Quarterly Report • Aug 23, 2016
Quarterly Report
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6-Month Report 2016
| June 30, 2016 | June 30, 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NET INCOME (IN € MILLION)(1) | |||
| Sales | 1,951.2 | 1,823.4 | + 7.0% |
| EBITDA(1) | 400.3 | 345.7 | + 15.8% |
| EBIT(1) | 303.4 | 236.7 | + 28.2% |
| EBT(1) | 291.9 | 233.2 | + 25.2% |
| EBT after impairment | 37.0 | 233.2 | - 84.1% |
| EPS (in €)(1) | 1.00 | 0.82 | + 22.0% |
| EPS after impairment (in €) | -0.25 | 0.82 | |
| BALANCE SHEET (IN € MILLION) Current assets |
614.9 | 418.2 | + 47.0% |
| Non-current assets | 3,422.0 | 3,299.4 | + 3.7% |
| Equity | 1,049.2 | 1,112.4 | - 5.7% |
| Equity ratio | 26.0% | 29.9% | |
| Total assets | 4,036.9 | 3,717.6 | + 8.6% |
| CASH FLOW (IN € MILLION) Operative cash flow |
305.9 | 251.6 | + 21.6% |
| Cash flow from operating activities(3) | 145.6 | 158.5 | - 8.1% |
| Cash flow from investing activities | - 328.5 | - 518.6 | |
| Free cash flow(2,3) | 74.9 | 98.9 | - 24.3% |
| Adjusted free cash flow(4) | 174.9 | 98.9 | + 76.8% |
| EMPLOYEES AT THE END OF JUNE | |||
| Total | 8,076 | 7,875 | + 2.6% |
| thereof in Germany | 6,421 | 6,329 | + 1.5% |
| thereof abroad | 1,655 | 1,546 | + 7.1% |
| SHARE (IN €) | |||
| Share price at end of June (Xetra) | 37.20 | 39.88 | - 6.7% |
| CUSTOMER CONTRACTS (IN MILLION) | June 30, 2016 | June 30, 2015 | Change |
| Access, total contracts | 8.25 | 7.24 | + 1.01 |
| thereof Mobile Internet | 3.86 | 2.99 | + 0.87 |
| thereof DSL complete (ULL) | 4.18 | 3.99 | + 0.19 |
| thereof T-DSL / R-DSL | 0.21 | 0.26 | - 0.05 |
| Business Applications, total contracts | 6.03 | 5.81 | + 0.22 |
| thereof in Germany | 2.34 | 2.38 | - 0.04 |
| thereof abroad | 3.69 | 3.43 | + 0.26 |
| Consumer Applications, total accounts | 35.54 | 34.11 | + 1.43 |
| thereof with Premium Mail subscription (contracts) | 1.74 | 1.81 | - 0.07 |
| thereof with Value-Added subscription (contracts) | 0.44 | 0.35 | + 0.09 |
| thereof free accounts | 33.36 | 31.95 | + 1.41 |
| Fee-based customer contracts, total | 16.46 | 15.21 | + 1.25 |
(1) Key earnings figures H1 2015 without effects from sale of Goldbach shares (EBITDA, EBIT, EBT effect = € +5.6 million;
EPS effect = € +0.03); Key earnings figures H1 2016 without effects from writedowns on financial assets (Rocket impairment)
(EBT effect = € -254.9 million; EPS effect = € -1.25) (2) Free cash flow is defined as cash flow from operating activities, less capital expenditures, plus payments from disposals of intangible
assets and property, plant and equipment (3) Cash flow from operating activities and free cash flow in H1 2015 without capital gains tax refund of € 326.0 million
(4) Free cash flow H1 2016 adjusted for income tax payment of around € 100.0 million originally due in Q4 2015
2
INTERIM GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT
FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2016
FOR THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF 2016
FINANCIAL CALENDAR / IMPRINT
4
United Internet AG continued its positive development of the past years in the first half of 2016. Once again we achieved strong improvements in our customer contract figures, sales revenues, and key earnings ratios based on operating activities.
We continued to invest heavily in new customer relationships in the first half of 2016. As a result, we raised the number of fee-based customer contracts by 490,000 in the reporting period – and thus by an even greater amount than in the first half of 2015 (430,000 contracts) – to 16.46 million. This customer growth was driven in particular by our Access business, which generated 380,000 new Mobile Internet contracts and 70,000 DSL contracts. In the Applications segment, we added 40,000 fee-based contracts and 210,000 ad-financed accounts during the reporting period.
Thanks to the further strong year-on-year increase in customer figures, there was a 7.0% increase in consolidated sales from € 1,823.4 million in the previous year to the new record figure of € 1,951.2 million in the first half of 2016.
Despite heavy investment in the above mentioned customer growth, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose by 15.8%, from € 345.7 million (comparable prior-year figure without effects from the sale of our Goldbach shares) to € 400.3 million, while earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased by 28.2%, from € 236.7 million (comparable prior-year figure) to € 303.4 million. Earnings per share from operating activities (operating EPS) improved by 22.0%, from € 0.82 (comparable prior-year figure) to € 1.00. Before amortization of purchase price allocations (PPA), which mainly relate to the Versatel acquisition, operating EPS rose by 20.0% from € 0.90 (comparable prior-year figure) to € 1.08.
As announced in our Annual Financial Statements 2015, and in line with the applicable accounting and valuation methods of United Internet, we wrote down the value of shares we hold in Rocket Internet SE in our non-operating business in the first and second quarters of 2016. In view of the closing price (Xetra) for Rocket Internet shares of € 17.47 as of June 30, 2016, the impairment charges had a total non-cash effect on pre-tax earnings (EBT) of € -254.6 million and of € -1.25 on EPS in the first half of 2016. United Internet is still convinced that Rocket Internet has significant market opportunities. The impairment charges do not impact our dividend policy nor our guidance for 2016, as these are based on earnings from operating activities (without special items). As a result of the Rocket impairment, EPS was reduced in total to € -0.25 and EPS before PPA to € -0.17 in the first half of 2016.
Due to the good performance of our operating business in the first half of 2016, we are upholding our sales and earnings guidance for 2016 with expected sales of approx. € 4 billion and EBITDA of approx. € 850 million. As our acquisition of new customers made better progress than expected, we are raising our contract guidance by 100,000 new contracts to approx. 900,000.
We are very well prepared for the next steps in our company's development and upbeat about our prospects for the remaining months of the fiscal year. In view of the successful first six months, we would like to express our particular gratitude to all employees for their dedicated efforts as well as to our shareholders and customers for the trust they continue to place in United Internet AG.
Montabaur, August 11, 2016
Ralph Dommermuth
Business model
6
Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Montabaur, Germany, United Internet AG is Europe's leading internet specialist with 16.46 million fee-based customer contracts and 33.36 million ad-financed free accounts around the world.
The Group's operating activities are divided into the two segments "Access" and "Applications".
The Access segment comprises the Group's fee-based landline and mobile access products, including the respective applications (such as home networks, online storage, telephony, video-ondemand or IPTV). In addition to these products for home users and small firms, the company also offers – since the complete takeover of Versatel (now 1&1 Versatel) on October 1, 2014 – data and network solutions for SMEs, as well as infrastructure services for large corporations. With a length of 41,373 km (prior year: 40,036 km), the 1&1 Versatel network is Germany's second-largest fiberoptic network. With its own network infrastructure, United Internet also has the opportunity to gradually extend its vertical integration and reduce its purchases of DSL pre-services. United Internet operates exclusively in Germany in its Access segment, where it is one of the leading providers. The company uses the 1&1 Versatel network and also purchases standardized network services from various pre-service providers. These are enhanced with end-user devices, selfdeveloped applications and services from the company's own "Internet Factory" in order to differentiate them from the competition. Access products are marketed by the well-known brands GMX, WEB.DE, and 1&1, which enable the company to offer a comprehensive range of products while also targeting specific customer groups.
The Applications segment comprises the Group's application business – whether ad-financed or via fee-based subscriptions. These applications include domains, home pages, webhosting, servers and e-shops, Personal Information Management applications (e-mail, to-do lists, appointments, addresses), group work, online storage and office software. The applications are developed by the company's "Internet Factory" or in cooperation with partner firms and operated at the company's data centers. In its Applications segment, United Internet is also a global player with activities in numerous European countries (Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Spain) as well as North America (Canada, Mexico and the USA). Applications are marketed to specific target groups via the differently positioned brands GMX, mail.com, WEB.DE, 1&1, Arsys, InterNetX, Fasthosts, home.pl, and united-domains. United Internet also offers its customers performance-based advertising and sales platforms on the internet via Sedo and affilinet.
* Versatel GmbH renamed as of July 1, 2016
With regard to the Group's structure, strategy and control, we refer to the explanations provided in the combined Management Report 2015 (Annual Report 2015, pages 32 et seq.). There have been no significant changes from the Group perspective.
8
As an internet service provider, the United Internet Group does not engage in research and development (R&D) on a scale comparable with manufacturing companies. For this reason, United Internet does not disclose key figures for R&D.
At the same time, the United Internet brands stand for internet access, solutions and innovative web-based applications which are mostly developed in-house. The Group's success is rooted in an ability to develop, combine or adapt innovative products and services and launch them on major markets.
In addition to constant improvements and measures to secure the reliable operation of all services offered, the approximately 2,700 developers, product managers and technical administrators at United Internet's domestic and foreign development centers worked in particular on the following projects during the first half of 2016:
As a result of the Brexit vote, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its forecast for the global economy and in its updated economic outlook for 2016 (World Economic Outlook, Update July 2016) now anticipates global growth of just 3.1% – 0.3 percentage points down on the beginning of the year (January forecast).
According to the IMF's latest forecast, Brexit has significantly increased the economic, political and institutional uncertainties. Without the vote, the Fund would have even upgraded its growth outlook for the global economy. The IMF's chief economist Maurice Obstfeld stated that the exact effects were currently hard to quantify. An even worse development was also feasible. Apart from Brexit, the IMF sees further risks for the global economy, including the unresolved problems of Europe's banking system (especially in Italy and Portugal), a lack of structural reforms, growing protectionism, the refugee crisis, geopolitical concerns and terrorism.
