DGAP-News: United Internet grows sales in 2010 and invests in the future
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: United Internet AG / Key word(s): Final Results
United Internet grows sales in 2010 and invests in the future
24.03.2011 / 07:50
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PRESS RELEASE
United Internet grows sales in 2010 and invests in the future
- Sales up 15% to EUR 1,907.1 million
- EBITDA of EUR 357.7 million reaches record prior-year figure
- 610,000 new customer contracts take total to 9.76 million
- CEO Ralph Dommermuth: 'We reached our targets for 2010 and will
continue to invest in sustainable growth, such as the penetration of
new business fields in Germany and abroad'.
Montabaur, March 24, 2011 - United Internet AG can look back on a
successful fiscal year 2010. Europe's leading internet specialist with
brands such as 1&1, GMX and WEB.DE achieved year-on-year sales growth in
2010 of 15 percent to EUR 1,907.1 million (prior year: EUR 1,658.9
million). Despite additional expenditure of EUR 71.9 million for the
current DSL quality drive and start-up costs for new business fields, such
as Mobile Internet products, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization (EBITDA) reached EUR 357.7 million and were thus slightly
above the previous year's record of EUR 356.1 million and in line with
management targets. Free cash flow rose by 8.1 percent to EUR 219.2 million
(prior year: EUR 202.8 million).
'We reached our targets for 2010 and will continue to invest in sustainable
growth and innovations in order to secure our future profits,' states
United Internet founder and CEO Ralph Dommermuth. United Internet has laid
a solid foundation for the growing 'Mobile Internet' and 'Cloud
Applications' markets as well as for further international expansion: 'We
see a host of opportunities, such as expanding our non-German business or
entering the field of legally secure email communication with DE-Mail, and
aim to grasp them,' stresses Dommermuth.
The launch of new Mobile Internet products has proved successful. Since
starting its extensive marketing campaign on July 1, 2010 United Internet
has concluded 180,000 new contracts. A total of 610,000 new contracts were
signed in the Group's two segments Access and Applications.
United Internet has taken a further step in the expansion of its non-German
business: in 2010 the company successfully launched operations in Poland.
The internationalization of business is making encouraging progress: in the
UK, France, the USA, Spain, Austria and Switzerland, the number of
contracts grew to a total of 2.45 million (prior year: 2.22 million).
Segments
In the Access segment, sales grew year on year by 19.8 percent to EUR
1,230.1 million (prior year: EUR 1,026.7 million). Due to high investments
of EUR 50.2 million for establishing and developing new business fields,
such as the marketing of Mobile Internet products, as well as for a DSL
quality drive, segment EBITDA was slightly down at EUR 122.6 million (prior
year: EUR 124.1 million). The number of contracts grew by 130,000 to 3.63
million contracts.
United Internet also invested heavily in customer growth and new products
in its Applications segment. Sales were up 7.1 percent to EUR 676.5 million
(prior year: EUR 631.5 million). Despite high investments of EUR 21.7
million, EBITDA grew to EUR 232.7 million (prior year: EUR 225.4 million).
The investment strategy has paid off. This is illustrated by thepositive
trend in fee-based contracts: with the addition of 480,000 new contracts,
the total figure climbed to 6.13 million
Dividend
At the Annual Shareholders' Meeting of United Internet AG to be held on May
26, 2011, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose a
dividend of EUR 0.20 per share.
Outlook
As already announced in November 2010, United Internet will continue to
pursue its policy of sustainable growth in 2011. In order to utilize its
wide range of opportunities, the company will once again invest heavily in
new business fields in 2011. In the 'Access' segment, further customer
growth is forecast, especially for products enabling mobile internet usage.
Segment sales are expected to grow by around 5%. In the 'Applications'
segment, the focus in 2011 will be on entering new foreign markets for
Business Applications. In the field of Consumer Applications, United
Internet will mainly drive the technical integration of its newly acquired
Mail.com service and begin with its expansion. As Germany's leading email
provider, United Internet also intends to enter the field of legally secure
email communication in fall 2011, once the legislative procedure for the
German De-Mail system is completed. Sales in the Applications segment are
expected to grow by around 10%. Despite the high costs associated with
these projects for sustainable growth in customer subscriptions, EBITDA in
2011 is expected to reach approximately the same level as 2010 (EUR 357.7
million). Total consolidated sales are expected to exceed EUR 2 billion for
the first time.
About United Internet
With over 9.7 million fee-based customer contracts and 28 million
ad-financed free accounts, United Internet AG is Europe's leading internet
specialist. At the heart of United Internet is a high-performance 'Internet
Factory' with over 5,000 employees, of which more than 1,100 are engaged in
product management, development and data centers. In addition to the high
sales strength of its established brands (GMX, WEB.DE, 1&1, united-domains,
fasthosts, InterNetX, Sedo and affilinet) and distribution channels (some
of which are exclusive), United Internet stands for outstanding operational
excellence with over 37 million customer accounts worldwide. United
Internet also holds equity interests in listed companies, such as freenet
or Versatel, and owns numerous other investments in young internet
companies.
Contact
Marcus Schaps
Head of Press and Public Relations
United Internet AG
Elgendorfer Strasse 57
56410 Montabaur
Germany
Tel: +49 2602/96-1076
Fax: +49 2602/96-1013
E-mail: mschaps(at)united-internet.de
Internet: www.united-internet.de
End of Corporate News
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Language: English
Company: United Internet AG
Elgendorfer Straße 57
56410 Montabaur
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)2602 / 96 - 1100
Fax: +49 (0)2602 / 96 - 1013
E-mail: info(at)united-internet.de
Internet: www.united-internet.de
ISIN: DE0005089031
WKN: 508903
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München,
Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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116757 24.03.2011
Datum: 24.03.2011 - 07:50 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 33560
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