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ecotel communication ag: ecotel maintains its profitable growth path


ecotel communication ag / Quarter Results

Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

* Confirms revenue guidance of € 100-110 million for 2008 * 2008 results affected by one time effects

Düsseldorf, November 12, 2008
ecotel continues its profitable growth path in the third quarter on a reduced scope and increased its revenues by 4% from € 25.1 million to € 26.2 million. In the first nine months revenues grew by 17% from € 67.7 to € 79.1 million.

EBITDA was € 1.4 million and stayed € 0.3 million below the previous year level compared with the adjusted third quarter figures* of 2007. The main reason for the profit decline compared with the previous year figures is due to seasonal B2B fluctuations and temporarily higher procurement cost. EBITDA for the first nine months was € 4.8 million and stayed on previous year level compared with the adjusted figures of 2007.
EBIT in the third quarter 2008 was € 0.5 million and stayed € 0.2 million below the previous year level compared with the adjusted third quarter figures* of 2007. In the first nine months EBIT was € 2.2 million, net income was € 0.9 million and earnings per share amounted to € 0.22 and € 0.30 adjusted for deferred taxes.

ecotel considers 2008 as the year of consolidation and new orientation. The company focuses on the integration of the acquired companies in order to leverage the synergies. Therefore the company is currently centralizing the corporate functions of nacamar and ADTG into the headquarters in Düsseldorf. Beyond this ecotel expects to identify new growth potential in all business segments. In the forth quarter ecotel is also benefiting from purchasing cost cuts which have successfully been renegotiated with our suppliers in the third quarter.

Based on the improved procurement cost and the resulting higher gross profits ecotel maintains its guidance for 2008. The company expects to generate revenues of € 100 – 110 million and to generate an EBITDA adjusted for extraordinary cost and revenues of appr. € 7 million.
In order to improve its market share in the B2B segment ecotel is planning increased sales activities for mobile services, VPN Ethernet and local loop unbundling (LLU). Beyond this we expect further business growth in the wholesale and new business segment. For 2009 we expect an adjusted EBITDA of at least the amount of EBITDA as in 2008.


-------------------------------------------------- * A comparison with the previous year figures is of limited value due to the fact that the 2007 figures contain significant one time revenues. In addition, the quarterly and first half financial figures of 2007 included insufficient provisions for 'unexpected' cost at nacamar GmbH, which were readjusted only in the third quarter of 2007.


About ecotel communication ag:

ecotel is a telecommunications company which operates in Germany and focuses on three  business divisions.

In its core division 'Business Customers' the company offers an integrated product portfolio of voice, data and mobile services. ecotel meanwhile provides more than 45.000 business customers within Germany with standardised and individual telecommunications solutions and consistently pushes its fixed mobile convergence (FMC) strategy.
In its second division 'Wholesale Customers' the company provides carrier and wholesale services to other telecoms operators and to non-industry distributors. ecotel deploys state of the art enabling and switching platforms in order to provide its product portfolio (unbundled local loops, broadband access lines, mobile services) to other resellers. At the same time the company achieves economics of scale and broadens its value chain for its own core business 'business customers'.

The division 'New Business' contains ecotel’s fast growing subsidiaries and new ventures. Apart from PPRO, easybell, ecotel private and toBEmobile this division also includes nacamar’s New Media business, which has been transferred into this unit.

ecotel was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Düsseldorf. At present, the group has 220 employees. It is among the fastest growing technology companies and was ranked among the top 50 companies in the Deloitte 'Technology Fast 50' competition for the past four consecutive years.

Please note:
 
This publication does not constitute an offer for the sale of shares in the company or a solicitation of an offer for the purchase of shares in the company. Furthermore this publication shall not constitute a securities prospectus. This document must not be distributed outside of Germany, in particular not in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan.

Press contact:

ecotel communication ag

Wirtschafts- und Finanzmedien
Annette Drescher (Assistentin des Vorstandes)
Tel.: 0211-55 007-740
Fax: 0211-55 007 5 740
Email: presse@ecotel.de

Fachmedien
Alexandra Rath (Leitung Marketing/ PR)
Tel.: 0211-55 007-310
Fax: 0211-55 007 5 310
Email: presse@ecotel.de

Further information: www.ecotel.de.


12.11.2008  Financial News transmitted by DGAP

 
Language:     English
Issuer:       ecotel communication ag
              Prinzenallee 9-11
              40549 Düsseldorf
              Deutschland
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: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Stuttgart, München, Düsseldorf  
End of News DGAP News-Service  



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