JoWooD Productions Software AG
euro adhoc: JoWooD Productions Software AG
Quarterly or Semiannual
Financial Statements
Results of the first six months 2004: (E)
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
JoWooD announces stable mid-year results Group results increase by 260% on a year-on-year basis Equity ratio at 73%
JoWooD Productions Software AG, a public company listed at the Vienna Stock Exchange, managed to increase its results on a year-on-year basis as well as compared to the previous quarter. The group result after minorities amounted to TEUR 527 during the first half of 2004, which is traditionally considerably weaker than the second half due to the release schedule. The group result for the first half increased by more than 260% on a year-on-year basis. The results for the second quarter were nearly 90% higher than the first quarter figures.
Last years results for the first six months included approximately 6.9 Mio EUR in revenues from distribution activities, which are not continued anymore. This years mid-year revenues, which amount to 7.3 Mio. EUR, were thus 35% higher than last years adjusted mid-year revenues from publishing activities.
JoWooD considerably increased its market share during the reporting period. A market share of 4.62% in Germany during the first six months of 2004 represents an increase of 1.25 basis points compared to last year. In June 2004 JoWooD even reached a market share of 6.59% in the PC games segment. Titles released during the second quarter like "Spellforce - The Breath of Winter", "Transport Giant", "Söldner - Secret Wars" or "YetiSports Deluxe" have been in the Top10 of the sales charts for weeks. Furthermore, for the first time JoWooD titles performed strongly in non-German-speaking territories as well.
The slight reduction in the gross margin from 60% (mid-year 2003) to 56% (mid-year 2004) was caused by depreciations associated with the primary release of several titles during the second quarter. This led to an increase in cost of goods sold to 3.2 Mio. EUR.
A significant improvement in JoWooDs cost structure laid the basis for consistent positive results. General administration, sales and other expenses were at approximately EUR 3.1 million. This represents a reduction of approximately 28% compared to previous years reference period. The increase in sales expenses compared to the first quarter reflects an intensification of JoWooDs international marketing and sales efforts, especially for upcoming PC- and console titles.
The increased financial result is on the one hand due to the fact that the majority of last years liabilities have been set free of interest charges during the fiscal year 2003 as a result of a banking agreement supporting the restructuring plan. On the other hand, it is due to a valuation adjustment of own shares coming in during the second quarter amounting to TEUR 257.
In contrast to other assets, the inflow of own shares is accounted for as an expense (allocation to reserves) and selling or adjusting their value is accounted for as a reduction in the allocation reserve. Thus, the inflow of own shares led to an expense of TEUR 192 in the results.
The positive figure disclosed tax result is the balance of a taxation expense on the group result before tax and a tax credit for a subsidiary. Possible influences not affecting payment which are caused by the reduction of the corporate income tax rate are not accounted for at the moment due to the high amount of existing deficit carried forward.
As of June 30th 2004, JoWooD employed a staff of 136 and 47 freelancers.
The first six months were dominated by high investments for titles due for release in the second half of 2004 and in particular for the highly attractive and ambitious catalogue in 2005. Major development works for 2005 titles such as Gothic III, Spellforce II, The Guild II, Hotel Giant II and Stargate have been financed during the first six months of 2004. The main strategic target for the current year is the entry into the game console market. JoWooD aims of establishing itself as the only German-speaking multi-platform publisher. The high guaranteed order backlog worth considerably more than 40 Mio. EUR underlines the positive outlook.
~ Key Figures in TEUR Jan - Jun 2004 Jan - Jun 2003 Sales 7,303 12,273 Costs of goods sold -1,030 -2,268 Development costs -2,206 -2,614 Gross profit 4,067 7,391 Result before restructuring 1,007 3,120 Result after restructuring 1,007 967 Ordinary result 446 752 Income before minorities 461 152 Group result 527 145
Jan - Jun 2004 Jan - Jun 2003 Non- current assets 15,001 18,051 Current assets 32,523 18,710 Total assets 47,524 36,762
Shareholders' equity 34,770 14,173 Minority interests 20 -8,108 Long-term payables 7,711 4,113 Short-term debts to banks 612 15,981 Other short term payable 4,411 10,601 thereof advanced payment 1,176 2,020 Equity ratio 73% 39%
Number of fixed employees 136 125 Number of free lancers 47 21 ~
end of announcement euro adhoc 12.08.2004
Further inquiry note:
JoWooD Productions Software AG
Dr. Michael Pistauer, Vorstand.
Karin Kraberger, Investor Relations Manager.
Tel.: +43 (0)3614 2966 1015
mailo:investor@jowood.com
http://www.jowood.com
Branche: Software
ISIN: AT0000747357
WKN: 074735
Index: ATX Prime, ViDX, WBI
Börsen: Wiener Börse AG / official dealing
Berliner Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Bayerische Börse / free trade
Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / free trade