CANCOM SE — Earnings Release 2004

Oct 26, 2004

News Details

Ad-hoc | 26 October 2004 15:22

CANCOM: strong increase in sales and results

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– CANCOM: strong increase in sales and results Jettingen-Scheppach, Germany, 26 October 2004 – According to preliminary figures the CANCOM Group realised a positive operating result in the third quarter of 2004, which is the fourth quarter in succession with. The consolidation course set by the CANCOM Group last year is reflected in these figures. Group sales in both the third quarter of 2004 and in the first nine months of 2004 were markedly higher than the reference figures for the previous year. Specifically, Group sales in the first nine months of 2004 amounted to EUR 150.3 million. In the reference period of 2003, Group sales totalled EUR 133.1 million. This constitutes organic growth of 13 percent. Group sales increased on an organic basis by 13 percent to EUR 50.3 million in the third quarter of 2004 compared with the third quarter of 2003. Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) improved considerably in the first nine months of 2004 compared with the same period last year, i.e. from EUR -1.0 million to EUR 1.9 million. In the third quarter of 2004, Group EBITDA was EUR 0.5 million following EUR -0.3 million in the third quarter of 2003. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) have also taken a turn for the better. Although negative Group EBIT of EUR -18.8 million was reported in respect of the first nine months of 2003, partly due to special write-offs, positive EBIT of EUR 0.7 million was realised in the first nine months of 2004. Thus, Group EBIT in the third quarter of 2004 amounted to EUR 0.2 million following negative Group EBIT of EUR -17.1 million in the same quarter of 2003. After adjustment for the aforementioned special write-offs, Group EBIT for the first nine months of 2003 amounted to EUR -2.7 million, and EUR -0.9 million in the third quarter of 2003. This shows that Group EBIT improved substantially compared with last year’s figure even after adjustment for this special effect. A positive free cash flow was also generated in the third quarter of 2004. Since the fourth quarter is generally the quarter when the highest sales are realised, positive net income is anticipated for the year as a whole. It has already been established that the merger of the two major subsidiaries of CANCOM Deutschland GmbH will bring about an positive annual effect on the operating income of around EUR 1 million per year. Furthermore, the expectation that growth in Group sales can be driven up again next year leads to the assumption that operating income will improve significantly again in 2005. For further information, please contact: CANCOM IT Systeme AG Armin Blohmann Investor & Public Relations Messerschmittstraße 20 D-89343 Jettingen-Scheppach Germany Phone: +49 (0)8225 996 1051 Fax: +49 (0)8225 996 1033 E-mail to : armin.blohmann@cancom.de end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 26.10.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 541910 ; ISIN: DE0005419105; Index: Listed: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin- Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover und Stuttgart 261522 Okt 04