* ASV grew $4 million to $619 million
 * Revenues rose 1% to $155 million
 * EPS advanced 10% to $0.74  
 * Free cash flow doubled to $60 million

NORWALK, Conn., Sept. 22, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE:FDS) (Nasdaq:FDS), a leading provider of integrated financial information and analytical applications to the global investment community, today announced its results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

For the quarter ended August 31, 2009, revenues increased to $155.5 million, up 1% compared to the prior year. Operating income for the fourth quarter rose to $54 million, an 8% increase from the same period in fiscal 2008. The operating margin advanced to 35%. Net income rose 8% to $36.3 million. Diluted earnings per share increased to $0.74, up 10% from last year.

 Consolidated Statements of Income
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
 (Condensed and
  Unaudited)
                     Three Months Ended        Twelve Months Ended
 (In thousands,          August 31,                  August 31,
  except per    ------------------------------------------------------
  share data)     2009      2008    Change    2009      2008    Change
 -------------- --------  --------  ------  --------  --------  ------
 Revenues       $155,462  $153,707    1.1%  $622,023  $575,519    8.1%
 Operating
  income          54,360    50,231    8.2%   211,030   183,887   14.8%
 Other income         95       835 (88.6)%     1,092     5,160 (78.8)%
 Provision for
  income taxes    18,180    17,482    4.0%    67,172    64,030    4.9%
 Net income      $36,275   $33,584    8.0%  $144,950  $125,017   15.9%
 Diluted
  earnings per
  share            $0.74     $0.67   10.4%     $2.97     $2.50   18.8%
 Weighted
  average
  common shares   48,880    50,341            48,789    50,080
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Philip A. Hadley, Chairman and CEO, said, "ASV, clients and users all grew during the fourth quarter. I was very pleased that each of our key metrics showed meaningful improvement sequentially from last quarter. It is premature to call a long-term recovery for our industry, but we believe we may be seeing an encouraging step in the right direction. Looking back on the just completed fiscal year, our EPS grew 19% in one the most challenging operating environments on record."

Annual Subscription Value ("ASV")

ASV increased $4 million during the fourth quarter and included a $0.4 million benefit from foreign exchange. ASV was $619 million at August 31, 2009. Of this total, 82% of ASV is from buy-side clients and the remainder is from the sell-side firms who perform M&A advisory work and equity research. ASV at any given point in time represents the forward-looking revenues for the next 12 months from all annual subscription services currently being supplied to clients.

 Financial Highlights - Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2009

 * ASV from FactSet's U.S. operations was $419 million and $200
   million related to international operations.
 * U.S. revenues were $106 million, the same as the year ago quarter.
 * Non-U.S. revenues increased 3% to $49.6 million.
 * Operating margin rose 2.3% to 35%.
 * Free cash flow doubled to $60 million.
 * The effective tax rate for the quarter was 33.4%.
 * Revenues from FactSet Fundamentals were $1.5 million. The quarterly
   operating loss decreased 58% to $0.7 million from $1.6 million last
   quarter. The investment in FactSet Fundamentals diluted EPS by
   $0.01.
 * Capital expenditures were $5.1 million.
 * Non-subscription revenues were $1.5 million. A supplementary
   schedule is presented further on in this press release to summarize
   revenues related to services that are not included in the
   calculation of FactSet's ASV.

 Operational Highlights - Fourth Quarter of Fiscal 2009

 * Client count was 2,045 at August 31, 2009, a net increase of 12
   clients during the quarter.
 * Professionals using FactSet increased to 37,300, up 200 users.
 * Portfolio Analytics ("PA") 2.0 was deployed by 647 clients
   representing 5,640 users. PA users increased by 40 during the
   quarter, while the number of PA clients remained the same as the
   previous quarter.
 * Annual client retention rate was greater than 95% of ASV and 87% of
   clients.
 * Employee count at August 31, 2009 was 2,962, up 412 employees
   during the quarter.
 * Common shares outstanding at August 31, 2009 were 46.7 million. The
   Company repurchased 594,600 shares during the quarter and $102
   million remains authorized for future repurchases.

 Fiscal 2009 Highlights

 * Revenues increased 8% to $622 million.
 * Diluted earnings per share rose 19% to $2.97.
 * Free cash flow generated was $184 million, a rise of 71% over the
   prior year.
 * Accounts receivable decreased 16% over the last 12 months.
 * Employee count rose 25% after adjusting for discontinuing a BPO
   relationship in May 2009.
 * Capital expenditures were $21 million, net of landlord
   contributions for construction of $3 million. Approximately 50% of
   capital expenditures were for computer equipment and the remainder
   covered office space expansion.
 * FactSet increased its quarterly dividend 11% from $0.18 to $0.20
   per share in May 2009.
 * FactSet Europe was named one of UK's 50 best places to work.
 * Wall Street Journal partnered with FactSet to calculate its annual
   ranking of the best equity analysts.

New FactSet Platform

On September 14, 2009 FactSet announced the release of the Company's newest financial software platform. The new FactSet consolidates data and analytics, previously spread across multiple applications, onto one comprehensive, intuitive interface.

The new FactSet is faster, more intuitive, and easier to customize. New features include the ability to share workspaces with colleagues for improved collaboration and type ahead technology that helps users find securities more quickly. Visually, the platform has been redesigned from top to bottom with a sleek, modern look. An upgrade to the new FactSet will provide users with improved features and functionality within virtually every report and chart on FactSet.

Business Outlook

The following forward-looking statements reflect FactSet's expectations as of September 22, 2009. Given the number of risk factors, uncertainties and assumptions discussed below, actual results may differ materially.