Prophecy International Holdings has 15 years' experience in providing services to utilities, including revenue management solutions. Given the company's exposure to non-discretionary spending sectors such as water and energy, Prophecy does have some defensive qualities. Also working in Prophecy's favour is the fact that it owns the intellectual property, rather than being a reseller operating in a highly competitive environment. Prophecy's basis2 is a technologically advanced billing and customer information system that can be used by utilities throughout the world. It is currently used in Australia, Asia, Britain and North America. Training programs have recently been completed in the Middle East, and management anticipates that sales into that region will be forthcoming. While basis2 can be used in a regulated environment, moves to deregulate utilities have created the need for a more sophisticated system of revenue management. Prophecy should continue to benefit from further deregulation in overseas and Australian markets. Management expects to improve on last year's profit, and a strong first half should result in Prophecy achieving earnings per share of at least 5¢.