Tipp24: Stable through the crisis

Tipp24 AG / Quarter Results

02.11.2009 

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

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Tipp24: Stable through the crisis

· Revenues up 62.8 percent to EUR 53.7 million 
· EBIT climbs to EUR 33.1 million 

(Hamburg, 2 November 2009) In the first nine months of fiscal 2009, Tipp24 made very successful progress: revenues grew by 62.8 percent to EUR 53.7 (prior year: EUR 33.0) million in the period under review. Compared with the previous year, EBIT more than quintupled: from EUR 6.3 million to EUR 33.1 million. Consolidated net profit improved to EUR 25.1 (4.7) million.
This development was also reflected in Tipp24's share price, which has quadrupled over the last nine months.


Unexpectedly high gaming volume in Abroad segment

As a result of the strong focus placed on expanding the company's international business, revenues in the Abroad segment rocketed to EUR 52.9 (4.2) million. EBIT in this segment grew to EUR 42.7 (-1.6) million.
In September 2009, the UK minority holding MyLotto24 Ltd. offered players the chance to win an exceptionally high jackpot of EUR 31.7 million and soon after paid out the winnings. In addition to income from hedging transactions, an unexpectedly high gaming volume of MyLotto24 Ltd. and a tax credit formed in connection with the large winnings, with an impact on earnings, helped compensate for the negative effect from the winnings payment.


Situation in Germany still negative

As a result of the virtually complete withdrawal of our business base following the introduction of the German State Treaty on Gaming, revenues of our Germany segment fell by 91.9% to EUR 2.3 (28.8) million in the first nine months of the current fiscal year. EBIT fell to EUR -9.3 (+7.9) million over the same period.

The company still plans to seek clarification of the legal and political conditions in Germany. Tipp24 intends to utilise all available appeal possibilities to challenge the restrictions imposed by the State Treaty on Gaming. The company was encouraged by the first clear and publicly stated rejection of this State Treaty at federal state level: the governing coalition parties (CDU and FDP) in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein recently confirmed that they intend to terminate the State Treaty on Gaming at the next possible opportunity.

Dr. Hans Cornehl, Executive Board member of Tipp24 AG, comments: 'The State Treaty on Gaming has failed to reach its objectives. This has now been recognised by Schleswig-Holstein's government. In the long term, politicians will not be able to restrict the development of the fast-growing market for online lottery brokerage. We are thus optimistic that we can resume our business activities in Germany in the medium term.'
 
Positive outlook 

In view of the exceptionally high winnings payment in September, the company had reduced its consolidated EBIT forecast by EUR 10 million to at least EUR 30 million for fiscal year 2009.

Tipp24 AG now retracts this restriction and has raised its consolidated EBIT forecast by EUR 13 million to EUR 43 million for the current fiscal year. Revenues are expected to reach at least EUR 73 million, and after income from hedging transactions the total performance forecast amounts to at least EUR 95 million.


About Tipp24 AG: Tipp24 AG holds equity interests in a number of companies in Spain, Italy and the UK, which enable participation in lottery-based games via the Internet, especially via the websites www.ventura24.es, www.giochi24.it, www.mylotto24.co.uk and www.tipp24.com. In Germany, the subsidiary Tipp24 Entertainment GmbH operates the games platform www.tipp24games.de. Since its foundation, Tipp24 AG has brokered tickets worth over 1.5 billion euros to state lottery companies - in recent years over 330 million euros annually. Shares in Tipp24 AG have been traded at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2005. In June 2009, the company was admitted to the SDAX index.


Tipp24 AG       
Andrea Fratini       
Head of Media and Public Relations   
Tel.: +49 40 32 55 33-660     
E-mail: presse@tipp24.de     
Internet: www.tipp24-ag.de/presse/ 





02.11.2009  Financial News transmitted by DGAP

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Language:     English
Company:      Tipp24 AG
              Straßenbahnring 13
              20251 Hamburg
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (0)40 325533-0
Fax:          +49 (0)40 325533-77
E-mail:       office@tipp24.de
Internet:     www.tipp24-ag.de
ISIN:         DE0007847147
WKN:          784714
Indices:      SDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Hamburg, Stuttgart  
End of News DGAP News-Service  

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