As was the case in the second quarter of the year, the decision taken by TOMORROW FOCUS AG to increase net marketing volume anti-cyclically in the E-Commerce segment by around EUR 8 million to approximately EUR 20 million in the current financial year proved to be very successful.
With regard to page impressions, figures from the IVW (German Information Society for Measuring the Distribution of Advertising Media) show that HolidayCheck AG was able to consolidate its edge over rivals such as Expedia.de and ab-in-den-Urlaub.de in the third quarter and thus reconfirm its position as the leading independent IVW-audited travel/holiday portal in Germany. According to the IVW, HolidayCheck clocked up 8.2 million page impressions in September 2009, with Expedia.de on 5.6 million and ab-in-den-urlaub.de trailing on 3.5 million.
EliteMedianet GmbH, which operates the premium online dating portal ElitePartner.de, achieved considerable increases in revenue over both the first nine months and the third quarter of 2009.
The Portal segment recorded a modest increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, resulting in EBITDA of approximately EUR 0.4 million despite substantial investment in new business areas.
The Technologies segment delivered stable growth in revenue and earnings in the first nine months and third quarter of 2009 in line with the level achieved in 2008.
Total consolidated revenue for the first nine months of 2009 was up 16.0 percent on the same period in 2008 from EUR 55.1 million to EUR 63.9 million. Revenue for the third quarter of 2009 showed a year-on-year increase of 20.3 percent to EUR 23.1 million.
Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Group EBITDA) for the first nine months of 2009 increased by 31.7 percent from the 2008 figure of EUR 6.6 million to EUR 8.6 million.
Group EBITDA for the third quarter rose 68.4 percent to EUR 2.9 million from EUR 1.7 million in the third quarter of 2008.
At EUR 5.9 million, Group earnings before interest and taxes (Group EBIT) for the first nine months of 2009 were up 56.3 percent on the previous year’s figure of EUR 3.8 million.
Group EBIT in the third quarter of 2009 climbed 160.4 percent to EUR 2.0 million from a 2008 level of EUR 0.8 million.
Group earnings before taxes (Group EBT) in the first nine months of 2009 were up 21.3 percent from EUR 1.9 million in 2008 to EUR 2.3 million despite non-operating charges of EUR 2.6 million against the financial result in the first quarter.
Group EBT for the third quarter of 2009 showed a marked improvement to reach EUR 1.4 million, compared to EUR 0.1 million in the same quarter of 2008.
Consolidated net income (loss) for the period after minority interest stood at EUR 1.0 million in the first nine months of 2009, a rise of 13.4 percent compared to the figure of EUR 0.9 million for the equivalent period in 2008.
Consolidated net income (loss) for the period after minority interest in the third quarter of 2009 improved substantially on the equivalent figure of EUR 0.1 million for 2008 to end the quarter on EUR 1.0 million.
Consolidated earnings per share for the first nine months of 2009 were EUR 0.02, matching the figure for the same period in 2008.
However, consolidated earnings per share in the third quarter of 2009 rose from EUR 0.00 in the previous year to EUR 0.02.
At Group level, the Management Board anticipates that growth will continue in the fourth quarter of 2009.
The interim report for the third quarter of 2009 in German language is scheduled for publication on 6 November 2009 at www.tomorrow-focus.de. The English version will follow end of November.
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