euro adhoc: ABIT AG
ABIT AG: Very Good 4th Quarter Caps Restrained 2002 Fiscal Year (E)
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
- Preliminary figures for fiscal year 2002 - U.S. business spurs drop in sales - Budgeted earnings narrowly missed - Noticeable upswing in Q4 domestic business
Meerbusch, 10 March 2003. ABIT AG, the specialist consultant and solutions provider for credit and debt management, posted preliminary sales of some EUR 16.4 million in fiscal year 2002, falling short of its prior-year figure (EUR 19.5 million). The reasons for this can be found in the below-budget performance in its U.S. operations during the first nine months and the loss of U.S. revenues from the fourth-quarter sale of the American subsidiaries.
Net group earnings were saddled with a final consolidation charge of EUR -2.5 million from the sale of the U.S. business. Because of this item and the drop in sales, ABIT will fail to reach its goals of positive EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for the year as a whole and balanced group results in the second half of the year. Despite these factors, the company still anticipates a significant improvement in its earnings picture over 2001. The group loss is expected to be less than half that of last year. Adjusted for the special USA item, ABIT will achieve almost even net group earnings for 4th quarter.
Thanks to a big upturn in domestic business, ABIT was able to cushion the impact of these negative factors in 4th quarter. It was during this period that sales in the AG soared to a preliminary EUR 2.2 million, or double the results of each of the previous quarters (Q1: EUR 1.1 million; Q2: EUR 1.1 million; Q3: EUR 1.1 million).
Because of its very good volume of outstanding orders, the company expects to have positive EBITDA and cashflow over the whole of 2003.
The company is publishing its complete 2002 annual financial statements on 25 March 2003.
end of announcement euro adhoc 10.03.2003
Further inquiry note:
ABIT AG, Investor Relations, Frau Brigitte Gray, Phone +49 (0) 2150-9153 898,
investor@abit.de
Branche: Software
ISIN: DE0005122501
WKN: 512250
Index: Nemax All Share
Börsen: Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / Neuer Markt
Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Bayerische Börse / free trade
Berliner Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Hamburger Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Niedersächsische Börse zu Hannover / free trade