MICRO FOCUS GROUP PLC RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED JULY 31 1995.

BERKSHIRE, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--August 8, 1995-- In his letter to shareholders the Chairman, Brian Reynolds, said: -0-

Letter to Shareholders ----------------------

The main event of the first half was the restructuring carried out at the end of the first quarter. The purpose of this was to re-organize Micro Focus to take better advantage of market opportunities and to lower the cost base.

Financial Results ----------------- In the six months to July 31 1995, Micro Focus' net revenues were USD58.8m (GBP36.8m), compared with USD64.8m (GBP42.9m) in the same period last year. After providing for restructuring costs of USD5.0m (GBP3.1m), the net loss for the period was USD7.3m (GBP4.5m), which compares to a net income of USD7.2m (GBP4.7m) for the same period last year. In the second quarter subsequent to the restructuring we achieved an income from operations of USD0.4m compared to a loss from operations of USD9.5m in the first quarter.

A summary of results is as follows:

                                   US dollars          GB Pounds

       Six months ended July 31   1995      1994        1995     1994

       Net revenues               58.8m     64.8m      36.8m     42.9m
       (Loss) income before taxes (7.2m)/a  10.6m      (4.5m)/a   7.0m
       Net (loss) income          (7.3m)/a   7.2m      (4.5m)/a   4.7m
       (Loss) earnings per share  (0.48)/a   0.50     (30.0p)/a  33.1p
       (Loss) earnings per share  (0.21)              (12.9p)
            before restructuring
       ____________________________________________________________
       ("/a" includes restructuring charges before taxes
        of USD5.0m (GBP3.1m))

Revenues from the direct channel, which accounted for 89% of current
period revenues, decreased by 4%, compared to the first half of
1994, while revenues from the OEM channel, which accounted for 11%
of the total, fell by 37%.  Direct channel revenues declined because
of a significant downturn in the shipment of products for offloading
mainframe development to the desktop.  The OEM revenue drop came as a
result of the need for a number of our OEM customers to use up
prepaid license fees.  A portion of the overall revenue decline can
be attributed to increased competition including early announcements
by new competitors of yet-to-be-delivered products which we believe
may have stalled purchases.

Micro Focus had operating income in the second quarter as shown
below.

                                              US dollars

                                           1995        1995
                                            Q1          Q2

           Net revenues                    28.7m       30.1m
           Costs: recurring               (33.2m)     (29.7m)
                  restructuring            (5.0m)
           (Loss) income from operations   (9.5m)/a      0.4m

In the first quarter costs increased by 26%, relative to the first
quarter of 1994.  The corresponding increase in the second quarter
was 2%.  Sequentially, the second quarter costs of USD29.7m
represents a reduction of 11% compared with the first quarter and is
in line with the savings anticipated at the time of restructuring.
Headcount as of July 31, 1995 was 722 compared to 788 as of January
31, 1995.

During the first half, the company generated USD1.6m of cash from
operations.  We also made a range of investments outlined below.

We continue to invest heavily in new technologies and products.
Investment in software product assets was USD8.3m (GBP5.2m) compared
with USD11.7m (GBP7.8m) in the same period last year.  Software
development costs capitalised exceeded those amortised by USD1.8m
(GBP1.2m), compared with USD2.2m (GBP1.5m) in the prior year.  In
addition, Micro Focus paid USD6.3m (GBP3.9m) in cash as part of the
deferred consideration due under last year's agreed acquisition of
Burl Software Laboratories Inc.  The acquisition also involved the
issue of 664,979 new Micro Focus ordinary shares.  We also spent
USD7.1m (GBP4.6m) on property and computer equipment.  These
investments plus the share repurchases discussed below have reduced
the group's cash balance to USD61.6m at July 31 1995, compared to
USD88.8m at January 31 1995.  There are no unusual cash investments
anticipated in the second half.

During the period, Micro Focus funded the purchase by the Micro
Focus Employee Share Ownership Trust ("ESOT") of 724,979 existing
shares for USD8.0m (GBP5.0m).  Options against this pool of shares
will be granted to employees with vesting based upon company
profitability.  The Micro Focus ESOT was established to further Micro
Focus' policy of encouraging share ownership by its employees.

Restructuring into Solution Areas
---------------------------------
The major objective of the restructuring was to align our operations
more fully with the way that people are actually using our products.
Our customers use our products in bundles, together with an
increasing amount of consulting services.  It is this combination of
product bundles and consulting services that we are calling
Solutions.

Offloading Solutions

We have changed our product development and delivery mechanisms to
reflect our customers evolving needs.  In response to many customers'
requests for a stable product set we have announced continued
support for the existing Workbench 3.2 product line which will form
the basis of a mature 16 bit product line for the next few years.
Some of our larger customers are offloading increasingly complex
application suites and we have therefore announced the forthcoming
availability of a 32 bit Workbench product to address these needs.
This solution will undergo extended integration testing for
increased ease of use out of the box.

Client/Server Solutions

Customers have independently applied our products for years to
develop desktop and client/server applications. They have rehosted
mainframe applications onto the new technologies and they have
written applications from scratch.

