All-time-high revenues (EUR 157.6m) and EBITDA (EUR 15.3m)
Earnings per share boosted to 65 cents (previous year 14 cents)
Dividend to rise from 20 to 25 cents
Conversion to a European company initiated

Pliezhausen, January 28, 2016. DATAGROUP AG (WKN A0JC8S) today publishes audited figures for the fiscal year from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015. It was a record year for the IT service provider in all areas. Both revenues and earnings reached new peaks. Shareholders should also benefit. Management board and supervisory board propose a dividend increase from 20 cents to 25 cents per share.

In FY 2014/2015, DATAGROUP AG generated record revenues of EUR 157.6m (guidance: >EUR 155m, previous year EUR 152.4m). Particularly in the higher-margin service business, DATAGROUP significantly increased revenues (EUR 120.8m, previous year EUR 114.4m). The share of services in revenues climbed to 76.6% (previous year 75.1%). The strongly improved revenue quality boosted profits. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached a new all-time-high of EUR 15.3m (guidance: >EUR 15m, previous year EUR 10.3m after extraordinary expenses), as did the EBITDA margin of 9.7% (previous year 6.7% after extraordinary expenses). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) doubled to EUR 9.6m (previous year EUR 4.8m after extraordinary expenses). Net profit for the period skyrocketed to EUR 4.9m (previous year EUR 1.1m), corresponding to earnings per share of 65 cents (previous year 14 cent after extraordinary expenses). The very strong cash flow of EUR 12.0m (previous year EUR 8.0m) helped to strengthen equity. The equity ratio was up from 22.4% a year ago to 23.3%.

‘We really took off in fiscal 2014/2015’, comments DATAGROUP CEO Max H.-H. Schaber. ‘Our future strategy DATAGROUP 2020 and the full-service offer CORBOX have provided the basis for this record result and for further strong and profitable growth in the future. We certainly want our shareholders to participate in this success. We therefore will propose to the Annual General Meeting to raise the dividend from 20 cents to 25 cents per share. In so doing, we take account of our shareholders‘ interests while strengthening the capital base for further growth.’

The management was equally satisfied with the start to the new fiscal year (October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016). In its core business with long-term outsourcing and cloud contracts, DATAGROUP has acquired several well-known new customers, including a major retailer for jewellery, Europe’s leading supplier of textile craft products, MEZ GmbH, as well as Schott AG, an internationally leading technology group for special glass and glass ceramics.

‘Companies depend on a fail-proof and efficiently working IT. This is why we are very proud that more and more large, internationally active Mittelstand companies entrust us with the management of certain IT services or with their entire corporate IT’, says DATAGROUP COO Dirk Peters. ‘However, the larger the companies who we offer our services, the more important is the IT service provider’s international appearance. For this reason, we have initiated the conversion of DATAGROUP AG to a European company (SE) as part of our growth strategy DATAGROUP 2020. We are convinced that this will make us even more attractive for large, internationally active Mittelstand customers.’ DATAGROUP continues to focus its business operations on the German market; it is not planned to establish service locations abroad. Already today, DATAGROUP attends to its customers’ international activities from Germany in the context of its follow the customer strategy.

The merger plan with an Austrian non-operational stock company will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting for approval on March 17, 2016. In connection with the merger, DATAGROUP AG is to take the legal form of a Societas Europaea (SE) and continue to operate with a two-tier system consisting of a management board and a supervisory board. Shareholders of DATAGROUP AG will automatically become shareholders of the future DATAGROUP SE. Pliezhausen will remain the registered office. The conversion to a European company will be accompanied by the establishment of an English capital market communication. The company believes that this will also lead to a raising awareness among international investors.

Detailed key figures for FY 2014/2015: see press release, pages 4-6.

Balance Sheet Conference Call of DATAGROUP AG

The management board of DATAGROUP AG invites all interested investors, analysts, and journalists to participate in a conference call which comments on figures and outlook. It will take place on Monday, February 1, 2016, at 10:30 am CET (dial-in number: +49 69 38098911). The conference language is German. We offer a separate date for English-speaking investors.

Quarterly Reporting Dates

February 2016: Publication of Q1 figures (01.10.-31.12.2015)

March 17, 2016: Annual General Meeting in Pliezhausen

May 2016: Publication of Q2 and H1 figures (01.01.-31.03.2016 and 30.09.2015-31.03.2016)

August 2016: Publication of Q3 and 9M figures (01.04.-30.06.2016 and 01.10.2015-30.06.2016)

For our constantly updated deadlines and events, please refer to our website at www.datagroup.de, Investor Relations section.

About DATAGROUP:

DATAGROUP is a leading German IT service company. Over 1,400 employees at 16 locations across Germany design, implement, and operate IT infrastructure and business applications such as SAP. With its product CORBOX, DATAGROUP is a full-service provider, serving over 330,000 global IT workstations for medium and large enterprises as well as for public-sector clients. In other words: ‘We manage IT’. The company is growing organically and through acquisitions. The acquisition strategy is particularly noted for its optimal integration of the new companies. DATAGROUP is actively participating in the IT service market’s consolidation process with its ‘buy and turn around’ and its ‘buy and build’ strategy.

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