Corporate News : HolidayCheck Group expands market share in second quarter of 2016 – revenue and EBITDA both up on previous year

HolidayCheck Group AG (formerly Tomorrow Focus AG) increased its market share in both the first and second quarter of 2016 against a background of generally weak industry activity.

Based on the company's own estimates, especially the package holiday market in Central Europe registered a drop in turnover by between 5 and 10 percent in the first two quarters of the year compared with the same period of the previous year. One of the main reasons for this was the recent series of terrorist attacks in Belgium, France and Turkey. As a result of the heightened sense of insecurity created by the attacks, many holidaymakers were unwilling to go ahead with bookings.

Repeating its first-quarter success, HolidayCheck AG achieved substantial revenue growth in the second quarter of 2016 in its biggest market, the package holiday business, therefore giving a further boost to its market share.

As expected, revenue at the Dutch subsidiary WebAssets B.V. was down on the previous year. This was mainly due to the sale of Zoover's and Tjingo's travel agency operations at the end of 2015 and the almost complete discontinuation of WeerOnline's B2B activities. By contrast, the travel intermediary business grew by over 20 percent.

HolidayCheck Group AG's consolidated revenue for the first half-year was up by a small margin of 0.5 percent from EUR 54.7 million in 2015 to EUR 55.0 million in the current financial year. At EUR 24.9 million, the second-quarter total was 2.5 percent higher compared with EUR 24.3 million in the same period of 2015.

At EUR 1.0 million, EBITDA for the first half of 2016 was down 37.5 percent year on year (first half 2015: EUR 1.6 million). Second-quarter EBITDA rose from minus EUR 0.2 million in 2015 to EUR 0.3 million in the current financial year.

EBIT for the first half of 2016 stood at minus EUR 1.8 million compared with minus EUR 1.7 million in the same period of 2015. Second-quarter EBIT was minus EUR 1.1 million (second quarter 2015: minus EUR 1.8 million).

The financial result in the first half of 2016 stood at EUR 0.1 million compared with minus EUR 0.7 million in the same period of 2015. The financial result in the second quarter of 2016 stood at EUR 0.1 million compared with minus EUR 0.4 million in the same quarter of 2015.

This was due to reductions of EUR 0.6 million and EUR 0.4 million in financial expenses in the first half-year and second quarter respectively, primarily as a result of lower interest expenses for loans.

EBT stood at minus EUR 1.7 million in the first half of 2016 (first half 2015: minus EUR 2.3 million). EBT in the second quarter of 2016 was minus EUR 1.0 million (second quarter 2015: minus EUR 2.2 million).

Consolidated net income/loss from continuing operations was minus EUR 1.7 million in the first half of 2016 (first half 2015: minus EUR 3.0 million). The corresponding figure for the second quarter was minus EUR 1.0 million (second quarter 2015: minus EUR 2.3 million).

Consolidated earnings per share from continuing operations stood at minus EUR 0.03 in the first half of 2016 compared with minus EUR 0.05 in the same period of 2015. The second-quarter figure for 2016 was minus EUR 0.02 compared with minus EUR 0.04 in the same quarter of 2015.

As at 30 June 2016, the equity ratio stood at 85.4 percent, up from the figure of 76.3 percent as at 31 December 2015.

Outlook

The HolidayCheck Group's vision is to build the most holidaymaker-friendly company in the world.

Our main focus in financial 2016 and beyond will again be on steps to intensify investment in the further development of the products and services offered by the HolidayCheck Group's holiday brands. In addition, we are not excluding the possibility of targeted acquisitions of digital travel companies that could usefully complement our existing portfolio.

In total, after adjusting for acquisitions and disposals, the Management Board believes that revenue of the HolidayCheck Group could be increased in financial 2016 by a percentage figure in the middle single digits (and therefore above the industry average) compared with the previous year.

In the view of the Management Board, the above-mentioned envisaged investment in products and services will have a positive impact on consolidated revenue and thus on the HolidayCheck Group's operating EBITDA in the medium to long term. For the current financial year, the Management Board expects Group EBITDA to at least reach the break-even point despite planned spending on investment and its strategy of increasing market share.

Note on publication

The German version of the interim report for the first half of 2016 will be published during the course of the day on the company's website at www.holidaycheckgroup.com under the heading 'Investor Relations'. The English version will be published shortly thereafter, also at www.holidaycheckgroup.com.

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, and 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.