DGAP-News: vwd Vereinigte Wirtschaftsdienste AG / Key word(s): Half
Year Results/Forecast
vwd group improves profitability and raises guidance for 2011
11.08.2011 / 07:25
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vwd group improves profitability and raises guidance for 2011
vwd AG/half-year results/guidance
- Tapping cost synergies generates margin increases
- EBITDA improves with nearly stable sales
- Positive sales and earnings effects anticipated as a result of new
business in Italy
- Guidance for entire year of 2011 raised
Frankfurt am Main, August 11, 2011 - vwd Vereinigte Wirtschaftsdienste AG,
a leading provider of financial information in Europe, reports the
following financial results for the first half of 2011:
Key financial figures:
|[![CDATA[|[pre|]]]|]
in EUR '000 Q2 2011 Q2 2010 1st HY 2011 1st HY 2010
Sales 18,687 18,918 36,952 37,308
EBITDA 2,382 2,256 4,026 3,827
EBIT 1,358 1,171 1,954 1,649
Net income 762 717 913 833
Earnings per share in 0.026 0.020 0.029 0.022
EUR
|[![CDATA[|[/pre|]]]|]
First half of 2011
During the first half of 2011, vwd largely put the financial crisis behind
it and got off to a strong start in fiscal year 2011. In operating terms,
our business proceeded in an orderly fashion. In strategic terms, we were
able to address new areas. While sales remained at last year's level,
earnings power markedly increased again. Demand for cross-media publication
and communication concepts slipped further in the first quarter of 2011 but
stabilized in the second quarter of the year. A key role was still played
here by the consolidation of the mutual-fund industry and by the expiration
of contracts terminated in 2010. vwd's financial portal finanztreff.de was
able to take advantage of positive trends in the market for online
advertising. At Trading Solutions, the vwd group profited from the high
volatility and the positive performance of stock markets during the first
half of 2011. During this period, Classification Services were in high
demand and could be further expanded. vwd's solid position in the business
with private customers could be maintained with real-time solutions.
In the first six months of fiscal year 2011, vwd's sales nearly matched the
previous year's level (EUR 37,307.6 thousand), declining slightly by EUR
355.2 thousand to EUR 36,952.4 thousand. Total sales, including capitalized
assets amounting to EUR 301.6 thousand (EUR 159.9 thousand), totaled EUR
38,132.3 thousand (EUR 38,674.6 thousand). In the first half of the year,
the vwd group was able to tap further cost synergies from earlier
acquisitions. As a result, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization (EBITDA) rose by EUR 199.0 thousand to EUR 4,025.7
thousand (EUR 3,826.7 thousand). Last year, EBITDA included a total of EUR
402.0 thousand that resulted from a retained dividend that did not occur
this year. As a result, operating earnings improved by EUR 601.0 thousand.
Depreciation, amortization and impairment related to a purchase-price
allocation totaling EUR 926.1 thousand had a stronger impact on EBIT
compared with the same period last year (EUR 867.0 thousand). Exchange-rate
fluctuations especially had a negative effect on EBIT, which rose by EUR
305.0 thousand to EUR 1,953.6 thousand (EUR 1,648.6 thousand). Excluding
the nonrecurring effect from the retained dividend, EBIT would have risen
by 56.7 % over the previous year's level. Earnings before taxes (EBT) rose
by EUR 89.8 thousand to EUR 1,253.9 thousand (EUR 1,164.1 thousand). This
increase is even more impressive because the fictional interest expense
from the existing put option to acquire the remaining shares of the EDG
Group rose sharply to EUR 516.1 thousand (EUR 286.6 thousand). Earnings per
share climbed to EUR 0.029 during the first half of 2011 (EUR 0.022).
Second quarter 2011
In the second quarter of 2011, business outpaced the level generated in the
first quarter of the year. But compared with the same quarter last year,
the business changed very little in overall terms. Nonetheless, the vwd
group demonstrated during the second quarter that it is quite capable of
turning new regulations into tailored solutions for customers. With the
newly developed PIB Service, the vwd group is now providing the market with
a uniform standard for product information leaflets. Other financial
institutions have committed themselves to this legal standard, and these
institutions are relying on the vwd group for implementation. During the
second quarter of 2011, the vwd group took another significant strategic
step in its push to expand the European nature of its business by entering
the Italian market.
During the second quarter of 2011, the vwd group generated sales of EUR
18,687.2 thousand compared with EUR 18,917.5 thousand in the same quarter
last year. This amounts to a decrease of EUR 230.3 thousand. Compared with
the first quarter of this fiscal year, sales rose by EUR 422.0 thousand.
This increase reflected the typical spring surge in business. Significant
gains could be made in earnings. Quarterly EBITDA totaled EUR 2,381.5
thousand, about EUR 125.5 thousand over the previous year's level of EUR
2,256.0 thousand. In the same quarter last year, the retained dividend
related to a loss of rights of some shares had a positive effect, enabling
earnings improvements to be measured EUR 402.0 thousand higher in the
second quarter of 2011. In the second quarter of 2011, depreciation,
amortization and impairment related to purchase-price allocations totaling
EUR 449.8 thousand (EUR 433.5 thousand) were carried out. During the second
quarter, EBIT climbed by EUR 187.3 thousand from EUR 1,170.5 thousand to
EUR 1,357.8 thousand. As a result of a higher measurement of the existing
put option to acquire the remaining shares of the EDG Group, the fictional
interest resulting from this increased to EUR 286.3 thousand (previous
year: EUR 159.8 thousand). The result from ordinary operations rose by 7 %
to EUR 948.9 thousand (EUR 886.5 thousand). Income taxes rose by EUR 273.1
thousand to EUR 459.2 thousand (EUR 186.1 thousand). Tax loss
carry-forwards of the parent company caused the company to recognize
deferred tax assets totaling EUR 272.3 thousand (EUR 1.0 thousand). Net
income after minority interests rose by 33.3 % from EUR 487.7 thousand to
EUR 650.1 thousand. Earnings per share in the quarter totaled EUR 0.026
compared with EUR 0.020 in the same period last year.
