07.11.2004 – 23:44

freenet.de AG

euro adhoc: freenet.de AG
Quarterly or Semiannual Financial Statements
freenet increases all key nine month result figures by over 100 percent year on year

Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc.
  The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.

freenet increases all key nine month result figures by over 100
percent year on year
· EBITDA: 102.91 million euros (Q1-Q3/2004, IFRS)
· EBT: 75.69 million euros (Q1-Q3/2004, IFRS)
· Group result: 46.09 million euros (Q1-Q3/2004, IFRS)
· Revenues: 345.12 million euros (Q1-Q3/2004, IFRS)
· Over 265,000 DSL customers at end of September 2004
· 60,000 DSL customers added in Q3/2004
· More than 500,000 pre-selection customers at end of Q3/2004
· Online service counts over 6.4 million members at end of Q3/2004
freenet.de AG / Hamburg – The freenet.de AG is still on track
for success and reports excellent results for the first nine months
of the year: EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization, rose by 108 percent to 102.91 million euros
(Q1-Q3/2003: 49.52 million euros). Earnings before taxes (EBT)
improved even more steeply, soaring by over 160 percent to 75.69
million euros (Q1-Q3/2003: 28.84 million euros). After taxes, group
result increased to 46.09 million euros – a 112 percent
improvement (Q1-Q3/2003: 21.73 million euros). 
“The numbers show that we are more than equal to the
intensifying competitive pressure. After a second quarter that was
fully on plan, and the third quarter even slightly above plan, we are
increasing our pre-tax profit forecast for 2004 from 90 million to
between 93 and 95 million euros,“ commented freenet.de AG CEO
Eckhard Spoerr the numbers. 
Despite intense competition and high distribution costs, EBITDA
improved to 31.31 million euros in Q3/2004 – a significant,
52-percent increase over Q3/2003 and up by three percent from the
previous quarter. EBT increased even more noticeably compared with
Q3/2003, by 114 percent to 23.02 million euros (a ten percent
improvement over the previous quarter). Group result rose by nearly
120 percent, totalling 13.94 million euros after 6.37 million euros
in Q3/2003 (plus seven percent with 12.98 million euros in Q2/2004). 
In the first nine months of the current year, freenet generated total
revenues of 345.12 million euros in all segments (internet access,
voice, portal and B2B services) – a 39 percent increase over
Q1-Q3/2003 (248.86 million euros). Total revenue for the third
quarter was 116.02 million euros (up by six percent over the previous
quarter). All core fields of business improved over the previous
quarter: internet access to 68.56 million euros (vs. 64.36 million
euros), voice telephony to 38.0 million euros (vs. 35.94 million
euros) and the Portal business to 8.25 million euros (vs. 8.09
million euros).

freenet.de AG also registered substantial growth in its internet
customer base during the third quarter of 2004. freenet added roughly
60,000 new DSL customers in the third quarter alone. “With a
total of 265,000 DSL customers at the end of September 2004, we are
still very much on track for making our year-end target of between
280,000 and 300,000 customers – or even exceeding it,”
continued Eckhard Spoerr. “The resale business begun at the end
of the third quarter means that we are now recruiting customers not
only for our connectivity service, but for line subscriptions as
well,“ Spoerr added. At 3.52 million, the number of narrowband
customers was roughly on par with the previous quarter (3.48 million
narrowband customers).
Having managed a turnaround in pre-selection customer recruitment in
the second quarter 2004, freenet once again increased this customer
base in Q3/2004: more than 40,000 new customers chose to pre-select
freenet in order to systematically save money on their phone calls
– at end of September 2004, freenet.de AG had over 500,000
pre-selection customers. 
~
                      Q3/2004 Q2/2004 Q3/2003 Q1-Q3 2004 Q1-Q3 2003
Revenues              116,016 109,624 115,134 345,116    248,864
Segment: Internet                                        
access                68,563  64,355  73,084  209,678    154,519
Segment: Voice        38,000  35,944  33,254  108,574    69,003
Segment: Portal       8,248   8,091   6,796   23,129     21,567
Segment: B2B Services 1,205   1,234   2,000   3,735      3,775
Gross profit          58,136  53,404  45,961  178,633    98,716
EBITDA                31,308  30,272  20,559  102,907    49,516
Earnings before                                          
taxes (EBT)           23,024  20,904  10,745  75,687     28,840
Group result          13,938  12,978  6,368   46,094     21,733
Cash and cash                                            
equivalents           150,229 155,589 104,268 150,229    104,268
~
Financial data per IFRS; in TEUR / Source: freenet.de AG

end of announcement                    euro adhoc 07.11.2004 23:06:19 

Further inquiry note:

Andreas Neumann
Tel.: +49 (0)40 51306 778
E-Mail: IR@freenet-ag.de

Branche: Online
ISIN: DE0005792006
WKN: 579200
Index: TecDAX, Prime Standard
Börsen: Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / regulated dealing
Berliner Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Hamburger Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Niedersächsische Börse zu Hannover / free trade
Bayerische Börse / free trade
Bremer Wertpapierbörse (BWB) / free trade