07.03.2017 – 06:50

Goldbach Group AG

EQS-Adhoc: Business results for 2016: Sharp increase in revenue and profit - Goldbach Group right on track

EQS Group-Ad-hoc: Goldbach Group AG / Key word(s): Final Results
Business results for 2016: Sharp increase in revenue and profit  - Goldbach
Group right  on track

07-March-2017 / 06:46 CET/CEST
Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR
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AD-HOC PRESS RELEASES
 
Business results for 2016
Sharp increase in revenue and profit - Goldbach Group right on track

Sales up 5.4% to CHF 496 million - EBITDA up 16% - net profit of CHF 8.8 million
(+25%) - significant contract extensions and additions of marketing mandates in
Switzerland - pleasing trend in Germany in the second semester - consistent
reorganisation of Marketing Services - another rise in net profit expected for
2017 - request for an increase in the dividend to CHF 1.20 - change to the Board
of Directors.

Küsnacht, 07.03.2017. The Goldbach Group, which is listed on the SIX Swiss
Exchange, had a successful 2016. The Group increased its revenue in declining
advertising markets by 5.4% to CHF 496 million. Adjusted to a comparable basis,
i.e. less divestment and foreign exchange effects, revenue grew by 7.0%. Owing
to the higher sales and reduction in operating expenses, EBITDA rose by 15.6% to
CHF 32.5 million. After taxes and minority interests, the net profit
attributable to the shareholders of the Goldbach Group thus came to CHF 8.8
million, compared to CHF 7.0 million in the prior year (+25.1%). Less special
effects from adjustments in the business portfolio, the net profit rose by 21.9%
to CHF 7.5 million. Based on the positive business trend, the Goldbach Group
continued its shareholder-friendly dividend policy of past years and requested
that the General Meeting approves a 20% higher payment of CHF 1.20 per share
from the capital reserves.

Ad Sales Switzerland

The business segment Ad Sales Switzerland encompasses business activities in ad
marketing in Switzerland and had total revenue of CHF 447 million (+8.0% over
the prior year). The increase in revenue boosted EBITDA in this business segment
by 6.4% to CHF 39.4 million.

Swiss TV business operated by Goldbach Media (Switzerland) AG saw robust growth
again in 2016, posting a rise of 8.2%. It did so despite a challenging
advertising environment and major TV events that were broadcast mainly on public
stations (European football championship and the Summer Olympic Games). As in
past years, Goldbach managed again in 2016 to expand its station portfolio
further with special-interest stations geared to specific target groups. A
significant part of sales growth is attributable to these acquisitions. Goldbach
currently has 38 TV stations exclusively under contract. Further major
milestones in TV business included the early extensions of the contracts with
the two key partners media group RTL Deutschland and SevenOne Media (Schweiz)
AG.

In radio business, the Goldbach subsidiary swiss radioworld AG succeeded in 2016
in enlarging its presence among agencies and advertisers. Sales from radio ads
rose by 1% despite a strong performance the year before. Marketing sales from
digital audio platforms such as Spotify and TuneIn are becoming increasingly
relevant in this context. In the financial year 2016, Goldbach also developed a
platform for programmatic radio advertising, which means booking and delivery
processes are largely automated and data-based campaigns can be delivered.
Goldbach consequently provides its customers with easier access to radio
advertising, strengthening radio as a media genre overall.

Following successful repositioning of its online business, Goldbach returned to
the growth path in 2016 in this segment, posting 14.5% higher online sales than
in the previous year. The driving force in this trend is online video
advertising. Goldbach further improved its position in this increasingly
significant media genre by obtaining the exclusive marketing mandates for Zattoo
and Teleboy. Goldbach Crossfactory and Goldbach SynchScreen were also launched
as innovative products, enabling an extension of the TV brand presence in the
online domain. The SynchScreen campaigns were wrapped up by Jaduda GmbH in
Berlin, a firm acquired in 2015. At the Zurich-Wollishofen facility, the
competence centre for data-driven ad delivery was established for all sales
entities in the Group under the aegis of Goldbach Digital Services AG.

Ad Sales Germany
Ad Sales Germany generated revenue of CHF 8.2 million in 2016, which corresponds
to an increase of 167% over the previous year. EBITDA amounts to CHF -1.2
million (versus CHF -3.4 million the year before).

Goldbach Germany developed positively in 2016 and has now fully arrived in the
market as a full-video marketer. In TV business, it has built up an appealing
portfolio of over 20 specialist-interest stations and has gained a firm foothold
among agencies and advertising clients. There is also a pleasing trend in online
business, where Goldbach offers its customers an online video portfolio with a
consistent programmatic interface. The build-up of business in the
digital-out-of-home (DOOH) segment proceeded more slowly than planned. Future
growth is to be achieved in this area through the acquisition of additional
exclusive marketing contracts and the programmatic interfacing of advertising
inventory with an automated booking platform. Smart TV was identified as a
further field of development. From 2017, Goldbach has been marketing a portfolio
of smart TV apps and portals for wellknown equipment manufacturers. Business
trends in Germany are encouraging. After two years of organic growth, the
segment began turning a profit again in the second half of 2016.

Ad Sales Austria
Ad Sales Austria posted revenue of CHF 13.0 million (+4.3%) and EBITDA of CHF
0.6 million (+6.9%). Pleasing trends were reported by the subsidiaries in
Austria. Goldbach managed once again to expand its TV, DOOH and online portfolio
in the financial year 2016 and thereby solidify its market position.

