Ad-hoc | 2 May 2001 08:59

Ad hoc-Service: INTERSHOP Communications english

Ad hoc announcement processed and transmitted by DGAP. The issuer has the sole responsibility of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Intershop Reports First Quarter 2001 earnings Company Reports Significant Progress On Global Turnaround Initiative Hamburg, May 2, 2001 Intershop Communications AG (Neuer Markt: ISH, NASDAQ: ISHP), a global provider of e-business software, today announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2001, ended March 31, 2001. First quarter revenue totaled Euro 20.3 million compared with revenue of Euro 25.0 million for the first quarter of 2000, reflecting a year-over-year decline of Euro 4.7 or 19%. The Company reported a first quarter 2001 net loss of Euro 34.6 million or a loss of Euro (0.39) per share, compared to a net profit of Euro 1.6 million or Euro 0.02 per share in the first quarter of 2000. First quarter 2001 results are in line with revised guidance announced on March 26, 2001. Earnings Release Summary: – The global turnaround program is ahead of schedule and is already generating significant progress towards Intershop’s strategy for sustaining future growth and profitability. – Operating costs, adjusted for exceptional items of 5.3 million Euro, were reduced compared to the fourth quarter 2000 by Euro 12 million or 19% to Euro 50.3 million (including cost of sales) due to short-term cost saving measures. As a result, the Q1 operating loss adjusted for exceptional items improved by Euro 1.6 million sequentially to 30.3 million Euro despite lower revenue. – Strategic initiatives have been executed to drive additional license revenue. – Rollout of new vertical and cross industry solutions that meet the specific needs of Intershop’s target customers, especially in the B2B space. – Launch of a new Implementation Partner Program to revitalize indirect sales through partners. – Intershop expects to show quarterly sequential revenue growth and improved operating results for the reminder of 2001. end of ad hoc announcement, (c) DGAP 02.05.2001 Issuer’s information/explanation remarks concerning this ad hoc announcement: First Quarter 2001 Highlights: – Enfinity platform maintains #1 E-commerce platform in Forrester Research rankings. – Despite the weak market conditions Intershop receives strong commitments from customers, partners and employees. – Revenues generated by existing customers accounted for 75% of total revenues. Repeat customers included Bosch, Hewlett-Packard, The Spiegel Group, Deutsche Telekom, BellSouth, Playmobil, Otto Group, Tele Danmark, Time Warner, Pecheney, and Wella. – Q1 new customer wins include Ision, Alcatel SEL, Swaroski Crystal, Dräger Synematic, and Yamaha Taiwan. – Revenues generated by partners accounted for 57% of total revenue. Contributing partners during the quarter included PricewaterhouseCoopers, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, Icon Media Lab, Kabel New Media, and ID Media. – Enfinity was the main revenue driver in the quarter and accounted for 77% of license revenue. – With a cash position of Euro 75 million (including restricted cash) Intershop is in solid financial shape to fund its business model through profitability. Management Review Intershop CEO Stephan Schambach commented, “Today Intershop reports financial results for the first quarter of 2001 in line with our March guidance as well as significant progress across all the major components of Intershop’s global restructuring program. While continued softness in global IT spending patterns continued to be a factor in the market for Intershop during the first quarter, our restructuring efforts during the first three months of execution have yielded definitive results. We have consolidated several of our global operations to ensure efficiency in aligning our corporate structure with the needs of our clients and customers as well as the growth of the e-commerce solutions sector. In March of 2001 we enhanced the breadth and depth of our e- business offerings with the launch of dedicated business vertical and modular cross industry solutions to complement our Flagship Enfinity enterprise offering. As a solid foundation for the future, Enfinity captured the number one ranking once again, in the latest independent industry ranking by Forrester Research.” Worldwide Restructuring Program In conjunction with the rapidly changing global e-commerce environment, Intershop launched a global restructuring program. The program reflects Intershop’s strategy to evolve its business model and corporate structure to adapt to the current market realities and better position the company for future growth. Early implementation efforts are ahead of schedule and significant progress has been made during the first three months. Streamlining The Organization Intershop’s restructuring program is a company-wide initiative reflecting changes to the organization starting with senior management and has been filtered down through every level of the company. Organizational changes include. Refocusing Sales Activities A prime roll of the Intershop restructuring program has been the realignment of the internal and external sales force efforts as well as an increased emphasis on partnership development. To these ends, Intershop has completed several key initiatives during the first quarter of 2001. Expanded Solution Offering In order to better meet the demands of its target customers, specifically in the B2B sector, Intershop significantly extended its flagship product Enfinity with the addition of a full set of new e-business solutions. – Intershop reaffirmed its fundamental strength and innovation in technology as Enfinity followed up its number one rating in the independent ranking of e- commerce business platforms by Forrester Research for the second consecutive time this March. – At CeBIT, Intershop launched a new set of industry-specific and cross-industry solutions to better address the enterprise space. – Market vertical specific solutions launched for key Intershop market segments include: Automotive, High-Tech & Engineering, Retail and Consumer Goods. Cross- Industry Solutions include solutions for B2B, B2C, Marketplace, and Supplier business models. All solutions are backed with successful references already. Outlook 2001 Wilfried Beeck, Chief Operating Officer, stated, We are very encouraged by our early efficiency and cost savings successes associated with implementing our global restructuring program. The long-term prospects for Intershop are still sound. As our restructuring efforts continue to gain traction, Intershop remains dedicated to achieving profitability on a quarterly basis by the end of 2001. We expect that the initiatives we are now implementing will start to become fully effective by the close of the current quarter and will contribute to higher growth as we enter the second half of 2001. As a result of our initiatives, we expect to show sequential revenue growth during the second quarter and for the remainder of 2001. However, due to the short-term weak market conditions we now expect full year revenue to be flat or lower than in the year 2000, in line with the reduced IT spending that is broadly affecting our sector. We will provide more precise guidance when the visibility in our sector improves.” ——————————————————————————– WKN: 622700; Index: NEMAX 50 Listed: Neuer Markt in Frankfurt; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart 020859 Mai 01