FP GROUP CONTINUES GOOD OPERATING PERFORMANCE

• Preliminary figures for the third quarter of 2013: revenue of EUR 41.4 million, EBITDA of EUR 5.4 million
  
• Revenue for the first nine months increases to EUR 126.9 million, EBITDA rises to EUR 16.9 million
  
• Company confirms forecast for year as a whole
  

 Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG, the first multi-channel provider for mail communication, continued its good operating performance in the third quarter of 2013. According to preliminary calculations, negative exchange rate effects of EUR ‑0.9 million meant that revenue increased only moderately to EUR 41.4 million in the third quarter after EUR 41.2 million in the same period of the previous year. In the first nine months of 2013, revenue improved to EUR 126.9 million compared with EUR 123.9 million in the previous year.

EBITDA up 20.7%

Revenue growth and the efficiency improvements resulting from the relaunch of production in Wittenberge in 2012 have allowed the FP Group to achieve substantially higher EBITDA in the current financial year. According to preliminary calculations, operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation increased by 20.7% to EUR 16.9 million in the first nine months of 2013 after EUR 14.0 million in the same period of the previous year. EBITDA for the third quarter of 2013 remained unchanged year-on-year at EUR 5.4 million due to exchange rate effects, which amounted to EUR ‑0.6 million in the third quarter of 2013 and EUR ‑0.9 million in the first nine months of the year.

According to preliminary calculations, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased to EUR 8.2 million in the first nine months of the year after EUR 6.9 million in the previous year. In the third quarter of 2013, the expected higher level of depreciation and amortisation on newly launched leased products and capitalised development projects meant that EBIT declined to EUR 2.3 million after EUR 2.8 million in the previous year. These development projects, including the PostBase franking system and the independent De-Mail solution, will form the basis for profitable growth beyond 2013.

In terms of free cash flow, too, the FP Group achieved a substantial improvement in the first nine months of the current financial year, with the net total of cash from operating activities and cash used in investing activities amounting to EUR 1.7 million based on preliminary calculations compared with EUR -5.7 million in the same period of the previous year.

Confirmation of revenue and earnings forecast for 2013

With the course of business having met expectations in the first nine months of 2013, the FP Group is confirming its forecast for the year as a whole of revenue of at least EUR 168 million, EBITDA of at least EUR 22 million and EBIT of at least EUR 9 million. FP CEO Hans Szymanski: “The positive operating performance in the first nine months shows that the FP Group is on the right path.”