23.02.2015
QSC AG DE0005137004
DGAP-News: QSC concludes weak 2014 financial year and expects stronger earnings and financial performance once again in 2015
DGAP-News: QSC AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results/Forecast
QSC concludes weak 2014 financial year and expects stronger earnings
and financial performance once again in 2015
23.02.2015 / 07:30
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QSC concludes weak 2014 financial year and expects stronger earnings and
financial performance once again in 2015
- New cost-cutting and focusing programme to create savings of at least
EUR 25 million
- Cautious full-year forecast for 2015
- Revenues of more than EUR 400 million
- EBITDA of more than EUR 40 million
- Positive free cash flow
- Management Board proposes dividend of 10 cents per share
Cologne, February 23, 2015. Following the disappointing course of business
in 2014, QSC is as previously announced introducing an extensive
cost-cutting and focusing programme. This will create savings of more than
EUR 10 million in the current year already. From 2017, the Company plans to
achieve sustainable cost reductions of at least EUR 25 million a year. One
specific programme component involves staff cuts affecting around 350
employees over the next two years. The overall programme will substantially
assist the Company in boosting its earnings and financial strength in the
current financial year already.
Revenues of EUR 431.4 million in 2014 financial year
Based on preliminary calculations, QSC generated revenues of EUR 431.4
million in the past financial year, as against EUR 455.7 million in the
previous year. Due to market and regulatory conditions, the volume of
predominantly conventional TC revenues with resellers alone declined by EUR
20.8 million to EUR 102.6 million. The other business units, by contrast,
managed to hold their revenues largely stable. Thanks to the efforts made
in the second half of the year, new orders for the 2014 financial year as a
whole grew to EUR 177.4 million, up from EUR 153.9 million in the previous
year.
The overall reduction in revenues in 2014 was accompanied by increased
costs, especially for personnel. QSC had substantially expanded its
capacities in previous years in anticipation of more rapid growth. With its
cost-cutting and focusing programme, the Company will eliminate the gap
between revenues and costs from 2015 onwards. EBITDA for the 2014 financial
year as a whole totalled EUR 35.0 million, as against EUR 77.8 million in
the previous year. Net of one-off provisions of EUR 7.2 million for its
restructuring programme, based on preliminary calculations QSC generated
purely operating EBITDA of EUR 42.2 million.
Due to the weak performance in the Reseller segment, upon preparing its
2014 consolidated financial statements QSC has recognised a one-off
goodwill impairment of EUR 18.0 million. Including this write-down, based
on preliminary calculations consolidated net profit for 2014 amounted to
EUR -34.4 million, compared with EUR 23.6 million in 2013.
The free cash flow totalled EUR -13.9 million in the past financial year,
as against EUR 25.6 million in the previous year. As already explained in
autumn 2014, this reduction was due not only to the weaker operating
performance, but also to a one-off working capital item of EUR -19.1
million. The Management Board will propose the distribution of a dividend
of 10 cents per share for the past financial year for approval by the
Annual Shareholders' Meeting.
Consistent implementation of ICT and cloud strategy
QSC is pursuing the right strategy by promoting its further development
into an ICT and cloud provider. To make up for the decline in the
conventional TC business, however, this strategy will require more
consistent implementation than previously. To this end, in developing cloud
products QSC will be focusing even more closely than before on the core
customer needs of cost optimisation, speed and user convenience.
Furthermore, the Company is developing a "Pure Enterprise Cloud" to
facilitate the integration of traditional applications and new cloud
services and thus enable customers to enter the cloud gradually.
With its two-year programme, the Company also aims to achieve substantial
savings. Together with additional measures, the planned staff cuts,
increased industrialisation of IT operations, and optimisation of
procurement will generate savings of more than EUR 10 million in 2015
already.
One key focus in 2015 involves reorganising the increasingly low-margin
Outsourcing business, with particular attention being paid to
industrialising processes, building up a new cloud platform and focusing on
SME projects. In its Outsourcing business, as in other units, QSC will be
deliberately concentrating on the "right revenues", i.e. on sustainable,
high-margin revenues.
The new programme also includes a package of measures to boost sales and
marketing. QSC will be making greater use of telesales, online sales and
other ways of addressing customers directly. At the same time, the
portfolio will be aligned even more consistently than before towards the
needs of the core SME target group. One particular focus will be on
customers in the retail, energy, financial services and mechanical and
plant engineering industries.
Against this backdrop, QSC this year expects to generate revenues of more
than EUR 400 million, EBITDA of more than EUR 40 million and a positive
free cash flow. Comments Jürgen Hermann, CEO of QSC: "We will substantially
boost our earnings and financial strength in 2015 already. Positioning
ourselves as an SME cloud provider remains the right strategy for our
business."
Notes:
The 2014 Annual Report of QSC AG will be available from March 31, 2015, at
www.qsc.de/en/qsc-ag/investor-relations.html. This Corporate News includes
forward-looking statements. These are based on current developments and
forecasts as to future events made by the management of QSC AG. Due to
risks or erroneous assumptions, actual results may deviate substantially
from these forward-looking statements.
Further information is available from:
QSC AG
Arne Thull
Head of Investor Relations
Tel: +49 221 669-8724
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.qsc.de
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Language: English
Company: QSC AG
Mathias-Brüggen-Straße 55
50829 Köln
Germany
Phone: +49-221-6698-724
Fax: +49-221-6698-009
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.qsc.de
ISIN: DE0005137004
WKN: 513700
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,
Munich, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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