Adesso : increases sales and earnings in the first half of 2016

• Sales grow by 37 % to EUR 119 million
• EBITDA climbs 113 % from EUR 4.2 million to EUR 8.9 million
• Earnings per share amount to EUR 0.65 (previous year: EUR 0.21)

Dortmund, 26 August 2016 - With the presentation of its half-year report, adesso AG has confirmed the figures that were published in advance. In the first six months of 2016, the adesso Group increased sales year on year by 37 % to a new half-year record of EUR 119.0 million. Organic growth through the successful expansion of existing business activities accounted for 19 percentage points of this growth. This enabled adesso to easily exceed its target of expanding through organic growth by at least twice the rate of the market. Business performance was also assessed positively in terms of the full-year forecast.

Business was bolstered by ongoing investment from companies and public-sector authorities in digital transformation and increased efficiency through the modernisation of IT systems. All business areas succeeded in increasing sales. As a result, sales in the recently added Automotive & Transportation core industry also rose further year on year. The Banking business area generated the strongest sales growth, both including and excluding the acquisition of Smarthouse. Sales in the Enterprise Mobility and e-Commerce business areas expanded further, while sales attributable to the FirstSpirit content management system also grew as a result of a rise in service and maintenance proceeds.

Sales also increased across all reporting regions (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Other). Sales shot up in particular in Switzerland by 116 % following the acquisition of Born Informatik AG in summer 2015. The adesso subsidiary in Turkey generated a further increase in sales and even turned a profit in some months.

At EUR 8.9 million, the operating result (EBITDA) rose faster than sales revenues in the first half of 2016, up 113 % on the previous year's figure. Drivers of this trend were the solid order volume, high capacity utilisation despite the strong increase in headcount (up 34 % to some 2,000 employees) and the rise in maintenance proceeds with own products. In the first half of 2016, EBITDA of EUR 3.8 million was generated in the first quarter and EUR 5.1 million in the second quarter. As in the previous year, earnings were negatively impacted by investment in adesso's internationalisation strategy. Earnings before taxes increased by 112 % to EUR 6.3 million (previous year: EUR 3.0 million). Consolidated earnings came to EUR 4.0 million (previous year: EUR 1.3 million), while earnings per share more than tripled to EUR 0.65 (previous year: EUR 0.21).

As at 30 June 2016, equity decreased as a result of a EUR 1.8 million dividend payment (previous year: EUR 1.5 million) from its 31 December 2015 level due to the increase of the shareholding in ARITHNEA GmbH recognised under equity by EUR 3.4 million to EUR 39.2 million. At the reporting date, cash and cash equivalents totalled EUR 15.0 million (previous year: EUR 16.0 million; 31 December 2015: EUR 28.2 million). Net liquidity less interest-bearing liabilities amounted to EUR -28.0 million as at the reporting date. The reduction in the first half of the year is in line with the development of cash and cash equivalents in previous periods and is primarily the result of the planned payment of variable salary components for the previous year, the payment of dividends in the amount of EUR 1.8 million and the payment patterns of major customers, which tend to pay a comparatively high proportion of their outstanding items at the end of the year. Furthermore, EUR 4.0 million of existing liquidity was spent as part of the purchase price payment for the acquisition of Smarthouse Media GmbH.

Two company acquisitions with a tangible effect on the net assets, financial position or results of operations took place in the reporting period. In May 2016, the adesso Group acquired a 100 % stake in Smarthouse Media GmbH at a cost of EUR 23.6 million. In addition, an amount of EUR 4.1 million was paid and a non-cash capital increase of EUR 0.9 million performed in return for the increase in the stake in ARITHNEA GmbH from 51 % to 100 % agreed in 2015.

Sales revenues stood at EUR 119 million after the first six months of 2016, meaning that the adesso Group achieved more than 50 % of the mean full-year sales target of EUR 231 million to EUR 243 million following the adjustments owing to the Smarthouse acquisition. Given the solid level of capacity utilisation and the inclusion of Smarthouse in the consolidated financial statements for the full six months instead of just two, the sales forecast is confirmed with a tendency towards the upper end of this range. In terms of earnings performance, the operating result (EBITDA) stood at EUR 8.9 million after the first half of 2016, 49 % (previous year: 43 %) of the mean full-year forecast of EUR 17.0 million to EUR 19.5 million. The full-year EBITDA forecast for 2016 can be confirmed with a positive outlook against the backdrop of the higher EBITDA contribution from Smarthouse in the second half of the year and the current capacity utilisation and order situation.

The complete half-year report and an overview of key performance indicators in table form are available on the adesso website at http://www.adesso-group.de/en/investorrelations/.