EANS-News: adesso AG continues strong sales and operating result growth in first
half of year
forecast increased
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6-month report Subtitle: adesso sets new sales and operating result records in first half of year / positive development continues in second quarter Dortmund (euro adhoc) - adesso sets new sales and operating result records in first half of year / positive development continues in second quarter * 40% sales increase to EUR 52.9 million * EBITDA climbs 184% from EUR 1.9 million to EUR 5.3 million * Earnings per share up from EUR 0.10 to EUR 0.34 despite special amortisation * Sales and operating result forecast for 2011 has been raised In a positive market environment, adesso continued its strong development in the second quarter reaching new sales and operating result highs. The 40% sales increase to EUR 52.9 million was mainly due to the expansion of business in Switzerland, high license revenues from its own high-end content management system FirstSpirit, the continuing boom in the development of mobile applications and its first life insurance project. adesso´s own combination of consulting, tailored software development and solutions for mobilisation and digital content management won it a number of important new customers such as Debeka, KLM, Geberit and PAYBACK. 32 growth percentage points related to organic growth and 8 percentage points to the delayed effects of the change to the consolidated group. The operating margin rose to 10.1% from 5.0% in the last year. This increase was driven by the pleasing development of target licensing revenues, continuing high utilisation and successes in pushing through higher daily rates. In the first half of the year, the operating result, as measured by EBITDA, amounted to EUR 5.3 million after EUR 1.9 million in the previous year. EBITDA for the second quarter amounted to EUR 2.6 million, following EUR 2.8 million in the first quarter. Consolidated earnings more than tripled to EUR 2.0 million (previous year: EUR 0.6 million). Earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.34 after EUR 0.10 at the same time last year and EUR 0.42 for 2010. Special amortisation resulted in earnings per share in the second quarter falling to EUR 0.03 after EUR 0.31 in the first quarter. As of the reporting date 30 June 2011, EUR 1.4 million (corresponding to EUR 0.25 per share) was recognised as an expense from the partial amortisation of the goodwill assigned to adesso Austria. Performance in Austria was lower than expected in 2011 and an impairment test on the amounts from acquisitions led to this partial amortisation, which impacted earnings. Liquidity and balance sheet figures continue to show a solid basis for reserves and investment opportunities. Cash and cash assets amounted to EUR 13.3 million as of the reporting date 30 June (previous year: EUR 12.8 million) and net liquidity less interest-bearing liabilities was at EUR 7.2 million (previous year: EUR 4.8 million). Consolidated earnings less the dividend payout increased equity to EUR 32.4 million (31 December 2010: EUR 30.9 million) and the equity ratio was up 0.8 percentage points in the first half of the year, totalling 50.4%. adesso held its own in a challenging personnel market. In the first half of the year alone, the number of employees (full-time equivalents) rose by 5% to 764. Outlook: Sales and operating result forecast increased Given the forecasts for the overall economy and the IT sector for the second half of the year, adesso is predicting declining demand pressures, particularly in the financial sector. Average utilisation will be good but is expected to fall slightly. In production, pipeline demand will continue to be high for the remainder of 2011. Overall, the sales forecast for 2011 is being increased to more than EUR 100 million (previously: EUR 92 - 95 million) on the basis of the positive development. The EBITDA forecast for 2011 is also being raised, from EUR 6.2 - 6.5 million to EUR 7.5 - 8.0 million. The implied slowdown in the second half of the year is due to expected lower utilisation, no more activations of self-developed software (first half of the year: EUR 544 thousand) as well as higher costs of further developing the "dynamic.suite" product family. Excluding the EUR 1.4 million special amortisation of goodwill in the first half of the year, consolidated earnings will develop disproportionately well compared to EBITDA in the second half of the year. The complete interim report is available online at www.adesso-group.de. The Executive Board Further inquiry note: Martin Möllmann Manager Investor Relations Tel.: +49 231 930-9330 E-Mail: ir@adesso.de end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: adesso AG Stockholmer Allee 24 D-44269 Dortmund phone: +49 231 930-9330 FAX: +49 231 930-9331 mail: ir@adesso.de WWW: http://www.adesso-group.de sector: Computing & Information Technology ISIN: DE000A0Z23Q5 indexes: CDAX stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München, regulated dealing/general standard: Frankfurt language: English
Original content of: adesso AG, transmitted by news aktuell