secunet Security Networks AG / Half Year Results
14.08.2008
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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secunet stays on its profitable growth track in the first half-year 2008:
- Further growth in sales (+ 30%)
- Profitable business: EBIT Euro 0.4m (+ 5 %)
- High volume of orders and capacity utilisation
- Unchanged, optimistic outlook for the business year 2008
[Essen, 14 August 2008] secunet Security Networks AG, leading European
provider of solutions and products for IT security and high security has
achieved an impressive 30% growth in sales amounting to Euro 22.1m in the
first half of 2008. With this the company continues on growth curve. At the
same time business also remains profitable: The EBIT figure in the first
half of 2008 rose by 5% as compared to the first six months of the previous
year. The capacity utilisation as well as the volume of orders continues to
remain high: Hence the management reaffirms its growth forecast for the
entire year.
The consolidated sales of secunet Security Networks AG increased by 30%
from Euro 17m in the first half of 2007 to Euro 22.1m in the current year.
The main contributor to growth is the business area High Security which
provides the high-security technology SINA, mainly to government agencies.
Sales rose by 68% here alone in comparison to the previous year. Likewise,
sales in the division Business Security which caters to customers from the
private sector also increased considerably by 23%. Foreign sales of the
secunet corporation remained high as well.
The expense positions have shown varying development. While depreciation
reduced (-2%) and personnel expenses grew subproportional to sales (+10%),
other operating costs increased by 23% in the first half of 2008 as
compared to last year, mainly due to the increase in sales activities.
The fast growing SINA business is based to a great extend on hardware
supplies: Accordingly the material expenses in the first six months of 2008
increased by 79% over the last year. Due to the increase in expenses the
result before interest and taxes (EBIT) did not grow as much as the sales.
The business remains profitable despite high sales expenses. Thus, in the
first half of 2008, an EBIT of Euro 0.39m was achieved which is an increase
of 5% over the last years value (Euro 0.37m). The profit after tax for the
first six months of 2008 came to Euro 0.6m as compared to Euro 0.3m during
last year. Accordingly the earnings per share doubled from Euro 0.05 to
Euro 0.10.
Even though the cash flow from operational activities is positively
influenced by the profits, the decline in accruals and liabilities as well
as the creation of receivables act against it. Cash flows from investment
and financing activities have a limited impact. In all, the level of cash
and cash equivalents in the secunet group reduced by Euro 3.6m in the first
half of 2008, as against a reduction of Euro 3.8m in the previous year.
Despite the high utilisation of capacity and speedy order processing the
volume of orders remains high: At Euro 18.9m as on 30 June 2008 it lies 13%
above the level of 2007 year end.
'The market for state-of-the-art IT security is still a growth market',
says Dr. Rainer Baumgart, chairman of the secunet Security Networks AG. 'We
are in demand for complex security issues, increasingly also at the
international level. So the growth outlook for secunet continues to be
good.'
On the basis of the good half-yearly results and the positive outlook for
the second half, the management of secunet Security Networks AG reaffirms
its growth forecast for the current business year 2008: At least a
double-digit growth in sales and earnings shall be achieved.
Dr. Kay Rathke
Head of Press Relations
Patrick Franitza
Press Relations Officer
secunet Security Networks AG
Kronprinzenstrasse 30
45128 Essen/Germany
Phone +49 201 54 54-300
Fax +49 201 54 54-301
E-mail: presse@secunet.com
http://www.secunet.com
DGAP 14.08.2008
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Language: English
Issuer: secunet Security Networks AG
Kronprinzenstrasse 30
45128 Essen
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)201 - 5454 - 300
Fax: +49 (0)201 - 5454 - 301
E-mail: investor.relations@secunet.com
Internet: www.secunet.com
ISIN: DE0007276503
WKN: 727650
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: secunet stays on its profitable growth track in the first half-year 2008
| Source: EQS Group AG