Corporate | 22 May 2002 15:36

ATOSS Software AG english

ATOSS Software AG: Business to date proceeding as planned, positive outlook Corporate-news announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– ATOSS Software AG: Business to date proceeding as planned, positive outlook Munich, May 22, 2002 – ATOSS Software AG, Munich, the leading provider of software solutions in the Staff Efficiency Management (SEM) area, underscored key company objectives at the second general meeting after going public. In spite of the continuation of the difficult business environment the managing board continues to pursue its aim of achieving considerably enhanced performance in connection with a slight sales increase in the 2002 business year. Turnaround realized in the second half of 2001 In spite of sluggish markets and considerably reduced investment willingness on the part corporate customers ATOSS posted sales of Eur 21.2 million in the 2001 business year and is on par with the top performance of the previous year. During the first half of the year the result was still burdened by restructuring costs (Eur -1.42 million EBIT, Eur -0.51 million net income), while all of the key earnings figures were positive during the second half of the year. In the second half of the year EBIT was recorded at Eur 0.01 million, while net income totaled Eur 0.3 million. Earnings per share improved from Eur -0.13 in the first half of the year to Eur 0.08 in the second half. At Eur 2.92 million cash flow was decidedly positive after having been recorded at Eur -0.1 million during the first half of the year. With regard to the individual business segments sales increased in maintenance by 33% and by 39 % in services, while the software (-27%) and hardware segments (-21%) suffered from tepid investment propensity. Performance further enhanced in Q1 2002 During the first quarter ATOSS recorded sales of Eur 5.44 million (-4% over the previous year). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were recorded at Eur 0.13 million (after -0.18) and earnings before tax (EBT) stood at Eur 0.26 million (after 0.09). The result for the period came in at Eur 0.16 million (after 0.03). Very conservative accounting principles, high liquidity As of March 31, 2002 the company’s equity ratio stood at 86% and liquid funds amounted to Eur 32.3 million. Cash flow improved considerably from Eur -1.99 in the previous year to Eur 1.05 million. Based on strong liquidity the company is in a good position to realize interesting cooperation and participation activities. The managing board assured shareholders that there would be no deviation from the prudent course charted to date and that any possible participations or acquisitions would be very carefully evaluated and scrutinized. To date ATOSS has only made two acquisitions and both have developed positively. The managing board emphasized the fact that the company is adhering to very conservative accounting principles. Investments in research and development, for example, should not lead to the capitalization of software. Stock outperforming the market At the beginning of the year the ATOSS share was listed at Eur 7 and is currently traded at Eur 9. The managing board is not satisfied with the current price level, but has noted that ATOSS has set itself very positively apart from the negative stock market trading environment. All agenda items approved by a large majority The large majority of shareholders adopted all of the items on the agenda. This included authorization to issue registered bonds with restricted transferability and the repurchase of own stock, as well as the election of new members of the supervisory board. Bernhard Dorn has now joined the ATOSS supervisory board. Mr. Dorn held the position of managing director of IBM Deutschland GmbH over many years, and is currently active as management consultant as well as chairing a number of supervisory boards. Outlook remains positive As the course of business in the first quarter has been in line with expectations, the managing board has not revised planning for the overall year. Given a slight sales increase over the previous year optimized cost structures will deliver considerably enhanced earnings. With these structures ATOSS has laid the foundation for delivering a positive operating result in a very difficult market environment and achieving above average results as soon as an economic upswing sets in. Additional information: http://www.atoss.com Contact: ATOSS Software AG Christof Leiber Am Moosfeld 3 D-81829 Munich Tel.: +49 (0) 89 4 27 71 – 265 Fax: +49 (0) 89 4 27 71 – 100 revolution-in-time@atoss.com end of message, (c)DGAP 22.05.2002