Marburg, April 7, 2008 – Despite a scheduled decrease in the sales revenues to € 75.70 million (previous year: € 87.70 million), 3U HOLDING AG posted a net profit of € 1.67 million (previous year: € -3.84 million) for the 2007 fiscal year. In line with the authoritative accounting provisions of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the sales revenues of LambdaNet and of the subsidiaries in Austria and the USA – as so-called “held for sale” companies – were not included in the consolidated reporting entity, merely their aggregated balance-sheet values and the results for the period. In accordance with these provisions, the depreciation at the “held for sale” companies was neutralized at group level, something which led to a positive special item.
Thanks to a consistent orientation to results, the figures for the continued business area fixed-network telephony have improved considerably, even exceeding expectations. The earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased over the previous year by € 3.23 million to € 3.09 million (previous year: € -0.14 million). In the fourth quarter of 2007 the EBITDA from continued operations amounted to € 1.56 million (Q4 2006: € -0.16 million). The earnings before taxes (EBT) rose by 867%, from € 0.43 million in 2006 to € 4.16 million in 2007, whereby € 3.02 million alone were attained in the fourth quarter of 2007 (previous year: € -1.51 million).
The earnings per share in the reporting period are € 0.04 (previous year: € -0.08). The equity capital ratio improved again, rising to 42.08% (previous year: 38.51%). The operative cash flow in the 2007 fiscal year was, as planned, positive, rising over the previous year (€ 5.22 million) to € 8.30 million.
Despite the reduction of € 5.43 million in financial liabilities at LambdaNet, the liquid funds of the group decreased only slightly as of 31.12.2007, to € 38.54 million (previous year: € 38.83 million).
For the 2008 fiscal year the board of management is planning initial shareholdings with the focus on innovative technologies and corporate restructuring. In view of the ongoing difficult market conditions for the continued business area fixed-network telephony, in 2008 external sales of ca. € 68 million are expected with a net result of € 1.5 million and EBITDA of € 1.4 million.
The sales process for the subsidiary LambdaNet has been impacted by the ongoing sub-prime crisis and is still open.
The spin-off of the telecommunications services to the newly-founded company 3U TELECOM GmbH, a move adopted by the extraordinary general meeting on January 15, 2007, could not be entered on the commercial register until December 29, 2007 as a consequence of lawsuits for rescission and declaration of nullity. The spin-off of the operating business from 3U HOLDING AG was performed retroactively for the 2007 fiscal year, meaning that more time was required in the coordination and preparation of the annual financial statements. As a consequence, the date for the publication of the 2007 annual report was postponed until April 15, 2008. It now transpires that the annual report can not be published until April 30, 2008. 3U HOLDING AG is thus complying with its statutory obligations.
Contact
3U HOLDING AG
Neue Kasseler Str. 62F D-35039 Marburg
phone: +49 6421 999-1200
fax: +49 6421 999-1998
e-mail: ir@3u.net