Marketing Services
Business in Marketing Services developed unsatisfactorily in 2016. Revenue fell
by -16.2% to CHF 29.7 million. As a result, Goldbach conducted a strategic
review of the segment back in the first semester of 2016 and thoroughly
restructured it. Having withdrawn from a plan in 2015 to develop a 360-degree
creative agency, the Group is now also discontinuing its production and
development of complex e-commerce platforms. In July 2016, Goldbach sold its
Digital Presences business unit based in Biel. Restructuring costs of CHF 0.7
million were recorded in the extraordinary result in this context. The operating
loss in Marketing Services at the EBITDA level amounted to CHF 2.0 million.
Drastic reorganisation measures proved unavoidable and included staff cuts. This
reorganisation is now completed. Newly aligned, Marketing Services will focus in
future on campaign-related services in the areas of performance marketing,
search marketing and social media. These services are being offered to direct
clients in Switzerland, Germany and Austria by a significantly leaner
organisation and they comprise a key strategic mainstay of the Goldbach Group
portfolio.

Extraordinary result, profit, and cash flow
In 2016, Goldbach posted an extraordinary result of CHF +1.3 million, traceable
mainly to the sale of business activities in Poland and restructuring measures
in Marketing Services. The year before, there was an extraordinary result of CHF
+0.9 million in connection with the Group's withdrawal from the Adriatic
markets. The consolidated net profit for 2016 rose by 25.1% to CHF 8.8 million;
adjusted for the extraordinary effects mentioned above, the increase was +21.9%
to CHF 7.5 million. The cash flow from operating activities amounted to CHF 28.5
million, a figure CHF 12.0 million higher than prior year.

Change to the Board of Directors
Mirjana Blume and Patrick Eberle have informed the Board of Directors of the
Goldbach Group that they will leave the Board of Directors at the General
Meeting of 6 April 2017. Jens Alder, Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Goldbach Group, thanks Mirjana Blume and Patrick Eberle for their valuable
service to the company. The Board of Directors will propose to the General
Meeting to leave the two seats vacant for the time being.

Outlook
Goldbach abides by the medium-term goals it announced last year for the planning
period 2016 to 2018. In the financial year 2017, Goldbach intends to expand its
market share in Switzerland and achieve further growth. A major step in this
regard is the exclusive partnership with Tamedia in video marketing that was
also signed at the beginning of 2017. Business in Germany is to be strengthened
and the positive trend continued. The turnaround in Marketing Services is
expected to be confirmed. The new financial year got off to a promising start,
as significant new customers such as Deichmann were added to the clientèle.

For 2017, Goldbach anticipates organic sales growth in the low single-digit
percentage range along with a rise in EBITDA in the mid single-digit percentage
range plus a net profit attributable to shareholders of CHF 9.0 to 11.0 million.

Note to analysts, investors and media representatives
Goldbach Group AG will live-stream the media briefing on the annual results for
2016 over Periscope. This means the media briefing can also be watched live from
elsewhere. Simply download the app, register over Twitter and watch the press
conference live. More information is available
from:ursina.maurer@goldbachgroup.com.

The presentation and the 2016 annual report of Goldbach Group AG is available
for downloading from our
website:http://www.goldbachgroup.com/en-us/investor-relations/financial-reports


Goldbach Group Company Profile
The Goldbach Group companies market and represent advertising in private
electronic media in the areas of television, radio, digital-out-of-home, online,
search engine and mobile marketing. As an independent aggregator, Goldbach
offers its clients advertising windows where selected target groups receive
commercial information at the right time irrespective of their location. The
Group's core business comprises planning, consulting, creation, concept
development, purchasing and implementation through to assessment of the
deployment of electronic offline and online media and cross-media campaigns
based on data-driven technologies.

The Goldbach Group is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (Swiss Reporting
Standard, security number 487094, ISIN CH0004870942; ticker symbol: GBMN), is
based in Switzerland (Küsnacht-Zurich) and is active in German-speaking
countries.

Further information:
http://www.goldbachgroup.com/en-us/investor-relations/financial-reports
http://www.goldbachgroup.com/en-us/investor-relations/ad-hoc-press-releases


Contact:
Goldbach Group AG
Lukas Leuenberger, CFO and Head of Investor Relations
Juerg Bachmann, Head of Corporate Communication and Marketing / Public Affairs
Seestrasse 39
8700 Küsnacht-Zurich
Phone +41 (44) 914 91 00
Fax +41 (44) 914 93 60
www.goldbachgroup.com

Additional features:


Document:http://n.eqs.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=SGYEHTJPVK
Document title: Business results for 2016: Sharp increase in revenue and profit
- Goldbach Group right
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End of ad hoc announcement------------------------------------------------------

Language: English

Company:  Goldbach Group AG

          Seestrasse 39

          8700 Küsnacht-Zürich

          Switzerland

Phone:    +41 44 914 91 00

Fax:      +41 44 914 93 60

E-mail:    info@goldbachgroup.com

Internet: www.goldbachgroup.com

ISIN:     CH0004870942

Valor:    487094

Listed:   SIX Swiss Exchange



 

End of Announcement EQS Group News Service

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550913  07-March-2017 CET/CEST