euro adhoc: feratel media technologies AG
quarterly or semiannual financial
statement
3rd quarter with healthy increase in sales and results for feratel
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
9-month report
29.03.2007
"In the third quarter of the 2006/2007 business year, sales were up from 6.2 to 6.7 million euros in the period-to-period comparison. For the first nine months of the business year, consolidated sales thus increased from 12.1 to 12.6 million euros," says Dr. Markus Schröcksnadel, CEO at the listed feratel media technologies AG.
"The results are equally pleasing," Schröcksnadel continues in his explanation of the latest quarterly figures: "EBT for the third quarter improved from 1.2 million euros in 2005/2006 to 1.6 million in 2006/2007. The operative result (EBIT) was up from 1.2 to 1.5 million euros. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came to 1.9 million euros after 1.6 million in the previous year. For the first nine months of the business year, EBT thus improved from TEUR 161.3 to TEUR 528.3 and the operative result from TEUR 69.5 to TEUR 396.1, and EBITDA came to 1.6 million euros after 1.4 million in the same period of the previous year. The take-over of the Sitour subsidiaries, which will be fully consolidated as of 1 February 2007, will not influence sales and results until the 4th quarter."
The feratel company took advantage of this years ITB in Berlin to present a number of new and enhanced products. A Guest Card pilot project was run in the Pyhrn-Priel region some time ago with the support of Siemens and various other partners. In the meantime the feratel holistic solution philosophy applies here too: Whatever type of card is required - prepaid, all-inclusive or simple visitor card - feratel now offers one-stop shopping for the complete hardware, the readers and of course the necessary software.
Also at the ITB, the TV station TW1 and feratel presented interactive Multitext, a further development of the familiar videotex format for television. The technology involves reducing the TV image to one quarter of the original size and simultaneously displaying up-to-date weather and tourism information. The offering includes all feratel weather cam images, current weather data and forecasts for Europe and Austria, tourism news and upcoming events. The feratel Deskline destination management system can also be integrated to accept enquiries for rooms and apartments. The navigation has been kept as simple as possible and is based on the numbers and color keys on the remote control. The only technical requirement is an mhp-capable set-top box (receiver with integrated Multimedia Home Platform). The box is in any case required for the switchover to digital TV and, except for the cheapest models, they are mhp-capable.
The Munich Tourismusberatung IRS Consult company took advantage of the ITB to conduct its fourth anonymous study of the service provided by 4,948 tourism resorts with the help of fictional reservation enquiries by e-mail. In both the postal and e-mail categories, two of the top three destinations were found to be using the feratel Deskline destination management system.
Outlook For the Schröcksnadel group the Sitour subsidiary, which was founded in what was then Czechoslovakia in 1991, brought an early focus on the Eastern European markets. That was followed in 1996 by the installation of the first weather cameras in the Czech Republic and subsequently Slovakia. By 2000 feratel had entered the Hungarian market, and the company has also been active with a shareholding and its own development center in Bulgaria since 2002. Finally, in 2006, feratel won a contract for a nationwide reservation system in Slovenia.
With the integration of the two Sitour subsidiaries in Slovakia and the Czech Republic, feratel is now ideally placed to further strengthen its Eastern European focus. The impressive economic performance of the new member countries of the EU, their tourism potential plus a range of structural development programmes based on national funding and EU co-financing make these markets particularly attractive for feratel.
"For financial 2006/2007, which closes at the end of April, we are expecting a further improvement in sales and results. The fact that the Sitour subsidiaries in Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will be fully consolidated retroactively as of 1 February 2007 reinforces this positive assessment", the feratel CEO concludes.
The 3rd quarter of 2006/2007 in figures (pursuant to IFRS)
Q 3 2006/2007 Q 3 2005/2006
TEUR TEURSales 6.667,2 6.185,7
Income from operations 6.931,1 6.287,9
EBITDA 1.878,5 1.602,2
EBIT 1.505,6 1.204,1
EBT 1.574,0 1.231,8
The first nine months of 2006/2007 in figures (pursuant to IFRS)
Q 1-3 2006/2007 Q 1-3 2005/2006
TEUR TEURSales 12.565,5 12.142,3
Income from operations 13.116,2 12.541,4
EBITDA 1.567,9 1.363,5
EBIT 396,1 69,5
EBT 528,3 161,3
end of announcement euro adhoc 30.03.2007 07:15:00
Further inquiry note:
Herr Fritsch Martin
Branche: Technology
ISIN: AT0000737804
WKN: 615165
Index: Standard Market Auction
Börsen: Börse Berlin-Bremen / free trade
Baden-Württembergische Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse / free trade
Bayerische Börse / free trade
Wiener Börse AG / official dealing