Sedo Holding AG : publishes financial results for fiscal year 2012 and outlook 2013

• Revenue growth of 6.6% to EUR 132.7 million (previous year: EUR 124.5 million)
• EBT before one-offs: EUR 3.7 million
• Outlook: Rising revenue and earnings contributions for 2013
  
  

Cologne, March 20, 2013 - Sedo Holding AG (ISIN DE0005490155) has today published its consolidated financial results for fiscal year 2012. With a revenue growth of 6.6% the Company is in line with its forecast. Total Group revenue was up from EUR 124.5 million in the previous year to EUR 132.7 million.

In the Domain Marketing segment the revenue decline continued. A total of EUR 31.7 million was generated in fiscal year 2012, compared with EUR 38.6 million in the previous year. This corresponds to a decline of 17.9%. The number of domains tradable on the platform fell to 14.9 million as of December 31, 2012, compared with 15.7 million as of December 31, 2011. Around 3.8 million domains (December 31, 2011: 4.4 million) were available as of the reporting date for marketing in the area of performance-based domain parking. Both revenue, and the related earnings decline, within Domain Marketing reflect the overall fall in the domain parking market. By contrast with this, slight revenue growth was achieved in the domain trading area.

In the Affiliate Marketing segment, revenue grew by 17.7% to reach EUR 101.0 million in the in fiscal year 2012, compared with EUR 85.8 million in the previous year. The number of partner programs increased over 28% to 2,873, and the number of connected websites by 6% to 561,000. This revenue growth is attributable to the expansion of the major customer business and the growing internationalization. Nevertheless the realization of both of these growth-drivers is proceeding more slowly than originally expected and planned. Despite sales revenue growth significantly ahead of the market level, we failed to achieve our original ambitious growth target as a consequence. This segment's earnings figures reflect, firstly, the effects of the macroeconomic slowdown, especially in France and Spain, and, secondly, the insolvency of a major customer in Germany, which - along with the loss of sales revenues - also entailed valuation adjustments for outstanding receivables.

In line with the negative impacts on segment's earnings, earnings figures at Group level in fiscal year 2012 remained behind the previous year's figures. Specifically, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and write-downs on domains (EBITDA) fell from EUR 7.6 million in the previous year to EUR 5.0 million.

In the second quarter of 2012, EUR 57.1 million of goodwill impairment charges were made within the cash-generating unit (CGU) Sedo subgroup, as well as EUR 3.2 million at the CGU affilinet France.

As a consequence, earnings before taxes (EBT) fell from EUR 3.2 million in the previous year to EUR -56.6 million in fiscal year 2012. Earnings per share stood at EUR -1.93, compared with EUR -0.03 in fiscal year 2011.

For the 2013 fiscal year, the Management Board expects sales revenue to grow by around 10% compared with the 2012 fiscal year (2012 sales revenue: EUR 132.7 million), which is to be driven primarily by good growth in the Affiliate Marketing segment, and earnings before taxes between EUR 4.0 million and EUR 5.0 million.

*EBITDA - result of operating activities before depreciation, amortization and write-downs on domains.

**EBT before one-offs 2012: before goodwill impairment charges in the cash-generating unit (CGU) Sedo subgroup and in the CGU affilinet France // 2011: before goodwill impairment charges in the CGU affilinet France.