FP-GROUP LAYS FOUNDATIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL FUTUR

 In the first nine months of 2011, Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG, the first multi-channel provider for mail communication, increased revenue to EUR 118.9 million, compared with EUR 105.8 million in the previous year. The significant increase in revenue resulted in particular from a change in the reporting logic as part of the new regulations for sales tax on postal services in Germany as at 1 July 2010. In the first nine months of 2011, this positive effect on revenue amounted to EUR 17.6 million as against EUR 6.2 million in the previous year. Beside this positive effect revenue still grew by 2%.

In 2011, the FP Group is taking decisive steps in its development into a complete service provider. Results in the first nine months of 2011 are therefore characterised by important measures such as restructuring production, preparing for the launch of the new Phoenix franking system and entering the fully electronic mail communication market. The FP Group generated EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, net financial income, depreciation and amortisation) of EUR 8.4 million, against EUR 18.9 million in the same period of the previous year. EBITDA adjusted for restructuring costs amounted to EUR 17.3 million. Restructuring costs contributed significantly to the fact that the company posted consolidated net income before non-controlling interests of EUR -5.1 million in the first nine months of 2011, compared with EUR 0.8 million in the prior-year period.

As well as the restructuring costs totalling EUR 8.9 million, lower savings in personnel costs from the site continuation agreement that expired in the summer also had a negative impact on results. In this context combined with the rapid slowdown of the economic situation in many industrialised nations, which could not have been predicted at the start of the year, negative exchange rate effects related to revenues of EUR 1.6 million in total and the resulting negative effect on the margin, the company expects EBITDA before restructuring costs for 2011 as a whole of EUR 22 million to EUR 23 million in place of the previous EUR 25 to EUR 27 million, with revenue between EUR 160 million and EUR 165 million.

Assuming that depreciation and amortisation will total approximately EUR 14.9 million in the current year gives consolidated net income before restructuring costs of EUR 2.5 million to EUR 3.0 million. This equates to adjusted earnings per share of EUR 0.17 to EUR 0.20. “This result shows that the FP Group can operate profitably in a challenging market environment in a sustainable way,” explains Hans Szymanski, Chairman of the FP Group Management Board.

Savings around EUR 3 million from 2012

This operative strength has enabled many more forward-looking in-vestments in the current financial year in addition to the development of production in Wittenberge and work on Phoenix. These include the acquisition of a majority shareholding in Mentana-Claimsoft, a specialist in fully electronic mail communication and one of the first De-Mail providers in Germany, as well as the certification of our franking ma-chines in France, the largest European market. After nine months, the FP Group has cash flow from investing activities of € –11.4 million. In addition, the company will continue to reduce debt considerably in the current year. EUR 10.0 million will be channelled into normal and non-scheduled repayments of a bank loan. “With all these measures, we have laid the key foundations to strengthen our profitability and financial clout sustainably from 2012. Restructuring of production in Wittenberge alone is likely to result in annual savings amounting to approximately EUR 3 million from the second quarter of 2012,” says Szymanski.