MADISON, Wis., March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sonic Foundry, Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, held its annual shareholders meeting yesterday at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
During the meeting, Chairman and CEO Rimas Buinevicius discussed the company's 2008 accomplishments and outlined initiatives for 2009. Key highlights include:
-- Largest combined sale in company history: The King Abdullah University
of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia has ordered nearly $2
million of Mediasite lecture capture technology to enable recording from
150 smart classrooms.
-- Record growth in online learning: Buinevicius presented multiple
datapoints to illustrate the significant growth in online learning,
including research from the Sloan Consortium "Staying the
Course" report which recorded a 143 percent increase from 2002 to
2007 in the percentage of students who had taken at least one online
course.
-- Positive financial trends: Sonic Foundry achieved pro forma positive
results for the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2008 through its
increased focus on higher education and corporate event webcasting
coupled with a $4 million reduction in annual operating expenses. The
company forecasted revenue growth of 15-20 percent, with steady gross
margins, flat operating expenses and full year pro forma results for
fiscal 2009.
-- Ongoing industry recognition: In addition to awards from Streaming Media
and Elearning! Magazine, the company received the highest ranking from
Wainhouse Research in their "Distance Education and e-Learning
Landscape" report for the depth of the company's blend of products
and ability to execute.
-- New social responsibility initiatives: Based on global economic and
travel trends and the federal stimulus package, the company introduced
key themes for 2009: increased demand for blended and distance learning
to both educate the modern student and retrain the workforce, coupled
with a move toward more cost-effective and environmentally friendly
technology for greener meetings, conferences and training events.
The full corporate webcast for analysts and investors will be available at www.sonicfoundry.com/annualmeeting for 30 days via Mediasite, Sonic Foundry's patented rich media communications system.
About Sonic Foundry(R), Inc.
Sonic Foundry (NASDAQ: SOFO) is the global leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, providing enterprise communication solutions for more than 1,500 customers in education, business and government. Powered by Mediasite, the patented webcasting platform which automates the capture, management, delivery and search of lectures, online training and briefings, Sonic Foundry empowers people to transform the way they communicate. Through the Mediasite platform and its Events Services group, the company helps customers connect a dynamic, evolving world of shared knowledge and envisions a future where learners and workers around the globe use webcasting to bridge time and distance, accelerate research and improve performance.
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.
Web site: http://www.sonicfoundry.com/
