Ad-hoc | 8 May 2002 07:49

freenet.de AG english

freenet.de Q1/02 results above target – EBITDA moving towards profitability Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– freenet.de first-quarter results above target – EBITDA moving towards profitability Quarterly revenues exceed 9 mill.euro for the first time (+38% over Q1/01); Group result minus 1.55 mill.euro (IAS); EBITDA (IAS), at minus 1.59 mill.euro, up by nearly half over Q1/01; Advertising nearly double that of Q1/01; 3.19 mill. active access customer; 5.12 mill. members. freenet.de was once again able to increase its total revenue for Q1/02 – against the backdrop of steady cost structures since Q3/01. “Economies of scale” are thus taking hold as planned, and freenet.de is on a steady path to achieving profitability based on EBITDA. With total revenues of 9.01 mill.euro in Q1/02 (6.51 mill.euro in Q1/01), freenet.de has generated the highest quarterly turnover since the company was founded. Counter to the overall market trend, this growth was driven primarily by advertising, which brought in 2.81 mill.euro – a significant 93% improvement over Q1/01 (1.45 mill.euro). The e-commerce division also shows a year-on-year increase of 15%, from 1.34 mill.euro (Q1/01) to 1.54 mill.euro. Connectivity revenues – pure commission income from online minutes – rose to 4.48 mill.euro (up 38% from the 3.25 mill.euro in Q1/01). freenet.de was able to keep its costs – in the main expenditures for personnel, marketing and other operational expenditures – on level with the past three quarters. Thanks to these factors – increasing revenues, steady cost structure – economies of scale are now coming into play: The group result (IAS), at minus 1.55 mill.euro, was up by 34% over Q1/01 (minus 2.35 mill.euro). Earnings before Interest, Taxes and Depreciation /Amortization (EBITDA/IAS) of minus 1.59 mill.euro – an improvement of nearly 50% over Q1/01 (minus 3.07 mill.euro) – put freenet.de well above target and on its way to EBITDA profitability. The freenet.de AG still has more than half of the cash & cash equivalents gained from IPO, or 55.41 mill.euro. Financial data Q1/2002 Q4/2001 Q1/2001 Revenues 9,009 8,724 6,508 Gross profit 8,077 7,553 5,804 EBITDA -1,589 -1,749 -3,068 EBT -2,743 -3,312 -3,474 Group result -1,545 -1,797 -2,351 Cash & cash equivalents 55,408 54,319 72,345 (IAS; in thousand euro/Source: freenet.de AG) end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 08.05.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: During Q1/02, freenet.de also managed to sustain its strong growth of the last quarter, with 3.19 mill. active access customers (households) (up by 80 % over Q1/01) and 5.12 mill. members (up 75 % over Q1/01). The complete freenet.de First Quarter Report 01/2002 is available for download on the Internet at http://www.freenet-ag.de. ——————————————————————————– WKN: 579200; ISIN: DE0005792006; Index: Listed: Neuer Markt in Frankfurt; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart, Hannover 080749 Mai 02