During the course of the year, the IMF has now downgraded all its forecasts for the United Internet Group's main target markets (with the exception of France) compared to its January outlook. Specifically, the IMF reduced its growth forecast for the USA by 0.4 percentage points to 2.2%. The outlook for Canada and Mexico was also downgraded by 0.3 and 0.1 percentage points to 1.4% and 2.5%, respectively. The IMF's forecast for the eurozone was reduced by 0.1 percentage points to 1.6% – whereby the outlook for France was raised by 0.2 percentage points to 1.5%, while the forecast for Spain was decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 2.6% and for Italy by 0.4 percentage points to 0.9%. The IMF's economists believe that Brexit will hit the non-eurozone nation UK the hardest and therefore forecast growth of just 1.7% (down 0.5 percentage points on the beginning of the year). For United Internet's most important market, Germany (share of sales in 2015: around 90%), the IMF has lowered its outlook during the year so far by 0.1 percentage points to 1.6%.
| January forecast | April forecast | July forecast | Change on January | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| World | 3.4% | 3.2% | 3.1% | - 0.3 percentage points |
| USA | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.2% | - 0.4 percentage points |
| Canada | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.4% | - 0.3 percentage points |
| Mexico | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.5% | - 0.1 percentage points |
| Eurozone | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.6% | - 0.1 percentage points |
| France | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.5% | + 0.2 percentage points |
| Spain | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.6% | - 0.1 percentage points |
| Italy | 1.3% | 1.0% | 0.9% | - 0.4 percentage points |
| UK | 2.2% | 1.9% | 1.7% | - 0.5 percentage points |
| Germany | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.6% | - 0.1 percentage points |
Changes in 2016 growth forecasts for United Internet's key target countries and regions
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (Update), July 2016
Germany's stable economic development in the first half of 2016 is also illustrated by the sentiment barometer (adjusted for price, seasonal and calendar effects) of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), which calculated GDP growth for the first and second quarters of 2016 (and thus for the pre-Brexit period) of 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively. According to DIW, the initial impact of the Brexit vote on German exports is likely to result mainly from an expected fall in output of UK companies and the strong devaluation of the British pound.
| Q1 2015 | Q2 2015 | Q3 2015 | Q4 2015 | Q1 2016 | Q2 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | + 0.3% | + 0.4% | + 0.3% | + 0.3% | + 0.7% | + 0.3% |
Source: German Institute for Economic Research (DIW); status: July 27, 2016
In the first half of 2016, the legal parameters for United Internet's business activities remained largely unchanged from fiscal year 2015 and thus had no significant influence on the development of the United Internet Group.
There were also no significant events in the first six months of 2016 which had a material influence on the development of business.
United Internet continued to invest heavily in new customer relationships in the first half of 2016. As a result, the number of fee-based contracts in the Access segment rose by 450,000 contracts – as in the previous year – to 8.25 million during the reporting period. In the period under review, a total of 380,000 contracts were added in the company's Mobile Internet business, thus taking the total number of customers to 3.86 million. There was also growth in the important complete DSL contracts (ULL = Unbundled Local Loop) with the addition of 100,000 customer contracts to reach a total of 4.18 million. As expected, the number of customer contracts for those business models being phased out (T-DSL and R-DSL) continued to fall slightly (-30,000 customer relationships). The total number of DSL contracts therefore grew by a further 70,000 contracts to 4.39 million.
| June 30, 2016 | Dec. 31, 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access, total contracts | 8.25 | 7.80 | + 0.45 |
| thereof Mobile Internet | 3.86 | 3.48 | + 0.38 |
| thereof DSL complete (ULL) | 4.18 | 4.08 | + 0.10 |
| thereof T-DSL / R-DSL | 0.21 | 0.24 | - 0.03 |
Development of Access contracts in the second quarter of 2016 (in million)
| June 30, 2016 | March 31, 2016 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access, total contracts | 8.25 | 8.04 | + 0.21 |
| thereof Mobile Internet | 3.86 | 3.68 | + 0.18 |
| thereof DSL complete (ULL) | 4.18 | 4.14 | + 0.04 |
| thereof T-DSL / R-DSL | 0.21 | 0.22 | - 0.01 |
As a result of this dynamic customer growth, sales of the Access segment rose by 7.2% in the first half of 2016, from € 1,338.7 million in the previous year to € 1,434.7 million.
Despite heavy investment in the above mentioned customer growth, there was further strong growth in key earnings figures. Segment EBITDA increased by 14.4%, from € 217.6 million in the previous year to € 249.0 million, while segment EBIT improved by 30.8%, from € 138.5 million to € 181.1 million.
All customer acquisition costs for DSL and Mobile Internet products, as well as costs for the migration of resale DSL connections to complete DSL packages and upgrades to VDSL connections, continue to be charged directly as expenses.
H1 2016 H1 2015
| Q3 2015 | Q4 2015 | Q1 2016 | Q2 2016 | Q2 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 696.5 | 707.4 | 709.7 | 725.0 | 676.5 | + 7.2% |
| EBITDA | 127.0 | 147.5 | 124.3 | 124.7 | 108.4 | + 15.0% |
| EBIT | 88.4 | 109.5 | 90.5 | 90.6 | 68.6 | + 32.1% |
| H1 2012 | H1 2013 | H1 2014 | H1 2015 | H1 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 764.0 | 863.2 | 972.5 | 1,338.7 | 1,434.7 |
| EBITDA | 88.4 | 108.8 | 128.0 | 217.6 | 249.0 |
| EBITDA margin | 11.6% | 12.6% | 13.2% | 16.3% | 17.4% |
| EBIT | 75.0 | 94.5 | 113.8 | 138.5 | 181.1 |
| EBIT margin | 9.8% | 10.9% | 11.7% | 10.3% | 12.6% |
In the Applications segment, the main focus is on the sale of additional features to existing customers (e.g. further domains, e-shops and business apps), as well as the acquisition of highvalue customer relationships. In the first half of 2016, the number of fee-based contracts for Business Applications rose by 40,000 contracts to 6.03 million.
| June 30, 2016 | Dec. 31, 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Applications, total contracts | 6.03 | 5.99 | + 0.04 |
| thereof in Germany | 2.34 | 2.35 | - 0.01 |
| thereof abroad | 3.69 | 3.64 | + 0.05 |
| June 30, 2016 | March 31, 2016 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Applications, total contracts | 6.03 | 6.02 | + 0.01 |
| thereof in Germany | 2.34 | 2.35 | - 0.01 |
| thereof abroad | 3.69 | 3.67 | + 0.02 |
In the field of Consumer Applications, the main focus is still on monetizing ad-financed accounts – in view of further strong demand for online advertising. United Internet therefore limited the ad space for its own pay products once again in the first half of 2016. Despite this limitation, the number of pay accounts remained stable at 2.18 million. At the same time, the number of free accounts rose by 210,000 to 33.36 million in the reporting period. As a result, the total number of Consumer Accounts rose by 210,000 to 35.54 million accounts in the first half of 2016.
Development of Consumer Applications accounts in the second quarter of 2016 (in million)
| June 30, 2016 | Dec. 31, 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Applications, total accounts | 35.54 | 35.33 | + 0.21 |
| thereof with Premium Mail subscription | 1.74 | 1.77 | - 0.03 |
| thereof with Value-Added subscription | 0.44 | 0.41 | + 0.03 |
| thereof free accounts | 33.36 | 33.15 | + 0.21 |
| June 30, 2016 | March 31, 2016 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer Applications, total accounts | 35.54 | 35.67 | - 0.13 |
| thereof with Premium Mail subscription | 1.74 | 1.75 | - 0.01 |
| thereof with Value-Added subscription | 0.44 | 0.43 | + 0.01 |
| thereof free accounts | 33.36 | 33.49 | - 0.13 |
By successfully expanding business with existing customers, focusing on high-quality customer relationships, and increasingly monetizing our free accounts via advertising, sales of the Applications segment rose by 7.7% in the first half of 2016 (currency-adjusted by 8.8%), from € 496.8 million in the previous year to € 535.1 million. Of this total, sales generated abroad increased by 11.3%, from € 191.4 million to € 213.0 million – due in part to the initial consolidation of home.pl.
Key earnings figures easily outpaced this growth in sales. Segment EBITDA rose by 14.3% (currency-adjusted by 15.7%), from € 136.0 million in the previous year to € 155.4 million, while segment EBIT increased by 19.4% from € 106.3 million to € 126.9 million.
Currency-adjusted sales and earnings figures are calculated by converting the sales and earnings figures of the current reporting period with the standard conversion rates used in the previous year.
Customer acquisition costs were once again charged directly as expenses, also in this segment.
| Sales | 535.1 496.8 |
+ 7.7% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA | 155.4 136.0 |
+ 14.3% | |
| EBIT | 126.9 106.3 |
+ 19.4% |
| Q3 2015 | Q4 2015 | Q1 2016 | Q2 2016 | Q2 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 244.9 | 259.5 | 268.8 | 266.2 | 249.3 | + 6.8% |
| EBITDA | 72.6 | 73.3 | 80.4 | 75.0 | 67.8 | + 10.6% |
| EBIT | 57.3 | 58.9 | 65.9 | 61.1 | 53.0 | + 15.3% |
| Historical development of key sales and earnings figures (in € million) | |
|---|---|
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -- |
| H1 2012 | H1 2013 | H1 2014 | H1 2015 | H1 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 399.3 | 419.6 | 460.9 | 496.8 | 535.1 |
| EBITDA | 58.6 | 70.8 | 113.4 | 136.0 | 155.4 |
| EBITDA margin | 14.7% | 16.9% | 24.6% | 27.4% | 29.0% |
| EBIT | 27.2 | 39.5 | 83.6 | 106.3 | 126.9 |
| EBIT margin | 6.8% | 9.4% | 18.1% | 21.4% | 23.7% |
Via its subsidiary United Internet Ventures AG, United Internet contractually secured the acquisition of a share package amounting to approx. 15.31% of shares in Tele Columbus AG, Berlin, Germany, on February 10, 2016. At the time, the closing of the acquisition was subject to approval by the German anti-trust authority ("Bundeskartellamt"). This approval was granted on March 7, 2016. After closing the acquisition, United Internet has a total indirect shareholding – together with further shares acquired – of 25.11% in Tele Columbus.
United Internet believes that Tele Columbus AG is well positioned with attractive market opportunities. As a strategic investor, it plans to accompany the company's ongoing development and benefit from its growth in value.
On May 2, 2016, United Internet sold its stake (8.37%) in the listed company Hipay Group S.A., France. The share sale resulted in proceeds of around € 4.5 million.
