DGAP-News: Bechtle AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results/Change in Forecast Bechtle AG: Continued Success Story with Strong Third Quarter 11.11.2016 / 07:29 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bechtle AG: Continued Success Story with Strong Third Quarter - Revenue up 6.4 per cent - EBT climbs 9.4 per cent - Outlook for the year adjusted upwards Neckarsulm, 11 November 2016 - Bechtle AG continued its success story in the third quarter of 2016. From July to September, the revenue increased 6.4 per cent to EUR730.0 million. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) went up 5.9 per cent to EUR35.2 million. Earnings before taxes (EBT) climbed 9.4 per cent to EUR36.3 million. The EBT margin thus reached 5.0 per cent (prior year: 4.8 per cent). As of 30 September 2016, Bechtle had a total of 7,645 employees, 491 (6.9 per cent) more than in the prior year. "We are very pleased with the performance in the third quarter. In Germany and abroad, both business segments contributed to the group's growth, supporting our positive outlook for the year as a whole", says Dr. Thomas Olemotz, Chairman of the Executive Board of Bechtle AG. Above-average growth in earnings from services The IT system house & managed services segment increased its revenue 6.0 per cent to EUR495.5 million. The growth was widely backed by stable customer demand for conventional system house services as well as for services related to modern IT architectures, such as application solutions as well as managed and cloud services. In the third quarter of 2016, segment EBIT surged by an above-average 14.6 per cent to EUR23.3 million. The EBIT margin was 4.7 per cent (prior year: 4.3 per cent). E-commerce records significant revenue increase In the reporting period, the revenue in the IT e-commerce segment climbed 7.3 per cent to EUR234.5 million. The increase of the domestic companies was especially high. These companies boosted their revenues by 8.1 per cent to EUR69.7 million. The other 13 European countries went up 6.9 per cent to EUR164.8 million. However, EBIT declined by EUR1.0 million. This was due to the higher cost base in view of the future growth. Nevertheless, the margin amounted to an excellent 5.1 per cent. Number of employees rising As of the reporting date 30 September 2016, the Bechtle Group had a total of 7,645 employees, including 516 trainees. Compared to 30 September 2015, the headcount thus went up by 491, an increase of 6.9 per cent. The increase was the result of acquisitions as well as new recruitment. On 1 September, more than 160 young people embarked on their training or integrated degree programme with Bechtle. The training ratio in Germany was 7.8 per cent. Annual forecast adjusted upwards In view of the good performance of the first nine months of 2016, Bechtle is confident that it will be able to reach the goal formulated in March 2016, which provides for a significant revenue and earnings increase for the year as a whole. However, the Executive Board has decided to step up to the original forecast, which had predicted an EBT margin at the prior-year level. In the course of the year, Bechtle has continually succeeded in noticeably increasing the margin, especially in the IT system house & managed services segment. Moreover, a large-scale forfaiting in the third quarter resulted in a positive one-time effect of EUR1.3 million on the financial earnings. Against this backdrop, the Executive Board expects a slight increase of the EBT margin for 2016 as a whole. "The earnings development in the year to date has exceeded our expectations. In view of the fact that we have significantly outperformed the prior year especially in the IT system house & managed services segment, we feel that a slight EBT margin increase would also be realistic at the group level. However, this will only be possible if the economic framework conditions remain intact in the fourth quarter and we do not experience any supply bottlenecks on the supplier side towards the end of the year", says Dr. Thomas Olemotz. Bechtle KPIs for the Third Quarter and Nine-Month Period of 2016

                         Q3/2016 Q3/2015   +/-    9M/2016   9M/2015    +/-
Revenue            EURk  730,027 686,178  +6.4%  2,158,325 1,994,690  +8.2%
 Domestic          EURk  519,632 491,136  +5.8%  1,506,253 1,371,049  +9.9%
 Abroad            EURk  210,395 195,042  +7.9%    652,072   623,641  +4.6%
 IT system house   EURk  495,528 467,567  +6.0%  1,447,579 1,321,736  +9.5%
 IT e-commerce     EURk  234,499 218,611  +7.3%    710,746   672,954  +5.6%
EBITDA             EURk   42,230  40,069  +5.4%    115,394   101,896 +13.2%
 IT system house   EURk   29,174  26,024 +12.1%     79,352    66,553 +19.2%
 IT e-commerce     EURk   13,056  14,045  -7.0%     36,042    35,343  +2.0%
EBIT               EURk   35,159  33,186  +5.9%     94,376    82,354 +14.6%
 IT system house   EURk   23,266  20,307 +14.6%     62,009    50,619 +22.5%
 IT e-commerce     EURk   11,893  12,879  -7.7%     32,367    31,735  +2.0%
EBIT margin           %      4.8     4.8               4.4       4.1
EBT                EURk   36,266  33,135  +9.4%     95,276    82,291 +15.8%
EBT margin            %      5.0     4.8               4.4       4.1
EAT                EURk   25,826  23,615  +9.4%     67,652    58,069 +16.5%
EPS                 EUR     1.23    1.13  +9.4%       3.22      2.77 +16.5%
OCF                EURk   14,557  10,197 +42.8%     20,397    27,277 -25.2%
employees (average)        7,518   7,011  +7.2%      7,354     6,831  +7.7%

                     30.09.16  30.09.15     +/-  30.09.16  31.12.15     +/-
Liquidity*     EURk   148,323   133,739  +10.9%   148,323   206,660  -28.2%
Equity ratio      %      59.6      57.4              59.6      53.9
Employees               7,645     7,154   +6.9%     7,645     7,205   +6.1%

*including time deposits and securities *** The interim statement for the third quarter of 2016 can be downloaded at bechtle.com/reports. About Bechtle Bechtle AG has about 70 IT system houses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. With its e-commerce companies in 14 countries, Bechtle is also one of Europe's leading online IT dealers. Founded in 1983, the company is headquartered in Neckarsulm, Germany, and currently has more than 7,600 employees. Bechtle offers its more than 73,000 customers from the fields of industry and trade, the public sector and the financial market a comprehensive, cross-vendor portfolio of IT infrastructure and IT operation solutions. Bechtle is listed in the technology index TecDAX. In 2015, the company's revenue amounted to approximately EUR2.8 billion. Contact Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 D-74172 Neckarsulm Investor Relations Corporate Communications/Press Martin Link Sabine Brand [email protected] [email protected] Phone: +49 7132 981-4149 Phone: +49 7132 981-4115 Fax: +49 7132 981-4116 Fax: +49 7132 981-4116 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11.11.2016 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. Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: Bechtle AG Bechtle Platz 1 74172 Neckarsulm Germany Phone: +49 7132 981-0 Fax: +49 7132 981-8000 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: bechtle.com ISIN: DE0005158703 WKN: 515870 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 518869 11.11.2016