News & Events
asknet publishes business figures for the first half of 2011
+++ Sales amount to EUR 32.5 million (-4,8%) +++ Gross profits of EUR 5.0 million at the previous year's level +++ Earnings impacted by an unscheduled provision and one-off fees
Karlsruhe, San Francisco, August 15, 2011 – asknet AG, a leading supplier of global eCommerce solutions for software and digital media companies, has announced its business figures for the first half of 2011. The Group generated sales revenues of EUR 32.5 million in the first six months of 2011, down approximately 5 percent from the previous year’s figure.
Gross profits, which represent the growth of the Group, were the same as in the previous year at EUR 5.0 million in the reporting period, of which EUR 3.5 million came from the eDistribution segment and EUR 1.5 million from ePortals. asknet Group’s operating result (EBIT) was EUR -1.0 million. Earnings before taxes (EBT) came to EUR -1.8 million. The decline in earnings is mainly due to an unscheduled provision of EUR 763 thousand, which was set aside for an interest charge due to a formal error during VAT calculations for software publishers by tax authorities. Responsible tax authorities have since approved the suspension of execution applied for by asknet. Tax authorities usually only approve a suspension of execution when there are serious doubts about the lawfulness of a notice. No interest payments will be due until further notice on account of the suspension of execution and no additional interest will be incurred during the period of suspension. One-off fees for Executive Board reorganization and strategic consultancy services also impacted the net result for the first half of the year. After interest and taxes, asknet reported a loss in the first half of the year of EUR 1.8 million.
Apart from a slight decline in growth in the eDistribution segment due to weaker growth of existing customers and a lack of new customer agreements with major software publishers, the ePortals segment continued to develop positively. asknet already supplies approximately 80% of all German universities with software products. The company aims to further consolidate its market leadership in Germany and to accelerate the expansion of its software portals in Switzerland and Austria. Furthermore, the experienced and well-versed executive duo Michael Konrad and Dr. Dietmar Waudig will continue to consistently improve results regarding sustainable profitability following CEO Michael Scheib’s resignation effective July 15, 2011. ”We expect to generate positive operating cash flow as early as the fourth quarter of this year with the help of stringent cost control”, explained Michael Konrad.
The company is operating in an intact growth market with software and electronic software distribution. The trend to supplement and substitute stationary trade in the software market through the Internet as a sales channel continues.
The half-year report 2011 of asknet AG can be downloaded here.
HY1 2011 | HY1 2010 | |
Sales Revenues | € 32.5 million | € 34.2 million |
Gross Profits | € 5.0 million | € 5,0 million |
EBIT | € -1.0 million | € -0.6 million |
EBT | € -1.8 million | € -0.6 million |
Net Profit / Loss | € -1.8 million | € -0,6 million |
About asknet:
asknet offers its clients customized outsourcing solutions for global software sales via the Internet. Founded in 1995 as a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute
of Technology (KIT, formerly the University of Karlsruhe), the company has become a leading independent global provider for electronic software distribution. In addition to its fully integrated shop solutions for software publishers, the company develops and maintains portals for software distribution such as softwarehouse.de, one of Europe's largest platform for downloads of standard software. In 2010, asknet posted sales of approximately EUR 72.7 million. asknet´s clients include numerous providers of specialty software such as F-Secure, IS3, Nero, NetObjects, Norman, and Panda Security. The company also supplies software products to around eighty percent of German universities.
Press Contact
asknet AG
Martina Oerther
Phone: +49/721/96458-6369
eMail: martina.oerther@asknet.de