DGAP-News: CLIQ Digital AG publishes audited consolidated financial statements for 2018 - return to growth path in 2019

Corporate News

CLIQ Digital AG publishes audited consolidated financial statements for 2018 - return to growth path in 2019

- Audited Group figures 2018 correspond to the preliminary figures of 14 February 2019
- Forecast 2019: organic growth through rising marketing expenses

Duesseldorf, 4 April 2019 - CLIQ Digital AG (ISIN DE000A0HHJR3, GSIN A0HHJR), a leading direct marketing and distribution organization for digital products with its own global payment and distribution platform, today publishes its audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2018 and forecast for 2019.​

Revenue and earnings development (in EUR million)

Following the impressive financial performance in the year 2017 the financial year 2018 proved to be challenging for the CLIQ Digital Group. 2018 was characterized by the integration of the acquisitions in the United Kingdom (2017) and France as well as the newly incorporated office in the United States into the CLIQ Digital Group.

The Group generated in 2018 revenues of EUR 58.2 million (2017: EUR 70.5 million) representing a decrease of 17.4% compared to the previous year. Net revenues (revenues after deduction of costs for payment service providers) decreased with 8% from EUR 42.5 million last year to 39.1 million in the period under review. The decrease in revenues can be allocated to a slow start in 2018 due to lower marketing spend in the fourth quarter of 2017 related to temporary delays in new product launches and the lower CLIQ-factor of 1.36 (2017: 1.47). The CLIQ factor represents the ratio of revenue to costs per customer and is a key indicator for measuring the profitability of new customers. The decrease in CLIQ-factor is caused by the shift from affiliate marketing to direct media buying which provides more control over the advertisement campaigns.

EBITDA adjusted for amortization of capitalized customer acquisition costs decreased in 2018 to EUR 3.9 million compared to EUR 5.5 million in the previous year caused by the lower revenues. Net profit decreased from EUR 3.4 million last year to EUR 3.0 million in the year under review. Cumulative earnings per share (EPS diluted) came in at EUR 0.34 in 2018 compared to EUR 0.52 in the previous year.

Development of KPI's

The customer base value - an important indicator for estimating the expected net revenue of existing customers - increased by 9% to EUR 24 million in the fourth quarter of 2018 from EUR 22 million at the end of the third quarter as a result of increased marketing expenses (Q4/2018: EUR 4.7 million compared to Q3/2018: EUR 4.1 million). For the full year 2018, marketing expenses totaled EUR 18.8 million, slightly above the previous year's level of EUR 18.6 million.

Outlook 2019

Following a successful start to 2019, the CLIQ Digital Group is aiming for steady organic growth in the current financial year through (slightly) rising marketing expenses and a CLIQ factor at the 2018 level. In conjunction with the focus on synergies and cost reductions in the individual business areas of the Group, CLIQ Digital expects EBITDA to be (slightly) higher than in 2018. Overall, the Management Board is confident that CLIQ Digital will return to its growth path in the current financial year.

The audited Annual Report 2018 is now available for download at www.cliqdigital.com in the Investor Relations section.
About CLIQ Digital:
CLIQ Digital (www.cliqdigital.com) is a leading direct marketing and distribution organization for digital products with its own global payment and distribution platform. CLIQ Digital's core business is the direct marketing of its digital entertainment products to consumers via mobile and online marketing channels. The Group, based in Düsseldorf is a valuable strategic business partner for networks, content owners, publishers and advertisers. The shares of CLIQ Digital AG are listed in the Scale 30 of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A0HHJR3).

Contact
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Susan Hoffmeister
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E-Mail: sh@crossalliance.de
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