Ad-hoc | 16 May 2000 07:34

Ad hoc-Service: Drillisch AG english

Ad hoc-announcement edited and sent by DGAP. The sender is responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Drillisch AG: Quarterly figures for March 31, 2000 announced EBITDA results triple The Drillisch group achieved sales of DM 84.2 million in the first three months of 2000, and results from ordinary business activities of DM 11.1 million. After adjusting for write-downs of DM 1.0 million on goodwill (primarily relating to the Alphatel Group) the results from ordinary business activities came to DM 12.1 million. EBITDA increased from DM 5.1 million to DM 15.0 million. In the area of mobile telephony the Drillisch group posted its strongest sales performance in the company’s history, with 49,000 subscribers. As of March 31, 2000 the total subscriber roster had grown to 315,000. This can be attributed primarily to the group’s positioning in the field of pre-paid service. In this segment the wholly-owned subsidiary Alphatel GmbH is the second-largest supplier of service providers in Germany. Sales in mobile radio communications (not including wholesale trade in end-user terminal equipment) grew by 38.7 percent in the first three months of 2000, to DM 59.5 million. The increase can be attributed to growth, and thus to the large subscriber base. In the wholesale end- user terminal equipment business sates increased from DM 8.6 million to DM 13.2 million. This sharp rise is related to the general growth in the market. Sales in the fixed network segment were DM 8.4 million. In the comparable period of the previous year sales were still at the level of DM 0.2 million. The increase can be attributed primarily to the inception of open call-by-call service on July 1, 1999. Sales in the “Internet/ IT segment” declined from DM 4.2 million to DM 3.1 million. The primary reason for the decrease is the decline in revenues from fax machine rentals. Price reductions in the end-user terminal segment were offset by sales volumes, however. The decline in this area of business can also be traced to the cessation of sales of computer products (PC hardware and accessories), which were insignificant for the group as a whole. The Other operating income consists primarily of the proceeds from the sale of the interest in Netztel Plus Drillisch AG. Also included here are contributions to advertising costs from the network operators. The developments in the telephone market show that the field of mobile telephony continue to be characterized by strong growth rates. This growth is achieved primarily through growth in the area of pre-paid cards. The Drillisch group has positioned itself exceptionally well in this market segment through its wholly-owned subsidiary Alphatel GmbH, as the second-strongest supplier for service providers after Debitel. Securing of this position also requires solid customer loyalty and stable distribution channels, which have been established in the past fiscal year (shop chain). Since it can be assumed that margins in the fixed network area will continue to be suppressed by the persistent decline in prices, Drillisch AG intends to involve a national or international supplier in the fixed network segment. Even the possibility of disposal of 100% of the business area should not be ruled out. An important focus of future investments will be in building the Internet segment. With the acquisition of the search engine service Acoon, according to an analysis by the Internet technical journal Tomorrow, Drillisch has the best search engine. Since January of 2000 the number of page impressions in the first quarter nearly doubled, to around 1 million. Furthermore, in March the majority interest in the Finnish WAP company Open-Net Oy was acquired. Accordingly, Drillisch is the first mobile radio communications service provider to position itself consistently in the direction of mobile content and solutions. Drillisch will not join in the bidding for one of the UMTS licenses in Germany, but will create mobile content platforms through its own products, so that there will be great interest on the part of the UMTS network operators in cooperating with Drillisch. Further information Drillisch AG, investor relations Charlotte C. Heidrich Horbeller Straße 31, D-50858 Cologne tel.: ++49/2234/9204-0, fax: -158 e-mail: presse@drillisch.de internet: http://www.drillisch.de End of Message