Corporate | 31 August 2010 07:00
ARAGON AG / Miscellaneous 31.08.2010 07:00 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Aragon records strongest half-year in its history - 68 per cent rise in revenues to EUR 48.1m - Positive earnings trend - EBITDA EUR 1.2m, EBIT EUR 0.3m - Solid foundation for further profitable growth and record year Aragon AG, one of Germany's leading financial sales companies, has achieved the strongest half-year in terms of revenues and growth in the history of company in what continues to be a challenging market for financial services. Revenues climbed 68 per cent to EUR 48.1m (first half of 2009: EUR 28.6m), while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose EUR 1.7m to EUR 1.2m (first half of 2009: EUR -0.5m). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) also improved, to EUR 0.3m (first half of 2009: EUR -1.2m). These half-year results and the planned acquisition of FiNUM.FINANZHAUS show that Aragon has laid a solid foundation for 2010 to be the best year yet in the history of the company. 'We are delighted with the extremely positive growth in revenues and earnings and would like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners and staff, who have defied the financial crisis together with us. That Citigroup, another global player, has just taken a stake in Aragon demonstrates that our growth strategy was not just the right one in the past, but also offers the very best prospects for the future. We are happy to repeat today what we said and wrote right at the start of the financial crisis: Aragon will be the winner in the crisis!', commented Dr. Sebastian Grabmaier, CEO of Aragon AG. Revenues in the second quarter of 2010 climbed 71 per cent on the same quarter last year to reach EUR 24.4m (Q2 2009: EUR 14.3m). Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose to EUR 0.7m against a fall of EUR 0.03m in the second quarter of 2009. The earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of the continuing business units also improved, rising to EUR 0.2m from the EUR -0.4m recorded in the same period last year. At EUR 48.1m, revenues in the first half of 2010 were a huge 68 per cent above those for the same period in the previous year (first half of 2009: EUR 28.6m). The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of the continuing business units climbed EUR 1.7m to EUR 1.2m (first half of 2009: EUR -0.5m). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) also improved to EUR 0.3m (first half of 2009: EUR -1.2m). Assets under administration by Aragon AG jumped 36 per cent to some EUR 3.8bn compared with the end of June 2009. Aragon AG also continues to be in positive territory as regards the relevant balance sheet figures: on 30 June 2010 equity stood at EUR 52.9m and the equity ratio at 57 per cent, a rise of 3 percentage points on the first quarter of 2010. The continued business units of Aragon AG performed as follows: With revenues of EUR 17.6m in the second quarter of 2010 (Q2 2009: EUR 11.9m), the Broker Pools unit was again the strongest business unit of Aragon AG in terms of revenues. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came to EUR 0.8m in this period compared with EUR -0.3m in the second quarter of 2009. In the second quarter of 2010 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) stood at EUR 0.5m, well above the EBIT for the second quarter of 2009 (EUR -0.6m). The primary cause is the stable and positive performance of Jung, DMS & Cie. AG, which has done much better in the financial crisis than its direct competitors and in 2009 became the market leader in German broker pool business for the first time. More than 17,000 independent brokers now send business to Jung, DMS & Cie. In addition, new business from the expansion in Austria and the newly established branches in the Czech Republic and Hungary began to make a positive contribution to the revenues and earnings trend. On a half-year comparison, revenues jumped sharply to EUR 34.4m (first half of 2009: EUR 23.7m). Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came to EUR 1.2m in the first half of 2010 compared with EUR -0.8m in the first half of 2009. In the second quarter of 2010 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) stood at EUR 0.5m, more than 100 per cent above the EBIT for the same period in 2009 (first half of 2009: EUR -1.5m). With a significant rise in revenues to EUR 6.9m (Q2 2009: EUR 2.3m), the Financial Consulting business unit is again in 2010 the segment recording the greatest growth in Aragon AG. The main drivers were the strong operating performance of compexx FINANZ AG, the first consolidation of Scopia AG (formerly MLP Vermögensberatungs AG, Vienna), which managed to achieve a positive net result in its first two quarters following several years of losses, and the first consolidation of inpunkto GmbH, Mönchengladbach, in the previous quarter. The performance of inpunkto GmbH exceeded expectations in the second quarter, with the number of advisors more than doubling compared with the same period last year. This lays a solid foundation for a much stronger second half in the health insurance market. