Record Sales, Added Headcount Despite Recession

AVG (AU/NZ) Achieves Record Sales, Adds Headcount Despite Recession

Auckland, 7 July 2009 - AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd, the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific distributor of the award-winning AVG Anti-Virus and Internet Security products, has thumbed its nose at the “global financial crisis”, achieving strong continued growth with record sales in April 2009 followed closely by the second highest month ever in May 2009. This growth has led the company to increase its headcount by seven in the last three months, bringing it to a total of more than 30 staff in the region. AVG (AU/NZ) has also achieved a ranking of 15 in the just-announced 2009 BRW Fast Starters List, up from No. 48 last year.

AVG (AU/NZ) Managing Director, Peter Cameron, said sales revenue for April 2009 was 115 per cent higher than in April 2008. Overall sales results for the first quarter 2009 showed a 101 per cent growth over the same period in 2008.

“We’ve achieved excellent results in the last financial year, with many months of record sales. And of course we’re delighted to have made it into BRW’s Fast Starters list for the second year in a row, highlighting our strong performance in this market.”

Preliminary figures show that AVG (AU/NZ) has achieved just over 63 per cent sales revenue growth for the full 2008–2009 financial year. Cameron said this was the result of superior technology, supported by an innovative and highly effective business model.

“Our market is primarily consumers and small to medium enterprises (SMEs). We are very focused on those sectors with carefully tailored offerings that meet their security needs at a very affordable price. The expansion of our Client Care teams has enabled us to continue to provide service and support of the highest calibre to our clients and resellers. Unlike many of our competitors, there is no charge for this support for our commercial clients,” Cameron continued.

Innovative Model Delivers Results

“The AVG Technologies’ model of seeding the market with free product and then encouraging users to upgrade at their convenience has allowed us to build high brand awareness and substantial market share. We now have a market share much higher than certain respected industry analysts give us credit for,” Cameron said.

“Across the full product range, we are protecting more than 2.7 million users in Australia, and more than 500,000 users in New Zealand. That’s a very solid base on which to continue to build and grow our business.”

Multi-Tier Distribution Model Works for Everyone

AVG (AU/NZ) operates a multi-tiered distribution strategy, working with its more than 2350 resellers, plus major corporate partners, to roll out its security solutions. The company has found that the combination of its proven technology, comprehensive local support services and the powerful backing of AVG Technologies, make an attractive package for companies interested in offering trial versions of AVG to their customers. In recent weeks AVG (AU/NZ) has announced such partnerships with both Suncorp Bank and 3 Mobile Broadband.

“We recognise that small business and home consumers are cautious about how they spend their money and appreciate the opportunity to trial software before making an investment. By allowing them to experience the quality of our software, services and support, we have been successful in converting hundreds of thousands of users to the AVG brand,” said Cameron.

“We’re also seeing this translate into small business customer growth as consumers, having seen how well our products work at home, then choose to implement them at work.
“Another interesting development is a strong trend towards customers purchasing our premium AVG Internet Security integrated security suite solution. Rather than settling for the base product as they did a few years ago, most customers now purchase the best level of online protection available.

“As people increasingly use online services they are more aware of the need for a comprehensive security solution. People want peace-of-mind and AVG Internet Security truly delivers, especially now that the new AVG Identity Protection is included in the 8.5 version.”

Business Operations Expanded to Support Sales Growth

Cameron said AVG (AU/NZ) is extremely committed to the Oceania marketplace, improving services and expanding its local team.

“We’re just coming to the end of the first stage of a managed business expansion programme. We’ve added seven new personnel in the past three months. The extra people, combined with other systems and operational changes, have allowed us to extend our service and support offerings and further enhance the way in which we touch our customers and channel partners.

“The AVG (AU/NZ) team is excited about stage two and are looking forward to being better able to serve our customers. Still we have more to do. Just yesterday an AVG reseller gave us a brilliant insight as to how we could do something to make the sales process much easier for many of our resellers. Our team is already working to make it happen.

“We’re here for the long haul and plan to cement AVG’s position as a leading provider of security software solutions in this market,” he said.

ENDS

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