AdLINK Group confirms 2008 forecast - Sales growth of 9 percent in first 6 months
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AdLINK Group confirms 2008 forecast
Sales growth of 9 percent in first 6 months
Montabaur, August 12, 2008. AdLINK Internet Media AG looks back on a modest first six months to FY2008.
Consolidated sales rose from EUR 104.4 million in the previous year to EUR 113.8 million and thus grew by 9.0% - without negative foreign currency effects sales would have grown by 14%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell, however, by 21.3% to EUR 10.0 million (prior year: EUR 12.7 million). Pre-tax earnings (EBT) were down by 18.6% to EUR 7.9 million (prior year: EUR 9.7 million). The Group´s net income fell by 13.8% to EUR 5.0 million (prior year: EUR 5.8 million). Earnings per share (EPS) amounted to EUR 0.19 (prior year: EUR 0.22). In order to aid comparison, prior-year figures have been adjusted for special items in 2007.
"The first six months of 2008 were in line with expectations, but not satisfactory," states Andreas Janssen, CFO of AdLINK Internet Media AG. "Our subsidiary affilinet achieved strong sales growth, while sales of AdLINK Media were only slightly up on the prior-year figure. As expected, sales in our Domain Marketing segment (Sedo) were down on the previous year - also in the second quarter. Sedo continues to suffer from negative effects, which were already reported in the first quarter of 2008. These effects result from permanent changes in policy and algorithms which our most important partners in the search engine business have made. The continuing weakness of the US dollar and the UK pound is also reflected in these figures," explains Janssen.
The AdLINK Group succeeded in improving the relevant market figures for future growth in all three of its business segments:
In Display Marketing, the number of monthly unique users increased from 77.7 million to over 81.6 million. The average number of ad impressions generated per month on websites marketed by AdLINK Media grew from 8.2 billion to 10.2 billion.
In Affiliate Marketing (affilinet), there was a further increase in range. While the number of program suppliers remained virtually constant at approx. 1,500, the number of affiliated websites increased from 400,000 to 450,000. Ad impressions generated per month improved from 5.2 billion to over 6.9 billion. In the Domain Marketing segment the number of domains offered by Sedo for trading grew from 7.9 million last year to 13.8 million. Around 6.4 million of these domains (prior year: 3.6 million) are available for marketing purposes.
"The importance of online advertising will continue to grow, although it is not free of influence from economic fluctuations," says Marc Stilke, Speaker of the Management Board of AdLINK Internet Media AG. "Against this backdrop, we will strengthen our performance marketing solutions - which are less dependent on general economic factors - and will focus increasingly on new technologies to optimize process efficiency. We are optimistic for the remaining months of our fiscal year and confirm our May forecast for 2008: We expect growth in consolidated sales of 10% and pre-tax earnings at about the same level as last year (without special items), i.e. around EUR 21 million. "
About the AdLINK Group The AdLINK Group is Europe´s leading independent network for digital marketing solutions. With AdLINK Media, affilinet, net:dialogs, Sedo and the composite brand, the AdLINK Group comprises specialists in the business fields of Display Marketing, Affiliate Marketing, Direct and Dialogue Marketing, as well as Domain Marketing and Permission Marketing. With more than 450 employees and offices in 13 European nations and the USA, as well as cooperation partners in Latin America, South America and Asia, the AdLINK Group offers its clients a global network for online marketing.
Further information at www.adlinkgroup.net
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
Contact partner:
Marcus Schaps
Head of Press and Public Relations
AdLINK Internet Media AG
Elgendorfer Str. 57
56410 Montabaur
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 2602 - 96 1319
Fax: +49 (0) 2602 - 96 1013
E-mail: presse@adlinkgroup.net
Branche: Online
ISIN: DE0005490155
WKN: 549015
Index: TecDAX, Prime All Share, Technologie All Share
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