Ad hoc announcement acc. to Sec. 15 WpHG: United Internet with strong 3rd quarter 2009: EBITDA +21.5%, EBIT +26.0%; Forecast upgraded once again

Montabaur, November 3, 2009. The Management Board of United Internet AG (ISIN DE0005089031) today announced the Group's results according to IFRS for the 3rd quarter of 2009. The Group once again succeeded in significantly raising all key operating figures in comparison with the prior-year period.

3rd quarter 2009

In the 3rd quarter of 2009, consolidated sales of United Internet AG grew by 4.4% over the same quarter last year, from EUR 391.7 million (comparable prior-year figure after sale and deconsolidation of the AdLINK Display Marketing business in the 3rd quarter of 2009) to EUR 409.1 million. Ordinary earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved by 21.5%, from EUR 78.5 million (comparable prior-year figure) to EUR 95.4 million. Ordinary earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) grew by 26.0% from EUR 65.1 million (comparable prior-year figure) to EUR 82.0 million. Including non-recurring income of EUR 50.2 million from the sale of directly held freenet shares, EBITDA rose to EUR 145.6 million and EBIT to EUR 132.2 million. Earnings per share (EPS) improved from EUR -0.45 last year (including EUR -0.63 from write-downs) to EUR 0.43. This amount includes EUR 0.19 from positive non-recurring income on balance of EUR 45.2 million (sale of freenet shares, write-ups of the MSP holding and write-downs especially for the Versatel shares) as well as EUR 0.03 from discontinued operations.

Group Quarterly comparison (in EUR millions) 3rd quarter 2008* 3rd quarter 2009 Change
Sales 391.7 409.1 4.4%
EBITDA 78.5 95.4 21.5%
EBITDA incl. one-off income 78.5 145.6 85.5%
EBIT 65.1 82.0 26.0%
EBIT incl. one-off income 65.1 132.2 103.1%

* Prior-year figures adjusted after sale and deconsolidation of the AdLINK Display Marketing business

First 9 months of 2009

In the first nine months of 2009, consolidated sales of United Internet AG grew by 5.1% over the same period last year, from EUR 1,165.2 million to EUR 1,224.8 million. Ordinary earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved by 8.1%, from EUR 248.9 million (comparable prior-year figure) to EUR 269.1 million. Ordinary earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) grew by 9.4% from EUR 209.8 million (comparable prior-year figure) to EUR 229.6 million. Including non-recurring income of EUR 50.2 million from the sale of directly held freenet shares, EBITDA rose to EUR 319.3 million and EBIT to EUR 279.8 million. Earnings per share (EPS) improved from EUR -0.06 last year (including EUR -0.63 from write-downs) to EUR 0.79. This amount includes EUR 0.19 from positive non-recurring income on balance of EUR 45.2 million (sale of freenet shares, write-ups of the MSP holding and write-downs especially for the Versatel shares) as well as EUR 0.03 from discontinued operations.

Group 9-month comparison (in EUR millions) Jan.-Sept. 2008* Jan.-Sept. 2009 Change
Sales 1,165.2 1,224.8 5.1%
EBITDA 248.9 269.1 8.1%
EBITDA incl. one-off income 248.9 319.3 28.3%
EBIT 209.8 229.6 9.4%
EBIT incl. one-off income 209.8 279.8 33.4%

* Prior-year figures adjusted after sale and deconsolidation of the AdLINK Display Marketing business

Including approx. 700,000 freenet DSL contracts, the number of fee-based customer contracts grew to 9.17 million as of September 30, 2009. The technical migration of freenet customers is expected to be fully completed on schedule next month.

Customer contracts in millions Dec. 31, 2008 June 30, 2009 Sept. 30, 2009
Information Management 1.36 1.46 1.52
Webhosting 3.62 3.96 4.05
- of which abroad 1.93 2.07 2.14
Internet Access* 2.97 3.63 3.60
- of which DSL* 2.82 3.47 3.44
- of which all-inclusive DSL packages 0.78 1.58 1.70
- of which resale-DSL/T-DSL 2.04 1.89 1.74
Total* 7.95 9.05 9.17

Outlook

United Internet expects further contract growth in the product lines Information Management and Webhosting in the 4th quarter. In its DSL business, the turnaround will continue - after a decline of 50,000 contracts in the 2nd quarter and 30,000 in the 3rd quarter, the company expects a further improvement also in the 4th quarter.

Due to its healthy business development, United Internet AG has raised its earnings forecasts for 2009 once again. After the company's Management Board already raised its growth forecast for EBITDA and EBIT to 5% on the announcement of its half-year figures, an increase of approx. 8% over the comparable prior-year figures is now expected for EBITDA and EBIT.

The 9-month report of United Internet AG will be published on November 12, 2009.