029 Group SE

Earnings Release • May 24, 2005

News Details

Ad-hoc | 24 May 2005 08:30

Brainpower N.V.: records a profitable quarter and revenues growth of 24%

Ad hoc announcement §15 WpHG Brainpower N.V.: First Quarter Announcement Brainpower N.V.: records a profitable quarter and revenues growth of 24% Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— -Revenues of 1.84 million Euros, up 24% above Q1 2004 -Operating expenses are 1.45 million Euros, down 18% from previous year -Profits on an ongoing EBITDA basis -Positive cash-flow Brainpower N.V. (Deutsche Börse, Prime Standard: BPW), leading provider of technology for delivering investment intelligence to global asset and wealth managers, announces results for the First Quarter ended March 31st, 2005. Revenues for the quarter equaled 1.84 million Euros, up 24% from the first quarter 2004 results and up 8% from the fourth quarter 2004. In the first quarter operating expenses equaled 1.45 million Euros, down 18% over the first quarter 2004. From January1st 2005 Brainpower applies the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 2.The share-based compensation – which is a non-cash item for the Company – is recorded as operating expense. The first quarter 2005 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), before restructuring costs and before stock-based compensation, was positive for 92,000 Euros. This compares to a loss of 590,000 Euros loss registered in the first quarter of 2004. Rocco Pellegrinelli, CEO of Brainpower, commented: “Brainpower registered its second profitable quarter, on an ongoing EBITDA basis, on expanded sales. The positive trend in the key financial metrics confirmed the good progress in terms of business growth and operational efficiency. The first quarter proved to be very satisfactory as concerns both the incremental deals with existing customers as well as the expansion of our sales pipeline. We continue to see a strong demand for our broad technology offer throughout the asset management and wealth management community. The first quarter’s results confirm that Brainpower is on a solid track to achieve the company’s objectives for the year”. Ermenegildo Beghé, Chief Financial Officer of Brainpower, added, “In the first quarter we recorded improvements in terms of revenues, profits and cash-flow. We remain focused on keeping costs under strict control in order to maximize margins. We are very pleased with the current progress, which follows the strategic restructuring of last year”. Brainpower N.V. Herengracht 469 NL-1017 BS Amsterdam Niederlande ISIN: NL0000238228 WKN: 553169 Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 24.05.2005 Issuer’s information/explanatory remarks concerning this ad hoc announcement: ABOUT BRAINPOWER Brainpower is a well-established leading provider of technology for delivering investment intelligence to global asset and wealth managers. Brainpower’s extremely comprehensive and innovative products portfolio enables investment decision makers and their distribution channels to deliver differentiated products and distinctive service, while effectively managing their costs. Customers include leading players in the fields of asset management, private banking and online financial services. Brainpower’s technology is currently distributed, either directly or through third parties, in major financial centers including: Amsterdam, London, Geneva, Milan, Frankfurt and Zurich. For further information see: http://www.brainpowerweb.com or contact: Ermenegildo Beghé Chief Financial Officer Brainpower N.V. Tel : +41 91 985 7070 Email: ebeghe@brainpower.ch End of message (c)DGAP 240830 Mai 05