Press Release
COMPANY NEWS RELEASE
-
By the end of nine months already significant increase in the result:
Significant improvement in EBIT and EBITDA margins
- ECM segment delivers positive result
Berlin, November 9, 2007 – The first nine months of 2007 have reinforced the
stable uptrend of Beta Systems Software AG. The Berlin-based software supplier affirmed its
turnaround in the third quarter as well and raised after nine months its result significantly to €
0.7 million, up from €-19.3 million. (EBIT, which is the equivalent of the Operating result from
continuing operations, including Other income). EBITDA stood at € 3.4 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € -15.9
million) and the EBITDA margin came to 5.5% (Q1-Q3/2006: negative).
In the period under review and despite the lower volume of sales seasonally typical of the
summer months in the third quarter, the profitable license business and the services business
continued to post growth rates of 10% and 15% respectively. Moreover, the cost cutting measures,
combined with the focus on core activities of the previous year, bore fruit, with the result that,
by the end of the first nine months of 2007, operating expenses had been slashed by 29.0%, down
from € 44.6 million to € 31.7 million. Most gratifying was the result of the ECM segment which came
to a clearly positive € 1.3 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € -9.0 million). These measures were reinforced by
the “Beta 4Agility“ program initiated at mid-year and aimed at enhancing product innovation and
sales.
Key financial data in the first nine months of 2007
- Significant increase in the operating result (EBIT, including Other income) to € 0.7 million
(Q1-Q3/2006: € -19.3 million)
- Notable increase in EBITDA to € 3.4 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € -15.9 million)
- License revenues climb 10.2% to € 16.5 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € 15.0 million)
- Services revenues grow 15.4% to € 10.8 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € 9.4 million)
- New sales mix, with deliberate foregoing of the low-margin hardware business, has led to the
level of total revenues falling, as planned, to € 61.2 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € 67.7 million)
- Adjusted for the hardware business, total revenues rose marginally to € 58.8 million
(Q1-Q3/2006: € 58.3 million)
- Cash flow from operating activities again positive at € 0.5 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € -4.4
million)
- At the end of nine months, the net result for the period was marginally positive at € 0.3 million (Q1-Q3/2006: € -10.8 million) Earnings per share come to € 0.03 (Q1-Q3/2006: € -1.23)
Key financial data in the third quarter of 2007
- Operating result (EBIT, including Other income) climbs to € 0.3 million (Q3/2006: € -0.2
million)License revenues improve to € 5.2 million (Q3/2006: € 5.0 million)
- Sales in the Services and Maintenance businesses remain stable at € 3.2 million
(Q3/2006: € 3.5 million) and € 10.2 million (Q3/2006: € 11.3 million)
- Level of total revenues down (-71.7% to € 0.7 million as against 2006) to € 19.4 million owing
to withdrawal from the low-margin hardware business (Q3/2006: € 22.4 million)
- Quarterly result improves to € 0.3 million/€ 0.03 per share (Q3/2006: € 0.1 million/€ 0.02 per share)
Statement by the Chief Executive Officer
“In the third quarter of 2007 we have again delivered proof that the new strategy
of our company has set us on the right course and enabled us to raise our profitability further. In
the first nine months, we reaped the benefit first and foremost from our more efficient our sales
and marketing operations as well as from our considerably improved cost structure. As a result, we
recorded new increases in software license and services revenues, and the result improved
significantly in comparison with the previous year’s period. Our turnaround has thus been
sustainably affirmed,” commented Kamyar Niroumand, CEO of Beta Systems Software AG. “With “Beta
4Agility“, our products and sales initiative launched in parallel in the second quarter of the
fiscal year, we have reinforced our presence in the market as a supplier of innovative integration
software solutions and are responding to the current requirements in the environment of our major
customers and the IT trends.”
Outlook for the financial year 2007 reaffirmed
The turnaround, which had been successfully implemented by the end of nine months,
reinforces the guidance given at the start of the year 2007 for a significant improvement in the
result of the fiscal year as a whole. Given the fourth quarter of the fiscal year when sales and
revenues are typically high, the Management Board assumes that revenues (adjusted for hardware
revenues) will grow marginally and that there will be a significant increase in the result, with a
single-digit EBIT margin.
More information
Our Investor Relations Team are at your disposal for any questions you may have on
the results of the third quarter of 2007. They can be contacted under the telephone number
+49 (30) 726 118-171 or by e-mail
ir@betasystems.com.
The complete Report for the third quarter 2007 has been posted on the company’s web site at
www.betasystems.de under the “Investor Relations” heading.
End of the press release
Beta Systems Software AG Berlin (Prime Standard: BSS, ISIN DE0005224406) develops high-profile software products and solutions for the secure and efficient processing of large data volumes. The core businesses of Beta Systems comprise document processing as well as IT user management data processing in data centers and compliance solutions. In addition, the Beta 4Agility suite offers large companies new integration products to enhance their agility in IT and business processes. The products serve to simplify the automation of data and document processing and improve on the security and performance of IT.
Beta Systems, which has been a listed company since 1997, was founded in 1983 and has a workforce of more than 600 employees. The company’s principal place of business is Berlin. Beta Systems has Centers of Competence in Augsburg, Cologne and Calgary, as well as 17 subsidiaries worldwide and cooperations with numerous partner companies. With more than 3,000 running installations, it has a customer base of more than 1,300 major companies from the sectors of financial services and IT service providers and industry at large in Germany, Europe and the USA.
More information on the company and its products can be found under www.betasystems.com.
Contacts:
Company contact:
Beta Systems Software AG
Stefanie Frey
Tel.: +49 (0)30 726 118-171
Fax: +49 (0)30 726 118-800
e-mail:
stefanie.frey@betasystems.com
Agency contact:
HBI PR&MarCom GmbH
Alexandra Osmani, Alexandra Janetzko
Tel.: +49 (0)89 99 38 87-0
Fax: +49 (0)89 930 24 45
e-mail:
alexandra_osmani@hbi.de;
alexandra_janetzko@hbi.de
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