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Büdelsdorf, 11 November 2009 – Against the backdrop of a strategic realignment towards mobile communications/mobile Internet and the integration of the debitel Group, which was consolidated from 5 July 2008, freenet AG managed to improve its Group revenue to 2.71 billion euros in the first three quarters of 2009 – an increase of 997 million euros or 58 percent vs. the same period in 2008*.
Gross profit and EBITDA have also increased year–on-year: gross profit for the first three quarters of 2009 improved by 56.5 percent vs. 2008 to 566.2 million euros, while EBITDA for the first nine months of 2009 was up by 33.7 percent vs. 2008 to 220.9 million euros. These figures contain nearly 46 million euros in one-off expenses for the nine months of the year to date, of which around 40 million euros were incurred by the Mobile Communications segment. In the first three quarters of 2008, one-off expenses were incurred only in the Mobile Communications segment, and amounted to just under 41 million euros.
The Group result from continued operations, i.e. without the DSL business and the STRATO Group, which is up for sale, was minus 1.0 million euros for the first three quarters of 2009, compared with Group profits of 201.1 million euros in the first nine months of 2008. The Group result for the first three quarters of 2009 was negatively impacted vs. the reference period 2008 by the depreciation, which increased by 89.1 million euros, and the interest result, which declined by 27.9 million euros. In addition, non-cash deferred tax income from the debitel acquisition in Q3/2008 as well as non-cash deferred tax expenses in Q3/2009 due to the reclassification of the STRATO Group as a discontinued operation in particular resulted in negative deviation of 140.8 million euros in the income taxes shown for the nine months.
Cash flow from operating activities totalled 257.4 million euros for the first nine months of 2009, and net financial debt has been reduced by 163.8 million euros and is now at 1,162.1 million euros.
* The previous year’s figures shown here have been retrospectively adjusted to reflect the fact that costs for customer acquisition and customer retention are no longer being capitalised, and the application of IFRS 5 for “discontinued operations”. Furthermore retrospective reclassifications were made within the income statement items relating to continued operations because the contract between freenet AG and 1&1 Internet AG regarding the sale of the DSL business has now been signed.
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