The United Internet share fell victim to stock exchange turbulence in the first half of 2016 with a decline in value of 26.9% to € 37.20 as of June 30, 2016 (December 31, 2015: € 50.91). Compared to the previous year (June 30, 2015: € 39.88), the share price was down by 6.7%.
| June 30, 2012 | June 30, 2013 | June 30, 2014 | June 30, 2015 | June 30, 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closing price (Xetra) | € 13.55 | € 21.69 | € 32.18 | € 39.88 | € 37.20 |
| Performance | - 6.6% | + 60.1% | + 48.4% | + 23.9% | - 6.7% |
| Number of shares | 215 million | 194 million | 194 million | 205 million | 205 million |
| Market value | € 2.91 billion | € 4.21 billion | € 6.24 billion | € 8.18 billion | € 7.63 billion |
United Internet AG continued its shareholder-friendly dividend policy in 2016. At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting held on May 19, 2016, shareholders voted to accept the proposal of the Management Board and Supervisory Board to pay a dividend of € 0.70 (prior year: € 0.60) per share for the fiscal year 2015. A total dividend payment of € 142.9 million (prior year: € 122.3 million) was made on May 20, 2016. The payout ratio was thus 39.0% of consolidated net income after tax for 2015 and at the upper end of the range targeted by the company's dividend policy (20-40% of adjusted consolidated net income, unless funds are required for further company development). Based on the closing price of the United Internet share on June 30, 2016, the dividend yield was 1.9%.
| For 2011 | For 2012 | For 2013 | For 2014 | For 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dividend per share (in €) | 0.30 | 0.30 | 0.40 | 0.60 | 0.70 |
| Dividend payment (in € million) | 58.1 | 58.0 | 77.5 | 122.3 | 142.9 |
| Payout ratio | 35.8% | 53.6% | 37.4% | 27.3% | 39.0% |
| Payout ratio without special items (1) | 35.8% | 37.5% | 37.4% | 43.0% | 39.0% |
| Dividend yield (2) | 2.2% | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.9% |
(1) 2012 without Sedo impairments; 2014 without one-off income from Versatel acquisition and optimization of investment portfolio
(2) As of: June 30
United Internet AG can look back on a successful first six months of its fiscal year 2016. Thanks to the further strong year-on-year increase in customer figures, consolidated sales grew by 7.0% in the first half of 2016, from € 1,823.4 million in the previous year to € 1,951.2 million. Sales outside Germany (exclusively in the Applications segment) were increased by 11.3%, from € 191.4 million to € 213.0 million.
In the first half of 2016, United Internet once again invested heavily in new customer relationships and the expansion of its existing customer relationships. As a result, the number of fee-based customer contracts rose in total by 490,000 in the reporting period – and thus by an even greater amount than in the previous year (+430,000) – to 16.46 million customer contracts.
All customer acquisition costs for Access and Applications products, as well as costs for the migration of resale DSL connections to complete DSL packages and upgrades to VDSL connections, continue to be charged directly as expenses.
Due to economies of scale and improved conditions for the purchase of pre-services, cost of sales increased more slowly than sales in the first half of 2016, from € 1,216.2 million (66.7% of sales) in the previous year to € 1,292.9 million (66.3% of sales). Consequently, gross margin rose from 33.3% in the previous year to 33.7%. As a result, the 8.4% increase in gross profit from € 607.2 million in the previous year to € 658.2 million even surpassed sales growth (7.0%).
Sales and marketing expenses fell from € 293.9 million (16.1% of sales) in the previous year to € 269.7 million (13.8% of sales). Administrative expenses rose from € 84.3 million (4.6% of sales) in the previous year to € 92.6 million (4.7% of sales).
| Development of key cost items (in € million) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ---------------------------------------------- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| H1 2012 | H1 2013 | H1 2014 | H1 2015(1) | H1 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost of sales | 771.9 | 850.5 | 945.9 | 1,216.2 | 1,292.9 |
| Cost of sales ratio | 66.3% | 66.3% | 66.0% | 66.7% | 66.3% |
| Gross margin | 33.7% | 33.7% | 34.0% | 33.3% | 33.7% |
| Selling expenses | 232.2 | 239.8 | 230.5 | 293.9 | 269.7 |
| Selling expenses ratio | 20.0% | 18.7% | 16.1% | 16.1% | 13.8% |
| Administrative expenses | 52.9 | 56.2 | 64.8 | 84.3 | 92.6 |
| Administrative expenses ratio | 4.5% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 4.6% | 4.7% |
(1) H1 2015 adjusted
Consolidated earnings from operating activities developed even faster than sales: without consideration of special items from the sale of Goldbach shares in the previous year (EBITDA, EBIT, EBT effect = € +5.6 million; EPS effect = € +0.03), EBITDA rose by 15.8% in the first half of 2016, from € 345.7 million to € 400.3 million, while EBIT increased by 28.2%, from € 236.7 million to € 303.4 million. EBT was up 25.2% from € 233.2 million to € 291.9 million. Operating EPS improved by 22.0% from € 0.82 to € 1.00. Before amortization of purchase price allocations (PPA), which mainly relate to the Versatel acquisition, operating EPS rose by 20.0% from € 0.90 to € 1.08.
As announced in the Annual Financial Statements 2015, and in line with the applicable accounting and valuation methods of United Internet, the value of shares held in Rocket Internet SE in the company's non-operating business was written down in the first and second quarters of 2016. In view of the closing price (Xetra) for Rocket Internet shares of € 17.47 as of June 30, 2016, the impairment charges had a total non-cash effect on EBT of € -254.6 million and of € -1.25 on EPS in the first half of 2016. United Internet is still convinced that Rocket Internet has significant market opportunities. The impairment charges do not impact United Internet's dividend policy nor guidance for 2016, as these are based on earnings from operating activities (without special items). As a result of the writedowns on financial assets (especially the Rocket impairment), EBT in the first half of 2016 fell to € 37.0 million, while total EPS was reduced to € -0.25 and EPS before PPA to € -0.17.
| Sales | 1,951.2 1,823.4 |
+ 7.0% | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA | 400.3 345.7(1) |
+ 15.8% | |
| EBIT | 303.4 236.7(1) |
+ 28.2% |
(1) H1 2015 without effects from sale of Goldbach shares (EBITDA and EBIT effect: € +5.6 million)
| Q3 2015 | Q4 2015 | Q1 2016 | Q2 2016 | Q2 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 931.4 | 960.9 | 968.6 | 982.6 | 918.3 | + 7.0% |
| EBITDA | 195.3(2) | 216.2 | 202.7 | 197.6 | 172.2(1) | + 14.8% |
| EBIT | 141.3(2) | 163.7 | 154.0 | 149.4 | 117.6(1) | + 27.0% |
(1) Q2 2015 without effects from sale of Goldbach shares (EBITDA and EBIT effect: € +5.6 million)
(2) Q3 2015 without effects from sale of partial stake in virtual minds shares (EBITDA and EBIT effect: € +8.4 million)
H1 2016 H1 2015
| H1 2012 | H1 2013 | H1 2014 | H1 2015 | H1 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 1,163.5 | 1,283.0 | 1,433.6 | 1,823.4 | 1,951.2 |
| EBITDA | 148.6 | 175.1 | 237.6 | 345.7(1) | 400.3 |
| EBITDA margin | 12.8% | 13.6% | 16.6% | 19.0% | 20.5% |
| EBIT | 103.7 | 129.4 | 193.5 | 236.7(1) | 303.4 |
| EBIT margin | 8.9% | 10.1% | 13.5% | 13.0% | 15.5% |
(1) H1 2015 without effects from sale of Goldbach shares (EBITDA and EBIT effect: € +5.6 million)
Thanks to the positive development of earnings, operative cash flow rose from € 251.6 million in the previous year to € 305.9 million in the first half of 2016.
Cash flow from operating activities in the first half of 2015 and the first half of 2016 were dominated by various tax effects. Whereas in the first half of 2015, there was a tax refund of € 326.0 million on a capital gains tax payment made in late 2014 in connection with corporate restructuring, an income tax payment of around € 100.0 million was made in the first half of 2016 (originally due in the fourth quarter of 2015). Without consideration of these opposing tax effects, cash flow from operating activities rose from € 158.5 million (comparable prior-year figure) to € 245.6 million in the first half of 2016.
Cash flow from investing activities amounted to € 328.5 million in the reporting period (prior year: € 518.6 million). This resulted mainly from disbursements of € 72.2 million (prior year: € 70.7 million) for capital expenditures, as well as from payments for the purchase of shares in associated companies totaling € 264.2 million (investment in Tele Columbus). In addition to the aforementioned capital expenditures, cash flow from investing activities in the previous year was dominated by investments in other financial assets of € 58.9 million (especially for the increase in shares held in Rocket Internet SE during the company's capital increase) and disbursements of € 417.8 million for the acquisition of shares in associated companies (especially the stake in Drillisch AG).
Without consideration of the above mentioned opposing tax effects, free cash flow (i.e. cash flow from operating activities, less capital expenditures, plus payments from disposals of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment) rose from € 98.9 million (comparable prior-year figure) to € 174.9 million in the first half of 2016.
Cash flow from financing activities in the first half of 2016 was dominated by the assumption of loans amounting to € 333.0 million, especially for the acquisition of shares in Tele Columbus and the income tax payment (prior year: assumption of loans totaling € 179.0 million), the redemption of finance lease liabilities of € 7.9 million (prior year: € 7.9 million), and the dividend payment of € 142.9 million (prior year: € 122.3 million).
Cash and cash equivalents amounted to € 88.1 million as of June 30, 2016 – compared to € 67.5 million on the same date last year.
| H1 2012 | H1 2013 | H1 2014 | H1 2015 | H1 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operative cash flow | 95.2 | 118.5 | 165.6 | 251.6 | 305.9 |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 107.8 | 109.4 | 175.0 | 158.5(2) | 245.6(3) |
| Cash flow from investing activities | - 14.9 | - 26.5 | - 41.6 | - 518.6 | - 328.5 |
| Free cash flow(1) | 89.2 | 85.9 | 154.2 | 98.9(2) | 174.9(3) |
| Cash flow from financing activities | - 90.7 | - 89.1 | - 119.9 | 48.8 | 189.6 |
| Cash and cash equivalents on June 30 | 66.4 | 35.5 | 56.7 | 67.5 | 88.1 |
(1) Free cash flow is defined as cash flow from operating activities, less capital expenditures, plus payments from disposals of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment
(2) Without capital gains tax refund of € 326.0 million
(3) Without the income tax payment of around € 100.0 million originally due in the fourth quarter of 2015; including this income tax payment, free cash flow amounted to € 74.9 million
The balance sheet total increased from € 3.878 billion as of December 31, 2015 to € 4.037 billion as of June 30, 2016.
Current assets increased from € 564.9 million as of December 31, 2015 to € 614.9 million as of June 30, 2016. Cash and cash equivalents disclosed under current assets rose slightly from € 84.3 million to € 88.1 million. Trade accounts receivable remained unchanged at € 218.1 million. Due to closing-date effects and the expansion of business, current prepaid expenses rose from € 82.6 million to € 119.5 million. Other non-financial assets increased from € 114.6 million to € 119.6 million and mainly comprise receivables from the tax office.
Non-current assets rose from € 3,312.7 million as of December 31, 2015 to € 3,422.0 million on June 30, 2016. This was mainly due to the increase in shares in associated companies, which rose strongly from € 468.4 million to € 754.0 million, largely as a result of the investment in Tele Columbus. The non-current other financial assets fell from € 449.0 million to € 260.2 million – due to the subsequent valuation of listed shares in Rocket Internet and Hi-Media as of June 30, 2016 and the sale of Hipay. Within the items property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, additions of € 72.2 million (mainly for furniture and fixtures, as well as software), were opposed by depreciation and amortization of € 96.9 million. Due to currency effects, there was a change in goodwill from € 1,137.8 million to € 1,127.8 million.
