USU Software AG — Earnings Release 2015

Aug 20, 2015

News Details

Corporate | 20 August 2015 09:00

USU Software AG reports sales and earnings growth for Q2 2015 and first half of 2015 – Management Board raises lower level of guidance and adjusts planning range

DGAP-News: USU Software AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Forecast

2015-08-20 / 09:00

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* Organic sales increase of 11% in second quarter of 2015
* International business accounts for 36% of total sales in Q2 2015
* License income up 48% compared to Q2 2014
* Product business grows by 15% in Q2 2015 - service business remains
modest
* EBIT in quarter under review up 49% year on year - adjusted EBIT rises by
20%
* Figures for first half of 2015 fully on track - positive forecast for
subsequent quarters
* Management Board raises lower level of guidance and adjusts planning
range

Möglingen, August 20, 2015 - USU Software AG (ISIN DE000A0BVU28) generated
an 11% increase in consolidated sales according to IFRS to EUR 15.9 million
in the second quarter of 2015 (Q2 2014: EUR 14.3 million). This increase
was chiefly due to the strong international business, which contributed
sales of EUR 5.7 million (Q2 2014: EUR 4.0 million) to consolidated sales
in the quarter under review and accordingly posted an above-average rise of
42% year on year. The share of sales generated outside Germany in relation
to the USU Group's total sales thus amounted to 36% in Q2 2015 (Q2 2014:
28%).

USU benefited particularly from a significant expansion of software license
business. In the quarter under review, license income rose by 48% year on
year to EUR 3.3 million (Q2 2014: EUR 2.3 million). At the same time, the
USU Group also increased its maintenance business, which comprises income
from software maintenance agreements and sales from software-as-a-service
(SaaS) projects, by 28% to EUR 4.2 million (Q2 2014: EUR 3.3 million). Only
consulting business was lower than in the previous year, falling by 4% to
EUR 8.1 million (Q2 2014: EUR 8.4 million). This was attributable in
particular to the decline in sales with freelance staff in USU's service
segment. The "Service Business" segment was accordingly down 6% year on
year in the second quarter of 2015 with segment sales of EUR 3.1 million
(Q2 2014: EUR 3.3 million). By contrast, the "Product Business" segment
continued the positive trend from the previous quarters and expanded its
segment revenue organically by 15% to EUR 12.7 million (Q2 2014: EUR 11.0
million).

The USU Group's cost base rose by 9% year on year to EUR 14.0 million in Q2
2015 (Q2 2014: EUR 12.9 million). As a result of the higher increase in
sales, USU significantly improved its profits. The USU Group's EBITDA thus
climbed by 32% year on year to EUR 2.3 million (Q2 2014: EUR 1.7 million).
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved from EUR 1.2 million in
the second quarter of 2014 to EUR 1.7 million in the second quarter of
2015, corresponding to a rise of 49%. USU increased its consolidated net
profit according to IFRS by 39% year on year to EUR 1.4 million in the
quarter under review (Q2 2014: EUR 1.0 million), resulting in earnings per
share of EUR 0.14 (Q2 2014: EUR 0.10).

EBIT after adjustment for the extraordinary effects of acquisitions
("adjusted EBIT") totaled EUR 1.8 million in the second quarter of 2015 (Q2
2014: EUR 1.5 million), equivalent to growth of 20% as against Q2 2014. USU
increased its adjusted consolidated earnings by 9% from EUR 1.4 million in
Q2 2014 to EUR 1.5 million in the quarter under review. Adjusted earnings
per share therefore improved to EUR 0.14 (Q2 2014: EUR 0.13).

In the first half of the year, USU increased its consolidated sales by 8%
year on year to EUR 29.9 million (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 27.6 million),
particularly as a result of the continuing international expansion. The USU
Group's international sales rose by 46% year on year to EUR 4.2 million in
the first half of the year (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 2.8 million). The main growth
driver in the period under review was high-margin software license
business, which increased by 27% year on year to EUR 5.5 million (Q1-Q2
2014: EUR 4.1 million). Maintenance business including SaaS revenues
contributed EUR 7.7 million (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 6.4 million) to consolidated
sales, corresponding to a year-on-year increase of 20%. Consulting business
was on a par with the previous year's level at EUR 16.6 million in the
first half of 2015 (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 16.6 million). Other income, chiefly
consisting of merchandise sales of third-party hardware and software, came
to a total of EUR 0.4 million (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 0.5 million).

Broken down by segment, Product Business contributed EUR 23.3 million
(Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 20.8 million) to consolidated sales in the first half of
2015, corresponding to a year-on-year increase of 12%. USU benefited here
particularly from the expansion of license and maintenance business. By
contrast, consulting sales in the Service Business segment were down 5%
year on year at EUR 6.4 million (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 6.8 million) owing to
reduced freelancer business. The share of consolidated sales attributable
to the product segment thus increased from 75% in the previous year to
currently 78%.

