Sedo Holding AG : publishes nine-month figures for 2012

• Revenue growth of 7.3% to EUR 98.7 million (previous year: EUR 92.0 million)
• EBT before one-offs: EUR 2.7 million
  
  

Cologne, November 14, 2012 - Sedo Holding AG (ISIN DE0005490155) has today published its consolidated financial results for the first nine months of 2012. With a revenue growth of 7.3% the Company is in line with its forecast. Total Group revenue was up from EUR 92.0 million in the previous year to EUR 98.7 million.

In the Domain Marketing segment the revenue decline continued, as expected. A total of EUR 24.0 million was generated during the first nine months of 2012, compared with EUR 29.4 million in the previous year. The number of domains tradable on the platform fell to 15.1 million as of September 30, 2012, compared with 15.7 million as of December 31, 2011. Around 3.5 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 19.7% to reach EUR 74.8 million in the first nine months of 2012, compared with EUR 62.5 million in the previous year. The number of partner programs increased by 20.4% to 2,694, and the number of connected websites by 4.5% to 553,000. 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. This segment's earnings figures reflect, firstly, the effects of the macroeconomic slowdown, especially in France and the United Kingdom, 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 segments' negative earnings, earnings figures at Group level during the first nine months of 2012 remained behind the previous year's figures. Specifically, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and write-downs on domains (EBITDA) fell from EUR 5.5 million in the previous year to EUR 3.6 million, and earnings before taxes (EBT) adjusted to reflect one-offs were down from EUR 4.8 million in the previous year to EUR 2.7 million. The resultant consolidated net income before one-offs amounted to EUR 0.9 million.

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

After taking into account the one-off effects, the Group reported a consolidated net loss of EUR -59.3 million in the first nine months of 2012 (previous year: consolidated net income of EUR 2.7 million). Earnings per share amounted to EUR -1.95, following EUR 0.09 in the previous year.

For the full year 2012, we are retaining the targets we published at the time of the half-yearly figures, and continue to expect a revenue growth between 5 and 10% (prior-year revenue: EUR 124.5 million), and a positive EBT before one-offs.

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