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 reports that it has generated a 10% revenue increase in the first nine months of the 2011/12 financial year (October 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012). Thus the company has increased revenues for the sixth consecutive quarter.

In the first three quarters of 2011/12, Group revenues climbed by € 5.04 million to € 57.29 million, with all regions generating revenue growth. Operating EBITDA amounted to € 1.71 million compared to the prior-year figure of € 1.95 million, and operating EBIT totaled €0.21 million following a negative first-quarter performance, down from € 0.35 million in the previous year. “After the negative earnings posted in the first three months, we were able to achieve positive operating results in the second and third quarters which surpassed our overall performance in these two quarterly periods of the previous year”, says Michael Hofer, Chief Executive Officer of BRAIN FORCE HOLDING AG. “In spite of the increased order volume, a volatile business environment in some regions and reduced license sales compared to the previous year continues to hinder a more positive earnings development”, CEO Michael Hofer explains.

In addition, first-quarter restructuring expenses have a negative impact on earnings in the current financial year. Group EBITDA was € 1.03 million, including these restructuring costs of € 0.68 million in Germany, whereas Group EBIT amounted to € -0.46 million.

In Germany revenues rose 3% in the first three quarters of the 2011/12 financial year to € 28.97 million. Both operating EBITDA at € 1.25 million (previous year: € 1.34 million) and operating EBIT at € 0.75 million decreased slightly year-on-year. Italy showed a clearly positive development, posting revenue growth of 9% to € 17.33 million. Operating EBITDA in Italy was up 22% to € 1.31 million, and operating EBIT increased by 48% to € 0.80 million. In the Netherlands revenues climbed 43% to € 8.41 million. However, operating EBITDA was down to € 0.27 million due to the below-average employee capacity utilization rate, and operating EBIT in the first nine months of 2011/12 turned negative, declining to € -0.11 million from € 0.25 million in the prior-year period. In Central and Eastern Europe revenues were up 5% to € 2.58 million. Operating EBITDA and operating EBIT at € 0.15 million and € 0.08 million respectively were both slightly higher than in the previous year. EBITDA of the Holding and Other segment was € - 1.27 million, reflecting higher expenditures of € 0.03 million, and the EBIT of € -1.31 million was also about 2% above the comparable prior-year level.

The financial result amounted to € -0.55 million in the first nine months, at the same level as in the previous year. The earnings contribution of the associated company SolveDirect Service Management GmbH (in which BRAIN FORCE currently owns a 57.57% stake) amounted to € -1.09 million compared to the prior-year figure of € - 1.34 million. On balance, the profit before tax of the BRAIN FORCE Group amounted to € -2.10 million (previous year: € -1.54 million), and the profit after tax totaled € -2.45 million (previous year: € -1.83 million).

The objectives for the current 2011/12 financial year are to generate revenue growth and positive operating results. “We expect an overall increase improvement for 2011/12 as a whole on the basis of the growth rates achieved up until now as well as the 7% increase in the order volume. We also anticipate enhanced profitability in the future and thus an improvement in operating results thanks to measures being implemented to strengthen sales, the expansion of our Network Performance Channel activities and a rise in proceeds from license sales”, CEO Michael Hofer concludes.

The report on the first three quarters 2011/12 is available for download here.

1) adjusted for restructuring expenses

Download Nine Months Report 2011/12