Corporate | 5 May 2010 08:28
telegate AG / Quarter Results/Development of Sales 05.05.2010 08:28 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Overall, financial figures Q1 in line with the management's expectations - Business sector Media already contributes 19 percent to group revenues - EBITDA before non-recurring items of EUR 5.6 m in line with full year profit guidance. Planegg-Martinsried, May 5, 2010 - Financial figures of the telegate group for the first quarter 2010 were in line with the management's expectations. In particular, the advertising sales business showed a positive development - revenues of the business sector Media increased by 19 percent. Group earnings before depreciation and amortization, interest and taxes (EBITDA) before non-recurring items amounted to EUR 5.6 m compared to EUR 9.7 m in the previous year. Quarterly net income after taxes of EUR 1.7 m was significantly lower than in the previous year. Considering the business development of the first quarter, telegate's Management Board confirms its guidance for the full year 2010, which provides EBITDA before non-recurring items in the amount of EUR 23 m to EUR 27 m. The business sector Media shows significant rates of growth and increasingly develops into the driver of telegate AG's transformation of the business model. The young business sector generated revenues of EUR 6.5 m in the first 3 months of 2010. This corresponds to an increase in revenues of 19 percent compared to the first quarter of 2009. Thus, already approx. 19 percent of telegate group's total revenues are attributable to the Media business. Overall, the group generated total revenues of EUR 34.4 m (previous year: EUR 39.2 m) in the first quarter of 2010. EUR 27.6 m thereof were attributable to the segment Germany/Austria and EUR 6.8 m to the segment Italy/Spain. In Germany/Austria almost a quarter of segment sales are attributable to the Media business. The decline of the business volume in the classic business sector directory assistance solutions was within expectations: revenues went down from EUR 33.7 m to EUR 27.8 m. On the one hand, the continuous shift of calls and search requests to digital channels was a reason for this. On the other hand, the company benefited significantly from this development with its online offers and mobile services. In addition, the still challenging overall economic environment in the segment Italy/Spain had a burdening effect. Profit situation: affected by the transformation of the company and the related shift in margins in the business sectors Non-recurring expenses in the amount of approx. EUR 0.2 m in connection with the integration of telegate MEDIA AG were still included in the EBITDA of the first quarter of 2009. However, there were no non-recurring items in the current reporting period. Thus on a comparable basis, this results in an EBITDA before non-recurring items of EUR 5.6 m for the first quarter of 2010 compared to EUR 9.7 m in the previous year. Group's net income after taxes showed a significant decline from EUR 6.6 m to EUR 1.7 m. Earnings per share changed accordingly from EUR 0.31 per share to EUR 0.08 per share. The expected drop in profits is primarily due to the declining trend in the highly profitable directory assistance business. This trend was partly compensated in the first quarter of the fiscal year by the Media business with a strong growth, however, still with a weaker margin, and a stringent cost management - e. g. lower advertising and personnel costs as well as depreciations and amortizations and investments. In addition, there was a special factor regarding tax expenditure of approx. plus EUR 1 m despite declining operating profits in comparison with the previous year. The higher tax burden is attributable to a subsequent utilization of tax losses carried forward in the previous year. telegate group, free from financial debt, increased its amount of liquid assets by EUR 0.5 m to EUR 60.5 m over the 3 months of the reporting period and thus is still able to finance its investment and growth targets comfortably by own means. Subject to the approval of the Shareholders' Meeting on June 09, 2010 and to the specific final implementation, the company intends to distribute to both main and minority shareholders a part of the excess liquidity by a share repurchase program. In addition, the company's Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose to the Shareholders' Meeting to distribute to the shareholders an unchanged dividend of EUR 0.70 per share, equivalent to a total amount of EUR 14.9 m. Outlook: unchanged profit guidance in the amount of EUR 23 m to EUR 27 m With regard to the full fiscal year 2010, telegate AG's Management Board still expects profit dynamics which will result in EBITDA before non-recurring items within a range of EUR 23 m to EUR 27 m at the end of the fiscal year 2010, considering the decline in the directory assistance business with a strong margin. In addition to a stringent cost management, a accelerated growth of the business sector Media compared to the first quarter, in particular, shall contribute to this. The establishment and expansion of the business sector Media is still the strategic focus and it is the company's target is to continue to show dynamic and clearly double-digit rates of growth in the SME advertising business. New digital advertising products as well as a further expansion of field sales and accordingly sales regions in Germany shall be the strongest drivers of this target. In addition, the company expects positive growth effects from the reach for SME customers growing continuously - due to new strategic partnerships agreed with Nokia, Vodafone and freenet in the first quarter of 2010, among others.Business figures telegate AG, first quarter 2010* 2009** +/- in % Group revenues 34.4 39.2 -12.3 Revenues business area DA solutions 27.8 33.7 -17.4 Revenues business area Media 6.5 5.5 +19.0 EBITDA before non-recurring items 5.6 9.7 -42.3 Net income after taxes 1.7 6.6 -74.4 Free cash flow before M&A incl. interest 0.5 2.3 -77.0 Liquid assets (by March 31, 2010) 60.5 54.9 +10.1 Number of employees 2,831 3,091 -8.4 headcount by March 31, 2010)* Figures in EUR m ** Figures in EUR m; group figures refer to continued operations Note: telegate AG's interim report for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2010 is available for download at http://www.telegate.com > Investor Relations. Contact: Jörg Kiveris telegate AG Head of Public Relations Department Fraunhofer Str. 12a 82152 Planegg-Martinsried Tel.: 089/ 8954-1188 Fax: 089/ 8954-1189 E-Mail: presse@telegate.com http://twitter.com/telegate http://www.youtube.com/telegateAG 05.05.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: telegate AG Fraunhofer Str. 12a 82152 Planegg-Martinsried Deutschland Phone: +49 089 - 89 54 0 Fax: +49 089 - 89 54 10 10 E-mail: info@telegate.de Internet: www.telegate.com ISIN: DE0005118806 WKN: 511880 Indices: Prime All Share Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hannover, München, Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------