Current liabilities decreased from € 969.0 million as of December 31, 2015 to € 894.3 million on June 30, 2016. Current trade accounts payable were virtually unchanged at € 398.0 million. Shortterm bank liabilities declined from € 29.3 million to € 24.3 million. As a result of the income tax payment in the first quarter of 2016, income tax liabilities fell strongly from € 129.6 million to € 51.0 million. The increase in other financial liabilities from € 105.4 million to € 126.7 million is mainly due to closing-date effects and the expansion of business.
Non-current liabilities increased from € 1,758.9 million as of December 31, 2015 to € 2,093.1 million on June 30, 2016. This was mainly due to the rise in long-term bank liabilities from € 1,507.2 million to € 1,845.1 million caused by the investment in Tele Columbus and the income tax payment in the first half of 2016.
Due in particular to the dividend payment, the Group's equity capital fell from € 1,149.8 million as of December 31, 2015 to € 1,049.5 million on June 30, 2016. There was a corresponding decline in the equity ratio from 29.7% to 26.0%. At the end of the reporting period on June 30, 2016, United Internet held 411,458 treasury shares (December 31, 2015: 917,859 shares).
Due in particular to the investment in Tele Columbus and the above mentioned income tax payment, net bank liabilities (i.e. the balance of bank liabilities and cash and cash equivalents) increased from € 1,452.2 million as of December 31, 2015 to € 1,781.4 million on June 30, 2016.
| Dec. 31, 2012 |
Dec. 31, 2013 |
Dec. 31, 2014 |
Dec. 31, 2015 |
June 30, 2016 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total assets | 1,107.7 | 1,270.3 | 3,673.4 | 3,877.6 | 4,036.9 |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 42.8 | 42.8 | 50.8 | 84.3 | 88.1 |
| Shares in associated companies | 90.9 | 115.3 | 34.9(1) | 468.4(1) | 754.0(1) |
| Other financial assets | 70.1 | 47.6 | 695.3(2) | 449.0 | 260.2 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 109.2 | 116.2 | 689.3(3) | 665.2 | 652.6 |
| Intangible assets | 151.8 | 165.1 | 385.5(3) | 344.0 | 328.0 |
| Goodwill | 356.2 | 452.8(4) | 977.0(4) | 1,137.8(4) | 1,127.8 |
| Liabilities due to banks | 300.3 | 340.0 | 1,374.0(5) | 1,536.5(5) | 1,781.4(5) |
| Capital stock | 215.0 | 194.0(6) | 205.0(6) | 205.0 | 205.0 |
| Treasury stock | 263.6 | 5.2(6) | 35.3 | 26.3 | 11.8 |
| Equity | 198.1 | 307.9 | 1,204.7(7) | 1,149.8 | 1,049.5 |
| Equity ratio | 17.9% | 24.2% | 32.8% | 29.7% | 26.0% |
(1) Decrease due to contribution of the GFC and EFF funds to Rocket and complete takeover of Versatel (2014); increase due to investment in Drillisch (2015); increase due to investment in Tele Columbus (2016)
(2) Increase due to investment in Rocket (2014), decrease due to sale of Goldbach shares and subsequent valuation of shares in listed companies (2015); decrease due to subsequent valuation of shares in listed companies (2016)
(3) Increase due to complete takeover of Versatel (2014)
(4) Increase due to Arsys acquisition (2013); increase due to complete takeover of Versatel (2014); increase due to acquisition of home.pl (2015) (5) Increase due to Rocket investment and takeover of Versatel (2014); increase due to increased stake in Rocket, Drillisch investment, and acquisition of home.pl (2015); increase due to investment in Tele Columbus (2016)
(6) Decrease due to share cancellations (2013); increase due to capital increase (2014)
(7) Increase due to capital increase (2014)
United Internet once again invested heavily in new customer relationships in the first half of 2016. As a result, the number of fee-based contracts rose by 490,000 contracts during the reporting period – and thus more strongly than in the first half of 2015 (430,000 contracts) – to 16.46 million. This customer growth was driven in particular by the Access segment, where the company was able to add 380,000 Mobile Internet contracts and 70,000 DSL contracts. In the Applications segment, 40,000 contracts and 210,000 ad-financed free accounts were added in the period under review.
With this strong increase in customer contracts, sales growth of 7.0% to € 1.951 billion and an improvement in EBITDA of 15.8% to € 400.3 million, United Internet continued its dynamic development in the first half of 2016.
At the same time, further heavy investments were made in customer retention and the expansion of existing customer relationships – thus laying the basis for future growth.
The company's dynamic development once again highlights the benefits of United Internet's business model based predominantly on electronic subscriptions with fixed monthly payments and contractually fixed terms. This ensures stable and predictable revenues and cash flows, offers protection against cyclical influences and provides the financial scope to grasp opportunities in existing and new business fields and markets – organically or via investments and acquisitions.
With the figures for customer contracts, sales and earnings achieved in the first six months of 2016 and the investments already made, the Management Board believes that the company is well on track to meet its targets and very well positioned for further growth.
As of June 30, 2016, United Internet employed a total of 8,076 people. Compared to the previous year (7,875 employees), headcount increased by 201 staff or 2.6% – due in part to the complete takeover of home.pl as of December 30, 2015.
Of this total, 3,411 people were employed in the Access segment (prior year: 3,105), 4,474 in the Applications segment (prior year: 4,647) and 191 at the Group's headquarters (prior year: 123). The decrease in staff in the Applications segment results in part from the transfer of staff to the Access segment, as well as the transfer of staff to Group headquarters who already performed corporate functions in the past.
Headcount in Germany rose by 92 or 1.5%, from 6,329 employees in the previous year to 6,421 on June 30, 2016. At the Group's companies outside Germany, headcount increased by 109 or 7.1%, from 1,546 in the previous year to 1,655.
| June 30, 2012 |
June 30, 2013(1) |
June 30, 2014 |
June 30, 2015 |
June 30, 2016 |
Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employees, total | 5,972 | 6,329 | 6,700 | 7,875 | 8,076 | + 2.6% |
| thereof in Germany | 4,641 | 4,954 | 5,107 | 6,329 | 6,421 | + 1.5% |
| thereof abroad | 1,331 | 1,375 | 1,593 | 1,546 | 1,655 | + 7.1% |
| Access segment | 1,888 | 1,969 | 1,956 | 3,105 | 3,411 | + 9.9% |
| Applications segment | 4,054 | 4,326 | 4,709 | 4,647 | 4,474 | - 3.7% |
| Headquarters | 30 | 34 | 35 | 123 | 191 | + 55.3% |
(1) As of June 30, 2013, the headcount statistics no longer include inactive employees
Personnel expenses increased by 4.5% in the first six months of 2016, from € 215.3 million in the previous year to € 225.0 million. The personnel expense ratio fell year on year by 0.3 percentage points to 11.5%.
| H1 2012 | H1 2013 | H1 2014 | H1 2015 | H1 2016 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personnel expenses | 132.1 | 150.4 | 165.1 | 215.3 | 225.0 | + 4.5% |
| Personnel expense | 11.4% | 11.7% | 11.5% | 11.8% | 11.5% |
There were no significant events subsequent to the reporting date of June 30, 2016 which had a material effect on the financial position and performance of United Internet AG or affected its accounting and reporting.
The risk and opportunity policy of United Internet AG is based on the objective of maintaining and sustainably enhancing the company's value by utilizing opportunities while at the same time recognizing and managing risks from an early stage in their development. The risk and opportunity management system regulates the responsible handling of those uncertainties which are always involved with economic activity.
Management Board's overall assessment of the Group's risk and opportunity position
The assessment of the overall level of risk is based on a consolidated view of all significant risk fields and individual risks, also taking account of their interdependencies.
In the first half of 2016, the overall risk and opportunity situation remained mostly stable compared with the risk and opportunity report provided in the Annual Financial Statements 2015. There were no recognizable risks which directly jeopardized the continued existence of the United Internet Group during the reporting period nor at the time of preparing this 6-month report, neither from individual risk positions nor from the overall risk situation.
From the current perspective, the main challenges focus on the areas of "potential threats via the internet", "complexity and manipulability of hardware and software used", "political and legal" risks, as well as risks from the fields of "market" and "fraud".
The further expansion of its risk management system enables United Internet to limit such risks to a minimum, where sensible, by implementing specific measures.
In United Internet's non-operating business, non-cash burdens from impairment may arise – as in the first half of 2016 – depending on the further performance of the company's listed investments.
Economic prospects
As a result of the Brexit vote, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its forecast for the global economy and in its updated economic outlook for 2016 (World Economic Outlook, Update July 2016) now anticipates global growth of just 3.1% – 0.3 percentage points down on the beginning of the year (January forecast).
During the course of the year, the IMF has downgraded all its forecasts for United Internet Group's main target markets (with the exception of France) compared to its January outlook.
| 2017e | 2016e | 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | 3.4% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| USA | 2.5% | 2.2% | 2.4% |
| Canada | 2.1% | 1.4% | 1.2% |
| Mexico | 2.6% | 2.5% | 2.5% |
| Eurozone | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| France | 1.2% | 1.5% | 1.1% |
| Spain | 2.1% | 2.6% | 3.2% |
| Italy | 1.0% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| UK | 1.3% | 1.7% | 2.2% |
| Germany | 1.2% | 1.6% | 1.5% |
Market forecast: economic development of United Internet's key target countries and regions
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (Update), July 2016
Following strong revenue growth in the past year, sales of products and services in the IT and telecommunications industry (ICT) have been somewhat slower in Europe during 2016. ICT revenues in the EU states are expected to grow by 0.7% to € 686 billion in 2016, compared to 2.9% in 2015. These are the findings of a recent survey conducted by the European Information Technology Observatory (EITO) which were announced by the digital industry association BITKOM on July 18, 2016. According to the EITO forecast, global ICT sales will rise by 1.8% to € 3.1 trillion.
Further growth is also anticipated for the ICT sector in Germany. In its outlook of March 10, 2016, BITKOM forecasts that the total market for IT, telecommunications and digital consumer electronics in Germany will grow by 1.7% to € 160.2 billion in 2016.
Within the overall market, the IT sector leads the way with expected growth of 3.0% to € 83.5 billion. According to the BITKOM forecast, the telecommunications market will grow by 0.2% to € 67.0 billion. Following several years of decline, sales of consumer electronics look set to stabilize at € 9.6 billion.
| 2016e | 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total ICT market | 160.2 | 157.6 | + 1.7% |
| thereof IT sub-market | 83.5 | 81.1 | + 3.0% |
| thereof telecommunications sub-market | 67.0 | 66.9 | + 0.2% |
| thereof consumer electronics sub-market | 9.6 | 9.6 | + 0.0% |
Source: BITKOM
Of particular importance to United Internet in the ICT market are the German broadband and mobile internet market in its subscription-financed Access segment and the global cloud computing market and German online advertising market in its subscription- and ad-financed Applications segment.
In view of the comparatively high level of household coverage already achieved and the trend toward mobile internet, experts continue to forecast only moderate growth for the German broadband market (landline).
