EANS-Adhoc: freenet AG freenet Group presents preliminary results for 2011,
outlook and dividend proposal
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ad-hoc disclosure pursuant to section 15 of the WpHG transmitted by euro
adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide distribution. The issuer is solely
responsible for the content of this announcement.
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29.02.2012
Büdelsdorf, 29 February 2012 - According to the preliminary figures, the company
achieved recurring Group EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes and
depreciation/amortisation) - adjusted for one-off items - of 360.3 million euros
and free cash flow of 241.0 million euros. freenet AG has thereby exceeded its
guidance, which had been raised again in November 2011, of 355 million euros for
recurring Group EBITDA and of >230 million euros for free cash flow.
Based on preliminary figures, freenet AG generated Group revenue of 3.22 billion
euros in the financial year 2011, after 3.34 billion euros in 2010. The Group
result has increased to 144.0 million euros, compared with 112.5 million euros
in 2010.
The Executive Board has decided to propose to the Supervisory Board a dividend
payment for the financial year 2011 in the amount of 1.00 euro per share from
retained earnings. This represents a payout ratio of 53.1 percent of free cash
flow.
freenet AG generated Group EBITDA of 337.4 million euros in 2011(2010: 334.9
million euros). This includes restructuring-related one-off items in the amount
of 22.9 million euros for the Group, compared with 31.6 million euros in 2010.
Recurring Group EBITDA - adjusted for one-off items - came to 360.3 million
euros in the financial year 2011, vs. 366.5 million euros in the previous year.
Net debt was reduced by another 93.7 million euros since year-end 2010, to 529.4
million euros.
With a contract customer base of 5.75 million at the end of the financial year
2011, customer attrition in 2011 amounted to 366,000 as a result of our
continued qualitative alignment, which represents a considerable improvement
over the guidance originally communicated in February 2011 of fewer than
500,000. Over the course of the year, the no-frills customer base increased by
410,000 to 2.37 million customers. In all, the number of mobile communication
customers was 15.19 million at the end of 2011, compared with 15.65 million at
year-end 2010.
The focus on valuable postpaid contract customer relationships led to a
stabilisation of the postpaid ARPU (monthly average revenue per user) at 23.8
euros.
Outlook
In 2012 and 2013, freenet AG aims to stabilise Group revenue at the level seen
in the financial year 2011. The company expects Group EBITDA of 340 million
euros and free cash flow of 240 million euros for both years.
In accordance with the financial policy adopted in 2011, the Executive Board
plans to continue distributing 40-60 percent of future free cash flow as
dividends.
From today´s perspective, the company assumes a stable development of its
customer base in 2012, and expects slight growth in 2013. Stable postpaid ARPU
has been taken into account for both years.
Now that the "freenet AG" and "debitel Group" integration project has been
successfully completed, restructuring-related one-off expenses will have only a
very limited impact on results from 2012 on, and will therefore no longer be
shown separately. As a result, recurring Group EBITDA is identical to the
reported Group EBITDA.
Free cash flow is defined as cash flow from operating activities, minus
investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, plus
proceeds from the disposal of property, plant and equipment and intangible
assets.
Disclaimer:
This announcement contains forward-looking statements based on current
assumptions and forecasts made by the management of freenet AG. Known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause the actual
development, in particular the results, financial condition and performance of
our company, to differ materially from the forward-looking statements given
above. The company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking
statements or to adjust them to future events or developments. All figures are
based on preliminary calculations before final consolidation and completion of
the audit. There may therefore be discrepancies to the final financial figures
to be presented on 23 March 2012.
Further inquiry note:
freenet AG
Investor Relations
Tel.: +49 (0)40 51306-778
E-Mail: ir@freenet.ag
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: freenet AG
Hollerstraße 126
D-24782 Büdelsdorf
phone: +49 (0)4331 691000
mail: ir@freenet.ag
WWW: http://www.freenet-group.de
sector: Telecommunications
ISIN: DE000A0Z2ZZ5
indexes: Midcap Market Index, TecDAX, CDAX, HDAX, Prime All Share,
Technology All Share
stockmarkets: free trade: Hannover, Berlin, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf,
Stuttgart, regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt
language: English