DGAP-Adhoc

Goldbach Group in transition: further consolidation of business activities - adjusted full-year results in line with forecasts

Goldbach Group AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Half Year Results

20.08.2014 07:00

Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 KR
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Ad hoc press release

Half Year Result 2014:
Goldbach Group in transition: further consolidation of business activities
- adjusted full-year results in line with forecasts

Net Sales CHF 217 million - net sales decrease 1.6 % - EBIT CHF 9.7 million
- EBIT-decrease 26 %; according to forecasts in spring - net profit CHF 1.1
million - challenging TV- and radio business - further consolidation of
business activities in Central Eastern Europe - full year results
declining, adjusted though expected according to forecasts

Küsnacht-Zurich, August 20th, 2014. In the first half of 2014, the Goldbach
Group posted sales of CHF 217 million, a slight drop of 1.6 % over the same
period last year (previous year CHF 221 million). The EBIT fell within the
expected range announced in early 2014 at CHF 9.7 million (-26 %). Net
profit for the first half of 2014 amounted to CHF 1.1 million. Net sales
for the Goldbach Group, the market leader in the marketing of private
electronic, mobile and interactive media and online marketing, remained
robust in the DACH region, but were more sluggish in Eastern Europe due to
the announced consolidation measures and customer restraint in the Adriatic
region. The EBIT margin was 4.5 % in the first half of the year (previous
year: 5.9 %). For the current fiscal year, the Goldbach Group expects its
adjusted earnings to be in line with forecasts, including the market exits
from Russia and Romania and the pull out of the agency business (Goldbach
Interactive) in Poland.

DACH region
In the Goldbach Group's main markets of Switzerland, Germany and Austria,
net sales of CHF 209.8 million represented a 0.9 % increase over the same
period in the previous year.

The TV market in Switzerland showed a slight upturn. The TV business of the
Goldbach Group, however, presented challenges. This is due in large part to
a shift in advertising budgets to other channels for the Olympics and the
World Cup as well as adjustments in the measurement of TV reach. After a
sluggish start in the radio business over the first quarter, the second
quarter saw a marked improvement with the acquisition of new customers and
the impact of the new management. In the audience business, the video
product line continues to drive growth and is expanding at double-digit
pace. The Goldbach Interactive (Switzerland) division, which merged with
Goldbach Mobile, is characterised by investments aimed at the further