As a result of the significant expansion of high-margin product business
combined with only a moderate rise in costs, the USU Group achieved a
considerable improvement in earnings in the first six months of the 2015
fiscal year compared to the first half of 2014. For example, USU increased
its EBITDA by 51% year on year to EUR 3.5 million in the first half of the
year (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 2.3 million), while EBIT almost doubled in the same
period to EUR 2.5 million (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 1.2 million). USU improved its
consolidated earnings according to IFRS from EUR 1.0 million in the
previous year to EUR 2.4 million in the period under review, representing
an increase of 148%. Earnings per share in the first half of the year
totaled EUR 0.23 (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 0.09).

The USU Group's adjusted EBIT climbed by 46% year on year in the first half
of 2015 to EUR 2.9 million (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 2.0 million). At the same time,
USU increased its adjusted consolidated earnings by 60% compared to the
previous year to EUR 2.8 million (Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 1.7 million). The USU
Group's adjusted earnings per share therefore rose year on year to EUR 0.26
(Q1-Q2 2014: EUR 0.16).

In line with the positive earnings development, USU further increased Group
liquidity in the first two quarters of the current fiscal year. Despite the
final purchase price payment for the acquisition of B.I.G. Social Media
GmbH in the quarter under review and the dividend payment to the
shareholders, USU increased its cash and cash equivalents to EUR 19.3
million as of June 30, 2015 (December 31, 2014: EUR 18.9 million). At the
same time, the USU Group's equity declined to EUR 54.8 million (December
31, 2014: EUR 55.6 million) as a result of the dividend distribution, while
current and non-current liabilities fell to EUR 28.5 million (December 31,
2014: EUR 29.6 million), partly due to the repayment of the purchase price
liabilities for the final acquisition of BIG. With total assets of EUR 83.3
million (December 31, 2014: EUR 85.2 million), the equity ratio rose from
65% as of December 31, 2014 to 66% as of June 30, 2015.

The Management Board expects the growth trend of the past quarters to
continue successfully in the second half of 2015. International business in
particular is set to increase further. This will be aided by the ongoing
penetration of the US market and the expansion of activities in Central
Europe. At the same time, business in Germany should also continue to grow.
Particularly in the big data areas of license, IT and
knowledge management and social business, the Management Board anticipates
a significant increase in high-margin product business. The new Group
subsidiary SecurIntegration GmbH will also contribute to this starting from
the third quarter of 2015. By contrast, the lower-margin service business,
in which USU generates consulting sales from individual projects that are
not dependent on specific products, is expected to be slightly lower than
in the previous year due to the decline in consulting business with
freelancers.

Owing to the consistently strong product business, the existing orders on
hand of EUR 32.9 million (June 30, 2014: EUR 27.0 million) and the current
forecast, the Management Board has slightly raised the lower level of the
guidance based on the above assumptions and has adjusted the planning range
accordingly. The planning for the USU Group now anticipates a rise in
consolidated sales to EUR 65 - 68 million (previously: EUR 64 - 68 million)
in the 2015 fiscal year, together with a higher increase in adjusted EBIT
to EUR 8.5 - 9.5 million (previously: EUR 8.0 - 9.5 million).

On the basis of this forecast, the Management Board plans to allow the
shareholders of USU Software AG to participate in the company's operating
success again in 2015, as in the previous years, and thus to continue the
shareholder-friendly dividend policy in the interests of sustainable
continuity. With international business flourishing, potential on the core
German market remaining high and the growth-oriented acquisition policy of
the USU Group, the Management Board is also still assuming that its
medium-term planning of sales of more than EUR 100 million with an adjusted
EBIT margin in excess of 15% will be implemented by 2017.

USU Software AG
The USU Group is the largest provider in Europe for IT and knowledge
management software. Market leaders from all sectors of the international
economy use USU applications to create transparency, enhance agility, save
costs and reduce their risks. In addition to USU AG, founded in 1977, USU
Software AG - which is listed in the Prime Standard of the German Stock
Exchange and the GEX (ISIN DE000A0BVU28) - also includes the subsidiaries
Aspera GmbH, Aspera Technologies Inc., B.I.G. Social Media GmbH,
LeuTek GmbH, OMEGA Software GmbH and SecurIntegration GmbH.

Contact:
USU Software AG
Corporate Communications
Dr. Thomas Gerick
Tel.: +49 (0) 71 41 - 48 67 440
Fax: +49 (0) 71 41 - 48 67 909
E-Mail: t.gerick@usu-software.de

USU Software AG
Investor Relations
Falk Sorge
Spitalhof
D-71696 Möglingen
Tel.: +49 (0) 71 41 - 48 67 351
Fax: +49 (0) 71 41 - 48 67 108
E-Mail: f.sorge@usu-software.de

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Language: English
Company: USU Software AG
Spitalhof
71696 Möglingen
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)7141 4867-0
Fax: +49 (0)7141 4867-200
E-mail: info@usu-software.de
Internet: www.usu-software.de
ISIN: DE000A0BVU28
WKN: A0BVU2
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich,
Stuttgart

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