Preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2012

Maidenhead, U.K. March 12 2013 SDL today reports a year of solid organic revenue growth overall for the Group, and good progress on the integration of the Alterian acquisition SDL plc (SDL or the Group), the leading provider of Global Information Management (GIM) solutions, announces its audited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2012.

2012 GBP '000

2011 GBP '000

% change

Income Statement: Revenue Profit before tax and amortisation of intangibles Profit before tax Earnings per ordinary share - Basic (pence) Adjusted earnings per ordinary share - Basic (pence) Proposed final devidend (per ordinary share) - Pence 269,323 35,517 27,397 26.12 33.95 6.1 229,001 39,664 33,761 32.72 38.23 5.8 + 18% -10% -19% -20% -11% +5%

Operational Highlights Headline revenue growth of 17.6% driven by underlying organic growth and strong Alterian contribution. Performance across the three segments at constant currency: Language Services revenue grew by 12.4%, driven by strong sales and marketing execution.

 Content Management Technologies revenue declined marginally. Language Technologies revenue business was flat. Geographically, headline growth in Asia was particularly strong at 46%, North America was 12%, with Europe (including the UK) increasing by 17%. Significant new client wins during the year included Barnes & Noble, Husqvarna, KONE, Majestic Wines and Purina. Net cash of 6.3 million following the 70 million acquisition of Alterian in January 2012. In addition to the sales and marketing investment announced in November 2012 a further 4 million to 5 million of sales and marketing and R&D will be invested in 2013 to create a more robust platform for future growth. Final dividend of 6.1 pence per ordinary share, a 5.2% increase over the dividend paid in the previous year reflecting our confidence in the outlook. Commenting on these results, Mark Lancaster, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said today: Although the underlying organic growth for the group was strong, 2012 was a difficult year for SDL. As a result of under investment in the business in 2011 and 2012 performance has been impacted, particularly in the technology segment. Despite this we remain confident in our outlook for sales in 2013 and, as announced in November 2012, we will make significant discretionary sales, marketing and R&D investments in 2013 to return SDL to strong technology growth. The quantum of the total investment will be 8 million to 9 million. This will enhance technology revenue growth in 2013 but will reduce profits for 2013. These investments will take SDL to a new level, creating a solid platform to deliver significant sustained revenue growth and profitability to 2014 and beyond. About SDL SDL enables global businesses to enrich their customers experience through the entire customer journey. SDLs technology and services help brands to predict what their customers want and engage with them across multiple languages, cultures, channels and devices. SDL has over 1,500 enterprise customers, 400 partners and a global infrastructure of 70 offices in 38 countries. 42 out of the top 50 brands work with SDL. For more information, visit www.sdl.com. Contact SDL plc Tel: 01628 410 127 Mark Lancaster, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Matthew Knight, Chief Financial Officer

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