel's Classmate products within educational establishments. It is my opinion that the latest versions of ASI Ability Office provide a credible value alternative to Microsoft Office at a fraction of the cost and this is being recognised by manufacturers, resellers and end-users alike.' 

Chapman continued: 'We are actively expanding the range of B2B solutions sold under the ASI Brand, with our latest product ASI BeAnywhere, a simple but secure remote access product, generating good reviews and sales interest. The industry is generally telling me that Formjet's current product ranges are usefully positioned to do well in recessionary times due to their fully featured value proposition and ease of use.  

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ENQUIRIES:

Formjet plc    Tel: 01293 848 860

Lyndon Chapman, Executive Chairman

Tony Lee, Chief Executive

www.formjetplc.com

Ability Sales International Ltd

Chris England, Brand Director

David Hennell Formjet Group Sales Director

www.asiability.com

Notes to Editors:

Formjet plc

Formjet plc is a UK-based company with a highly distinctive business model. It acquires territorial rights to 'alternative' software products, and markets, sells, distributes and supports these products in place of the vendor in worldwide markets. The strategy has at its heart the proposition that the Company can acquire product lines in territories of at least one country without the expense of either product development or the creation of IPR. 

Alternative Products 

• Panda Software (UK) distributes Panda Software antivirus and Internet security products in the UK. With its high margins and recurring annual renewal revenues, Panda is a major contributor to the Group's sales and profitability.  

• Ability Software International (ASI) distributes a powerful suite of office products which, as well as being sold under their own branding, form an integral part of the white label opportunities that Formjet is creating. Ability Software International has also developed the ASI Business Software range. This comprises eight titles, which include fully comprehensive office and graphics suites, Internet security, a business plan development application, small business accounting, appointment book management and staff records management software. In September the Company also added a remote access tool called BeAnywhere to this range.

• EdAlive edutainment software has opened up a new and growing market for Formjet and now covers a wide range of core subjects including maths, word skills and spelling.

Alternative Routes to Market

• Formjet Innovations is the specialist distribution arm of the Formjet Group focusing on its alternative product range and associated alternative routes to market. The focus here is on creating 'white label' software, targeting retail and brand leaders of importance. 

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