QSC AG — Earnings Release 2015

May 11, 2015

News Details

Corporate | 11 May 2015 07:30

QSC posts good start to 2015 and confirms forecast

QSC AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results

2015-05-11 / 07:30

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QSC posts good start to 2015 and confirms forecast

– Revenues of EUR 104.7 million

– EBITDA of EUR 9.1 million

– New orders of EUR 64.2 million

– Personnel cuts initiated

– Sales success in Cloud business with Vodafone Deutschland

Cologne, 11 May 2015. QSC AG began 2015 on a successful note with its core topics. The signing of a contract with Vodafone Deutschland in March of this year has boosted QSC’s positioning as a cloud provider. Via its FTAPI subsidiary, the Company will in future be providing Vodafone corporate customers with a secure e-mail encryption product.

Another core topic, the process of focusing on medium-sized corporate customers in the Outsourcing business, has also started well. Here, the Company has signed a contract worth EUR 40 million with the Hessian energy supplier Süwag.

QSC has also initiated sustainable cost-cutting measures, focusing in particular on staff cuts. Termination of employment has already been agreed with an initial total of around 100 employees.

First-quarter revenues amounted to EUR 104.7 million (previous year: EUR 109.1 million). Of this total, EUR 56.8 million (55%) was attributable to the Telecommunications business unit, EUR 36.8 million (35%) to Outsourcing, EUR 9.8 million (9%) to Consulting and EUR 1.3 million (1%) to the Cloud business.

The Telecommunications business remained relatively stable compared with the two preceding quarters. Outsourcing revenues decreased compared with the previous quarter. The major order received from Süwag will only generate notable revenues from 2016 onwards. The Consulting business was clearly positive and witnessed strong overall demand. With the Vodafone order, the Cloud business has also laid a strong foundation for future revenues.

Consistent with expectations, the EBITDA of EUR 9.1 million for the first quarter of 2015 fell short of the previous year’s figure of EUR 13.4 million. In terms of operating earnings (EBIT), the figure of EUR -3.0 million posted by QSC marks an improvement on the two preceding quarters.

In general, the Company can point to an initial improvement in its key financials compared with the preceding quarters, even though the cost-cutting measures introduced, and here the job cuts in particular, will only produce tangible results in the second half of the year.

Comments Jürgen Hermann, CEO of QSC: “Stabilising our core business is just as important as expanding our cloud products. This market is set to show rapid growth in the years ahead and QSC has clear competitive advantages.”

Following the good start to 2015, QSC can confirm its full-year forecast for 2015 presented at the end of February. The Company continues to expect to generate revenues of more than EUR 400 million, EBITDA of more than EUR 40 million and positive free cash flow.

	Q1 2015	Q4 2014	Q3 2014	Q2 2014	Q1 2014
Revenues	104.7	106.4	106.6	109.4	109.1
Gross profit	27.1	20.3	26.1	27.8	30.2
EBITDA	9.1	2.3	8.8	10.5	13.4
EBIT	-3.0	-29.2	-3.9	-2.0	1.1
Consolidated net income	-3.4	-24.1	-6.2	-3.9	0.3
Free cash flow	-4.4	-38.2	3.7	5.0	4.6
Capital expenditure	3.5	10.8	6.3	8.2	4.7
Employees	1,666	1,697	1,709	1,712	1,705

Notes:

The 3-month report can be downloaded at www.qsc.de/en/qsc-ag/investor-relations.html . This Corporate News contains forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations and forecasts on the part of the management of QSC AG with regard to future events. Due to risks or erroneous assumptions, actual events may deviate materially from these forward-looking statements.

Contact for enquiries:

QSC AG

Arne Thull

Head of Investor Relations

Tel: + 49 221 669-8724

Fax: +49 221 669-8009

E-mail: invest@qsc.de

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Language:	English
Company:	QSC AG
	Mathias-Brüggen-Straße 55
	50829 Köln
	Germany
Phone:	+49-221-6698-724
Fax:	+49-221-6698-009
E-mail:	invest@qsc.de
Internet:	www.qsc.de
ISIN:	DE0005137004
WKN:	513700
Indices:	TecDAX
Listed:	Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart

End of News	DGAP News-Service

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