DGAP-News

EQS Group AG: 2nd quarter 2014 characterized by Asian expansion

EQS Group AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results/Change in Forecast

29.08.2014 08:30

Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS
Group AG.
The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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EQS Group AG: 2nd quarter 2014 characterized by Asian expansion
Reduced outlook for the business year 2014

Munich - 29.08.2014

The EQS Group AG (ISIN: DE0005494165) advanced its Asian expansion
successfully in the second quarter. However, investments related to the
acquisition of the online investor relations and news service provider
TodayIR and a weaker domestic market led to declining revenue figures. For
the period April - June 2014, group revenue was EUR 3.988 million
representing a 9 percent decline to the first quarter of the previous year.
EBIT, according to IFRS was down by 18 percent to EUR .642 million. EQS'
Group's net profit was EUR .350 million, equaling EUR 0.29 earnings per
share.

The first half-year 2014 shows the following scenario: Revenues amount to
EUR 7.307 million, EBIT aggregates to EUR 840 and the group surplus is EUR
.384 million. The profit per share is EUR 0.32.

The drop in EBIT and net income is, just as in the first quarter, largely
due to expansion in Asia. Costs totalling EUR .600 million were accrued to
set up EQS Asia based in Hong Kong and the technology center in India, as
well as the legal, integration and consultancy costs associated with the
acquisition of TodayIR.

Furthermore, the media business involving issuers of SME bonds
(Mittelstandsanleihen) has come to a standstill. The IPO market in Germany,
comparably weak from an international viewpoint, provided no support
either. The number of delistings and downlistings again surpassed the
number of new issuers. The crisis in the Ukraine also had a negative impact
on our subsidiary in Russia.

Achim Weick, EQS's Group AG's CEO stated: "Our expansion in Asia is the
focus of our efforts. We are confident that we will achieve a leading
market position in the world's fastest-growing economic region. For the
time being, this is leading to expenditure which we cannot fully compensate
through the current operations."

Adjusted outlook

Due to the further negative market development and the absence of a
recovery in the media business with issuers of SME bonds, as well as the
impact caused by the Asian expansion, management expects revenues from EUR
15 - 16 million and an EBIT from 2 - 2,3 million for the 2014 fiscal year.