DGAP-News: ecotel communication ag / Key word(s): Final Results 2015-03-31 / 08:00 --------------------------------------------------------------------- - Revenue in 2014: EUR 101.5 million (forecast: EUR 85 to 95 million) - EBITDA 2014: EUR 7.3 million (forecast: EUR 6.5 to 7.5 million) - Introduction of dividends planned Düsseldorf, 31 March 2015 ecotel again succeeded in continuing the profitable course of growth in financial year 2014. The forecast goals were again either exceeded or at least reached at the upper end. In financial year 2014 ecotel exceeded the aspired revenue threshold of EUR 100 million with a figure of EUR 101.5 million, compared to EUR 91.2 million in the previous year. This corresponds to growth of 11.3 %, which puts the company clearly above the forecast corridor of EUR 85 to 95 million. This growth of revenue is essentially due to the Wholesale Solutions and New Business segments. Revenue in the Business Solutions segment of EUR 41.9 million remained at the previous year's level (previous year: EUR 42.0 million). In this respect it should be pointed out that since mid-2014 ecotel has discontinued marketing of the company's own mobile services. Without this effect, revenue in Business Solutions would have increased slightly to EUR 42.3 million. Despite the strong growth of revenue in the low-margin area of Wholesale Solutions, gross profit was stabilised for the most part at EUR 26.6 million (previous year: EUR 26.8 million). This is essentially due to the positive development of the low-margin segments Business Solutions and New Business (easybell). EBITDA totalling EUR 7.3 million was 10.6 % higher than in the comparison period and therefore at the upper end of the forecast corridor of EUR 6.5 to 7.5 million. EBIT for the reporting period totalled EUR 3.0 million (previous year: EUR 3.2 million) and consolidated profit totalled EUR 1.2 million (previous year: EUR 1.4 million), due to higher depreciations. Earnings per share therefore decreased from EUR 0.40 to EUR 0.33. The equity ratio on the other hand increased to 47.1 %. The subsidiary easybell can also look back on a successful year 2014. Especially positive again was the development of the DSL business with All-IP-based voice products, which clearly gained in dynamics in the financial year. The total revenue of the easybell Group therefore increased by EUR 2.7 million, or 23.7 %, from EUR 11.4 million to EUR 14.1 million, with gross profit of EUR 4.1 million (29 %). Driving factors for growth are recommendations from satisfied customers who praise the good cost-effectiveness ratio and the service. This is also confirmed by various customer surveys conducted by Computer BILD and the German Association for Consumer Studies in cooperation with N24, in which easybell once again was distinguished as the best supra-regional DSL provider in Germany. Due to the positive business development and earnings situation, the Management Board and Supervisory Board have decided to recommend the introduction of a dividend of EUR 0.16 per qualified share at the Annual General Meeting. For 2015 the Management Board expects consolidated revenue of EUR 90 to 100 million, and EBITDA of EUR 7.5 to 8.5 million. In addition, the Management Board continues to pursue the goal of sustainably increasing revenue to EUR 100 million, with EBITDA of EUR 8 - 10 million by 2016. 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, as well as 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 representation 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) Phone: 0211-55 007-740 Fax: 0211-55 007 5 740 E-mail: presse@ecotel.de Business media Bernadette Loosen-Flanz (PR) Phone: 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2015-03-31 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 339411 2015-03-31