According to the survey "German Entertainment and Media Outlook 2015-2019" (December 2015), PricewaterhouseCoopers expects sales of landline broadband connections to increase by 1.4% to € 8.03 billion in 2016.
| 2016e | 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 8.03 | 7.92 | + 1.4% |
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers
By contrast, all experts continue to predict further strong growth for the mobile internet market. Following market growth of 10.5% to € 6.95 billion in 2015, PricewaterhouseCoopers also expects mobile data services to grow by 9.6% to € 7.62 billion in 2016.
This growth will be driven above all by favorable – and thus for the consumer attractive – prices, as well as by the boom in smartphones and tablet PCs and the respective applications (apps).
| 2016e | 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 7.62 | 6.95 | + 9.6% |
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers
In an update of its study "Forecast Analysis: Public Cloud Services, Worldwide" (August 2015) Gartner forecasts global growth for public cloud services of 16.3%, from \$ 174.7 billion to \$ 203.1 billion in 2016.
| 2015 Change |
|---|
| 174.7 16.3% |
| 39.2 9.4% |
| 31.4 20.7% |
| 3.8 21.1% |
| 15.8 33.5% |
| 5.0 26.0% |
| 79.4 13.7% |
Source: Gartner
Advertisers continued to display a strong willingness to invest in online advertising activities in 2015.
Experts also forecast further growth in 2016. PricewaterhouseCoopers expects an increase of 7.4% to € 6.55 billion. Strong growth is expected once again for mobile online advertising and video advertising with increases of 31.6% and 18.2%, respectively.
| 2016e | 2015 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online advertising revenues | 6.55 | 6.10 | + 7.4% |
| thereof search marketing | 3.24 | 3.01 | + 7.6% |
| thereof display advertising | 1.44 | 1.41 | + 2.1% |
| thereof affiliate / classifieds | 0.98 | 0.97 | + 1.0% |
| thereof mobile online advertising | 0.50 | 0.38 | + 31.6% |
| thereof video advertising | 0.39 | 0.33 | + 18.2% |
Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers
United Internet AG will maintain its policy of sustainable growth in the future and continue to invest in new customers, in new products and business fields, as well as in its continued internationalization.
In view of its product strategy based on flexibility, the specific service promises of the 1&1 Principle, innovative products and excellent value for money, United Internet believes it is very well positioned in its Access segment. In the fiscal year 2016, contract and revenue growth for consumer products is likely to result once again from the marketing of Mobile Internet products and DSL connections. The main focus will be on the further expansion of V-DSL coverage, and the use of the new transmission technology "vectoring" (with speeds up to 100 Mbit/s). In the field of Business solutions under the 1&1 Versatel brand, the focus will lie on data and network solutions for SMEs, as well as the provision of ICT infrastructure services for large corporations.
With its strong and specialized brands, a steadily growing portfolio of cloud applications, and existing relations with millions of small businesses, freelancers and private users, United Internet is also well positioned in its Applications segment to utilize the opportunities offered by cloud computing. In the field of Business Applications, further exploitation of existing target markets is planned. The main focus will be placed on expanding business with existing customers through sales of additional products, such as new top-level domains or marketing tools like 1&1 List Local, and gaining new high-quality customer relationships, e.g. via the 1&1 Cloud Server. In the case of Consumer Applications, the main focus in 2016 will continue to be on monetizing free accounts via advertising, and on secure e-mail communication. A further expansion of the "E-Mail made in Germany" initiative is also targeted.
In addition to organic growth, United Internet continuously examines the possibility of acquisitions, investments and alliances. Thanks to its high and plannable level of cash flow, United Internet has a strong source of internal funding and good access to debt financing markets in order to finance its future growth – whether organic or via acquisitions and investments.
With the figures for customer contracts, sales and earnings achieved in the first half of 2016 and the investments already made, United Internet is well on track to meet its targets.
Due to the good performance of operating business in the first half of 2016, United Internet is upholding its sales and earnings guidance for 2016 with expected sales of approx. € 4 billion and EBITDA of approx. € 850 million. As the acquisition of new customers made better progress than expected, the company is raising its contract guidance by 100,000 new contracts to approx. 900,000.
United Internet AG plans to maintain its shareholder-friendly dividend policy based on continuity in the coming years. Dividend payouts will continue to represent 20-40% of net income in the future (unless funds are required for further company development).
The Management Board of United Internet AG remains upbeat about its prospects for the future. Thanks to a business model based predominantly on electronic subscriptions, United Internet believes it is largely stable enough to withstand cyclical influences. Moreover, with the investments made over the past few years in customer relationships, new business fields and internationalization, as well as via acquisitions and investments, United Internet has laid a broad and stable foundation for its planned future growth. With the exception of currency-induced sales/earnings losses from the UK Applications business due to the high volatility of the British pound (GBP) in the run-up to the Brexit decision and its devaluation thereafter, the Management Board does not expect the Brexit vote to have any impact on the future course of the company.
United Internet will continue to pursue its sustainable business policy in the coming years.
On the basis of the fees proposed by the German Federal Network Agency on June 29, 2016 (Layer 2 bitstream regulatory process), United Internet's Management Board has decided to increase vertical integration – via its own fiber-optic network acquired in 2014 as part of the Versatel takeover – and to produce VDSL/vectoring connections based on the Deutsche Telekom Layer 2 wholesale service. To this end, the company intends to gradually connect its own fiberoptic network in the coming years, as cost effectively as possible, with initially up to 500 of the total 900 BNGs (Broadband Network Gateways) of Deutsche Telekom. This will enable it to reach approx. 70% of the approx. 32.4 million VDSL households in Germany (planned Telekom footprint end of 2018). The new VDSL/vectoring connections will target both new customers as well as the 4.39 million existing DSL customers throughout Germany at present. Depending on the company's own customer development and the further expansion of Telekom's footprint, it is possible that connections to further BNGs may be added. The first orders for the Layer 2 wholesale product can be placed as of November 1, 2016.
Although the Layer 2 fees have not yet been finally decided, United Internet expects lower production costs per month and connection in the medium term than when using the Layer 3 wholesale services of Deutsche Telekom – despite the fact that the fees proposed by the German Federal Network Agency are still well above those stated in various specialist reports. The necessary investment volume to connect to the BNGs and the specific cost savings are currently being calculated on the basis of the existing fee proposal and a cost-optimized expansion strategy. In regions outside United Internet's own network, the company will continue to use VDSL/vectoring wholesale services on the Layer 3 basis. In addition, ADSL connections will continue to be provided in the coming years via the company's own network as well as via various pre-service providers.
In the field of Mobile Internet products, United Internet will continue to use the wholesale services of Vodafone and Telefónica / E-Plus. Based on its MVNO contract with E-Plus, the United Internet brand 1&1 can provide LTE speeds (4G) for ever more of its customers – due to the growing consolidation of the Telefónica and E-Plus networks. 1&1 LTE is already available in all major German cities and conurbations: e.g. in Aachen, Bergisch Gladbach, Berlin, Baden-Baden, Bonn, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Chemnitz, Coburg, Cologne, Cottbus, Darmstadt, Dresden, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Erfurt, Erlangen, Frankfurt/Main, Fürth, Giessen, Göttingen, Hagen, Halle/Saale, Hamburg, Hanover, Heilbronn, Jena, Kaiserslautern, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Koblenz, Konstanz, Krefeld, Landau, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Magdeburg, Mainz, Mannheim, Mönchengladbach, Munich, Neuss, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Nuremberg, Offenbach am Main, Offenburg, Oldenburg, Paderborn, Pforzheim, Pirmasens, Potsdam, Rastatt, Regensburg, Remscheid, Reutlingen, Rostock, Saarbrücken, Schweinfurt, Siegen, Singen, Solingen, Stuttgart, Trier, Ulm, Villingen-Schwenningen, Wiesbaden, Wuppertal, Würzburg, in large parts of the Ruhr district and Rhineland, as well as in many other towns and regions. Further areas will be added as the Telefónica / E-Plus network consolidation advances.
With its new 1&1 Fiber-Optic Business product, United Internet has been offering true gigabit bandwidth for SMEs in over 250 cities since July 2016, with plug-and-play functionality and favorable conditions. The product's technology is provided by 1&1 Versatel. Due to IT outsourcing via cloud services, digital production processes or networked CRM applications, the bandwidth needs of companies has grown several times over the past few years. This trend will continue: according to experts, German companies will need over ten times the current internet bandwidth on average by 2026. Powerful internet access is thus becoming an important key to success. With the new 1&1 Fiber-Optic Business 1,000 tariff, for example, 1&1 guarantees download speeds of 1,000 MBit/s with upload speeds of up to 200 MBit/s. In contrast to DSL, the bandwidth of fiberoptic connections are guaranteed irrespective of the line quality. If more performance is required, greater bandwidth can be provided via the same line – 1&1 Versatel currently offers customers up to 100 Gbit/s. 1&1 Versatel provides network connections into the building for its customers.
Following the good performance of operating business in the first half of 2016, United Internet's Management Board believes that the company is still on track (at the time of preparing this halfyearly financial report) to reach its forecasts for the full year 2016, as presented in the table below.
| 12/2015 | Forecast 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee-based customer contracts | 15.97 million | + approx. 900,000 (800,000 + 100,000) |
| Sales | € 3.716 billion | approx. € 4 billion |
| EBITDA | € 771.2 million(1) | approx. € 850 million |
(1) Including special items of € 14.0 million from the sale of Goldbach shares and part of the stake in virtual minds
This 6-month report contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations, assumptions, and projections of the Management Board of United Internet AG and currently available information. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties and are based upon expectations, assumptions, and projections that may not prove to be accurate. United Internet AG does not guarantee that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and does not accept any obligation, nor have the intention, to adjust or update the forward-looking statements contained in this interim report.
