Back in Black
Revenue up 21% in Q209 compared to Q109
Backlog at 27.5 MUSD, up 36 %
HIGHLIGHTS
- Q209 Revenues of MUSD 20.7, up 21% compared to MUSD 17.2 in Q109.
- EBITDA of MUSD 2.0 in Q209, representing a 10% margin, compared to MUSD -0.7 in Q109.
- EBIT of MUSD 0.5 in Q209, compared to MUSD -2.4 in Q109.
- Total backlog to date is MUSD 27.5, compared to MUSD 20.3 in Q109, up 36%.
- Following the Company's decision to consolidate its public listing on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the effective delisting date from the Frankfurt Stock Exchange will be October 28th 2009.
OUTLOOK
Bjarne Berg, President & CEO, stated: "The numbers we are presenting today show that, compared to our first quarter, we are slowly getting back on the road to recovery. Earlier this year, the advertisement driven media houses, which act as a reasonable barometer for the state of the economy in our sectors, applied all the brakes to any hope of immediate economic growth. However, now it seems they are back on the move again - albeit in a low gear.
Whether many of them will put their feet on the accelerator in a concerted and sustained way this autumn - it is much too early to tell. However, on a daily basis we are seeing small but encouraging signs of recovery in the world-wide economy, even if some of them may be followed by negative news the next day.
All in all, most analysts are cautiously optimistic and for the first time some are predicting that the worst is over. That may be the case for the market sectors that traditionally respond quickly to any market movement. But for others, for whom the impact of economic change is always delayed, the worst effects may still not have been felt, and so could yet lead to layoffs and postponed spending. Our broad mix of government-owned and commercially-funded customers occupy both positions, so we find ourselves positioned squarely between these two extremes. However, when all the indicators are taken into account, it is clear that sales are moving gradually back towards normality - although we are not sure that the "new normal" will be like the "old normal".
To summarize, comparing Q2 to Q1 for sales and feedback from prospective customers gives us reasonable cause for optimism. However the major markets are still very fragile and until we see a sustained period of upward movement, we would be unwise to make start making any firm predictions for the next quarters."
The FULL REPORT and MANAGEMENT PRESENTATION are provided as PDF download via the link at the end of this message.
A conference call will be held at 11:00 (CEST) today to offer analysts, investors and media the opportunity to directly discuss the results and recent developments with Bjarne Berg, CEO, and Ofra Brown, CFO of the company. Please use one of the following dial-in-numbers: +44 20 7784 1038 (UK), +47 2156 9640 (Norway), +49 69 2222 7436 (Germany). Participant Pass Code: 709396.
Press contacts:
Bjarne Berg
President & CEO
+47 9055 7711
bberg@vizrt.com
Ofra Brown
CFO
+47 5351 8040
ofra@vizrt.com
SCHWARZ Financial Communication
Frank Schwarz
+49 611 1745 398 11
schwarz@schwarzfinancial.com