EANS-News: asknet AG
asknet Publishes Business Figures for Q1 2012
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3-month report Subtitle: *** Quarterly result is almost balanced *** Sales and gross profits down year-on-year in the first three months of 2012 *** Outlook is positive and full-year guidance has been confirmed Karlsruhe, San Francisco, (euro adhoc) - May 24, 2012 - asknet AG, a leading supplier of global eCommerce solutions for software and digital media companies, has announced its business figures for the first quarter of 2012. The quarterly result was almost balanced despite seasonally weak business development in the first three months of 2012. asknet Group's operating result (EBIT) came to -0.05 million euros, a considerable improvement compared to the EBIT of the same quarter of the previous year (-0.26 million euros) and mainly the result of the Group streamlining its organizational structure. Earnings before taxes (EBT) came to -0.04 million euros. After interest and taxes, asknet made a slight quarterly loss of 0.05 million euros. In the first three months of 2012, the Group generated sales revenues of 16.27 million euros, 9.5 percent down from the prior year's figure. asknet Group's gross profits in the reporting period dropped by 0.43 million euros to 2.35 million euros compared to the first three months of 2011, of which 1.76 million euros were contributed by the eDistribution segment and 0.59 million euros by ePortals. The performance of both eDistribution and ePortals took a downturn in the reporting period. Growth in the eDistribution segment declined due to weaker business conditions of existing top-selling customers. In the ePortals segment, the drop in sales was due to the delay of planned new customer projects until following quarters and weaker sales performance with products of the major software partners compared to the first quarter 2011. The company expects for sales to resume growth in the coming months. The eDistribution segment won a new major international customer, CyberLink Corp. asknet started operating the global online shops of the Taiwanese software publisher in the second half of March. This will take full effect on business developments in eDistribution as from the current quarter. The launch of Adobe Creative Suite 6 in May 2012 is also set to have a positive impact on the ePortals segment. In addition, Adobe is partnering with asknet as its technology and fulfillment partner. asknet manages Adobe software downloads for university eShops in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The Company started implementing the download depot on university portals in the first quarter, including those of the universities in Berlin, Würzburg and Zurich with further universities being added in the coming months. asknet also closed a cooperation deal with SoftwareONE, one of Microsoft's major large account resellers. The global software licensing company, with branches in about 50 countries, uses portals developed and hosted by asknet that supply students and employees in the fields of research and education with software. In the first stage of expansion, SoftwareONE with headquarters in Switzerland, uses the asknet portal www.studyhouse.ch since February 2012. asknet remains confident about developments in the current fiscal year in view of the good general conditions in the sector. According to current estimates, the company will therefore improve its operating result and reach break-even for the full year, as forecasted for 2012. The quarterly report 1/2012 of asknet AG (german version only) is available on the company website at www.asknet.com. About asknet: asknet offers its clients customized outsourcing solutions for global software sales via the Internet. Founded in 1995 as a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, formerly the University of Karlsruhe), the company has become a leading independent global provider for electronic software distribution. In addition to its fully integrated shop solutions for software publishers, the company develops and maintains portals for software distribution and supplies software products to around eighty percent of German universities. In 2011, asknet posted sales of approximately EUR 65.4 million. asknet's clients include numerous providers of specialty software including CyberLink, F-Secure, IS3, Nero, NetObjects, Norman, and Panda Security. Further inquiry note: Martina Oerther Vice President Corporate Marketing Tel.: +49 (0)721 96 458-6369 Email: martina.oerther@asknet.com end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: asknet AG Vincenz-Priessnitz-Str. 3 D-76131 Karlsruhe phone: +49 (0)721 96 458 6369 FAX: +49 (0)721-96 45899 mail: info@asknet.de WWW: http://www.asknet.de sector: Electronic Commerce ISIN: DE0005173306 indexes: stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Open Market / Entry Standard: Frankfurt language: English
Original content of: asknet AG, transmitted by news aktuell