In order to ensure the clear and transparent presentation of United Internet's business trend, the financial statements include key financial performance indicators – in addition to the disclosures required by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – such as EBITDA, the EBITDA margin, EBIT, the EBIT margin and free cash flow. Insofar as required for clear and transparent presentation, these indicators are adjusted for special items. Such special items usually refer solely to those effects capable of restricting the validity of the key financial performance indicators with regard to the company's financial and earnings performance – due to their nature, frequency and/ or magnitude. All special items are presented and explained for the purpose of reconciliation with the unadjusted financial figures in the relevant section of the financial statements.
as of June 30, 2016 in €k
| June 30, 2016 | December 31, 2015 | |
|---|---|---|
| ASSETS | ||
| Current assets | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents | 88,094 | 84,261 |
| Trade accounts receivable | 218,114 | 218,074 |
| Inventories | 49,542 | 42,509 |
| Prepaid expenses | 119,451 | 82,633 |
| Other financial assets | 20,145 | 22,840 |
| Other non-financial assets | 119,572 | 114,575 |
| 614,918 | 564,892 | |
| Non-current assets | ||
| Shares in associated companies | 754,043 | 468,366 |
| Other financial assets | 260,181 | 448,959 |
| Property, plant and equipment | 652,555 | 665,195 |
| Intangible assets | 328,017 | 344,033 |
| Goodwill | 1,127,806 | 1,137,795 |
| Trade accounts receivable | 49,280 | 37,431 |
| Prepaid expenses | 135,652 | 102,438 |
| Deferred tax assets | 114,461 | 108,512 |
| 3,421,995 | 3,312,729 | |
| Total assets | 4,036,913 | 3,877,621 |
June 30, 2016 December 31, 2015
| LIABILITIES AND EQUITY | ||
|---|---|---|
| Liabilities | ||
| Current liabilities | ||
| Trade accounts payable | 397,971 | 395,862 |
| Liabilities due to banks | 24,325 | 29,332 |
| Advance payments received | 11,701 | 15,084 |
| Income taxes liabilities | 50,958 | 129,586 |
| Deferred revenue | 231,515 | 233,036 |
| Other accrued liabilities | 22,154 | 23,835 |
| Other financial liabilities | 126,734 | 105,445 |
| Other non-financial liabilities | 28,941 | 36,805 |
| 894,299 | 968,985 | |
| Non-current liabilities | ||
| Liabilities due to banks | 1,845,137 | 1,507,170 |
| Deferred tax liabilities | 88,619 | 89,080 |
| Trade accounts payable | 6,960 | 4,042 |
| Deferred revenue | 24,662 | 26,856 |
| Other accrued liabilities | 37,298 | 36,209 |
| Other financial liabilities | 90,401 | 95,521 |
| 2,093,077 | 1,758,878 | |
| Total liabilities | 2,987,376 | 2,727,863 |
| Equity | ||
| Capital stock | 205,000 | 205,000 |
| Capital reserves | 373,610 | 372,203 |
| Accumulated profit | 487,316 | 695,799 |
| Treasury stock | - 11,794 | - 26,318 |
| Revaluation reserves | 8,367 | - 96,021 |
| Currency translation adjustment | - 13,261 | - 1,443 |
| Equity attributable to shareholders of the parent company | 1,049,238 | 1,149,220 |
| Non-controlling interests | 299 | 538 |
| Total equity | 1,049,537 | 1,149,758 |
Total liabilities and equity 4,036,913 3,877,621
from January 1 to June 30, 2016 in €k
| 2016 January – June |
2015 January – June |
|
|---|---|---|
| Sales | 1,951,153 | 1,823,355 |
| Cost of sales | - 1,292,907 | - 1,216,199 |
| Gross profit | 658,246 | 607,156 |
| Selling expenses | - 269,746 | - 293,868 |
| General and administrative expenses | - 92,645 | - 84,295 |
| Other operating expenses / income | 7,563 | 13,329 |
| Operating result | 303,418 | 242,322 |
| Financial result | - 13,445 | - 1,179 |
| Amortization of financial assets | - 254,905 | 0 |
| Result from associated companies | 1,885 | - 2,336 |
| Pre-tax result | 36,953 | 238,807 |
| Income taxes | - 87,965 | - 64,626 |
| Net income before non-controlling interests | - 51,012 | 174,181 |
| Attributable to | ||
| non-controlling interests | 90 | 16 |
| shareholders of United Internet AG | - 51,102 | 174,165 |
| 2016 January – June |
2015 January – June |
|
|---|---|---|
| Result per share of shareholders of United Internet AG (in €) | ||
| - basic | - 0.25 | 0.85 |
| - diluted | - 0.25 | 0.85 |
| Weighted average shares (in million units) | ||
| - basic | 204.12 | 203.80 |
| - diluted | 204.90 | 205.12 |
| Statement of comprehensive income | ||
| Net income | - 51,012 | 174,181 |
| Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss | ||
| Currency translation adjustment - unrealized | - 11,818 | 13,104 |
| Market value changes of available-for-sale financial instruments before taxes - unrealized |
- 2,521 | - 161,487 |
| Tax effect | 36 | 2,438 |
| Market value changes of available-for-sale financial instruments before taxes - realized |
106,873 | 0 |
| Tax effect | 0 | 0 |
| Other comprehensive income | 92,570 | - 145,945 |
| Total comprehensive income | 41,558 | 28,236 |
| Attributable to | ||
| non-controlling interests | 90 | 16 |
| shareholders of United Internet AG | 41,468 | 28,220 |
from January 1 to June 30, 2016 in €k
| 2016 January – June |
2015 January – June |
|
|---|---|---|
| Cash flow from operating activities | ||
| Net income | - 51,012 | 174,181 |
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities |
||
| Depreciation and amortization of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment |
74,103 | 86,114 |
| Amortization of intangible assets resulting from company acquisitions | 22,804 | 22,903 |
| Amortization of financial assets | 254,905 | 0 |
| Share-based payment expense | 1,407 | 1,650 |
| Result from equity accounted investments | - 1,885 | 2,336 |
| Share of profit of associated companies | 19,272 | 0 |
| Change in deferred taxes | - 6,410 | - 9,099 |
| Other non-cash positions | - 7,295 | - 26,439 |
| Operative cash flow | 305,889 | 251,646 |
| Change in assets and liabilities | ||
| Change in receivables and other assets | - 18,412 | 22,596 |
| Change in inventories | - 7,033 | 3,183 |
| Change in deferred expenses | - 70,033 | - 83,488 |
| Change in trade accounts payable | 1,543 | - 37,198 |
| Change in advance payments received | - 3,383 | 3,056 |
| Change in other accrued liabilities | - 592 | - 3,438 |
| Change in liabilities income taxes | - 78,627 | 8,788 |
| Change in other liabilities | 16,347 | - 13,827 |
| Change in deferred income | - 100 | 7,188 |
| Change in assets and liabilities, total | - 160,290 | - 93,140 |
| Cash flow from operating activities (before capital gains tax refund) | 145,599 | 158,506 |
| Capital gains tax refund | 0 | 326,013 |
| Cash flow from operating activities | 145,599 | 484,519 |
| 2016 January – June |
2015 January – June |
|
|---|---|---|
| Cash flow from investing activities | ||
| Capital expenditure for intangible assets and property, plant and equipment | - 72,231 | - 70,652 |
| Payments from disposals of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment |
1,546 | 11,015 |
| Payments for company acquisitions less cash received | - 238 | 0 |
| Purchase of shares in associated companies | - 264,226 | - 417,773 |
| Investments in other financial assets | - 104 | - 58,852 |
| Payments for loans granted | - 572 | - 958 |
| Payments from loans granted | 2,817 | 250 |
| Proceeds from sale of financial assets | 4,464 | 18,165 |
| Refunding from other financial assets | 0 | 179 |
| Cash flow from investing activities | - 328,544 | - 518,626 |
| Cash flow from financing activities | ||
| Sale of treasury shares in connection with an employee stock ownership program |
7,721 | 0 |
| Taking out / repayment of loans | 332,958 | 178,968 |
| Redemption of finance lease liabilities | - 7,859 | - 7,885 |
| Dividend payments | - 142,857 | - 122,260 |
| Profit distributions to non-controlling interests | - 329 | 0 |
| Cash flow from financing activities | 189,634 | 48,823 |
| Net increase in cash and cash equivalents | 6,689 | 14,716 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of fiscal year | 84,261 | 50,829 |
| Currency translation adjustments of cash and cash equivalents | - 2,856 | 1,952 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of fiscal year | 88,094 | 67,497 |
from January 1 to June 30, 2016 in €k
| Capital stock | Capital Accumulated |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| reserves | profit | Treasury stock | |||||
| Share | €k | €k | €k | Share | €k | ||
| Balance as of January 1, 2015 | 205,000,000 | 205,000 | 369,353 | 460,671 | 1,232,338 | - 35,335 | |
| Net income | 174,165 | ||||||
| Other comprehensive income | |||||||
| Total comprehensive income | 174,165 | ||||||
| Issue of treasury stock | - 7,788 | - 265,320 | 7,788 | ||||
| Employee stock ownership program | 1,650 | ||||||
| Dividend payments | - 122,260 | ||||||
| Balance as of June 30, 2015 | 205,000,000 | 205,000 | 371,003 | 504,788 | 967,018 | - 27,547 | |
| Balance as of January 1, 2016 | 205,000,000 | 205,000 | 372,203 | 695,799 | 917,859 | - 26,318 | |
| Net income | - 51,102 | ||||||
| Other comprehensive income | |||||||
| Total comprehensive income | - 51,102 | ||||||
| Issue of treasury stock | - 14,524 | - 506,401 | 14,524 | ||||
| Employee stock ownership program | 1,407 | ||||||
| Dividend payments | - 142,857 | ||||||
| Profit distributions | |||||||
| Balance as of June 30, 2016 | 205,000,000 | 205,000 | 373,610 | 487,316 | 411,458 | - 11,794 |
| Total equity |
Non controlling interests |
Equity attributable to shareholders of United Internet AG |
Currency translation adjustments |
Revaluation reserves |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €k | €k | €k | €k | €k |
| 1,204,729 | 741 | 1,203,988 | - 12,446 | 216,745 |
| 174,181 | 16 | 174,165 | ||
| - 145,945 | - 145,945 | 13,104 | - 159,049 | |
| 28,236 | 16 | 28,220 | 13,104 | - 159,049 |
| 0 | ||||
| 1,650 | 1,650 | |||
| - 122,260 | - 122,260 | |||
| 1,112,355 | 757 | 1,111,598 | 658 | 57,696 |
| 1,149,758 | 538 | 1,149,220 | - 1,443 | - 96,021 |
| - 51,012 | 90 | - 51,102 | ||
| 92,570 | 92,570 | - 11,818 | 104,388 | |
| 41,558 | 90 | 41,468 | - 11,818 | 104,388 |
| 0 | ||||
| 1,407 | 1,407 | |||
| - 142,857 | - 142,857 | |||
| - 329 | - 329 | 0 | ||
| 1,049,537 | 299 | 1,049,238 | - 13,261 | 8,367 |
United Internet AG is a service company operating in the telecommunication and information technology sector with registered offices at Elgendorfer Strasse 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany. The company is registered at the district court of Montabaur under HR B 5762.
As was the case with the Consolidated Financial Statements as of December 31, 2015, the Interim Report of United Internet AG as of June 30, 2016 was prepared in compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as applicable in the European Union (EU).
The Condensed Consolidated Interim Report for the period January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016 was prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting.
A condensed reporting format was chosen for the presentation of this Consolidated Interim Report, as compared with the Consolidated Financial Statements, and is thus to be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements as of December 31, 2015. With the exception of the mandatory new standards described below, the accounting and valuation principles applied in the Condensed Consolidated Interim Report comply with the methods applied in the previous year.