Business developments in the company's individual segments:
Segment Market Data Solutions (MDS)
In the MDS segment, sales with market-data systems, browser-based
applications and portfolio-management solutions climbed by 1.0 % to EUR
17,421 thousand (EUR 17,248 thousand). Business with the 'vwd market
manager financials' was particularly strong in the Netherlands and Belgium.
The system transformation involving market-data provision from Infoscreen
to 'vwd market manager financials' resulted in a small decrease in sales in
Switzerland. In Germany, the vwd group continued to generate significantly
higher sales in the area of market-data provision and portfolio-management
systems than it did in 2010. The solid license business is that much more
satisfying because nonrecurring income from the project business has stayed
at last year's low level. The business with private customers remained at
about last year's level. The segment's EBITDA increased by 1.9 % to EUR
1,886.0 thousand (EUR 1,851.0 thousand).
Segment Technology Solutions (TS)
At EUR 9,151.0 thousand, sales in the TS segment were slightly below the
previous year's level (EUR 9,225.0 thousand). The decrease of -0.8 %
resulted from the lack of nonrecurring income from the project business in
the second quarter. In the first quarter, nonrecurring income rose
slightly. While its regular business involving the provision of market data
to daily newspapers remained very stable, the transaction business
generated higher sales. Material expenses and other operating expenses were
reduced in the segment. Personnel expenses rose slightly. The cost-cutting
steps initiated in this segment gave a boost to earnings. EBITDA rose by
23.1 % to EUR 1,054.0 thousand (EUR 856.0 thousand).
Specialised Market Solutions (SMS)
Increased sales for certificate ratings and higher advertising revenue at
the financial portal finanztreff.de were unable to prevent the business
slowdown in the area of listing services from resulting in a drop in sales
of -4.2 % to EUR 10,380.0 thousand in the SMS segment (EUR 10,835.0
thousand). But business conditions in the area of publication and
communication services did stabilize during the second quarter of 2011, so
that the very negative trend was stopped. As sales declined, we were able
to once again strongly reduce material expenses and other operating
expenses attributable to the segment. Rising personnel costs had an adverse
effect on the segment. The cost-cutting measures were unable to completely
offset the drop in sales and the rise in personnel costs. As a result,
EBITDA fell by EUR 34 thousand (-3.0 %) to EUR 1,086.0 thousand (EUR
1,120.0 thousand).
Sales guidance for 2011
Demand for the marketing and communication services of the vwd group
continues to face a number of uncertainties. The vwd group stands by the
guidance that we issued at the beginning of the year. For the entire year,
the group expects business will continue to revive and that the company
will grow once again. vwd expects to see the new business in Italy make its
first contribution to this growth. For 2011, the group has further narrowed
and slightly raised its guidance. Management expects sales to total between
EUR 80.0 million and EUR 83.0 million and EBITDA to total between EUR 8.8
million and EUR 9.5 million.
Forward-looking statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the
present views, expectations and assumptions of the vwd group and are based
on information available to the company at the time this press release was
prepared. Forward-looking statements are no guarantee that future events
and developments will actually occur. Rather, they are associated with
risks and uncertainties. Future performance by and developments at the vwd
group could differ materially from the expectations and assumptions
provided here as a result of many factors. In particular, changes in
economic conditions, new legal parameters, competition and trends in
financial markets could affect the company.
The Interim Report 2011 can now be downloaded from the home page of the vwd
group at http://www.vwd.com/vwd/investor_relations.htm.
Further information:
Investor Relations
Carsten Scharf
Telephone: +49 69 50701-270
Fax: +49 69 50701-114
E-mail: investorrelations@vwd.com
vwd Vereinigte Wirtschaftsdienste AG
Tilsiter StraÃe 1
60487 Frankfurt am Main
www.vwd.com
About vwd group:
vwd group offers customised information, communications and technology
solutions for the financial markets. As a leading European provider, it
specialises in meeting individual customer requirements in the areas of
asset management, retail banking, private banking and wealth management. It
offers innovative solutions for financial service providers, investors and
the media. vwd's business is driven by innovation, flexibility, customer
centricity and strong commitment to local needs. With around 470 employees
at 18 locations in 5 countries vwd is a public company, listed at the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE0005204705). The group's best-known brands
are: finanztreff.de, vwd fonds service, vwd market manager, vwd portfolio
manager, vwd PortfolioNet, TradeLink and Tai-Pan.
End of Corporate News
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11.08.2011 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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Language: English
Company: vwd Vereinigte Wirtschaftsdienste AG
Tilsiter StraÃe 1
60487 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)69 50701-316
Fax: +49 (0)69 50701-114
E-mail: cscharf@vwd.com
Internet: http://www.vwd.com
ISIN: DE0005204705
WKN: 520470
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (General Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München,
Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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135165 11.08.2011
DGAP-News: vwd group improves profitability and raises guidance for 2011
| Source: EQS Group AG