GFT Technologies AG / Final Results
05.03.2008
Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Preliminary figures for 2007
- Forecast clearly exceeded: revenue has grown by EUR 73.4m to EUR 247.1m.
- Increase in earnings before taxes by 85 per cent to EUR 12.4m.
- Strategic acquisition planned to strengthen the position
St. Georgen, 5 March 2008 For GFT Technologies AG (GFT), a leading
international provider of IT services, 2007 was the most successful
financial year in the companys history. After preliminary calculations,
the company was able to significantly increase both revenue and earnings
before tax (EBT).
At EUR 247.1m the total revenue was 42 per cent above that of the previous
year. The forecast raised to EUR 230m during the course of the year
could thus be exceeded yet again. Earnings before tax (EBT) also rose
accordingly: the GFT Group generated EUR 12.4m, 85 per cent more than in
2006. As expected, the earnings margin stood at around five per cent. At
the end of the prior year it was still 3.8 per cent.
At EUR 140.4m, Resourcing was the strongest business division in terms of
revenue. Its share of total revenue increased further and now stands at
around 57 per cent (previous year: 49 per cent). The division benefited
from an increase in demand for IT freelancers and, in particular, from the
considerable requirements of a new customer in the Third Party Management
segment. The increasing shortage of experts in the IT market, and the
continued trend towards fulfilling the needs of IT projects with freelance
IT specialists, continue to provide an attractive market environment in
this segment.
The GFT Group also achieved significant growth in 2007 in the Services
division, by 22 per cent to EUR 100.8m. The deciding factor here was the
expansion of the business with existing customers in the finance sector.
Due to the tense situation in the financial services industry and on the
capital markets, the fourth quarter of 2007 saw a slight hesitancy for the
first time on the part of bank customers when investing in new projects.
Although revenue in the Software division fell short of expectations at EUR
5.9m, with the new alignment of the software segment to the e-mail
archiving segment, a new and promising market will be quickly addressed. A
significant increase in revenue is to be expected here in the coming years.
In the fourth quarter of 2007, the GFT Group achieved revenues of EUR
70.7m. Earnings before tax (EBT) in this time period came to around EUR
3.6m.
As of 31 December 2007, the GFT consolidated balance sheet posted liquid
funds and securities of EUR 28.7m. The equity ratio came to 52 per cent.
As of 31 December 2007, the GFT Group employed a total of 1,087 people
ten more than as of 30 September 2007 and 30 more than at the same time the
previous year. 72 per cent of employees are employed outside Germany.
'Happily, we have even been able to exceed the ambitious goals that we set
for ourselves for 2007,' Ulrich Dietz, Executive Board Chair of GFT
Technologies AG, explains. 'In the Resourcing business division we are also
expecting dynamically increasing revenues in the coming years. The market
conditions for our customers in the finance sector continue to be
challenging. With our international software development network we can
flexibly respond to this and use the chances which emerge from these new
requirements,' Ulrich Dietz continued. 'Due to reasons pertaining to stock
corporation law, we will not be able to use the financial distribution
capability for a dividend until next fiscal year. Since we intend to
utilise our own funds and external funds to finance these strategic
acquisitions, no other type of distribution of dividends is planned. Both
in the Resourcing and in the Services business division we intend to
strengthen our position through appropriate acquisitions during this
financial year. Negotiations to this effect are currently underway.'
The final and certified financial figures for 2007 will be announced in a
balance sheet press conference on 27 March 2008.
Andrea Wlcek
Manager Investor Relations
GFT Technologies AG
Filderhauptstraße 142
70599 Stuttgart
T +49 711 62042-440
F +49 711 62042-301
andrea.wlcek@gft.com
DGAP 05.03.2008
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Language: English
Issuer: GFT Technologies AG
Leopoldstraße 1
78112 St. Georgen/Schwarzwald
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)7724 / 9411-0
Fax: +49 (0)7724 / 9411-883
E-mail: ir@gft.de
Internet: www.gft.de
ISIN: DE0005800601
WKN: 580060
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Stuttgart, München, Hamburg, Düsseldorf
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-Adhoc: GFT Technologies AG posts most successful financial year in the companys history
| Source: EQS Group AG