The following standards were mandatory in the EU for the first time in the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2016:
| Standard | Mandatory for fiscal years beginning on or after |
Endorsed by EU Commission |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| IFRS 11 | Joint Arrangements (amendments) | Jan. 1, 2016 | Yes |
| IAS 1 | Presentation of Financial Statements (amendments) | Jan. 1, 2016 | Yes |
| IAS 16 | Property, Plant and Equipment (amendments) | Jan. 1, 2016 | Yes |
| IAS 19 | Defined Benefit Plans: Employee Contributions (amendments) | July 1, 2014 | Yes, as of Feb. 1, 2015 |
| IAS 27 | Separate Financial Statements | Jan. 1, 2016 | Yes |
| IAS 38 | Intangible Assets (amendments) | Jan. 1, 2016 | Yes |
| Various | Annual Improvement Project 2010-2012 | July 1, 2014 | Yes, as of Feb. 1, 2015 |
| Various | Annual Improvement Project 2012-2014 | Jan. 1, 2016 | Yes |
The IFRS amendments will not have any significant impact for the fiscal year.
The preparation of the Condensed Consolidated Interim Report requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities, and the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the end of the reporting period. However, the uncertainty associated with these assumptions and estimates could lead to results which require material adjustments to the carrying amount of the asset or liability affected in future periods.
The Consolidated Interim Report includes all subsidiaries and associated companies.
The following companies were founded or acquired in the reporting period 2016:
In the reporting period 2016, shares were acquired in the following associated companies: Tele Columbus AG, Berlin
Otherwise, the consolidated group remained largely unchanged from that stated in the Consolidated Financial Statements as at December 31, 2015.
This Consolidated Interim Report was not audited according to Sec. 317 HGB nor reviewed by an auditor.
Via its subsidiary United Internet Ventures AG, United Internet contractually secured the acquisition of a share package amounting to approx. 15.31% of shares in Tele Columbus AG, Berlin, Germany on February 10, 2016. At the time, the closing of the acquisition was subject to approval by the German anti-trust authority ("Bundeskartellamt"). This approval was granted on March 7, 2016. After closing the acquisition, United Internet has a total indirect shareholding – together with further shares acquired – of 25.11% in Tele Columbus.
In the second quarter, United Internet sold its 430,454 shares (8.37% stake) in HiPay Group S.A., Paris / France, in an over-the-counter transaction at a price of € 10.37 per share and thus for a total of € 4.5 million. This share sale resulted in other operating income of € 935k.
According to IFRS 8, the identification of operating segments to be included in the reporting process is based on the so-called management approach. External reporting should therefore be based on the Group's internal organization and management structure, as well as internal financial reporting to the "Chief Operating Decision Maker". In the United Internet Group, the Management Board is responsible for assessing and controlling the success of the various segments.
The Management Board of United Internet AG mainly controls operations on the basis of key earnings figures. The Management Board of United Internet AG measures segment success primarily on the basis of sales revenues, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and the result of ordinary operations (EBIT). Transactions between segments are charged at market prices. Sales revenues outside Germany stated for information purposes are allocated to the country in which the company is domiciled.
The reconciliation of earnings before taxes (EBT) represents the corresponding EBT contribution of the "Access" and "Applications" segments.
Segment reporting of United Internet AG in the reporting period of 2016 and 2015 was as shown in the tables on the next page.
Personnel expenses amounted to € 224,980k in the reporting period of 2016 (prior year: € 215,277k). At the end of June 2016, United Internet employed a total of 8,076 people, of which 1,655 were employed outside Germany. The number of employees at the end of June 2015 amounted to 7,875, of which 1,546 were employed outside Germany.
Depreciation and amortization of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment amounted to € 74,103k (prior year: € 86,114k).
Amortization of capitalized intangible assets resulting from business combinations amounted to € 22,804k (prior year: € 22,903k)
Total depreciation and amortization of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment thus amounted to € 96,907k in the reporting period of 2016 (prior year: € 109,017k).
| January - June 2016 | Access segment €k |
Applications segment €k |
Corporate €k |
Recon ciliation €k |
United Internet Group €k |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Segment revenues | 1,434,721 | 535,062 | 91 | - 18,721 | 1,951,153 |
| - thereof domestic | 1,434,721 | 322,017 | 91 | - 18,721 | 1,738,108 |
| - thereof non-domestic | 0 | 213,045 | 0 | 0 | 213,045 |
| EBITDA | 248,995 | 155,386 | - 4,056 | 0 | 400,325 |
| EBIT | 181,093 | 126,934 | - 4,609 | 0 | 303,418 |
| Financial result | 388 | - 13,833 | - 13,445 | ||
| Writedowns on investments | - 254,905 | 0 | - 254,905 | ||
| Result from at-equity companies | 61 | 1,824 | 1,885 | ||
| EBT | - 259,065 | 296,018 | 36,953 | ||
| Tax expense | - 87,965 | - 87,965 | |||
| Net income Investments in intangible assets, property, plant and equipment (without goodwill) |
53,830 | 17,718 | 500 | - | - 51,012 72,048 |
| Amortization/depreciation - thereof intangible assets and property, plant |
67,902 | 28,452 | 553 | - | 96,907 |
| and equipment - thereof assets capitalized during company acquisitions |
48,091 19,811 |
25,459 2,993 |
553 0 |
- - |
74,103 22,804 |
| Number of employees | 3,411 | 4,474 | 191 | - | 8,076 |
| - thereof domestic | 3,411 | 2,819 | 191 | - | 6,421 |
| - thereof non-domestic | 0 | 1,655 | 0 | - | 1,655 |
| Segment revenues | 1,338,698 | 496,766 | 118 | - 12,227 | 1,823,355 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - thereof domestic | 1,338,698 | 305,402 | 118 | - 12,227 | 1,631,991 |
| - thereof non-domestic | 0 | 191,364 | 0 | 0 | 191,364 |
| EBITDA | 217,588 | 136,041 | - 2,290 | 0 | 351,339 |
| EBIT | 138,525 | 106,331 | - 2,534 | 0 | 242,322 |
| Financial result | 6,245 | - 7,424 | - 1,179 | ||
| Result from at-equity companies | - 2,518 | 182 | - 2,336 | ||
| EBT | 1,193 | 237,614 | 238,807 | ||
| Tax expense | - 64,626 | - 64,626 | |||
| Net income Investments in intangible assets, property, plant and equipment (without goodwill) |
54,912 | 25,148 | 119 | - | 174,181 80,179 |
| Amortization/depreciation - thereof intangible assets and property, plant |
79,063 | 29,710 | 244 | - | 109,017 |
| and equipment - thereof assets capitalized during company acquisitions |
59,399 19,664 |
26,471 3,239 |
244 0 |
- - |
86,114 22,903 |
| Number of employees | 3,105 | 4,647 | 123 | - | 7,875 |
| - thereof domestic | 3,079 | 3,127 | 123 | - | 6,329 |
| - thereof non-domestic | 26 | 1,520 | 0 | - | 1,546 |
Explanations are only given for those items which display notable changes in the amounts presented as compared with the last consolidated financial statements.
The following table gives an overview of the development of shares in associated companies:
| 2016 | |
|---|---|
| €k | |
| Carrying amount at the beginning of the fiscal year | 468,366 |
| Additions | 303,401 |
| Adjustments | |
| - Dividends | - 19,272 |
| - Shares in result | 1,885 |
| - Other | - 336 |
| Disposals | 0 |
| 754,043 |
Additions mainly refer to shares held in Tele Columbus AG. Please see Note 3 for details.
The development of these shares was as follows:
| Amortization of revaluation reserve |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 1, 2016 €k |
Additions €k |
Recycling €k |
Change €k |
Impair ment €k |
Reclassifi cation €k |
Disposals €k |
June 30, 2016 €k |
|
| Hi-media shares | 1,380 | 117 | 1,497 | |||||
| HiPay shares | 3,792 | - 935 | 935 | - 263 | - 3,529 | 0 | ||
| Afilias shares | 8,720 | 8,720 | ||||||
| Rocket Internet shares | 387,448 | 106,874 | - 254,636 | 239,686 | ||||
| Tele Columbus shares | 35,530 | 79,083 | - 2,715 | - 111,898 | 0 | |||
| Others | 12,089 | 676 | - 6 | 336 | - 2,817 | 10,278 | ||
| 448,959 | 79,759 | - 935 | 105,211 | - 254,905 | - 111,562 | - 6,346 | 260,181 |
The additions mainly refer to the increase in shares held in Tele Columbus AG. The reclassification of shares in Tele Columbus was due to the purchase of further shares resulting in a total stake of 25.11% and thus its balance sheet classification as an associated company. We refer to Note 3.
A non-cash-effective writedown of listed shares in Rocket Internet of € 156.7 million was already made in the first quarter of 2016. As already described in the accounting and valuation methods presented in the annual financial statements 2015, if an impairment is recognized for an availablefor-sale financial asset for the first time, all further declines in the fair value in subsequent periods must also be recognized as impairments. In this connection, a further non-cash-effective writedown of shares in Rocket Internet of € 97.9 million was made in the second quarter.
Based on the same impairment rules, a non-cash-effective writedown of shares in HiPay amounting to € 263k was made in the first quarter of 2016. The non-cash-effective sale of shares in HiPay during the second quarter of 2016 resulted in other operating income of € 935k.
A total of € 72,048k (prior year: € 80,179k) was invested in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets during the interim reporting period. Investments focused mainly on telecommunication equipment and software.
Goodwill of € 1,127,806k disclosed as of June 30, 2016 includes assets belonging to the Access segment of € 506,482k.
The purchase price allocation for the acquisition of the home.pl S.A. Group is still preliminary as of June 30, 2016.
Non-current prepaid expenses result from prepayments made in connection with long-term procurement contracts.
Bank liabilities as of June 30, 2016 result mainly from a syndicated loan totaling € 750 million concluded in August 2014, comprising two tranches with terms to 2017 and 2019, and a promissory note loan of € 600 million divided into 4 tranches with varying terms from 2017 to 2022.
In addition, there is a revolving syndicated loan facility of € 810 million with a term until July 9, 2020 which was utilized to the amount of € 500 million as of June 30, 2016. Consequently, the proportion of the revolving syndicated loan facility not yet drawn amounts to € 310 million.
Current financial liabilities consist mainly of marketing and selling expenses, salary liabilities, and liabilities resulting from finance leases.
Non-current financial liabilities result largely from liabilities from finance leases.
As of June 30, 2016, the fully paid-in capital stock amounted to € 205,000,000 (unchanged from December 31, 2015) divided into 205,000,000 registered no-par shares with a theoretical share in the capital stock of € 1 each.
On June 30, 2016, the Management Board of United Internet AG resolved to launch a new share buyback program. In the course of this new share buyback program, up to 5,000,000 shares in the company (corresponding to approx. 2.44% of capital stock) are to be bought back via the stock exchange. The buyback follows the authorization of the Annual Shareholders' Meeting of May 22, 2014 to purchase treasury shares representing up to 10% of capital stock. The authorization was issued for the period up to September 22, 2017.
