DGAP-News: ifa systems successfully completed the financial year 2018

ifa systems successfully completed the financial year 2018

• Revenue and result targets achieved for 2018
• Focus on the core business creates basis for further growth
• Integration platform at the center of the future strategy

The ifa systems AG, a listed specialist for Health-IT applications in ophthalmology, has achieved its revenue and result targets in the financial year 2018. The revenue in the ifa Group amounted to EUR 6.6 million (previous year: EUR 8.6 million). The significant decrease was in connection with the completed major projects in 2017 (EUR 2.3 million). Adjusted for this effect, growth (2.1 percent) in the core business was successfully generated in the past financial year. After completing the restructuring process and the strategic reorientation, the operating result (EBIT) with EUR 106 thousand also returned to be positive (previous year: EUR -7.8 million).

"Thus, the adjustments have proved to be successful and appropriate", says Jörg Polis, chairman of the Management Board of ifa systems AG. "We expect that profitability will also further improve in accordance with the business development in the future."

Revenue growth in the core business

As expected, the concentration on the core business in the financial year 2018 led to significant changes in revenue in some product groups. The revenues of the basic licenses increased by 28 percent; they result from the first sale of products. The revenues from hardware, third-party software and accessories also increased significantly by 24.6 percent. Here, the successful implementation of third-party software is reflected. In return, the project business with Topcon reduced close to zero as expected. The major projects were already completed in the financial year 2017.

Strong improvement in results by rightsizing

The calculated cost reductions in accordance with the low revenue had considerably positive effects on the result. The volume of the purchased goods and services reduced by 30.5 percent to EUR 604 thousand (previous year: EUR 869 thousand), especially due to low development costs provided by third parties. Also, the staff costs decreased by almost one-third. They amounted to EUR 3.5 million in the financial year 2018 (previous year: EUR 4.9 million). Other operating expenses reduced to EUR 2.5 million and thus to a level that can also be expected for the future. The previous year's figure was affected in the amount of EUR 1.9 million i.a. by expenses for restructuring and other one-time effects

In total, a consolidated net income of EUR 740 thousand (Previous year: EUR -9.3 million) was generated in the financial year 2018 corresponding to a result of EUR 0.27 per shares outstanding (previous year: EUR -3.38) Given the fact that the free cash flow is still negative for 2018 (EUR -606 thousand), the Management Board once again suggests distributing no dividends for the year 2018.

Outlook 2019 Revenue growth and significant improvement in results

The figures of the past financial year show that the ifa Group has strategically repositioned itself and emerged strengthened from the restructuring. The Management Board is confident that the positive development will also continue in the financial year 2019.

The ifa Group expects a slight growth in revenue to EUR 6.8 million and up to EUR 7.2 million. The highest growth rate shall be contributed by ifa systems AG which will benefit especially in the first half-year from the installations of the telematics infrastructure (TI). "The TI provides a good opportunity to further expand the installed customer base and equip them with complementary solutions", says Mr. Polis. "The Electronic Medical Record, as core element of our integration platform, will significantly gain in importance in the next years due to the implementation of TI.

The operating result (EBIT) shall significantly improve further in the financial year 2019. Depending on the revenue performance, it is planned with a volume between EUR 0.2 and 0.5 million, which would correspond on average to an EBIT margin of approximately 5 percent. Furthermore, a positive operating cash flow shall again be generated in 2019, which was still burdened by the restructuring in the financial year 2018.

"The sustained stabilization of the business situation in the second half of 2018 has led to utilize ifa system AG's financial resources to reduce external debts step by step", says Polis. In the first quarter of 2019, a part of the loan at the Mizuho Bank has already been returned.

Annual General Meeting on June 7, 2019

At this year's Annual General Meeting, besides the common proposed resolutions, the possibility of repurchasing shares shall be put to the vote as well. The Management Board and the Supervisory Board request permission to use this instrument over the period until 2024 if required.

Contact for questions:
ifa systems AG
Augustinusstr. 11b
50226 Frechen (Germany)
ir@ifasystems.de
+49 2234 933 670

The Company:

The ifa systems AG is listed on the open market at the German Stock Exchange under ISIN: DE 007830788. The Topcon Corp., a Japanese Technology company, holds more than 50.1 % shares through the subsidiary Topcon Europe Medical B.V. and is also noted (Japanese Stock Exchange Tokyo 7732 TYO).
The ifa Group develops, distributes and installs software solutions and components especially targeted at ophthalmologists and eye clinics in the fast-growing health IT industry. The focus of these solutions is to ensure that the patients receive the best treatment. The core principle is that specialized electronic patient files include all the details of examinations and treatments in ophthalmology. Besides interfaces to almost all ophthalmic devices on the market there are also interfaces to third-party software systems available to match the individual needs of clinics and practices. Already more than 480 interfaces to more than 100 manufacturers have been developed so far. ifa systems AG provides the integration platform for the applications here. Doctors can gain knowledge on the respective guidelines, treatment methods and possible risks based on the captured and exchanged data. According to experts this niche market will grow to a volume of over USD 6.2 billion by 2020.
The company maintains users in over 25 countries world-wide, using a total of more than 15,000 workstation licenses and processing and managing far more than 220,000 clinical patient cases with ifa's solutions every day.

Key figures table for 12/31/2018
ifa systems Group, in accordance with IFRS