Ad-hoc | 9 August 2006 12:41
3U TELECOM AG:3U TELECOM AG repositions itself in the fixed-line segment Focus on profitable sales channels
Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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3U TELECOM AG repositions itself in the fixed-line segment
Focus on profitable sales channels
Marburg, August 9, 2006 – 3U TELECOM AG operates in a market environment
which continues to be characterized by price wars and intense predatory
competition with declining margins. Unfortunately, this has meant that the
company was unable to achieve its target figures in indirect sales in the
first half of the year. However, these losses were compensated for by
increased sales in the call-by-call sector and by the growth of market
share. The Management Board expects tougher competition to make it
impossible to market DSL and pre-selection products with sufficient margins
for the foreseeable future. The Board has therefore decided to focus on the
call-by-call and wholesale sectors in the fixed-line segment. 3U TELECOM AG
will continue to concentrate on profitable sales channels, as it has done
since the start of the year. Costly indirect sales will not be continued.
In connection with this, the number of personnel working in these fields
will be reduced by over 40, appr. one third part-time and temporary
employees. To strengthen our position as a third-party service partner, the
Group-wide technology platform for pre-selection, DSL and VoIP products
will be continued and, if necessary, expanded.
Further operational restructuring will streamline our cost structures and
contribute to the long-term stability and profitability of the 3U Group. In
light of this and the positive sales estimates for the second half of the
year in the call-by-call sector, the Management Board is confident that the
3U Group will reach its sales and earnings targets for the entire year
(sales of EUR 132 million and EBITDA of EUR 8.5 million).
Despite the difficult market environment, the 3U Group had a successful
first six months of 2006. Consolidated sales in the first six months of the
current financial year increased by more than 12% to EUR 65.07 million
(previous year: EUR 58.01 million). Second-quarter sales came in at EUR
32.92 million (previous year: EUR 31.34 million; Q1/2006: EUR 32.15
million).
Earnings improved considerably. The net loss for the first six months of
2006 was only EUR 1.09 million compared to a net loss of EUR 10.23 million
in the same period of last year. This is primarily due to the second
quarter with net income of EUR 0.84 million (previous year: net loss of EUR
5.09 million). Extraordinary items played a significant role in this
context. The company reached a final agreement with the previous owner of
LambdaNet with regard to the mutual offsetting of receivables and payables,
which had a one-off positive effect on earnings in the amount of EUR 4.7
million. This was partially offset by an impairment loss of EUR 1.9 million
which was recognized on the acquired customer base of LambdaNet due to
contract cancellations by a large customer.
EBITDA also showed a marked improvement, more than doubling to EUR 5.14
million in the first six months of 2006 (previous year: EUR 2.46 million).
According to the agreed structural adjustments, the Management Board
assumes that the company will at least reach the EBITDA target that was
announced for the year.
The net loss for the first six months translates to a loss per share of EUR
0.02 (previous year: loss per share of EUR 0.22). The cash and cash
equivalents of 3U group as of June 30, 2006 totaled EUR 35.58 million. This
is a solid basis for possible acquisitions to strengthen our competitive
position. The company’s equity ratio was more than 38%.
The detailed half-year report will be published on August 15, 2006.
Contact:
3U TELECOM AG
Kirsten Götsche
Tel.: +49 (0) 6421 999-1200
Fax: +49 (0) 6421 999-1998
goetsche@3u.net
(c)DGAP 09.08.2006
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Language: English
Issuer: 3U TELECOM AG
Neue Kasseler Str. 62 F
35039 Marburg Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)6421/999-0
Fax: +49 (0)6421/999-1111
E-mail: boerse@uuu.de
WWW: boerse@uuu.de
ISIN: DE0005167902
WKN: 516790
Indices:
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin-Bremen, Stuttgart, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf
End of News DGAP News-Service
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