DGAP-News: Netfonds AG: Growth segments generate significant revenue and earnings growth in the first half of 2018

Growth segments generate significant revenue and earnings growth in the first half of 2018

- Gross consolidated revenues again grew double-digit by 13.5 percent to EUR 46.6 million
- aEBITDA (ex IT Investments) stands at EUR 1.4 million
- Segments Regulatory and Technology as the main growth drivers

Hamburg, 25 September 2018 - Netfonds AG (ISIN: DE000A1MME74), a leading platform for administration, advisory, transaction processing and regulation for the financial industry, grew both in sales and earnings in the first half of 2018. The strongest growth drivers in particular were the two segments "Regulatory" and "Technology" (liability umbrella, Software-as-a-Service and Asset Management-as-a-Service), which enable clients such as fund and investment advisers, asset managers and affiliated banks to access the consulting and execution technology platform through software licenses or the outsourcing of services and processes.

Gross consolidated revenues again reached double-digit growth of 13.5 percent to EUR 46.6 million (H1 2017: EUR 41.1 million). At EUR 9.3 million, net consolidated sales were 21.4 percent higher than in the previous year (H1 2017: EUR 7.6 million). Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and one-off IT investments in the further expansion of the FinFire (aEBITDA) platform amounted to EUR 1.4 million. Total IT investments in the first half of the year amounted to approximately EUR 1.3 million, of which EUR 0.8 million were non-recurring expenses. Around 45 internal and external specialists are currently working on the completion of the new FinFire platform.

"We are presently investing heavily in the final stages of expansion of our digital platform FinFire, which is why we want to clarify by means of the additional disclosure of an aEBITDA how our result develops purely operationally," explains Karsten Dümmler, CEO of Netfonds AG. "Although the official launch of FinFire will not take place until the fourth quarter of 2018, we can see significant growth in our Regulatory and Technology growth segments ahead of time." With the Go Live of FinFire, Netfonds expects another significant increase in economies of scale. As part of the Group's transformation into a technology company and the associated increase in revenues from Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), annual sales are set to increase further. "The annual recurring revenues already account for around 65 percent of the total at Group level," says Karsten Dümmler.

The most important key figures in the first half of the year were as follows:

*adjusted for extraordinary IT investments

The equity of the Netfonds Group increased from EUR 5.8 million at the end of 2017 to EUR 11.3 million. This resulted primarily from the contribution of minority interests of the asset management companies in the first half of 2018. Consolidated profit for the period amounted to EUR 1.5 million as of 30.06.2018.

The strategic enhancement of the business model to include technology requires future reporting in the four subsegments Regulatory, Technology, Wholesale and Marketing & Products.

The strongest growth was recognized in the Regulatory segment, where sales were by 155.8 percent to EUR 2.7 million (H1 2017: EUR 1.1 million), followed by Technology, where segment revenues increased by 80.4 percent to EUR 8.2 million (Hi 2017: 4, EUR 7 million). Sales in the Marketing & Products segment were stable at EUR 1.0 million (H1 2017: EUR 1.0 million). The Wholesale division, with sales of EUR 34.7 million, remained at the previous year's level.

In detail, revenues by segment in the first half of 2018 developed as follows:

For the full year 2018, the Management Board of Netfonds AG expects gross consolidated revenues of between EUR 92 and 97 million (2017: EUR 86.0 million) and net consolidated revenues of between EUR 19 and 20 million (2017: EUR 17.1 million). EUR). The aEBITDA is expected in the range of EUR 2.5 to 3.0 million. Total one-off IT expenses are expected at around EUR 1.5 million for the current fiscal year.

Further information on the Netfonds Group and its affiliated subsidiaries can be found at www.netfonds.de.

Contact

Ingo Middelmenne
Head of Investor Relations

Netfonds AG
Heidenkampsweg 73
20097 Hamburg

Mobile: +49 - 174 - 90 911 90
Phone: +49 - 40 - 822 267 355
Email: imiddelmenne@netfonds.de

About the Netfonds Group

The Netfonds Group is a leading platform for administration, advisory, transaction processing and regulation for the German financial industry. Under the FinFire brand, the company provides its customers with a web-based technology platform that enables users from the financial industry to handle financial market transactions fully, securely and, most importantly, fully compliant with MiFID II requirements. The offer is tailor-made for a wide variety of day-to-day business requirements, from fund management companies, asset managers and financial advisers to specialist banks and insurance companies. Customers of Netfonds thus benefit from the most modern software solution on the market, which significantly simplifies the advisory process, makes it secure and enables target group-specific product marketing. With a total of 165 employees, the company generated gross revenues of EUR 86 and net revenues of EUR 17.1 million in 2017. The share of Netfonds AG is listed under ISIN DE000A1MME74 in the m:access of the Munich stock exchange and will be traded on a timely basis via the electronic trading platform XETRA.