ots Ad hoc-Service: INTERSHOP Communications <DE0006227002> Q4 Revenues up 206 %
Hamburg (ots Ad hoc-Service) -
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INTERSHOP Communications AG (SIN 622700), a leading global provider of standard sell- side e-commerce software, today announced preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and the fiscal year 1999.
Fourth quarter revenues were up 206 % or EUR 12.9 million to EUR 19.1 million from the comparable 1998 figure and up 82 % from the previous quarter. U.S. performance was exceptionally dynamic, and revenues rose 281 % as compared to fourth quarter 1998. License sales, which were up 200 % compared to the last year quarter and 127 % compared to the previous quarter, generated most of this growth. Gross profit increased 211 % to EUR 13.6 million, and the gross margin improved from 70.0 % to 71.2 %. Operating expenses came to EUR 22.2 million for an increase of 152 % and were significantly outpaced by revenues. Net loss for the quarter came to EUR 7.8 million as compared with the comparable figure of EUR 3.8 million a year earlier.
Fiscal 1999 revenues were up 158 % to EUR 46.1 million, which exceeded INTERSHOP's growth target of at least 100 %. Gross profit for the year was up 167 % to EUR 33.0 million. Net loss for the year came to EUR 18.9 million, which was only slightly higher than the 1998 figure of EUR 17.3 million.
"The fourth quarter of 1999 marked a new high in Intershop's corporate development," said INTERSHOP CFO Wilfried Beeck. "Despite the market concerns over Y2K , fourth quarter revenues nearly doubled the comparable figure for the preceding quarter, which meant that we reinforced our position as the fastest growing provider in the market for sell-side e-commerce software. Revenues exceeded our internal projections."
This extremely successful fourth quarter performance resulted from a considerable volume of follow-up business from existing customers as well as orders from many new customers. In the area of e-commerce hosting solutions, leading telcos and Internet service providers that opted for Intershop technology included Nortel Networks and US West in the U.S.A., and Deutsche Telekom and PostNet in Europe. New fourth- quarter additions to INTERSHOP's list of enterprise customers also included TimesSquare2000, H.O.T. Teleshopping and Cobalt Networks. The total number of e-commerce licenses sold by the end of 1999 exceeded 100,000, an increase of 40,000 compared to the end of the third quarter of 1999. As a result, Intershop again widened the lead over its competitors in terms of the number of licenses sold.
The increase in expenses in the fourth quarter resulted mainly from to the launch of a total new generation of e- commerce products, INTERSHOP enfinity, the INTERSHOP OPEN event in new York, and the geographical expansion into Asia.
Intershop's outstanding performance in the final quarter of the year was accompanied by the company's successful entry into the high end enterprise market. Launched in October, INTERSHOP enfinity is the first sell-side e- commerce solution for the high-end enterprise market that is completely based upon the new Java and XML Internet standards. Intershop alliance partners and customers were equally enthusiastic about INTERSHOP enfinity. Although the enfinity product was not generally available until mid-November, 1999, INTERSHOP sold over 30 enfinity licenses in the fourth quarter. Since the new Intershop solution features an exceptionally short implementation time as compared with competing products, several sites have already gone live, including the TimesSquare2000, Office XL and direktkauf.de sites.
Wilfried Beeck said, "Intershop's hosting product line had already made us the market leader in the segment consisting of mediumsized e-commerce companies, and enfinity has now let us capture the technological lead in the market made up of Global 2000 companies practically overnight. Our initial reference customers also made it possible for us to demonstrate the outstanding performance offered by INTERSHOP's enfinity product."
Preliminary financial data for the fourth quarter of 1999 in millions of EUR with data for the previous year in parentheses:
Revenues: 19.1 (6.3) Increase in revenues: 206 % Gross profit: 13.6 (4.4) Operating loss: 8.6 (4.4) Net loss: 7.8 (3.8)
INTERSHOP's plans for the year 2000 include continued international expansion and the introduction of new products. Given the company's successful entry into the enterprise market, management projects that 2000 revenues could at least double the 1999 figure. As a result, the company's goal is to break even for the year.
All figures are subject to audit. The audited financial statements for fiscal 1999 will be available on March 16, 2000, and Intershop's annual report will appear on March 31, 2000.
Investor Relations: Dr. John Lange Phone +49-40-23709-131/-128 Fax +49-40-23709-111 E-mail: investorrelations@intershop.de http://www.intershop.de
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