DGAP-News: adesso AG

With the presentation of its 2017 consolidated financial statements, adesso outperforms the adjusted forecast / Increase in sales to EUR 321.6 million and in EBITDA to EUR 25.4 million sets new records / Increase in dividend to EUR 0.40 per share proposed / Positive outlook for 2018

After a good fourth quarter with new records in sales (EUR 88.1 million) and EBITDA (EUR 9.0 million), adesso AG ended 2017 on a positive note after a weak performance during the first half of the year. In the 20th anniversary year of adesso, organic growth was 19 % and underlines the strengths in innovation and growth. For the fifth year in a row, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board proposed to increase the dividend to EUR 0.40 per share (+ 11 %) at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. With the continuation of the ambitious growth strategy and higher investments in the development of new products, 2018 is set to see both sales and EBITDA increase by at least 9 % respectively.

With three working days fewer than in the previous year, adesso was again able to achieve organic sales growth of 19 %. The growth was achieved in particular in Germany through the acquisition of new customers, the expansion of existing customer relationships and the hiring of additional employees. All major core industries were able to boost their sales, with the highest growth in absolute terms recorded in the Banking division and highest growth in relative terms recorded in the Automotive division. In connection with the takeover of UnitCon GmbH, sales revenues increased by 23 % to EUR 321.6 million and the number of employees at the end of the year rose by 25 % to 2,712.

In March 2018, a renowned institute named adesso Germany's best employer in the top size category in the IT industry. Despite the high level of competition for talented and experienced employees, we were able to hire more new employees than ever before. In the first half of 2017, earnings were weighed down too much by high investments in growth, through the expansion of and increased number of locations, expenses related to employer branding and recruitment activities, as well as business development and the rapid development of a trainee programme. This was effectively counteracted in the second half of the year with a stronger focus on billable customer hours. After recording EBITDA of EUR 7.6 million in the first half of the year, EUR 17.8 million was generated in the second half, which is comparatively stronger due to seasonal effects.

Sales revenues rose in all international companies: Austria and Turkey were able to generate operating profit, unlike in the previous year. The development of the cross-sector in|sure product family for insurance companies continues to be positive. The additional sector solutions for private health insurance and property insurance were completed on time. New orders were received for the first time in each segment. In total, the operating result (EBITDA) rose by 8 % to a new record of EUR 25.4 million.

Depreciation and amortisation increased disproportionately by 29 % to EUR 8.2 million in comparison with sales owing to investments in equipment for the new and expanded offices and the depreciation and amortisation from purchase price allocations from the UnitCon acquisition. Income from investments was reduced by half to EUR 0.2 million due to the investment in the startup soccerwatch.tv. With an arithmetical tax rate of 32 %, consolidated profit totalled EUR 11.3 million (previous year, particularly positively influenced by tax effects: EUR 12.6 million) and earnings per share was EUR 1.79. Liquid assets came to EUR 46.5 million as of the reporting date (previous year: EUR 43.1 million). Net liquidity (liquidity less financial liabilities) increased by EUR 5.3 million to EUR 0.3 million.

For 2018, adesso projects an increase in sales revenues of at least 9 % to over EUR 350 million. The market environment, the continuation of the key customer relationships and order intake are expected to be positive. The pipeline is promising for the "Life", "Health" and "Property" sectors of the in|sure product family. The purchase and integration of the FABIS commission settlement software provides further impetus. At the same time, investments in the development of new, additional cross-sectional and specialist components will be significantly increased in 2018. The same applies to FirstSpirit. Through the continuation of growth and a stronger focus on billable customer hours, we still expect the operating earnings (EBITDA) to grow by at least 9 % to over EUR 27.7 million. With the opening of offices in other European cities, the time has come to cautiously and deliberately set up further subsidiaries. The current M&A strategy will continue to be pursued in 2018.

The annual report and tables comparing key performance figures over previous reporting periods, are available at www.adesso-group.de in the Investor Relations section.

adesso Group

With over 2,700 employees and annual sales of EUR 321.6 million in 2017, adesso Group is one of the largest German IT service providers and has outstanding opportunities for growth. At its own locations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, USA and the UK as well as at numerous customer sites, adesso offers consulting and software development services for optimising core business processes. adesso also offers ready-to-use software products for standard applications. The development of an own, industry-specific product-portfolio opens up additional growth and earnings opportunities and is another key element of the adesso strategy. 2016 and 2018, adesso was awarded as the best employer in the german IT-sector.