Ad hoc announcement acc. to Sec. 15 WpHG: Successful start to FY 2011 for United Internet
Sales up 7.7% to record figure of EUR 498.6 million - EBITDA maintains high prior-year level at EUR 90.5 million - Earnings per share (EPS) grow 17.6% to EUR 0.20
Montabaur, May 12, 2011. The Management Board of United Internet AG (ISIN DE0005089031) today announced the consolidated results according to IFRS for the first quarter of 2011.
Group development
Consolidated sales of United Internet AG grew by 7.7% in the first quarter of 2011, from EUR 462.8 million last year to EUR 498.6 million. United Internet also achieved strong growth in customer contracts: with the addition of 210,000 new contracts, growth easily exceeded the first quarter of 2010 (180,000 new contracts). Despite increased sales and marketing expenses in this connection of EUR 10.3 million compared to Q1/2010 and high costs for the development of new products, United Internet achieved very good earnings. With EBITDA of EUR 90.5 million (prior year: EUR 90.3 million) and EBIT of EUR 70.3 million (prior year: EUR 70.7 million), earnings reached the same high level as last year. Earnings before taxes (EBT) grew by 13.5% from EUR 57.1 million to EUR 64.8 million. Earnings per share (EPS) improved by 17.6% from EUR 0.17 to EUR 0.20.
| Group development Quarterly comparison (in EUR million) | Q1 2010 | Q1 2011 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 462.8 | 498.6 | + 7.7% |
| EBITDA | 90.3 | 90.5 | + 0.2% |
| EBIT | 70.7 | 70.3 | - 0.6% |
| EBT | 57.1 | 64.8 | + 13.5% |
| EPS (in EUR) | 0.17 | 0.20 | + 17.6% |
Development of business in the "Access" segment
As a result of the positive development in customer figures, Access sales grew by 6.8% to EUR 321.2 million. Due to increased costs for new customer acquisition, EBITDA and EBIT were slightly down on the previous year at EUR 31.1 million (prior year: EUR 31.7 million) and EUR 23.8 million (prior year: EUR 25.2 million).
| Development of Access segment Quarterly comparison (in EUR million) | Q1 2010 | Q1 2011 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 300.8 | 321.2 | + 6.8% |
| EBITDA | 31.7 | 31.1 | - 1.9% |
| EBIT | 25.2 | 23.8 | - 5.6% |
The number of fee-based Access contracts grew by a total of 80,000 contracts, from 3.63 million as of December 31, 2010 to 3.71 million as of March 31, 2011.
| Customer contracts in Access segment (in million) | March 31, 2010 | Dec. 31, 2010 | March 31, 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access, total | 3.50 | 3.63 | 3.71 |
| of which DSL complete (ULL) | 1.91 | 2.32 | 2.37 |
| of which Mobile Internet | 0.09 | 0.27 | 0.37 |
| of which narrowband / T-DSL / R-DSL | 1.50 | 1.04 | 0.97 |
Development of business in the "Applications" segment
Applications sales grew strongly by 9.6% to EUR 177.3 million. Despite high expenditure for the development of new Cloud products, preparations for the De-Mail roll-out, and increased sales and marketing expenses, segment EBITDA was only slightly down on the previous year at EUR 58.9 million (prior year: EUR 60.5 million), while segment EBIT reached EUR 46.0 million (prior year: EUR 47.4 million).
| Development of Applications segment Quarterly comparison (in EUR million) | Q1 2010 | Q1 2011 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 161.8 | 177.3 | + 9.6% |
| EBITDA | 60.5 | 58.9 | - 2.6% |
| EBIT | 47.4 | 46.0 | - 3.0% |
The number of fee-based Applications contracts grew by 130,000 to 6.26 million (of which 2.52 million abroad). Ad-financed accounts rose from 28.0 million to 28.3 million.
| Customer contracts in Applications segment (in million) | March 31, 2010 | Dec. 31, 2010 | March 31, 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total fee-based contracts | 5.83 | 6.13 | 6.26 |
| of which domestic | 3.53 | 3.68 | 3.74 |
| of which foreign | 2.30 | 2.45 | 2.52 |
| Ad-financed accounts | 27.0 | 28.0 | 28.3 |
Outlook
Against the backdrop of its successful start to the fiscal year, United Internet confirms its forecast for 2011 and expects consolidated sales to exceed EUR 2 billion for the first time. Sales growth is expected to reach around 5% in the Access segment and around 10% in the Applications segment. The company aims to add a total of 700,000 new fee-based customer contracts in 2011. United Internet will continue to pursue its business strategy geared toward sustainable growth during the year and invest heavily in new business fields and customer growth. Despite the high costs associated with these projects, EBITDA in 2011 is expected to reach the level of 2010 (EUR 357.7 million). EBT is likely to be around EUR 250 million and EPS around EUR 0.80.