DGAP-News: ecotel communication ag / Key word(s): Final Results 2016-03-31 / 08:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Revenue increases by 5 % to EUR 106.3 million (previous year: EUR 101.5 million) - EBITDA rises by 8 % to EUR 7.9 million (previous year: EUR 7.3 million) - Net income grows by 41 % to EUR 1.6 million or EUR 0.46 / share (eps) - Net assets increase by EUR 4.1 million to EUR 2.6 million - Free cash flow: EUR 5.4 million (previous year: EUR 1.5 million) or EUR 1.53 / share (previous year: EUR 0.44 / share) - Recommended dividend: EUR 0.23 / share (previous year: EUR 0.16 / share) Düsseldorf, 31 March 2016 ecotel once again succeeded in continuing the profitable course of growth in financial year 2015. All business segments of the telecommunications provider contributed to this growth. The revenue and EBITDA forecast goals were once again met or exceeded. With consolidated profit of EUR 1.6 million or EUR 0.46 / share and free cash flow of EUR 5.4 million or EUR 1.53 / share ecotel will recommend at this year's annual meeting a 44 % increase in the dividends to EUR 0.23 (previous year: EUR 0.16) per qualified share. With total consolidated revenue of EUR 106.3 million (previous year: EUR 101.5 million) ecotel again exceeded the EUR 100 million revenue threshold in financial year 2015. The high-margin core segment Business Customers increased revenue by EUR 1 million to EUR 42.9 million. Meanwhile the data and computer centre services from revenue with business customers constitute a share of 46 %. In the low-margin and difficult-to-forecast Wholesale Solutions segment revenue increased by 5.9 % to EUR 45.8 million. The New Business segment, which comprises Private Customer Solutions under the easybell brand and new media solutions under the nacamar brand, achieved a 7.3 % increase in revenue to EUR 17.6 million. In financial year 2015 ecotel again increased the gross profit, namely to EUR 27.8 million (previous year: EUR 26.6 million). This growth was achieved in part by the New Business segment with EUR 1.1 million and the Business Customers segment with EUR 0.3 million. The gross profit margin in the Business Customers segment remained nearly constant at 48.6 % (previous year: 49.1 %). Consolidated EBITDA increased by EUR 0.6 million or 8 % to EUR 7.9 million. This increase was achieved in large part by the New Business segment with a 50 % increase and a contribution of EUR 2.7 million (previous year: EUR 1.8 million). The Business Customers segment achieved EBITDA of EUR 5.2 million (previous year: EUR 5.4 million). Financial year 2015 was again influenced by one-time earnings, which had a positive effect on EBITDA in the Business Customers segment (2015: EUR 0.9 million, 2014: EUR 2.0 million). Consolidated profit increased by EUR 0.4 million or 41 % to EUR 1.6 million, which corresponds to earnings per share of EUR 0.46 (previous year: EUR 0.33). Free cash flow improved by EUR 3.9 million to EUR 5.4 million, which corresponds to a value of EUR 1.53 per share. Therefore, ecotel was able to transform the net debt of EUR 1.5 million as of 31 December 2014 into net assets of EUR 2.6 million by the end of financial year 2015. On the basis of this development the Management Board and Supervisory Board have decided to increase the recommended dividend at the annual meeting to EUR 0.23 per qualified share (previous year: EUR 0.16 / share). After the successful implementation of key contracts at the end of the financial year and the successful implementation of all technical and legal requirements for commissioning of the company's own local network at the start of the year, the Management Board is very optimistic about the year 2016. The interconnections with Telekom Deutschland GmbH and other network operators enable ecotel to provide business customers with nationwide available IP-based voice services. This will allow ecotel to migrate customers who used conventional ISDN PBX telephone networks in the past to an efficient and innovative IP infrastructure and therefore to establish sustainable customer relations for the future. In the past two years the utilisation of the free cash flow increasingly focused on investments in technical infrastructures (modernisation of the computer centre, network operation, etc.). Within the scope of the impending change in technology, ecotel will increase investments in systems, processes and personnel in financial year 2016, which will temporarily burden EBITDA. For 2016 the Management Board expects consolidated revenue of EUR 95 to 105 million, and EBITDA of EUR 7.0 to 8.5 million, with a stable gross profit margin in the Business Customers segment. The annual report and a presentation of key figures (»Time series«) are available for download on the company's website at www.ecotel.de. About ecotel communication ag: The ecotel Group (hereinafter »ecotel«) is a telecommunications company that has been active throughout Germany since 1998 and specialises in meeting the information and telecommunication (IT/telecom) requirements of customers. The parent company is ecotel communication ag. The shares are traded in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. ecotel markets products and services in the following segments: »Business Solutions (B2B)«, »Wholesale Solutions«, »Private Customer Solutions (B2C)« and »new media solutions«. ecotel's core segment is represented by »Business Solutions (B2B)«. Here ecotel offers 18,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, and increasingly also large-scale customers throughout Germany, an integrated product portfolio of voice and data services (IT/telecom solutions) from a single source. In »Wholesale Solutions« ecotel integrates the offerings for other telecommunications companies. In addition, ecotel is active in cross-network trading of telephone minutes (wholesale) for national and international carriers; for this purpose, ecotel maintains network interconnections with approximately 100 international carriers. The »Private Customer Solutions (B2C)« of ecotel include the services of the easybell Group. The Berlin-based subsidiary markets high-quality yet low-priced Internet and telephone services. For this purpose easybell provides rate-adaptable ADSL2+ and VDSL services nationwide. easybell is also one of the market leaders in the provision of classic call-by-call and Internet-by-call access. With its »new media solutions« nacamar GmbH offers streaming services for media enterprises on the basis of its own Content Delivery Network (CDN), which is hosted in the ecotel computer centre. The company also markets customised solutions for content management systems, online representations and technical developments (apps) for access by end devices (smartphones, tablet PC and smart TVs). The corporate group, with its main office in Düsseldorf, currently has about 240 employees, including subsidiaries and holdings. Note: This publication is not an offer for the sale nor an invitation for the purchase or subscription of securities. This publication is not a securities brochure. This publication and the information contained therein are not intended for direct or indirect dissemination to or within the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan. PR office: Business and Financial Media Annette Drescher (Assistant to the Managing Director) Tel.: 0211-55 007-740 Fax: 0211-55 007 5 740 E-mail: presse@ecotel.de Business media Bernadette Loosen-Flanz (PR) Tel.: 0211-55 007-316 Fax: 0211-55 007 5 316 E-mail: presse@ecotel.de For more information, please visit us on the web at www.ecotel.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2016-03-31 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: ecotel communication ag Prinzenallee 11 40549 Düsseldorf Germany Phone: +49 (0)211 55 00 70 Fax: +49 (0)211 55 00 7 222 E-mail: info@ecotel.de Internet: http://www.ecotel.de ISIN: DE0005854343 WKN: 585434 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News Service