Websense Announces Preliminary Results for Q1'09 and Reiterates 2009 Billings and Revenue Guidance

SAN DIEGO, CA, Apr 07 (MARKET WIRE) --
Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), in anticipation of strategy and financial
model discussions at its upcoming annual analyst briefing, today
announced preliminary unaudited results for the first quarter of 2009 and
reiterated full-year guidance ranges for billings of $365 to $375 million
and non-GAAP revenue of $342 to $350 million. (These non-GAAP financial
measures are described in more detail under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures"
below.) Strong cash flow in the first quarter also prompts an increase in
expected 2009 GAAP cash flow from operations to more than $85 million.
Guidance ranges for 2009 earnings per diluted share and operating margin
are under review with a positive inclination and will be updated when
final results are released on April 28, 2009.

Preliminary results for the first quarter of 2009 include:

-- Revenue, calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP), is expected to be in the range of $80.5 to $81.5
million, compared to $67.0 million in the first quarter of 2008.

-- First quarter non-GAAP revenue is expected to be between $86 and $87
million and includes approximately $5.5 million in revenue from SurfControl
that would have been recognized during this period had SurfControl remained
an independent operating company. This subscription revenue was included
in SurfControl's deferred revenue as of the date of the acquisition, but
will not be recognized as revenue on a post-acquisition basis under GAAP
due to a required write-down of SurfControl's deferred revenue to fair
value as of the acquisition date. This compares to non-GAAP revenue of
$86.5 million in the first quarter of 2008.

-- First quarter billings, which represent the full amount of
subscriptions billed to customers during the quarter, are expected to be
approximately $67 million, compared to $67.5 million in the first quarter
of 2008. Using the average foreign exchange rates that prevailed in the
first quarter of 2008, total billings would have been approximately $72
million. Average contract duration lengthened moderately from the first
quarter of 2008, but declined compared to the fourth quarter of 2008
reflecting historic seasonal patterns.

-- Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share are expected to be between $0.35
and $0.38, compared to $0.35 in non-GAAP earnings per diluted share in the
first quarter of 2008. First quarter non-GAAP earnings per diluted share
in both years excludes stock-based compensation expense as well as certain
cash and non-cash expenses related to the PortAuthority and SurfControl
acquisitions and includes revenue from SurfControl that would have been
recognized as described above.

-- Cash flow from operations is expected to exceed $30 million, compared
to $18.9 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Final results, including GAAP and non-GAAP revenue and earnings per
diluted share and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP financial
measures, will be released on April 28, 2009.

"Our first quarter results reflected growing momentum for our new Web
security products, combined with growth in the number of enterprise
customers," said Gene Hodges, Websense Chief Executive Officer. "Business
with new customers and incremental add-on business with existing
customers grew significantly from a year ago, and the competitive
environment remained unchanged. The new Web-centric threat environment
favors our competitive advantages in Web security and threat detection,
including detection of threats embedded in Web 2.0 user-generated
content. In this environment, the investments we've made in our sales
capacity are both necessary and prudent, and we are seeing an immediate
pay off as our billings pipeline continues to build. We remain confident
we can achieve our financial guidance for 2009."

Additional financial highlights from the first quarter include:

-- Voluntary principal pre-payments of $15 million, which reduced the
total outstanding debt related to the acquisition of SurfControl to $110
million.

-- Repurchase of approximately 649,000 shares of common stock for a total
of approximately $7.5 million.

-- Cash balance at March 31, 2009 is expected to exceed $70 million.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This news release provides financial measures for revenue and earnings per
diluted share that are not calculated in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These financial measures include
revenue from SurfControl that would have been recognized during the
applicable periods in 2008 and 2009 under subscriptions that were
included in deferred revenue as of the date of the acquisition, but will
not be recognized as revenue on a post-acquisition basis under GAAP due
to the impact of the write-down of the majority of SurfControl's deferred
revenue to fair value on the acquisition date. Additionally, non-GAAP
earnings per diluted share excludes stock-based compensation expense, as
well as certain cash and non-cash expenses related to the PortAuthority
and SurfControl acquisitions. Management believes these non-GAAP
financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding
our performance that enhances management's and investors' ability to
evaluate the company's operating results, trends and prospects and to
compare current operating results with historic operating results. A
reconciliation of the GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures for the first
quarter of 2009 will be provided when our final first quarter financial
results are released on April 28, 2009.