Micro Focus' mission is to formalize the activities our customers
have been undertaking, make the products easier to implement in
future and create a business model that makes sense for us and for
our customers.

Our first priority has been the rehosting of mainframe applications
to client/server networks without a need to rewrite the application.
The products and services constituting this solution will be
available to the sales force from the beginning of the second half.
Close behind rehosting come our Bridgeware products which allow
customers to extend departmental applications written in Visual
Basic or Powerbuilder to COBOL code and data on the mainframe.
Customers have shown great interest in these which are due for full
release starting later this month.

Applications of the Future

We aim to be a leading internal user and then supplier of a new
product line including worldwide web authoring tools, applications
and related services so that individuals and corporations alike can
create and publish applications and information content for the
internet/worldwide web and for the commercial network service
providers including for example the Microsoft Network.

Our new product line will exploit Windows 95 and will enable new
network applications to be integrated with existing enterprise
applications with relative ease and to do so with existing skills
and resources.  We will complement authoring tools with collaborative
computing applications which will increase both the dimension and
bandwidth of people to people communication.  Individuals
geographically dispersed will be able to work together as a single
team more effectively than before, enhancing their work experience
and making possible new workflow processes.

A component of this will be the integration of Visual Object COBOL
for Windows 95 (COBOL 95) with a new object oriented version of
Dialog System.  COBOL 95 which is also part of our client/server
solution strategy will be part of the initial launch by Microsoft of
Windows 95 itself later this month.

Summary
-------
In summary, we wish to exploit fully our existing market
opportunities in each solution area, achieve solid profitability in
the second half of this year and adopt new technology internally
that will springboard a new product line for introduction at the
user conference in the second quarter of next year.

======================================================================
Notes:

1. A summary of the results appears below.

2. Copies of the 1995 First Half Report will be mailed to
shareholders and will not be published in newspapers.  Copies of the
Report will be made available upon request to the Company Secretary
at the Registered Office, Speen Court, 7 Oxford Road, Newbury,
Berkshire, England, RG14 1PB.

3. Following established Micro Focus practice, the directors do not
recommend the payment of a dividend.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

MICRO FOCUS GROUP PLC - 1995 FIRST HALF REPORT
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT - IN UK FORMAT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
in thousands of GB pounds            Six months    Year to Six months
(except per share data)              to July 31 January 31 to July 31
                                           1995       1995       1994
                                     (unaudited)           (unaudited)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Revenue                                  36,802     89,885     42,950
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Costs and expenses
  Cost of revenues                        4,035     10,586      4,537
  Research and development               11,842     24,149      9,253
  Sales and marketing                    23,659     42,519     20,449
  General and administrative              2,912      5,099      2,637
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total costs and expenses                 42,448     82,353     36,876
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating (loss)/profit                  (5,646)     7,532      6,074
Interest income                           1,217      2,210      1,001
Interest expense                            (41)       (76)       (51)
Other acquisition charges                    -        (943)        -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Loss)/profit before taxation            (4,470)     8,723      7,024
Taxation                                    (45)    (4,133)    (2,283)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Loss)/profit for the period
      after taxation                     (4,515)     4,590      4,741
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Loss)/earnings per share               (30.3p)      32.0p      33.1p
(Loss)/earnings per share
      before exceptional items          (12.9p)      61.0p      33.1p
======================================================================

MICRO FOCUS GROUP PLC - 1995 FIRST HALF REPORT
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET - IN UK FORMAT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
in thousands of GB pounds               July 31 January 31    July 31
                                           1995       1995       1994
                                     (unaudited)           (unaudited)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed assets
  Software product assets                20,948     19,731     21,311
  Tangible fixed assets                  24,287     22,472     19,454
  Investment in own shares                5,635         -          -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total fixed assets                       50,870     42,203     40,765
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Current assets
  Stock                                   1,644      1,784      1,507
  Trade debtors                          11,508     13,358     15,382
  Other debtors and prepaid expenses      2,228      2,280      2,535
  Cash and bank deposits                 38,497     55,823     54,023
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total current assets                     53,877     73,245     73,447
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year:
  Trade creditors                         3,753      4,520      4,910
  Accrued employee compensation
       and commissions                    3,198      4,849      3,237
  Current corporation tax                 4,767      4,580      8,257
  Accrued expenses and
       other current liabilities          6,341      5,010      4,587
  Deferred purchase consideration            -       5,151         -
  Customer payments in
       advance of delivery               10,981     12,581      8,747
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net current assets                       24,837     36,554     43,709
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total assets less current liabilities    75,707     78,757     84,474
Creditors: amounts falling due
       after more than one year             130        193        290
Deferred taxation                         5,811      5,708      5,344
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net assets                               69,766     72,856     78,840
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Capital and reserves
  Called up share capital                 1,514      1,437      1,436
  Share premium and other reserves       17,960     13,147     13,126
  Deferred purchase consideration            -       3,340         -
  Profit and loss account                50,292     54,932     64,278
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                         69,766     72,856     78,840
======================================================================

