Sales up 8.4% to all-time high of EUR 1,009.4 million - half-year sales exceed EUR 1 billion for first time - EBT of EUR 144.2 million well above prior-year figure (+22.9%) - Earnings per share (EPS) grow 41.2% to EUR 0.48 - Customer contracts pass 10 million-mark for first time - CEO Ralph Dommermuth: "United Internet is well placed for the next steps in its corporate development."

Montabaur, August 16, 2011 - United Internet AG, Europe's leading internet specialist with brands such as 1&1, GMX and WEB.DE, continues to grow and improve earnings. In the first six months of 2011, sales rose 8.4% to EUR 1,009.4 million (prior year: EUR 930.8 million) - the first time the company has ever exceeded one billion euros in its first half-year. The company's ongoing investments in customer satisfaction, as well as in the growth markets Mobile Internet and Cloud Computing, and international expansion are now paying off: United Internet added 400,000 new fee-based customer contracts in the first six months of 2011 - 110,000 more than in the same period last year. For the first time in its history, the internet specialist now has more than 10 million customer contracts (10.16 million).

"We have set new records in sales and fee-based customer contracts while at the same time raising earnings," comments Ralph Dommermuth, founder and CEO of United Internet. "Our company is well placed for the next steps in our corporate development and we are optimistic about the challenges ahead," says Dommermuth.

Despite high costs for new customer acquisition, especially for smartphone subsidies in its Mobile Internet business, as well as high costs for the development of new products and further international expansion, United Internet succeeded in posting year-on-year growth in earnings: both EBITDA and EBIT were well up on the previous year at EUR 160.0 million (prior year: EUR 142.2 million) and EUR 200.9 million (prior year: EUR 182.0 million), respectively. Earnings before taxes (EBT) grew by 22.9% to EUR 144.2 million (prior year: EUR 117.3 million). These earnings figures include a positive net balance of EUR 16.3 million from the sale of Versatel shares, the valuation of related call options received, and the negative at-equity result of Versatel included for the last time in the consolidated figures. Earnings per United Internet share (EPS) improved by 41.2% to EUR 0.48 (prior year: EUR 0.34).

Segments
The growth in customer contracts had a significant impact on sales in the company's "Access" segment: in the first two quarters of 2011, revenue increased by 9.1% to EUR 657.2 million (prior year: EUR 602.2 million). The number of fee-based contracts grew in total by 160,000 to 3.79 million - due mainly to strong demand for 1&1 Mobile Internet products. Despite a significant increase in costs for new customer acquisition, especially due to the additional marketing - compared to the first half of 2010 - of new Mobile Internet products, segment EBITDA and EBIT remained virtually unchanged from the previous year at EUR 65.5 million (prior year: EUR 66.2 million) and EUR 51.0 million (prior year: EUR 53.2 million), respectively.

In the "Applications" segment, the number of fee-based contracts rose by 240,000 to 6.37 million in the period January to June 2011. The high non-German proportion (2.58 million contracts) underlines the growing international presence of United Internet. Ad-financed accounts increased by 500,000 to 28.5 million. Compared to the first half of 2010, sales of the "Applications" segment grew strongly by 7.3% to EUR 352.0 million (EUR 328.2 million). Adjusted for currency effects, growth amounted to 8%. As expected, segment EBITDA was down on the previous year at EUR 111.4 million (prior year: EUR 118.9 million) while segment EBIT reached EUR 85.1 million (prior year: EUR 92.3 million). This was due to high expenditure for the development of new Cloud products, international expansion, and increased marketing expenses especially for the 1&1 Do-it-Yourself Homepage launched in 2011.

Outlook
In view of the successful first six months of 2011, United Internet has raised its sales guidance and now expects record consolidated sales of around EUR 2.050 billion. In the remaining six months, the strong progress of business and special items such as the deconsolidation of the loss-making Versatel investment will provide additional financial scope for United Internet. This scope will be used to strengthen customer acquisition efforts and launch an extensive marketing campaign for the new 1&1 Do-it-Yourself Homepage in five foreign markets. The campaign will cost around EUR 35 million and aims to raise awareness of the 1&1 brand and clearly position it as a solution-provider for small companies. At the same time, the number of new customers is expected to grow further. Specifically, the company has raised its customer growth forecast for 2011 by 20%, from 700,000 contracts to 840,000. This will broaden the basis for a successful performance in the years ahead. Despite strongly increased sales and marketing budgets, United Internet expects EBITDA to reach approx. EUR 350 million and has upheld its EBT guidance of around EUR 250 million and its EPS forecast of around EUR 0.80/share.

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