DGAP-News

Viscom AG continues positive revenue development. Management confirms annual forecast for 2016. - Seite 2

during the course of the year meant that personnel costs were higher than
in the same period of the previous year. Lower currency effects also led to
a reduction in other operating income, while other operating expenses
increased primarily as a result of the higher level of administrative and
selling expenses. This was attributable to renovation and modernisation
measures in connection with the workforce expansion, as well as trade fair
appearances. These factors meant that EBIT was down around 22 % year-on-
year at EUR 4,110 thousand. At 8.1 %, the EBIT-Margin was therefore lower
than the prior-year figure of 11.1 %. Net profit for the period declined
from EUR 3,201 thousand in the previous year to EUR 2,690 thousand. The
effects discussed under operating profit also had an impact on net profit
for the period. In addition, individual tax transactions and payments for
previous years had a negative effect on the tax burden, and hence also on
net profit for the period.

Europe was the Viscom Group's strongest region by some distance, generating
revenue of EUR 33,174 thousand in the first nine months of the 2016
financial year (previous year: EUR 29,647 thousand) and accounting for
around 65 % of total revenue. Revenue increased by around 12 % as against
the previous year. This meant that the increased processing of orders
received benefited primarily the Europe segment. Revenue in Germany
amounted to EUR 13,837 thousand (previous year: EUR 12,909 thousand).
Segment results in Europe amounted to EUR 3,220 thousand (previous year:
EUR 4,084 thousand), which corresponds to a margin of 9.7 % (previous year:
13.8 %). This year-on-year decrease was attributable primarily to the
higher level of personnel costs as discussed under operating profit, which
related mainly to the Europe segment. At an encouraging EUR 37,600
thousand, incoming orders were up significantly on the same period of the
previous year (EUR 30,026 thousand).

Revenue in the Americas region was down around 14 % year-on-year at EUR
7,228 thousand (previous year: EUR 8,419 thousand), largely as a result of
the more moderate level of incoming orders in the previous months. This had
a corresponding impact on segment earnings, which were lower than in the
same period of the previous year at EUR 411 thousand (previous year: EUR
761 thousand). In line with this development, the EBIT-Margin amounted to
5.7 % (previous year: 9.0 %). At EUR 8,224 thousand, incoming orders in the
region were around 12 % lower than in the previous year (EUR 9,310