MICRO FOCUS GROUP PLC - 1995 FIRST HALF REPORT
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME - IN US FORMAT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
in thousands of US dollars           Six months    Year to Six months
(except per share data)              to July 31 January 31 to July 31
                                           1995       1995       1994
                                     (unaudited)           (unaudited)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net revenues                             58,830    138,459     64,795
Costs and expenses
  Cost of revenues                        6,451     16,311      6,836
  Research and development               18,937     37,299     13,940
  Sales and marketing                    37,832     65,490     30,833
  General and administrative              4,718      8,335      3,973
  Purchased research and development         -      11,265         -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total costs and expenses                 67,938    138,700     55,582
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Loss)income from operations             (9,108)      (241)     9,213
Interest income                           1,950      3,408      1,510
Interest expense                            (66)      (117)       (77)
Other acquisition costs                      -      (1,500)        -
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Loss)income before income taxes         (7,224)     1,550     10,646
Income taxes                                (72)    (6,410)    (3,460)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net (loss)income                         (7,296)    (4,860)     7,186
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net (loss)income per share (in US dollars)
      After exceptional items             (0.48)     (0.33)      0.50
      Before exceptional items            (0.21)      0.91       0.50
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Average shares and share options
      outstanding (thousands)            15,061     14,706     14,480
======================================================================

MICRO FOCUS GROUP PLC - 1995 FIRST HALF REPORT
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - IN US FORMAT
----------------------------------------------------------------------
in thousands of US dollars              July 31 January 31    July 31
                                           1995       1995       1994
                                     (unaudited)           (unaudited)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets
Current assets:
  Cash and short-term investments        61,595     88,758     83,195
  Accounts receivable, net               18,413     21,239     23,688
  Inventories                             2,631      2,837      2,321
  Prepaid expenses and other assets       3,565      3,626      3,905
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total current assets                     86,204    116,460    113,109
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed assets:
  Property, plant and equipment, net     38,859     35,730     29,959
  Software product assets, net           33,517     31,373     32,819
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total assets                            158,580    183,563    175,887
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Liabilities and stockholders' equity
Current liabilities:
  Accounts payable                        6,006      7,187      7,562
  Accrued employee compensation
      and commissions                     5,117      7,710      4,984
  Income taxes payable                    7,628      7,282     12,715
  Customer payments in advance
      of delivery                        17,569     20,004     13,470
  Deferred purchase consideration            -       8,189         -
  Other current liabilities              10,145      7,966      7,065
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total current liabilities                46,465     58,338     45,796
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Long-term debt and other liabilities        207        307        447
Deferred income taxes                     9,298      9,076      8,230
Stockholders' equity:
  Ordinary shares                         2,386      2,260      2,259
  Additional paid-in capital
          and other reserves             27,294     19,549     19,478
  Treasury stock                         (8,959)        -          -
  Deferred purchase consideration            -       5,311         -
  Retained earnings                      81,889     88,722     99,677
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Total liabilities and
          stockholders' equity          158,580    183,563    175,887
======================================================================

Shareholder Information
-----------------------

Registered Office and Shareholder Enquiries
       Micro Focus Group Plc,
       Speen Court, 7 Oxford Road, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 1PB, UK

Bankers
       Midland Bank plc
       1 Mansion House Street, Newbury,
       Berkshire, RG14 5ET, UK

Stockbrokers
       S G Warburg Securities
       1 Finsbury Avenue, London EC2M 2PA, UK

Registrars and Transfer Office
       Lloyds Bank Registrars, The Causeway,
       Worthing, West Sussex, BN99 6DA, UK

Stock Market symbols
       The Company's ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock
       Exchange under the symbol MICF.

       The Company's American Depositary Receipts ("ADR"s) are
       listed on the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol
       MIFGY.

ADR Depositary
       Bank of New York, ADR Division, 101 Barclay Street,
       22nd Floor, New York, NY 10286, USA
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Regional Sales Offices
----------------------
UK
       Micro Focus Ltd, Speen Court,
       7 Oxford Road Newbury, Berkshire RG14 1PB
       Telephone: [phone]

USA
       Micro Focus Inc, 2465 East Bayshore Road,
       Palo Alto, CA 94303
       Telephone: [phone]

       Micro Focus Inc (Philadelphia), 1000 First Avenue,
       Third Floor, King of Prussia, PA 19406
       Telephone: [phone]

       Micro Focus Inc. (New York), 2 Wall Street,
       New York, NY 10005
       Telephone: [phone]

Japan
       Micro Focus Japan Ltd., Nishiazabu Mitsui Bldg 4F,
       4-17-30 Nishiazabu, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 106.
       Telephone: [phone]

Germany
       Micro Focus GmbH, Am Moosfeld 11, 81829 Munchen
       Telephone: [phone]

France
       Micro Focus SARL, Tour Franklin, Defense 8,
       92042 Paris - La Defense Cedex.
       Telephone: [phone]

Spain
       Micro Focus S.A.
       Corsega 541, 4a Planta, 08025 Barcelona
       Telephone: [phone]

CONTACT: Paul O'Grady, Chief Executive Officer

Tel: [phone] (UK)

([phone] (US)

Mike Marwick, ([phone] (UK)

Giles Sanderson, Financial Dynamics

Tel: [phone] (UK)