euro adhoc: freenet AG
quarterly or semiannual financial statement
freenet
AG begins new "era" as merged company with gratifying first-quarter results
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
3-month report
14.05.2007
freenet AG begins new "era" as merged company with gratifying first-quarter results Customer basis enlarged in all growth segments EUR452.4 million in revenue Gross profits on the rise: EUR142 million All results improved year on year (vs. Q1/2006): EBITDA EUR65.5 million; EBIT EUR50.9 million; EBT EUR55.8 million; consolidated profits EUR49.9 million
Hamburg, 14 May 2007 -freenet AG delivered a positive first-quarter performance despite an intense competitive environment. Its results underscore the group´s excellent positioning in Germany´s Internet and telecommunications market. The company improved its customer numbers in all growth segments - to 5.12 million mobile telephony customers (+ 24´000 customers vs. Q4/2006), 1.59 million customers in paid services (+ 80´000 customers vs. Q4/2006) and 1.17 million DSL users - an increase by 165´000 new DSL customers, including Tiscali customer relationships acquired at the beginning of the year. In all, freenet had roughly 12.7 million customers throughout the group, of which 6.13 million were permanent subscribers (contract customers). Changes in commission and settlement models with Deutsche Telekom over the course of the year, and the partial recognition of customer recruitment and customer loyalty costs, limit the comparability of indexes with prior and comparable quarters. As a result of these adjustments, the quarterly results show lower revenues against rising gross profits and results. The above-described circumstances caused first-quarter revenue to decline by 13.3 percent year on year, from EUR522.9 million in 2006 to EUR452.4 million in 2007. The decline was more marked in Mobile Telephony, where revenue dropped by 14.3 percent to EUR278.8 million; Fixed-line/Internet revenue declined by 11.6 percent to EUR173.7 million. Mobile telephony is still the group´s strongest revenue mainstay. The group´s gross profit and earnings showed significant year-on-year growth. At the group level, gross profit for the first quarter of 2007 reached EUR141.9 million, EUR29.4 million or approx. 26 percent above that of Q1/2006. EBITDA increased to EUR65.5 million, a 71.9-percent year-on-year increase (Q1/2006: EUR38.1 million) and 164 percent above the previous quarter (24.8 million EUR). freenet AG generated EUR50.9 million in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), representing a more than 272 percent improvement over the previous quarter or roughly 88 percent over Q1/2006. Earnings before taxes (EBT) were up by more than 200 percent over the previous quarter, to EUR55.8 million; this represents a nearly 90-percent improvement over the first quarter of 2006 lag. First-quarter group profits rose by approx. 177 percent year on year, to EUR49.9 million. Despite the acquisition of Tiscali´s customer relationships during the first quarter, cash and cash equivalents continued to grow, reaching EUR538 million. "One challenge will be to optimize our company´s capital structure - for this we will come to a decision still in May", so freenet AG CEO Eckhard Spoerr.
Year-on-year Key financials of the freenet group: Accounting method: IAS/IFRS
In EUR millions Q1/2007 Q4/2006 Q1/2006 Consolidated revenue 452.4 530.2 522.9 Mobile Telephony revenue 278.8 348.3 325.4 Fixed-line/Internet revenue 173.7 181.9 196.6 Consolidated gross profits 141.9 112.5 112.4 Group EBITDA 65.5 24.8 38.1 Group EBIT 50.9 13.7 27.9 EBT 55.8 18.5 29.7 Group profits 49.9 n.a.* 18.9 Earnings per share 0.52 n.a.* 0.19 Cash & cash equivalents 538.9 534.9 458.5 Total customers 12.67 12.68 14.94 Of which subscribers (contract customers) 6.13 5.81 5.40
* not comparable due to merger-related effects in Q4/2006
end of announcement euro adhoc 14.05.2007 07:24:46
Further inquiry note:
IR-Manager
Andreas Neumann
Tel.: +49 (0)40 51306-778
Patrick Moeller
Tel.: +49 (0)4331 691173
E-Mail: ir@freenet.ag
Branche: Online
ISIN: DE000A0EAMM0
WKN: A0EAMM
Index: TecDAX, CDAX, Prime All Share, HDAX, Midcap Market Index,
Technologie All Share
Börsen: Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / regulated dealing/prime
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