DGAP-News: adesso AG / Key word(s): Final Results/Forecast adesso confirms preliminary figures of 2015 annual financial statements with high sales and earnings growth / proposed dividend increase of 20 % 24.03.2016 / 07:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- adesso confirms preliminary figures of 2015 annual financial statements with high sales and earnings growth / proposed dividend increase of 20 % With today's publication of the consolidated financial statements, adesso AG confirms that it has exceeded the earnings forecast as announced on 26 February 2016. With sales growth of 25 % to EUR 196.4 million and a 46 % increase in the operating result (EBITDA) to EUR 14.3 million, the company achieved new record levels. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose a 20 % higher dividend of EUR 0.30 per share to the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. Against the backdrop of adesso's growth initiatives, further increases in sales and earnings are also targeted in 2016. The strong sales growth of 25 % to EUR 196.4 million was achieved organically by 17 percentage points from the expansion of existing activities and by 8 percentage points from the acquisition in Switzerland in mid-2015. Organic growth was generated in almost all of adesso's core industries and especially in Germany. Initial showcase projects were secured in the new Automotive & Transportation sector. adesso was able to increase the number of employees at all German locations even though the recruitment market remains challenging. As part of its internationalisation strategy, adesso Turkey continued to expand to more than 50 employees, and is now able to handle medium-sized projects. The first hybrid nearshore projects were secured at the Turkish subsidiary. In the US, sales with new customers merely remained at the previous year's level. Substantial headway was made in 2015 in terms of the strategy of establishing adesso as a relevant provider of central software products for the insurance sector. Besides the completed, multi-selling segment solution for life insurance companies, the company also pushed ahead with developing other segments for the cross-sector in|sure product suite. Sales from licenses and implementation services increased sharply in 2015. Thanks to solid capacity utilisation, profitable fixed-price projects and good license revenue, the operating result EBITDA grew disproportionately to sales at 46 % to EUR 14.3 million, and consolidated earnings improved to EUR 5.3 million, up 33 % compared to the previous year due to higher initial amortisation from the acquisition. These are new records. The operating margin increased from 6.2 % in the previous year to 7.3 %. adesso achieved all its financial targets in 2015. While the takeover in Switzerland contributed some EUR 12.9 million in sales and around EUR 1.3 million to EBITDA in the second half of the year, the contribution to earnings per share was negative due to the write-downs of the assumed order backlog. Earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.82 in 2015 (previous year: EUR 0.59; + 39 %). The Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose a 20 % higher dividend of EUR 0.30 per share to the Annual Shareholders' Meeting. Cash flow from operating activities rose from EUR 9.2 million in the previous year to EUR 16.9 million. Cash and cash equivalents amounted to EUR 28.2 million as of the reporting date (previous year: EUR 23.7 million). However, net liquidity after the deduction of interest-bearing liabilities declined from EUR 18.0 million in the previous year to EUR 6.4 million due to acquisition loans. adesso targets growth of 12 to 18 % to EUR 220 to EUR 232 million in 2016, which is again significantly higher than the expected market growth. The minimum EBITDA margin has been lifted to 6.5 % thanks to further improvement in earnings as part of the internationalisation strategy and due to continued sales growth in connection with insurance solutions. Combined with sales growth, the operating result (EBITDA) is therefore expected to amount to EUR 14.5 million to EUR 17.0 million. As in the previous year, the earnings contribution in the second half of the year is expected to be higher due to the higher number of working days and the higher license revenue share in the second half. Despite a major acquisition in mid-2015, additional takeovers are not ruled out. The Annual Report and a multi-year overview of the key figures are available at www.adesso-group.de under Investor Relations. Contact: Martin Möllmann Manager Investor Relations Tel.: +49 231 7000-7000 E-Mail: [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 24.03.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: adesso AG Stockholmer Allee 20 44269 Dortmund Germany Phone: +49 231 7000-7000 Fax: +49 231 7000-1000 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.adesso-group.de ISIN: DE000A0Z23Q5 WKN: A0Z23Q Listed: Regulated Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (General Standard), Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 448509 24.03.2016