ots Ad hoc-Service: Fluxx.com AG <DE0005763502> fluxx.com increases the pace of growth
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- Gross sales rise by 242 percent to DM 47.0 million - Five-fold increase in betting stakes - Q3 EBIT improves by 14 percent
The pace of growth of fluxx.com AG (Reuters code: FXXG.DE), a major German Internet service company and leading market provider of Internet gambling services, picked up sharply in the third quarter of 2000.
For the first time in this quarterly report, and with the approval of its auditors, fluxx.com has made use of the option of including the full amount of the lottery and betting stakes handled via its Internet and TV facilities in its income statements. Gross sales by the fluxx.com Group in the first nine months of the year consequently rose to DM 47.0 million (EUR 24.0 million). This represents an increase of 242 percent on the corresponding prior-year period. In the third quarter, fluxx.com recorded sales totalling DM 16.9 million (EUR 8.6 million), an increase of 179 percent.
The total betting stakes handled by the Internet services jaxx.de, horses.de and lotto-sh.de and by the telephone service Telewette showed a five-fold increase in the first nine months of the year compared with the prior-year period: this amount rose by 392 percent, from DM 4.9 million (EUR 2.5 million) to DM 24.1 million (EUR 12.3 million).
Net sales for the first nine months reached DM 23.0 million (EUR 11.8 million), up 160 percent on the corresponding period of 1999. Sales for the quarter reached DM 8.2 million, 116 percent up on the third quarter of 1999 and, as expected, slightly down on the figure for the second quarter of 2000, as no further components of the major order to establish a UMTS platform for MobilCom and France Telecom were invoiced in the third quarter of the year. A second instalment of the order is due to be invoiced in the fourth quarter, with the result that the sales figure should receive a further significant boost by the end of the year.
In accordance with German Commercial Code (HGB) accounting guidelines, the companies book & data and Telewette, which were acquired in the third quarter, have been consolidated retroactively with effect from January 1, 2000. In the IAS reconciliation accounts, on the other hand, they have been booked entirely to the third quarter. The profit of DM 545 thousand (EUR 289 thousand) generated by the acquired subsidiaries has nevertheless been neutralised in the consolidated earnings by a balancing item included on the expenses side.
The consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the third quarter improved year-on-year by 14 percent, from DM -4.2 million (EUR -2.2 million) to DM -3.6 million (EUR -1.9 million), and are on the same level of the figures for the second quarter. The EBIT margin has correspondingly improved further from -61 percent to -55 percent. The pre-tax loss for the nine-month period rose from DM -8.2 million (EUR -4.2 million) in 1999 to DM -12.7 million (EUR -6.5 million) in 2000. As matters stand, the EBIT margin is expected to improve still further by the end of the year. Income from the Web agency fluxx.com e-production and from the acquisitions book & data and Telewette are having an increasingly positive effect on consolidated earnings.
The consolidated net loss for the year according to IAS rose by 50.4 percent on the first nine months of 1999, from DM -4.3 million (EUR -2.2 million) to DM -6.4 million (EUR -3.3 million). This yields a result per share of EUR -0.65.
The level of liquid funds (cash on hand and cash in banks) has risen for the first time in a year. Following deduction of the outflow of funds for the third-quarter acquisitions, the financial resources rose by 10 percent within the third quarter, from DM 14.9 million (EUR 7.6 million) to DM 16.4 million (EUR 8.4 million).
With over 250,000 registered customers (September 30: 200,000) and the volume of gambling stakes handled reaching DM 24.1 million (EUR 12.3 million) for the first nine months of 2000, fluxx.com AG's e-gambling division has clearly extended its market lead in Germany. This development is substantially attributable to the gambling platform jaxx.de, Germany's largest betting agency for Lotto and Oddset.
fluxx.com AG's b2b division, e-business services, is likewise able to report a successful third quarter as a result of focusing on its online expertise. In particular the development of the UMTS platform for MobilCom and France Telecom has enabled fluxx.com to glean a further competitive advantage from its superior expertise and technology in the field of mobile business.
The full nine-month report will be published today on the Internet addresses www.neuermarkt.de, www.ir-portal.de and www.fluxx.com.
Contact:
fluxx.com AG, Investor Relations, Stefan Zenker, tel.:
+49.40.85378847 e-mail: zenker@fluxx.com
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