Sedo Holding AG publishes results for the first half of 2012: Adjustment

Sedo Holding AG  / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Profit Warning

03.08.2012 21:47

Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted
by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Cologne, August 3, 2012 - Sedo Holding (ISIN DE0005490155) adjusted its
earnings forecast for the 2012 financial year on June 5, 2012, due to a
confirming negative revenue and margin trend in the Domain Marketing
segment at the beginning of the second quarter 2012. Contrary to
expectations, this trend towards weaker business in domain parking worsened
further. An acceleration of this development in the second quarter has
prompted Sedo Holding to make a fundamentally new and more pessimistic
assessment of the development of the parking business. The Company also
identifies no future turnaround in this context, and intends to continue to
operate the business profitably through adjusting structures, as well as
through exploiting all remaining opportunities. In the Affiliate Marketing
segment, positive effects were registered on the German market, while
foreign markets lagged expectations. Among other factors, this is
attributable to activities with major customers, which have started up
later and more slowly than originally planned. As part of this, the
segments' prospects, together with the goodwill of the cash-generating
units, were reviewed based on results for the first half of 2012. This has
resulted in EUR 57.1 million of goodwill impairment charges within the Sedo
subgroup, and of EUR 3.2 million at affilinet France.

At Group level, the Company generated 5.9% growth in sales revenues to EUR
66.6 million, compared with EUR 62.9 million in the previous year. Of this
amount, EUR 16.5 million of sales revenue was reported in the Domain
Marketing segment, following EUR 20.1 million in the prior year. Sales
revenues in the Affiliate Marketing segment were up by 17.3% in the first
half of 2012, rising from EUR 42.7 million in the previous year to EUR 50.1
million. The expansion of the business with major customers, and the
advancing internationalization within Affiliate Marketing, were the main
growth-drivers in this context, although both segments fell short of
expectations. The Group generated EUR 3.3 million of earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and write-downs on domains
(EBITDA), compared with EUR 4.2 million in the previous year, reflecting a
21.4% decline. As a result the first half of the year reflects the
consequences of changes to the customer structure, a shift in the regional
distribution of sales revenues, and in the structures that have been
established within the Affiliate Marketing segment, which are already
oriented towards stronger growth.

Due to the aforementioned developments in both segments, EUR 57.1 million
of goodwill impairment charges were necessitated in the Sedo subgroup
cash-generating unit, and of EUR 3.2 million in the affilinet France
cash-generating unit. As a consequence, earnings before tax (EBT) fell to
EUR -57.6 million, compared with EUR 3.7 million in the previous year.
EBT before one-offs amounted to EUR 2.7 million. After deducting EUR 1.4
million of taxes on income (previous year: EUR 1.8 million), the Group
reports net income of EUR -59.0 million (previous year: EUR 1.9 million).
The resultant consolidated net income before one-offs amounts to EUR 1.2
million. Earnings per share were standing at EUR -1.94, compared with EUR
0.06 in the prior year.

The Management Board now expects sales revenues to grow by between 5% and
10% for the full 2012 year (previous year: EUR 124.5 million), and positive
EBT before one-offs, which will be below the present objectives. It had
previously been assumed that sales revenue growth of around 10% would be
achieved 2012, and that EBT before one-offs would amount to between EUR 5.0
million and EUR 6.0 million.


Additional information: 
ISIN: DE 0005490155 
WKN: 549015 
Stock exchange ID: SDO
Market segment: Regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange
  
Sedo Holding AG
Im Mediapark 6 
50670 Cologne
Germany
  
< End of the Ad-hoc announcement> 


Contact:
Marcus Schaps
Head of PR
Sedo Holding AG
Elgendorfer Straße 57
56410 Montabaur

Tel.: +49 (0) 2602 - 96 1076
Fax: +49 (0) 2602 - 96 1013
E-Mail: presse-holding@sedo.com


03.08.2012 DGAP's Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
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Language:     English
Company:      Sedo Holding AG
              Im Mediapark 6
              50670 Köln
              Germany
Phone:        +49 - (0)221 / 34030-560
Fax:          +49 - (0)221 / 34030-564
E-mail:       holding@sedo.com
Internet:     www.sedoholding.com
ISIN:         DE0005490155
WKN:          549015
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
              in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart
 
End of Announcement                             DGAP News-Service
 
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