DGAP-News: DATAGROUP SE / Key word(s): 9-month figures Release of 9-month figures 2017/18: DATAGROUP with strong order intake 16.08.2018 / 07:31 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Release of 9-month figures 2017/18: DATAGROUP with strong order intake Revenue +22 %, EBITDA +27 % EBITDA margin up to 11.9 % Pliezhausen, August 16, 2018. DATAGROUP SE (WKN A0JC8S) today publishes its figures for the first nine months of FY 2017/2018, which has maintained strong momentum both in terms of revenue and earnings. The company has seen a very positive order intake in the year to date. Demand for complex outsourcing services is growing, especially because of the embedding of the entities acquired last year, thus securing long-term revenues. In the first nine months of the fiscal year (01.10.2017 - 30.06.2018) revenue increased by 22.1 % to EUR 199.2m (previous year EUR 163.1m). Service revenue had a share of 82.5 % (81.4 %). Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved disproportionately to revenue by 27.1 % to EUR 23.8m (EUR 18.7m), the EBITDA margin rose to 11.9 % (11.4 %). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) have grown by 3.8 % and thus at a disproportionately slower rate than revenue, up to EUR 13.3m (EUR 12.8m). This corresponds to an EBIT margin of 6.7 % (7.8 %). As expected, depreciation and amortization (without PPA) increased from EUR 3.7m to EUR 7.5m due to investments in the establishment of data centers for the CORBOX infrastructure as well as investments in operating and office equipment. They had become necessary in the context of the takeover of 306 SAP experts from HPE (now DXC) and the acquisition of HanseCom, and were taken as an opportunity to equip all the new sites as well as the existing DATAGROUP sites with modern equipment. Alongside the acquisitions made in 2017, the company also acquired property, plant and equipment, which will not have to be re-invested in this magnitude and which should lead to less depreciation in the future. PPA amortization is proceeding according to plan and amounted to some EUR 2.99m (EUR 2.21m). Earnings per share (EPS) came in at 94 cents (103 cents). Service revenue driven by increasing demand for Cloud solutions "The current fiscal year is marked by the consolidation of the recently acquired companies, so it is all the more pleasing that DATAGROUP's development in revenue and operating earnings is well on track as usual", says CEO Max H.-H. Schaber. "The very strong order intake until today is an indicator of the growth trend far beyond the current fiscal year and will further increase the share of recurring revenue." DATAGROUP sees an ongoing increase in demand for outsourcing services, especially for hybrid cloud structures. These heterogeneous data center solutions are particularly flexible, fast, and can be implemented efficiently. Depending on the requirements, hybrid cloud customers choose private cloud solutions for their processes with high security needs and private cloud solutions for applications with high scalability needs. This makes these solutions very attractive because of their lower need for investments, while there is an increased need for advice in relation to the set up and management of the IT infrastructure. The positioning as a cloud enabler for the German Mittelstand thus has proven to be a driver for DATAGROUP's service business that is tied in long-term contracts. Strong order intake A couple of new large-scale contracts were signed during the third quarter. Right after the close of the quarter, the receipt of the largest individual order in the company's history was announced. DATAGROUP has won the tender for the Next-Generation-Outsourcing of NRW.BANK over a period of ten years. The order volume is in the high double-digit million Euro range. The order can also be seen as the result of the successful embedding of ikb Data, which was taken over in 2017. This helped to build up industry expertise in the highly regulated financial sector and has led to the fact that other customers in the financial industry decide in favor of DATAGROUP. Furthermore, the company has achieved a premature extension of a contract with a public authority related to paper output management. The order volume of a Federal State authority is in the medium single-digit million Euro range and has a term of three years. Stroger focus on efficiency enhancement There are closer ties between the group's entities in organizational terms as well. This is manifested, for instance, in the combination of all Hamburg-based offices at one shared site. This process will be completed over the next few weeks. With some 350 employees, Hamburg has become the group's largest location by now. To even better realize synergies between the individual entities of the company at all levels in the future, it has been decided to expand the Management Board by a Chief Production Officer. Andreas Baresel will take on this role at the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, 2018. "The combination of local sites with central production units is planned to be organized in an even more efficient way, enabling us to realize further synergies", says DATAGROUP-COO Dirk Peters. "We are happy we could win a long-term manager from within our own company for this position." Positive outlook for the full year is confirmed The management confirms its target to grow revenue to over EUR 265m (EUR 223.1m) in the current fiscal year. EBITDA, as the key performance indicator of the operating profitability, is to increase to over EUR 30m (EUR 27.0m). The 9M report featuring detailed figures on the first nine months of FY 2017/2018 is available for download on www.datagroup.de/investor-relations. Financial Calendar September 24 Berenberg and Goldman Sachs Seventh German Corporate Conference, Munich September 25 Baader Investment Conference, Munich October 08/09 CF&B European Large & Midcap Event, Paris November 26 Publication of preliminary annual figures Presentation at the German Equity Forum, Frankfurt About DATAGROUP: DATAGROUP is one of the leading German IT service companies. Over 2,000 employees at locations across Germany design, implement, and operate IT infrastructures and business applications such as SAP. With its CORBOX product, DATAGROUP is a full-service provider, supporting over 600k global IT workplaces for medium and large enterprises as well as public authorities. In other words: We manage IT. The company is growing organically and through acquisitions. The acquisition strategy is particularly noted for its optimal integration of new companies. DATAGROUP is actively participating in the IT service market's consolidation process with its "buy and turn around" and its "buy and build" strategy. Contact for further information: DATAGROUP SE Claudia Erning Wilhelm-Schickard-Str. 7 72124 Pliezhausen Phone +49-7127-970-015 Fax +49-7127-970-033 [email protected] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16.08.2018 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: DATAGROUP SE Wilhelm-Schickard-Str. 7 72124 Pliezhausen Germany Phone: +49 (0)7127 970 000 Fax: +49 (0)7127 970 033 Internet: www.datagroup.de ISIN: DE000A0JC8S7 WKN: A0JC8S Indices: Scale 30 Listed: Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt (Scale), Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange; London End of News DGAP News Service --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 714615 16.08.2018