Significant business demand and new partnerships contribute to strong momentum in Q2

StepStone today announced continued business growth and momentum across the company in the second quarter, with more than 80 new Solutions customers signed during the period and a significant number of existing customers choosing to expand their use of StepStone products and services.

StepStone CEO, Colin Tenwick, said the continued demand across both the Solutions and Online divisions during Q2 2007 meant the company remained on track to deliver another solid quarter.

Demand for StepStone's Total Talent portfolio continued apace in Q2, with market and customer growth in line with our expectations. With a raft of new strategic online partnerships agreed this quarter and the rapidly expanding distributor network delivering results in territories such as Russia and China, we're confident that the platform for further solid growth in Q3 is also being laid, Tenwick said.

Key highlights and company milestones for the quarter to date include:

More than 80 new Solutions and ETWeb customers including major brands such as Adidas, Puma, Honda Europe, Starbucks and Daimler Chrysler

Continued expansion of StepStone's media alliances with a number of significant new online partnerships including publishers La Stampa (Italy), La Libre Belgique (Belgium), La Derniere Heure (Belgium), and two of Germany's largest female lifestyle magazines' web portals, Amica and Freundin

New customer wins for StepStone in China, Russia, Spain and Hungary through the distributor network

Continued recruitment of new companies to The Network, which was co founded by StepStone. The addition of CareerNet in South Korea and Sprace in the Czech Republic as new alliance partners reinforces The Network's position as the world's largest alliance of leading online classified recruitment sites, with blue-chip companies increasingly selecting The Network for their international hiring requirements - PricewaterhouseCoopers being a prime example in Q2

ExecuTRACK integration continuing on schedule with the re-branding of the ETWeb product portfolio now complete

A new partnership with Business Danmark, Denmark's largest organisation for Sales and Marketing professionals, which has resulted in the launch of a new channel site

The ongoing development of StepStone Solutions' Professional Services continued with the initial roll out of certified i-GRasp training courses

Information technology research and advisory firm, Gartner Inc, in its MarketScope for Employee Performance Management Software 2007, awarded StepStone a Positive rating for its ETWebT solution, the highest score given in the report which analysed the strengths and challenges of providers offering performance management, succession management and compensation management solutions from among 29 vendors.

StepStone's Total Talent vision is resonating with customers and partners alike, and our wide portfolio of products and services coupled with the ability to continue executing against our business plan has elevated the business to a strong position and we see no structural reasons which could impair growth as we close the second quarter, Tenwick said.

StepStone will announce its final Q2 results on Friday, 27 July 2007 and a results conference call will take place on 27 July from 2pm BST.