New CEO focusing on accelerating ECC adoption and improving company performance

English webcast | French webcast

	“I am excited to have joined Certicom at a pivotal time in the company’s history,” said Mr. Gupta. “Certicom has strong and scalable core assets, including leading-edge technology and a dedicated team of professionals. We intend to accelerate the development of complete security solutions tailored to our highest-potential market segments.” -Karna Gupta, Certicom CEO

Highlights for the Quarter:

• Karna Gupta appointed new Chief Executive Officer
• Bally Technologies licensed Certicom technology for gaming security
• Texas Instruments licensed Certicom's ECC technology for improved security in next-generation government-issued identification documents
• Kilopass and Certicom form partnership for delivery of security for digital content protection
• IdentiPHI licensed Certicom's ECC technology for new security products for businesses and government agencies
• Certicom's Suite B Power Bundle selected to support Cavium Networks’ processors
• Certicom Device Certificate Authority launched to benefit high-volume device manufacturer

Subsequent to Quarter End:

• Aristocrat Technologies licensed Certicom technology for gaming security

Mississauga, Ontario (March 5, 2008) – Certicom Corp. (TSX: CIC) (“Certicom” or the “Company”) today reported results for the third quarter of fiscal 2008 ended January 31, 2008. All figures are in U.S. dollars and in accordance with Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) except where otherwise noted.

Revenue for the quarter was $6.1 million compared to $4.3 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2007. For the first nine months of fiscal 2008, revenue was $13.1 million, compared to $14.8 million in the first nine months of fiscal 2007.
“Our third quarter revenue included a one-time year-end payment for a customer contract, which can occur from time to time due to the nature of our business,” said Karna Gupta, Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Gupta continued, “Going forward, we will have a sharper focus on select market segments and will also concentrate on expanding our efforts in high-potential geographic markets outside North America. While we are not satisfied with our year-to-date performance, we are encouraged by the strength and quality of our pipeline of opportunities and are absolutely committed to significantly enlarging this pipeline.”

Third Quarter Financial Review

Operating expenses1 for the quarter were $5.1 million, compared to $4.7 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2007. The increase in year-over-year operating expenses was mainly due to legal expenses related to the Sony litigation. However, these operating expenses were lower than the guidance given in the previous quarter due to lower-than-expected litigation expenses, which totaled $0.3 million, and generally lower level spending during the quarter. The Company posted a net loss on a GAAP basis of $0.2 million, or $0.00 per basic and diluted share for the quarter, compared to a net loss of $1.3 million, or $0.03 per basic and diluted share in the third quarter of fiscal 2007.

The Company reports that recurring revenue for the third quarter was $2.0 million, consistent with $2.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2007.
Certicom had $38.6 million in cash2 at quarter-end compared to $43.2 million at year-end fiscal 2007 and $44.3 million at January 31, 2007. The Company has no debt.

Nine Month Financial Review

Operating expenses1 for the first nine months of fiscal 2008 were $15.8 million, compared to $13.8 million for the same period last year. The increase in year-over-year operating expenses was mainly due to legal expenses related to the Sony litigation, which totaled $1.1 million for the nine-month period, and a planned increase in development resources specifically related to new product initiatives.

Update on Sony Patent Infringement Litigation

Certicom is currently progressing through the broad discovery phase of the litigation case, which requires both parties to provide specific documentation. Management is pleased that the claims construction hearing of the litigation case (known as a Markman hearing) has been set for June 11, 2009 and the trial date has been set for September 8, 2009.

The Company remains confident of its legal position and ability to pursue this litigation to a successful conclusion.

Outlook

“I am excited to have joined Certicom at a pivotal time in the company’s history,” said Mr. Gupta. “Certicom has strong and scalable core assets, including leading-edge technology and a dedicated team of professionals. We intend to accelerate the development of complete security solutions tailored to our highest-potential market segments.”

Mr. Gupta continued, “We clearly acknowledge that we must improve performance and are reviewing all company activities with an eye to increasing revenue and cost efficiencies. An extensive review of our three-year strategic plan will be conducted over the next few months and we will share the plan’s highlights with our shareholders once the review is complete.”

Management will focus on leveraging Certicom’s global leadership position in ECC to build recurring revenue and profits. The Company continues to aggressively manage expenses to achieve a cost structure that is in line with revenue, a strategy that is key to achieving Certicom’s goal of sustainable, profitable growth.

Operating expenses1 for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, excluding cost of revenue, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation, are expected to range from $5.2 to $5.6 million, including estimated legal expenses associated with intellectual property protection ranging from $0.5 to $0.8 million.

Conference Call

The conference call will be webcast live with supporting slides and subsequently archived at www.certicom.com. To listen to the webcast, participants will require Windows Media Player™ which can be downloaded from Certicom’s website prior to the event. An archived recording will be available from 12 p.m. (ET) on March 6 until 12 a.m. (ET) on March 13, 2008. To access the archive, please call 416-640-1917 or 1-877-289-8525 and enter passcode 21263240#.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

Consolidated Statements Of Operations And Retained Earnings

Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Cash Flow

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Gain

About Certicom

Certicom protects the value of content, applications and devices with government-approved security. Adopted by the National Security Agency (NSA) for government communications, Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) provides the most security per bit of any known public-key scheme. As the global leader in ECC, Certicom security offerings are currently licensed to more than 300 customers including General Dynamics, Motorola, Oracle, Research In Motion and Unisys. Founded in 1985, Certicom’s corporate offices are in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada with worldwide sales and marketing headquarters in Reston, Virginia and offices in the U.S., Canada, Europe and China. Visit www.certicom.com.

# # #

Certicom, Certicom Security Architecture, Certicom Trust Infrastructure, Certicom CodeSign, Certicom KeyInject, Security Builder, Security Builder API, Security Builder BSP, Security Builder Crypto, Security Builder ETS, Security Builder GSE, Security Builder IPSec, Security Builder NSE, Security Builder PKI and Security Builder SSL are trademarks or registered trademarks of Certicom Corp. All other companies and products listed herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information subject to change.

FOOTNOTES:

1 This news release contains references to operating expenses. Certicom defines operating expenses as total operating expenses excluding cost of revenues, depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation. It also excludes interest income, other income (expense) and withholding tax expense.

2 This news release contains references to cash, which is defined as cash and cash equivalents, short term and long term marketable securities and restricted cash.

Except for historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information includes information concerning the Company's future financial performance, business strategy, plans, goals and objectives. When used in such documents, the words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "will", "believes" or variations of such words and phrases often, but not always, identify forward looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: the ability of the Company to successfully implement its strategic initiatives and whether such strategic initiatives will yield the expected benefits; the ability of the Company to develop, promote and protect its proprietary technology security breaches or defects in the Company's products; competitive conditions in the businesses in which the Company participates; changes in consumer spending; the outcome of legal proceedings as they arise; general economic conditions and normal business uncertainty; consolidation in the Company's industry and by its customers; customer preferences towards product offerings; the risk that customers may cancel their contracts with the Company; reliance on a limited number of customers; demand for ECC-based technology; performance of the Company's management team and the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled employees; operating the Company's business profitably; fluctuations in revenue and foreign currency exchange rates; interest rate fluctuations and other changes in borrowing costs; the ability to develop and maintain strategic relationships; and other factors identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated July 26, 2007 and filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

While the Company believes that its forecasts and assumptions are reasonable, results or events predicted in this forward-looking information may differ materially from actual results or events. In particular but without limitation, there is no assurance that the Company will achieve all or a portion of the goals outlined in its fiscal 2008 business plan within the time limits specified therein or at all.

For further information, please contact: