BRAIN FORCE HOLDING AG (Vienna Stock Exchange: BFC, Reuters: BFCG), a leading IT service company with business operations in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia and the USA presented its Report on the 3rd quarter of 2010/11 today. In the first nine months of the fiscal year (October 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011), BRAIN FORCE generated a positive EBIT on a Group level as well as in all regions. Moreover, the company has also been on a growth path since the second quarter with respect to revenues. In the recently concluded third quarter (April to June 2011), revenue growth reached a level of 11%. The Group has generated a free cash flow of € 2.30 million in the course of the current fiscal year, and has an order intake of € 18.84 million as at June 30, 2011, an increase of 7% from the prior-year level.
“All in all the report presented today shows a clearly positive picture about the development of the company“, says CEO Michael Hofer, commenting on the solid trend. “The reported Group revenues fell by 3% to € 52.25 million due to changes in the consolidation range, but on an adjusted basis actually rose by 2% or € 1 million. In the third quarter we even succeeded in increasing revenues by 11% to € 18.35 million and operating EBIT from € -0.41 to +0.35 million”, Michael Hofer continues. Operating EBITDA of the BRAIN FORCE Group improved by 70% to € 1.95 million in the first three quarters, and there was a turnaround in the operating EBIT from € -1.09 to +0.35 million. “The restructuring implemented in previous years as well as the more favorable economic environment were the keys underlying the earnings improvements achieved”, he adds.
“It is also important to point out that our cash flow considerably improved thanks to the increased earnings and the ongoing optimization of working capital“, explains Chief Financial Officer Thomas Melzer. The free cash flow amounted to € 2.30 million in the first nine months, serving as the basis for a reduction in the net debt to € 7.03 million and an increase in cash and cash equivalents to € 4.68 million. Equity totaled € 18.25 million on June 30, 2011, and the equity ratio was at a solid level of 37%.
“Based on the good developments in the first nine months, I am optimistic that we will succeed in reaching our goal of generating a positive operating result in the current fiscal year. We recently achieved a trend reversal and returned to a growth path. If the economic situation in our markets does not drastically deteriorate, we should be in a position to generate sustainably positive operating results in the future as well”, Michael Hofer predicts.The Report for the first 9 months 2010/11 is immediately available for downloading here.
Earnings data | Q1 - Q3 | Q1 - Q3 | Chg. in % | |
Revenues | € million | 52.25 | 53.97 | -3 |
Operating EBITDA 1) | € million | 1.95 | 1.14 | +70 |
EBITDA | € million | 1.95 | 5.65 | -66 |
Operating EBIT 1) | € million | 0.35 | -1.09 | >100 |
EBIT | € million | 0.35 | 3.42 | -90 |
Profit before tax 2) | € million | -1.54 | 1.76 | >100 |
Profit after tax 2) | € million | -1.83 | 1.69 | >100 |
Employees (average) | 723 | 800 | -10 | |
Balance sheet data | 30.6.2011 | 30.9.2010 | Chg. in % | |
Equity | € million | 18.25 | 20.11 | -9 |
Net debt | € million | 7.03 | 9.04 | -22 |
Equity ratio | % | 37 | 39 | - |
Gearing | % | 39 | 45 | - |
1) Adjusted for non-recurring expenses and income of € 4.51 million in the fiscal year 2009/10
2) SolveDirect Service Management GmbH has been consolidated at equity since January 2010 due to the participation of a financial investor in this company. Thus the position income from associates shows a dilutive effect due to the capital increases and BRAIN FORCE’s share of the negative result caused by the U.S. expansion cost, which the investor finances by means of the capital increases.
Note: No non-recurring expenses or income arose in the first nine months of 2010/11, whereas restructuring expenses of € 1.82 million were incurred in the comparable prior-year period, and a book gain of € 6.33 million was reported. These effects are not included in the operating results (operating EBITDA and operating EBIT). This explains the EBITDA decline in the first nine months from € 5.65 to 1.95 million, and the EBIT drop from € 3.42 to 0.35 million.