FP grows and pays dividend 

Berlin, 13 April 2017. Francotyp-Postalia Holding AG, an expert in secure and efficient communication, presents today its annual report 2016 and confirms the figures announced at the beginning of March. With revenues of EUR 203.0 million, the company surpassed the EUR 200 million mark for the first time. EBITDA improved to EUR 27.2 million despite negative currency effects; the EBITDA margin was more than 13%. Consolidated net income increased by 67% to EUR 6.2 million, due partly to the reduction of the tax rate from 51% to 36%. At EUR 4.6 million, the company also generated positive free cash flow again. At the Annual General Meeting on 7 June 2017, the Management Board and Supervisory Board will propose a dividend payment of 16 cents per share.

FP FIT lays foundation for future growth

“The FP Group is evolving into a dynamically growing company,” declares FP CEO Rüdiger Andreas Günther. The company is laying the foundations in 2017 and 2018 with the FP FIT programme and its five priorities: finance, sales, HR, IT and research and development. The company already realigned its Group financing in 2016 and concluded an extended loan agreement for EUR 120 million with an option for a further EUR 30 million at improved terms. At the same time, FP is unleashing its growth forces with the new ACT strategy. With ACT, the company is attacking in the core business with franking systems, developing new solutions and services for existing and new customers along the customer journey and accelerating its own digital transformation. FP is targeting revenues of around EUR 250 million and an EBITDA margin of 17% as early as 2020. For the current year, as announced at the beginning of March, the company is planning a slight year-on-year increase in revenues and EBITDA and adjusted free cash flow on a par with the previous year. Günther explains: “In just two years, we will make the company fit for future growth, and we will therefore be investing in many areas. Nonetheless, with positive free cash flow we will continue to gives shareholders a share of our success and pay a dividend.”

Growth in the major markets of the US and France

The past year already showed the growth opportunities arising from the ACT strategy. In the franking business, the FP Group increased worldwide revenues by around 2% despite negative currency effects and made particular gains in the two major markets of the US and France. Further growth is planned in 2017; in March, FP therefore launched the new franking systems PostBase One and PostBase100 in the USA. “The launch was very successful,” says Günther. “And the positive trend is also continuing in France.” Business with Mail Services and Software developed even more positively in 2016; revenues were up by almost 17% and 4% respectively.

With ACT, FP is also strengthening its innovation. An early example is FP-Sign, a cloud-based signature solution that FP presented at CeBIT 2017. It allows contracts to be signed and securely exchanged with just a few clicks – an immense time saving and a significant simplification compared to conventional processes. Günther explains: “ACT stands for FP’s new beginning. We are determined to take our opportunities in the analogue and digital world and thus to grow dynamically. In 2016, we showed that we keep our promises. And 2016 was just the beginning.”