Corporate | 9 August 2007 20:20
United Internet AG / Half Year Results
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory
AG.
The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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United Internet posts new record figures. Earnings per share up 45%
Montabaur, August 09, 2007. The first half of its fiscal year 2007 proved
to be very successful for United Internet. The company succeeded in lifting
sales and earnings to new record heights while strengthening its position
as a highly profitable Internet Service Provider. Earnings per share (EPS)
rose by 45%.
Consolidated sales of United Internet AG achieved year-on-year growth of
27.1%, from EUR 549.2 million (comparable prior-year figure after sale and
deconsolidation of twenty4help in the first quarter of 2007) to EUR 698.0
million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
(EBITDA) grew by 43.0%, from EUR 111.1 million (comparable prior-year
figure) to EUR 158.9 million. Earnings before taxes (EBT) of the United
Internet Group improved by 39.6%, from EUR 87.3 million (comparable
prior-year figure) to EUR 121.9 million. These earnings figures include a
non-recurring net positive effect from the Online Marketing segment of EUR
16.8 million in EBITDA and EUR 7.4 million in EBT. Earnings per share (EPS)
climbed 185.7%, from EUR 0.21 (split-adjusted prior-year figure, including
EUR 0.01 from discontinued operations) to EUR 0.60, of which EUR 0.28 was
from discontinued operations and EUR 0.03 from positive one-off effects.
Adjusted for these items, EPS rose by 45% – from EUR 0.20 last year to EUR
0.29 for the first half-year 2007.
'We are very satisfied with the development of business,' says Ralph
Dommermuth, CEO of United Internet AG. 'Our company continues to make
strong progress. We were able to reach new record levels of sales and
earnings and post the best figures in the company’s history. There is still
very dynamic growth in paid subscriptions in our Product segment. As of
June 30, 2007 we had a total of 6.84 million customer contracts. This
represents strong growth in all product lines over the last 12 months with
a net addition of 1.05 million new contracts.'
'One of the key growth drivers is our non-German webhosting business. In
this area alone, we achieved year-on-year growth of 410,000 fee-based
customer contracts to reach 1.47 million. Together with the German market,
we held some 3.11 million contracts as of June 30, 2007. In the field of
Information Management, there was year-on-year growth of 110,000 contracts
to 1.16 million and in DSL of some 480,000 to 2.42 million customer
contracts,' continues Dommermuth. The number of telephone minutes completed
per month grew from 500 million last year to 780 million.
In the company’s DSL business, activities in the first half of 2007 focused
on launching innovative new products, such as 4DSL, as well as on raising
customer loyalty and expanding business with the company’s existing client
base.
'Despite the launch of our product innovations, we were clearly below the
prior-year number of new DSL customers in the first six months of 2007.
This was mainly the result of the 2nd quarter, in which we fell well short
of our targeted 100,000 with just 64,000 new customers. One main reason for
this was that our customers are increasingly demanding all-inclusive
packages with integrated phone connections. We reacted to this trend by
launching 1&1 Surf & Phone all-in-one packages on July 2, 2007. We are
confident that we can make up for the growth dip of the first half-year and
still achieve our target of approx. 500,000 new DSL customers by year-end,'
states Dommermuth.
In United Internet’s Product segment, with its core brands 1&1, GMX and
WEB.DE, sales grew by 28.0% in the first half of 2007, from EUR 464.4
million to EUR 594.4 million. EBITDA improved by 27.3%, from EUR 103.6
million to EUR 131.9 million, and EBT by 32.5% from EUR 79.5 to EUR 105.3
million.
In the Online Marketing segment, the brands AdLINK, affilinet and Sedo
benefited from the positive development of the online advertising market.
Compared with the same period last year, sales in this segment grew by
22.1%, from EUR 84.5 million to EUR 103.2 million. EBITDA rose by 170.6%,
from EUR 10.9 million to EUR 29.5 million, while EBT improved by 84.7% from
EUR 9.8 million to EUR 18.1 million.
'We are optimistic for the remaining months of the current fiscal year: our
all-inclusive packages have got off to a very satisfactory start. We are
also making strong progress in the international expansion of our
webhosting business. Together with the roll-out of new products, this will
open up further growth opportunities for us,' explains Dommermuth.
With around 6.84 million customer contracts, United Internet AG is a
leading Internet Service Provider (ISP). In its 'Product' segment, the
Group’s value-added internet services and fast internet connections are
directed at private users, small/home offices (SoHos) and small to mid-size
enterprises (SMEs). These groups are served by the brands GMX, WEB.DE, 1&1,
InterNetX and Fasthosts. In addition to its 'Product' business, the Group
is also engaged in 'Online Marketing' (via the brands AdLINK, affilinet and
Sedo).
Contact partner:
Marcus Schaps
United Internet AG
Press spokesman
Phone: +49 2602/96-1076
Fax: +49 2602/96-1013
E-mail: mschaps@united-internet.de
DGAP 09.08.2007
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Language: English
Issuer: United Internet AG
Elgendorfer Straße 57
56410 Montabaur
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)260 296-1631
Fax: +49 (0)260 296-1013
E-mail: Investor-Relations@United-Internet.de
Internet: www.United-Internet.de
ISIN: DE0005089031
WKN: 508903
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Stuttgart, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf
End of News DGAP News-Service
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