DGAP-News: EQS Group AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results
EQS Group AG starts 2018 as planned

18.05.2018 / 08:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.



EQS Group AG starts 2018 as planned
Large investments in the Investor Relations and Compliance segments

Munich - May 18, 2018

EQS Group AG (ISIN: DE0005494165) has started the 2018 financial year with double-digit sales growth. The Group generated revenues of EUR7.817 million between January and March, a 13% increase over the same period of the previous year. As expected, EBITDA decreased to -EUR304 thousand. Consolidated net income amounted to -EUR413 thousand. Earnings per share amount to -EUR0.24.

The strategic expansion of the existing Investor Relations business area to include the adjacent Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) area requires additional reporting on the new segment. In the future, a distinction will be made between the Investor Relations and Compliance markets. The Investor Relations segment includes financial and corporate communications products, in particular news, websites, webcasts, and media. The Compliance segment encompasses all products required for companies to fulfill legal or regulatory obligations.

Segment Development

The Investor Relations segment added 33 new clients, resulting in a total of 1,929. Sales remained at the previous year's level (2018: EUR4.00 million, 2017: EUR4.05 million). Revenue in the Compliance segment rose to EUR3.82 million, signifying a 34% increase over the previous year's EUR2.84 million. The number of large cap customers increased by 42, up to 939. The number of clients in the XML filing business increased as well as by 85, resulting in a total of 4,170 clients. The LEI issuing service business saw a growth of 6,054 clients, for a total of 9,921.

Investment Offensive Proceeds According to Plan

EQS Group AG is highly focused on implementing its September 2017 decision to expand its core business with an adjacent GRC business unit aimed at exclusively focusing on the development of cloud-based solutions. This strategy is buttressed by an investment offensive aimed at growing the Group into a full-fledged technology company. Over 60 specialists are currently working on the completion of the new COCKPIT. The expansion places a temporary burden on earnings.

Achim Weick, founder and CEO of EQS Group AG, stated: "The investment offensive is proceeding according to plan. Our new COCKPIT will be the first of its kind worldwide and will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2018. Once the COCKPIT goes live, we expect an increase in subscription revenues, as well as increased annually recurring revenues. "

Introduction of New Performance Indicators

With the growth of the Group into a technology company, and the increasing importance of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) revenues, EQS Group AG introduced new business performance indicators at the beginning of this fiscal year. The focus is now centered on the share of annually recurring revenues in order to elucidate sales quality and scaling potential. The number of new and total customers in the reporting period, as well as average revenue per customer per quarter (QRPC), are key metrics for estimating growth potential.

Recurring revenues in the first quarter were 79% at the Group level and 76% based on 1,081 large cap customers in Germany. The QRPC was EUR3,300. In some foreign markets, the QRPC is still lower in comparison with Germany. However the other metrics are similar across all markets.

Outlook: Further Growth in 2018 with Continued Large Investments

For the 2018 financial year, the Management Board plans a 19%-24% increase in sales, up to between EUR36 million and EUR37.6 million. Simultaneously, investments of around EUR2.8 million are planned. EBITDA is expected to be between EUR1.5 million and EUR2.1 million.

The Board will discuss business results beginning at 11:00 am (CEST) on today's conference call, which will be broadcasted live online at www.eqs.com.

Key figures (IFRS) 3M 20183M 2017+/-
Revenues (in EUR mn) 7.817 6.896 13%
EBITDA (in EUR mn) -.304 .658 n.a.
EBIT (in EUR mn) -.797 .156 n.a.
Group Earnings (in EUR mn) -.413 -.107 n.a.
Earnings per Share (EUR) -0.24 -0.08 n.a.
Operating Cash Flow (in EUR mn) -.071 .160 n.a.
Liquid Funds (in EUR mn) 1.485 6.374* -77%
Employees (average of the reporting period) 415 334 24%
 

* as of Dec. 31, 2017

More information:

The figures for 3M 2018 are unaudited.

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EQS Group is a leading international technology provider for Investor Relations, Corporate Communications, and Corporate Compliance. More than 8,000 companies worldwide use EQS Group's offerings to fulfill complex national and international disclosure obligations, to minimize risk, and to reach stakeholders.

EQS Group is a digital single-source provider for global teams. EQS Group's products and services include a global newswire, regulatory news distribution, investor targeting and contact management, and insider list management. These are integrated within a cloud-based platform, the EQS COCKPIT, to streamline the workflows of Investor Relations, Communications, and Compliance professionals. The Group also offers an innovative whistleblowing and case management software, IR website services, digital reports, and webcasting solutions.

EQS Group was founded in 2000 in Munich, Germany. Today, the group employs over 400 professionals around the globe and has offices in the world's key financial markets.

Contact:

André Marques

Head of Investor Relations

Tel.: +49 89-21029833

Mobile: +49 175-5250009

Email.:andre.marques@eqs.com



18.05.2018 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.

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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
Indices: Scale 30
Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (Scale), Munich (m:access), Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange

 
End of News DGAP News Service

687433  18.05.2018 

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