BRAIN FORCE generated clearly positive results in the 2009/10 fiscal year. Group EBITDA rose from € 2.05 to 5.66 million, and there was a turnaround in EBIT from € -1.59 to +2.86 million. This development can be attributed to two strategic transactions. On the one hand, the sale of the Professional Services business in Austria resulted in a book gain of € 2.47 million. On the other hand, hidden reserves of € 3.86 million were realized as a consequence of the participation of a financial investor in our subsidiary SolveDirect Service Management GmbH. Despite restructuring costs of € 1.82 million and an operating loss of € -1.65 million, these positive effects led to a net profit of € 0.92 million.
In the 2009/10 fiscal year, BRAIN FORCE was confronted with a 22% decline in Group revenues, which fell to € 69.59 million. However, € 7.62 million of this revenue decrease was due to changes in the consolidation range related to the above-mentioned transactions. Adjusted for these transactions, the organic revenue drop was 15%. Operating EBITDA fell by 67% to € 1.15 million, and operating EBIT from € -0.21 to -1.65 million. This was the result of the difficult economic conditions in the IT sector in our core markets of Germany, Italy, Austria and the Netherlands, which developed worse than was originally expected in the fall of 2009. “Operating earnings development was negatively impacted in the past fiscal year by lower license sales, the postponement of new orders and price pressure from our customers. With the implementation of comprehensive restructuring and cost cutting measures over the last two years, we have been able to adjust our cost structures to the significantly lower revenues. Moreover, the total BRAIN FORCE staff has been reduced by about 30% since the end of 2008, resulting in annual savings in personnel expenses of over € 10 million annually”, says Thomas Melzer, Chief Financial Officer of BRAIN FORCE HOLDING AG, explaining the persistently implemented measures. Additional savings were realized by short-time working in Germany as well as a downward adjustment in the number of free-lance employees and all other cost items.
“It is gratifying that the positive total result for the period enabled BRAIN FORCE to increase its equity ratio from 35 to 39%”, Thomas Melzer continued. As at September 30, 2010, BRAIN FORCE had cash and cash equivalents of € 4.12 million at its disposal. However, net debt rose from € 5.65 to 9.04 million. “This increase is mainly attributable to the operating loss, dismissal cost for staff cutbacks in the Netherlands and the Frankfurt office, the discontinued operation in Berlin and the acquisition of an ERP company in Austria”, Thomas Melzer concluded in analyzing the development of the balance sheet structure.
BRAIN FORCE believes it is now well-positioned on the marketplace from a strategic point of view. “With the acquisition and integration of INISYS Software-Consulting Ges.m.b.H., an ERP specialist for Microsoft Dynamics solutions in Austria, we significantly strengthened our ERP capabilities at the beginning of the year and took important steps to sharpen our corporate profile and focus on our core business areas” states Chief Executive Officer Michael Hofer, satisfied with the development of the company.
The outlook for the current 2010/11 fiscal year is also positive. “Following the persistent adjustment of internal cost structures, there have been initial signs of an improvement in the overall market situation since September. Most recently the sales pipeline has significantly increased in the Netherlands, the ERP business in Austria and in the fields of Infrastructure Optimization, FINAS Suite and network performance hardware. Together with the considerable economic upswing in our largest market of Germany, we should be able to generate revenue growth again after two years of decline”, Michael Hofer predicts. Following the persistent restructuring and the further focus on its core business, BRAIN FORCE aims to generate positive operating results in the 2010/11 fiscal year.
The Annual Report and the Annual Financial Report 2009/10 are now available for download here.
Earnungs data 1) | 2009/10 | 2009/08 2) | Chg. | ||
| in % | |||||
| revenues | € million | 69.59 | 89.20 | -22 | |
| EBITDA | € million | 5.66 | 2.05 | >100 | |
| Operating EBITDA 3) | € million | 1.15 | 3.44 | -67 | |
| EBIT | € million | 2.86 | -1.59 | >100 | |
| Operating EBIT 3) | € million | -1.65 | -0.21 | >100 | |
| Profit before tax | € million | 0.33 | -2.65 | >100 | |
| Profit after tax | € million | 0.92 | -5.46 | >100 | |
| Earnings per share (IFRS) | € | 0.05 | -0.31 | >100 | |
| Employees 4) | 779 | 1,049 | -26 | ||
Balance sheet data | 30.9.2010 | 30.9.2009 | Chg. | ||
| in % | |||||
| Equity | € million | 20.11 | 19.31 | +4 | |
| Net debt | € million | 9.04 | 5.65 | +60 | |
| Equity ratio | % | 39 | 35 | - | |
| Gearing | % | 45 | 29 | - |
1) from continuing operations
2) period October 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009, unaudited
3) adjusted for restructuring costs and non-recurring income
4) average number of employees (salaried and free-lance) during the period
Download Annual Report 2009/10