DGAP-News: EQS Group AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results
EQS Group AG starts 2015 very well / Investments in geographic
expansion begin bearing fruit
29.05.2015 / 08:30
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EQS Group AG starts 2015 very well / Investments in geographic expansion
begin bearing fruit
Munich - May 29, 2015
EQS Group AG (ISIN: DE0005494165) has started its new business year
successfully, markedly growing its business both domestically and
internationally in the first quarter. Investments in geographic expansion
are bearing fruit. Between January and March, the group achieved revenues
amounting to EUR4.207 million, representing 27% growth over the same period
the previous year. The EBIT before amortisation of the acquired customer
assets and before acquisition costs (Non-IFRS) rose by 75% to EUR.481
million as a result of our scalable business model. The adjusted earnings
totaled EUR.37 million. The adjusted result per share for the current
first quarter rose from the previous year's first quarter from EUR.07 to
EUR.32.
The EQS Group's dynamic international expansion has become increasingly
more important due to Germany's shrinking equity market. After
successfully integrating the TodayIR-Group in 2014, EQS has gained a strong
foothold in Asia's key growth markets, in particular China. The launch of
the EQS COCKPIT for Asia in February 2015 underscores this positive
development. In the first quarter alone, EQS Group distributed 205
financial news announcements of Asian clients within Asia, as well as to
Europe and the U.S.
Achim Weick, CEO of EQS Group AG: "We're very pleased with the start of the
2015 business year. The investments we made in international expansion
last year are showing very satisfying initial results. And we're also
profiting domestically from our strong market position: we're all the more
motivated to continue building EQS Group into a leading global provider."
The Regulatory Information & News segment, in which mandatory news and news
distribution is bundled, increased its news volume by 2% to 4,788.
Revenues decreased by 5% to EUR1.392 million as the first news distributed
in Asia were still included in existing service contracts of most clients.
The Products & Services segment, which offers a broad portfolio of digital
corporate communications solutions, grew considerably in all three business
divisions in the first quarter. Segment revenues rose 49% to EUR 2.918
million. The Website and Platforms division profited particularly from
Asian expansion, increasing by 76% to EUR 1.213 million. The Reports &
Webcasts division (+25% to EUR 1.206 million) as well as XML-Reports
provided particularly strong impetus for growth. The third division of the
Segment, Distribution & Media, almost doubled revenues to EUR 0.397 million
in the first quarter after the collapse of the market in the first quarter
of the previous year, profiting from the recovery of German small cap bond
offerings.
Forecast confirmed
The EQS Group Management Board expects continued revenue increases of
between 10-15% to EUR18 - EUR18.8 million for the current business year. We
expect a decrease of 5-10% to EUR3 - EUR3.15 million in Non-IFRS EBIT due
to higher expenditures, particularly for expansion into China's markets.
EQS Group expect 2016 to see new records in revenue and adjusted EBIT.
Management will comment on results today beginning at 11:00 a.m. (CET) via
teleconference which will be streamed live online at www.eqs.com.
<pre>
Key Figures (IFRS) Q1 2015 Q1 2014 Change
Revenues (EUR million) 4.207 3.320 +27%
Non-IFRS EBIT (EUR million)* .481 .274 +75%
EBIT (EUR million) .395 .198 +100%
Non-IFRS Group Earnings (EUR million) .370 .79 >100%
Group Earnings (EUR million) .320 .34 >100%
Non-IFRS Result per Share (EUR)* .32 .07 >100%
Result per Share (EUR) .27 .03 >100%
Operative Cash Flow (EUR million) 1.383 1.009 +37%
Liquid Assets (EUR million) 1.345 1.370 -2%
Employees (Period Average) 172 111 +55%
</pre>
* Non-IFRS performance indicators before amortisation on acquired customer
assets & acquisition costs
Further Comments:
First quarter 2015 figures are unaudited.
The complete quarterly report can be found and downloaded at www.eqs.com in
Investor Relations in an interactive version.
Receive EQS Group AG corporate news immediately and free of charge on your
mobile device or directly on your AppleWatch via the DGAP News App
(http://newsapp.dgap.de/) as well as via text message and download.
Register at www.eqs.com in the Investor Relations section.
About EQS Group
The EQS Group is a Munich-headquartered leading international provider of
digital corporate communications.
Since its founding in 2000, the EQS Group has grown to be a leading global
provider of digital solutions for investor relations and corporate
communications. Its solutions and services enable over 7,000 companies
worldwide to fulfill complex domestic and international corporate
information requirements securely, timely and efficiently.
EQS Investor Relations and EQS Corporate Communications disseminate
financial and corporate news, develop corporate websites and apps, produce
online financial as well as sustainability reports, and execute audio and
video broadcasts. EQS Financial Markets & Media and ARIVA.DE (25.44%) are
active in financial marketing, data and content delivery as well as the
development of financial portals. Through its DGAP service, the EQS Group
is the institution by which companies fulfill mandatory regulatory news
dissemination requirements.
The EQS Group is headquartered in Munich, with a further domestic office in
Hamburg. The international growth strategy has led to subsidiaries in
Zurich, Moscow, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore, Taipei, and Kochi. EQS
Group currently has over 170 employees.
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29.05.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de
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Language: English
Company: EQS Group AG
Karlstr. 47
80333 Munich
Germany
Phone: +49(0)89 210298-0
Fax: +49(0)89 210298-49
E-mail: info@eqs.com
Internet: www.eqs.com
ISIN: DE0005494165
WKN: 549416
Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich
(m:access), Stuttgart; Open Market (Entry Standard) in
Frankfurt
End of News DGAP News-Service
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362923 29.05.2015
DGAP-News: EQS Group AG starts 2015 very well / Investments in geographic expansion begin bearing fruit
| Source: EQS Group AG