Corporate News : HolidayCheck Group AG reports substantial increase in revenue over first nine months of 2017

Munich, Germany, 8 November 2017 - HolidayCheck Group AG can look back on a successful nine-month period in the current financial year. Revenue and operating EBITDA were both at the higher end of the forecast issued by the company for the year as a whole.

The company's own assessment is that it has benefited more than many of its competitors from a clear recovery in the Central European package holiday market over the period under review.

HolidayCheck Group AG's revenue for the first three quarters of 2017 rose by EUR 8.6 million (10.1 percent) from EUR 84.6 million in 2016 to EUR 93.2 million in the current financial year. At EUR 32.0 million, the third-quarter revenue figure was up by EUR 2.4 million (8.2 percent) compared with EUR 29.6 million in the same period of 2016.

Operating EBITDA (operating earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation) for the first three quarters of 2017 stood at EUR 1.2 million, down EUR 1.7 million (57.5 percent) compared with the total of EUR 2.9 million over the same period in 2016. The third-quarter figure was minus EUR 1.5 million, down EUR 4.2 million compared with the figure of EUR 2.7 million for the same quarter in 2016.

EBITDA(earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation) ended the nine-month period under review at minus EUR 0.1 million, down EUR 3.5 million (first nine months 2016: EUR 3.4 million). At minus EUR 1.5 million, third-quarter EBITDA for 2017 was EUR 3.9 million lower compared with EUR 2.4 million in 2016.

The year-on-year fall in EBITDA was anticipated and is primarily due to higher marketing and personnel costs.

EBIT(earnings before tax and interest) for the first nine months of 2017 stood at minus EUR 4.5 million, down EUR 3.8 million compared with the figure of minus EUR 0.7 million in the same period of 2016. At minus EUR 3.0 million, third-quarter EBIT was EUR 4.0 million lower (third quarter 2016: EUR 1.0 million).

EBT (earnings before tax) for the first three quarters fell by EUR 4.0 million from minus EUR 0.6 million in the same period of 2016 to minus EUR 4.6 million in the current financial year. Third-quarter EBT stood at minus EUR 3.1 million (third quarter 2016: EUR 1.1 million) and was therefore down EUR 4.2 million.

Consolidated net profit/loss from continuing operations in the first three quarters of 2017 was minus EUR 4.9 million, down EUR 4.1 million on the figure of minus EUR 0.8 million in the same period of 2016. At minus EUR 2.8 million, the third-quarter figure was EUR 3.7 million lower (third quarter 2016: EUR 0.9 million).

Consolidated net profit/loss in the first three quarters was minus EUR 4.6 million, down EUR 3.8 million from minus EUR 0.8 million in 2016. The third-quarter figure was down EUR 3.6 million year on year at minus EUR 2.8 million (third quarter 2016: EUR 0.8 million).

Basic and diluted earnings per share from continuing operations fell by EUR 0.08 from minus EUR 0.01 in the first three quarters of 2016 to minus EUR 0.09 in the period under review. The corresponding figure for the third quarter of 2017 was minus EUR 0.05, down EUR 0.07 on the third-quarter figure of EUR 0.02 in 2016.

Outlook

In May, the company upgraded its revenue forecast for the financial year 2017 as a whole. It now anticipates an increase of between 7 and 11 percent in consolidated revenue.

Reflecting a series of targeted investments in personnel and marketing to help generate a sustained expansion in its portfolio of product and advisory services for holidaymakers, the figure for operating EBITDA is expected to lie between minus EUR 5 million and EUR 0 million.

In light of the positive results obtained in the first nine months of the current financial year, a pattern which continued in October, the Management Board believes there is a good chance that both revenue and operating EBITDA for the full year will be in the top third of the forecast ranges.

An English translation of the full interim report for the first half-year 2017 will be published soon.

About HolidayCheck Group AG:

HolidayCheck Group AG (ISIN DE005495329), Munich, Germany, is one of Europe's leading digital travel firms for holidaymakers. With a total workforce of around 400, HolidayCheck Group AG comprises HolidayCheck AG (which operates hotel review and travel booking portals by the same name), DriveBoo AG (which operates the car rental portal MietwagenCheck) and WebAssets B.V. (which operates the Zoover hotel review portals and the MeteoVista/WeerOnline weather portals). HolidayCheck Group's vision is to become the world's most holidaymaker-friendly company in the world.