Ad-hoc | 22 March 2002 07:51

ORBIS AG english

ORBIS AG: sales +31% in 2001 with negative results increasing at the same time Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– ORBIS AG: sales +31% in 2001 with negative results increasing at the same time Year 2001 characterized by repositioning Saarbrücken, March 22, 2002 – In the 2001 fiscal year, ORBIS AG (German Securities Code (WKN) 522 877) achieved an increase in sales of 31% to EUR 31.6 million (2000: EUR 24.2 million). With a rise in sales of approx. 59% to EUR 25.8 million (2000: EUR 16.3 million), the Consulting Unit was the Group’s main revenue generating activity. The operating income/loss (EBIT) was EUR -9.5 million (2000: EUR -5.9 million), while the result after income taxes and minority interest amounted to EUR -6.8 million (2000: EUR -3.5 million). This corresponds to a loss per share of EUR -0.74 (2000: EUR -0.39). The negative Group results were primarily attributable to the drop in sales of EUR 2.1 million in the Solutions Unit compared with the previous year (while costs increased) and one-off charges arising from the realignment process as a business consulting firm. These one-off charges comprised mainly of the immediate amortization of software developed in-house in the amount of EUR 4.5 million. In addition, the costs for adjusting the staffing level to come into line with market developments were recognized. For the remaining Consulting segment, an increase in sales in 2002 of 10% is expected. The declared objective is a return to profitability. end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 22.03.2002 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad-hoc-announcement: In the light of structural changes in the CRM market and the resulting deficit of the Solutions Unit, ORBIS decided in fall 2001 to discontinue its operations as an independent CRM software provider. At the same time, the Group reached an agreement with SAP AG for the expansion of their successful 15-year consultancy cooperation to include the CRM sector. For this purpose, a joint SAP-ORBIS Competence Center was set up in Saarbrücken, Germany. As part of the intensified cooperation between the two companies, 60 ORBIS employees from the area of development and distribution transferred to SAP. With its strategic repositioning as a business consulting firm, ORBIS is now shifting the emphasis of their business model towards consultancy, with the focus being the introduction of mySAP.com software. ORBIS’s consulting services range from management consultancy, process consultancy and system integration to the creation of user-friendly interfaces as part of our multimedia consultancy. The company’s core competency is the provision of consultancy services for internal company processes (ERP/PLM) in connection with both customer-specific and supplier-specific company processes (CRM/SCM) to create a total cross-sector e- business solution. Due to the new focus on consultancy business, the cost- intensive development and marketing of in-house software products will be discontinued; development services for proprietary software systems will be restricted to existing agreements with customers. This approach significantly reduces ORBIS’s risk exposure. As a consequence of the realignment, the results of the Solutions segment were reported for the last time in the fourth quarter of 2001. As of year-end, the number of staff was 383. To increase transparency with regard to stockholdings, the members of the ORBIS Board of Management and two members of the Supervisory Board, Prof. Schieffer and Prof. Koetz, have consolidated their shares with those of their partners, resulting in an arithmetic increase in their combined stockholdings of 7.62% to 11.54%. The Board of Management now holds approx. 46% of all shares and the Supervisory Board around 23%. The free float amounts to some 31%. For further information, please contact: Klaus Kieren ORBIS AG Chairman of the Board Nell-Breuning-Allee 3-5, 66115 Saarbrücken Ph.: ++49-(0)681-99 24 999; Fax: ++49-(0)681-99 24 101 klaus.kieren@orbis.de ——————————————————————————– WKN: 522 877; ISIN: DE0005228779; Index: Listed: Neuer Markt in Frankfurt; Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Hannover und Stuttgart 220751 Mär 02