At the same time, the current share buyback program adopted by the Management Board on June 13, 2014 – also based on the authorization of the Annual Shareholders' Meeting of May 22, 2014 – was ended. In the course of this share buyback program, a total of 800,000 treasury shares were repurchased. As of June 30, 2016, United Internet holds 411,358 treasury shares. This corresponds to around 0.20% of the capital stock of € 205,000,000.
Treasury shares can be used for all purposes permitted under the regulations of Germany's Stock Corporation Law and stated in the authorization of the Annual Shareholders' Meeting of May 22, 2014, in particular for current and future employee stock ownership plans and / or as an acquisition currency, but may also be cancelled.
The change in revaluation reserves results mainly from the subsequent valuation and impairment of shares in Rocket Internet as well as the subsequent valuation of Hi-Media and sale of HiPay. Please see Note 8 for details.
United Internet AG
The employee stock ownership plans of the United Internet Group employ virtual stock options (so-called Stock Appreciation Rights - SARs). The changes in the virtual stock options granted and outstanding are shown in the following table:
| Average | ||
|---|---|---|
| SAR | strike price (€) | |
| Outstanding as of December 31, 2015 | 2,875,000 | 22,78 |
| Issued | 150,000 | 43,76 |
| Issued | 120,000 | 43,49 |
| Issued | 250,000 | 44,06 |
| Issued | 75,000 | 43,51 |
| Issued | 30,000 | 43,45 |
| Exercised | - 125,000 | 12,03 |
| Exercised | - 20,000 | 12,12 |
| Exercised | - 100,000 | 13,43 |
| Exercised | - 325,000 | 16,06 |
| Exercised | - 75,000 | 18,13 |
| Exercised | - 75,000 | 21,95 |
| Exercised | - 15,000 | 30,11 |
| Exercised | - 85,000 | 31,15 |
| Exercised | - 25,000 | 32,79 |
| Outstanding as of June 30, 2016 | 2,655,000 | 29,24 |
In the second quarter of 2016, a new employee stock ownership program ("ESOP") was introduced for active core employees of those companies in which United Internet AG holds a stake of at least 50%. The ESOP is designed to involve employees more in the development of the United Internet Group and the United Internet AG share, while raising staff motivation and performance and in particular their ties with the United Internet Group, i.e. to honor their continued work for the company (loyalty). The ESOP consists of two components: firstly, qualifying employees will receive the option to buy a specific number of shares in United Internet AG ("United Internet shares") at a reduced price, which they must then hold for a vesting period of two years. On completion of the vesting period, participants will be granted further shares for free provided they are still working for the company. On achievement of defined "ambition figures", the qualifying employees will receive additional free shares (performance shares).
Of the 5,638 qualifying employees in total, 1,955 employees or 35% of those entitled have accepted the offer and subscribed for a total of 213,200 shares in United Internet AG. As of June 30, 2016, the Group incurred expenses of € 0.7 million for the employee stock ownership program.
The fair values of financial assets and liabilities correspond to their respective carrying values.
The following table presents the carrying values of each category of financial assets and liabilities as of June 30, 2016:
| Valuation category acc. to IAS 39 |
Carrying value on June 30, 2016 €k |
Amortized cost €k |
Fair value not through profit or loss €k |
Fair value through profit or loss €k |
Valuation acc. to IAS 17 €k |
Fair value on June 30, 2016 €k |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial assets | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | lar | 88,094 | 88,094 | 88,094 | |||
| Trade accounts receivable | lar/n/a | ||||||
| Receivables from finance leases | n/a | 53,982 | 53,982 | 54,891 | |||
| Others | lar | 213,412 | 213,412 | 213,412 | |||
| Other current financial assets | lar | 20,145 | 20,145 | 20,145 | |||
| Other non-current financial assets | lar/afs | ||||||
| Investments | afs | 249,903 | 8,720 | 241,183 | 249,903 | ||
| Others | lar | 10,278 | 10,278 | 11,554 | |||
| Financial liabilities | |||||||
| Trade accounts payable | flac | - 404,947 | - 404,947 | - 404,947 | |||
| Liabilities due to banks | flac | - 1,869,462 | - 1,869,462 | - 1,886,310 | |||
| Other financial liabilities | flac/n/a | ||||||
| Finance leases | n/a | - 98,055 | - 98,055 | - 100,306 | |||
| Others | flac | - 119,081 | - 119,081 | - 119,081 | |||
| Of which aggregated acc. to valuation categories: | |||||||
| Loans and receivables (lar) | lar | 331,929 | 331,929 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 333,205 |
| Available-for-sale (afs) | afs | 249,903 | 8,720 | 241,183 | 0 | 0 | 249,903 |
| Financial liabilities measured at amortized cost (flac) |
flac | - 2,393,490 | - 2,393,490 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - 2,410,338 |
| Finance leases | n/a | - 44,073 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - 44,073 | - 45,415 |
Valuation acc. to IAS 39
The fair values of financial instruments were measured on the basis of market information available on the reporting date.
The fair value of other non-current financial assets differs from the carrying amount as prorated loss assumptions from at-equity accounting were allocated to existing loans.
Fair values of available-for-sale financial assets are derived from quoted market prices in active markets, if available, or otherwise estimated using appropriate valuation techniques. Investments which are categorized as available-for-sale financial assets and whose fair value cannot be estimated using valuation techniques due to uncertainties, are measured at cost.
Compared to December 31, 2015, there were no significant changes in the composition of financial instruments nor the methods and assumptions applied to measure fair value.
Hierarchy of assets and liabilities measured at fair value:
| As of June 30, 2016 €k |
Level 1 €k |
Level 2 €k |
As of Dec. 31, 2015 €k |
Level 1 €k |
Level 2 €k |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available-for-sale financial assets |
||||||
| Listed shares | 241,183 | 241,183 | 428,150 | 428,150 |
The hierarchy for determining and disclosing the fair value of financial instruments by valuation technique did not change from that used as of December 31, 2015.
IAS 24 defines related parties as those persons and companies that control or can exert a significant influence over the other party. Mr. Ralph Dommermuth, the major shareholder, as well as the members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board of United Internet AG, were classified as related parties.
There were no changes to the circle of related parties as compared with the consolidated financial statements as at December 31, 2015.
The number of shares and subscription rights in United Internet AG held directly or indirectly by members of the Management Board and Supervisory Board as of June 30, 2016 is shown in the following table:
| Management Board | Shares (units) |
Supervisory Board | Shares (units) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Dommermuth | 82,000,000 | Kurt Dobitsch | - |
| Robert Hoffmann | 211,907 | Kai-Uwe Ricke | - |
| Jan Oetjen | 14,033 | Michael Scheeren | 300,000 |
| Frank Krause | 920 | ||
| Martin Witt | 24,864 | ||
| Total | 82,251,724 | Total | 300,000 |
United Internet's premises in Montabaur and Karlsruhe are leased in part from Mr. Ralph Dommermuth. The resulting rent expenses are customary and amounted to € 4,095k in the reporting period (prior year: € 3,732k).
The United Internet Group can also exert a material influence on its associated companies.
No significant transactions took place.
There were no significant events subsequent to the reporting period which may have resulted in a different representation of the Company's financial position and performance.
Montabaur, August 11, 2016
United Internet AG
Ralph Dommermuth Robert Hoffmann Frank Krause
Jan Oetjen Martin Witt
To the best of our knowledge, and in accordance with the applicable accounting principles for interim reporting, the consolidated interim financial statements give, in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles, a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Group, and the Interim Group Management Report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Group, together with a description of the principal opportunities and risks associated with the expected development of the Group in the remaining fiscal year.
Montabaur, August 11, 2016
The Management Board
Ralph Dommermuth Robert Hoffmann Frank Krause
Jan Oetjen Martin Witt
Quarterly development in € million
| Q3 2015 | Q4 2015 | Q1 2016 | Q2 2016 | Q2 2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 931.4 | 960.9 | 968.6 | 982.6 | 918.3 |
| Cost of sales | - 617.0 | - 602.6 | - 635.7 | - 657.2 | - 614.6 |
| Gross profit | 314.4 | 358.3 | 332.9 | 325.3 | 303.7 |
| Selling expenses | - 129.1 | - 134.2 | - 133.9 | - 135.8 | - 150.8 |
| General and administrative expenses | - 43.9 | - 52.7 | - 46.1 | - 46.5 | - 43.2 |
| Other operating expenses / income | 8.3 | - 7.6 | 1.1 | 6.5 | 13.5 |
| Operating result | 149.7 | 163.7 | 154.0 | 149.4 | 123.2 |
| Financial result | - 6.6 | - 6.2 | - 8.8 | - 4.6 | 4.5 |
| Amortization of financial assets | 0.0 | - 5.3 | - 156.9 | - 98.0 | 0.0 |
| Result from associated companies | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.0 | - 1.2 |
| Pre-tax result | 144.1 | 152.2 | - 10.8 | 47.8 | 126.5 |
| Income taxes | - 44.3 | - 59.6 | - 44.8 | - 43.2 | - 30.9 |
| Net income before non-controlling interests |
99.8 | 92.6 | - 55.6 | 4.6 | 95.6 |
| Attributable to | |||||
| non-controlling interests | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| shareholders of United Internet AG | 99.7 | 92.5 | 55.6 | 4.5 | 95.6 |
| Result per share of shareholders of United Internet AG (in €) |
|||||
| - basic | 0.49 | 0.46 | - 0.27 | 0.02 | 0.46 |
| - diluted | 0.48 | 0.46 | - 0.27 | 0.02 | 0.46 |
| March 17, 2016 | Annual financial statements for fiscal year 2015 press and analyst conference |
|---|---|
| May 17, 2016 | Interim Statement for the first quarter 2016 |
| May 19, 2016 | Annual Shareholders' Meeting, Alte Oper, Frankfurt/Main |
| August 11, 2016 | 6-Month Report 2016 press and analyst conference |
November 15, 2016 Interim Statement for the first 9 months 2016
United Internet AG Elgendorfer Straße 57 D-56410 Montabaur Germany www.united-internet.com
Investor Relations Phone: +49(0) 2602 96-1100 Fax: +49(0) 2602 96-1013 E-mail: [email protected]
August 2016 Registry court: Montabaur HRB 5762
Due to calculation processes, tables and references may produce rounding differences from the mathematically exact values (monetary units, percentage statements, etc.).
This 6-Month Report is available in German and English. Both versions can also be downloaded from www.united-internet.de. In all cases of doubt, the German version shall prevail.
This 6-Month Report contains certain forward-looking statements which reflect the current views of United Internet AG's management with regard to future events. These forward looking statements are based on our currently valid plans, estimates and expectations. The forward-looking statements made in this 6-Month Report are only based on those facts valid at the time when the statements were made. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, as well as other factors which United Internet often cannot influence but which might cause our actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by these statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors are described in detail in the Risk Report section of the Annual Reports of United Internet AG. United Internet does not intend to revise or update any forward-looking statements set out in this 6-Month Report.
Elgendorfer Straße 57 56410 Montabaur Germany
www.united-internet.com
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