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of the Financial Consulting unit came to EUR 0.2m in the second quarter of 2010 (Q2 2009: EUR 0.1m). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) stood at EUR 0.5m in the second quarter of 2010 (Q2 2009: EUR 0.1m). Given the increases that have historically always been expected in this business unit by the end of the year, the unit is expected to deliver a significant improvement in results in the second half. On a half-year comparison, the unit saw revenues more than triple to EUR 13.7m (first half of 2009: EUR 4.4m). The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of the Financial Consulting unit came to EUR 1.1m in the first half of 2010 (first half of 2009: EUR 0.4m). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to EUR 1.0m in the first half of 2010 (first half of 2009: EUR 0.4m). The Institutional Sales business unit continues to suffer from the reluctance of institutional investors to buy structured products and for this reason posted a fall in revenues in the first half of 2010 to EUR 0.1m (first half of 2009: EUR 0.6m). Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were EUR -0.3m in the first half of 2010 (first half of 2009: EUR 0.2m). Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) stood at EUR -0.3m in the first half-year (first half of 2009: EUR 0.2m). The Holding business unit, which since the third quarter of 2008 has included a stake in biw Bank für Investments und Wertpapiere AG, consolidated only at equity, also recorded strong growth in the second quarter of 2010. biw was able to increase the number of managed accounts to some 124,000 (31. December 2009: 109,000). At around 1.2 million, the number of security orders it handled has remained at the same high level. Due to the lack of one-effects compared with the previous year, the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of the Holding unit deteriorated slightly to EUR -0.8m (first half of 2009: EUR -0.2m). Solid foundation for further profitable growth and record year Alongside strong organic growth, Aragon AG will continue to pursue it's previously successfully buy-and-build strategy. On 13 August 2010, Aragon AG announced its intention to enter the German market for mass affluent private clients and stated its desire to acquire FiNUM.FINANZHAUS. The aim is to make FiNUM.FINANZHAUS the first port of call for experienced financial advisors and mass affluent private clients in the independent integrated financial consulting segment within the next few years. The positive earnings for the first half of 2010, the ongoing positive performance of existing equity interests and the first consolidation of FiNUM.FINANZHAUS, planned for the fourth quarter, are a solid foundation for the further profitable growth of Aragon and offer the prospect of 2010 being a record year. 'The positive performance of Aragon AG in the first half of 2010 demonstrates the success of our strategy and our activities. We are bucking the market trend in revenues and earnings. This should continue in the second half of the year, particularly in the seasonally strong fourth quarter. We are therefore confirming our outlook from the first quarter and expect the 2010 financial year to deliver total revenues in excess of EUR 120m and earnings at a historically high level', explained Wulf U. Schütz, a director of Aragon AG. The interim report is now available to download from the company's website at www.aragon.ag. The results for the third quarter of 2010 are scheduled for publication on 30 November 2010. About Aragon AG Aragon AG is a broadly diversified financial services group with four business units: Broker Pools, Financial Consulting, Institutional Sales and Holding. Aragon AG is actively engaged in the market with several independent subsidiaries. The aim is to integrate a variety of sales models under one roof without any of the sales teams losing their own identity. The effect is a broad diversification across various asset classes and sales types, with a consequently high stability in corporate earnings. Further information about the company and its subsidiaries can be found at www.aragon.ag. Contact: Aragon Aktiengesellschaft Ralf Funke Investor Relations Tel.: +49(0)611 890 575-0 Fax: +49(0)611 890 575-99 E-Mail: ir@aragon.ag 31.08.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Press Release distributed by DGAP. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de ---------------------------------------------------------------------------