This news release also includes financial measures for billings that are
not numerical measures that can be calculated in accordance with GAAP.
Websense provides this measurement in news releases reporting financial
performance because this measurement provides a consistent basis for
understanding the company's sales activities in the current period. The
company believes the billings measurement is useful to investors because
the GAAP measurements of revenue and deferred revenue in the current
period include subscription contracts commenced in prior periods. A
reconciliation of billings to deferred revenue for the first quarter of
2009 will be provided when final first quarter financial results are
released on April 28, 2009.

Annual Half-Day Financial Analyst Briefing

Websense's fifth-annual financial analyst briefing will be held in
conjunction with the 2009 RSA Conference in San Francisco on April 22,
2009, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Websense Chief Executive
Officer Gene Hodges and other Websense executives will discuss the
company's growth opportunities and strategic direction as well as outline
current and upcoming product offerings. To register for the event, visit
http://investor.websense.com/events.cfm. Additionally, a live audio-only
webcast of the call may be accessed on the Internet at
www.websense.com/investors.

First Quarter Final Results Conference Call

Websense plans to release final first quarter 2009 financial results after
market close on April 28, 2009. Management will host a conference call and
simultaneous webcast to discuss the final results at 2:00 p.m. Pacific
Time. To participate in the conference call, investors should dial
877-852-6583 (domestic) or 719-325-4823 (international) ten minutes prior
to the scheduled start of the call. A simultaneous audio-only webcast of
the call may be accessed on the Internet at www.websense.com/investors.

For investors unable to participate in the live event, an archive of the
webcast will be available on the company's Web site through June 30, 2009,
and a taped replay of the call will be available for one week at
719-457-0820 or 888-203-1112, passcode 4029109.

About Websense, Inc.

Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), a global leader in integrated Web, data and
email security solutions, provides Essential Information Protection(TM)
for more than 44 million employees at organizations worldwide. Distributed
through its global network of channel partners, Websense software and
hosted security solutions help organizations block malicious code, prevent
the loss of confidential information and enforce Internet use and security
policies. For more information, visit www.websense.com.

Websense is a registered trademark of Websense, Inc. in the United States
and certain international markets. Websense has numerous other registered
and unregistered trademarks in the United States and internationally. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Follow Websense on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/websense.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks,
uncertainties, assumptions and other factors which, if they do not
materialize or prove correct, could cause Websense results to differ
materially from historical results or those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking
statements, including the estimates of first quarter 2009 results and
statements containing the words "planned," "expects," "believes,"
"strategy," "opportunity," "anticipates" and similar words. These
statements may include, among others, plans, strategies and objectives of
management for future operations; any statements regarding future product
offerings; statements of belief and any statements of assumptions
underlying any of the foregoing. The potential risks and uncertainties
which contribute to the uncertain nature of these statements include,
among others, risks relating to execution of growth initiatives, customer
acceptance of the company's services, products and fee structures; the
success of Websense brand development efforts; the volatile and
competitive nature of the Internet industry; changes in domestic and
international market conditions and the entry into and development of
international markets for the company's products; risks relating to
currency exchange rates and macroeconomic conditions, risks relating to
intellectual property ownership; risks relating to the required use of
cash for debt servicing, risks of ongoing compliance with the covenants
in our senior credit facility; and the other risks and uncertainties
described in Websense public filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, available at http://www.sec.gov. Websense assumes no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances arising after the date on which it was made.

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Kate Patterson
Websense, Inc.
(858) 320-8072
kpatterson@websense.com

MEDIA CONTACT:
Cas Purdy
Websense, Inc.
(858) 320-9493
cpurdy@websense.com

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