DGAP-News: USU Software AG

DGAP-News: USU Group Announces Financial Figures for Q1/2016

DGAP-News: USU Software AG / Key word(s): Quarterly / Interim Statement USU Group Announces Financial Figures for Q1/2016

24.05.2016 / 09:00 The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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- Revenue up significantly by 20.5%

- 60.5% increase in high-margin license business

- 12.3% growth in international business

- Sharp rise in earnings - adjusted EBIT up 27.0%

- 30% improvement in orders on hand

- Revenue and earnings forecast confirmed

Möglingen, May 24, 2016 - In the first quarter of 2016, USU Software AG (ISIN DE000A0BVU28) increased its Group-wide revenue by 20.5% year-on-year to EUR 16,957 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 14,069 thousand). The main growth driver in the period under review was high-margin software license business. For instance, USU Software AG and its subsidiaries (referred to below as "USU" or "the USU Group") increased license income by 60.5% year- on-year in the first three months of 2016 to EUR 3,074 thousand (Q1/2015: EUR 1,915 thousand). In addition to strong domestic business, international business also expanded in Q1/2016 with growth of 12.3%. With an increase in international revenue to EUR 4,713 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 4,196 thousand), international business now accounts for 27.8% of consolidated revenue (Q1 2015: 29.8%).

Maintenance business grew strongly in the first quarter of 2016 by 34.6% to EUR 4,666 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 3,466 thousand). USU mainly benefited here from the increase in income from software maintenance agreements and new software-as-a-service (SaaS) projects. USU also expanded its consulting business to EUR 9,103 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 8,492 thousand), an increase of 7.2% as against Q1/2015.

Broken down by segment, USU generated total revenue of EUR 13,448 thousand from product business in the first three months of 2016 (Q1 2015: EUR 10,666 thousand). This represents a 26.1% rise in revenue as against the previous year. Consulting revenue in the service business segment again grew by 3.7% to EUR 3,474 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 3,349 thousand). Accordingly, USU increased the share of consolidated revenue attributable to the product segment from 75.8% in the previous year to 79.3% in the period under review. Revenue not assigned to the segments amounted to EUR 35 thousand in total in the months January to March 2016 (Q1 2015: EUR 53 thousand).

As a result of the substantial expansion in product business combined with a lower increase in costs, the USU Group's profitability improved significantly in the opening quarter of 2016. For instance, USU increased EBIT adjusted for extraordinary effects relating to acquisitions by 27.0% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016 to EUR 1,368 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 1,077 thousand). On an unadjusted basis, USU generated EBIT of EUR 1,010 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 743 thousand), a year-on-year increase of 35.8%. At the same time, EBITDA grew as against Q1/2015 to EUR 1,654 thousand (Q1 2015: EUR 1,288 thousand). Due to currency translation effects consolidated net profit came to EUR 882 thousand in the opening quarter of 2016 compared with a sum of EUR 929 thousand in the same period of the previous year. USU's earnings per share fell slightly from EUR 0.09 in the previous year to EUR 0.08 in the first quarter of 2016.

Consolidated earnings led to an increase in equity as at March 31, 2016 to EUR 61,744 thousand (December 31, 2015: EUR 60,791 thousand). Current and non-current liabilities increased to EUR 29,704 thousand at the end of the period under review (December 31, 2015: EUR 28,395 thousand), mainly as a result of higher deferred income for maintenance agreements invoiced at the start of the year for which the service will be rendered and the revenue recognized later in the year. With total assets of EUR 91,448 thousand (December 31, 2015: EUR 89,186 thousand), the equity ratio was 67.5% as at March 31, 2016 (December 31, 2015: 68.2%). At the same time, USU significantly increased Group liquidity in the form of cash and cash equivalents to EUR 26,453 thousand (December 31, 2015: EUR 23,109 thousand), a rise of 14.5%.

For 2016 as a whole, following the positive start to the year, the Management Board of USU Software AG expects the growth trend of the previous years to continue successfully. Further stimulus is expected from product business both internationally and on the core German market. This will be aided by the ongoing penetration of the US market and the expansion of activities in Central Europe. One positive sign of the targeted growth is orders on hand across the USU Group, which were up 30.0% year-on-year at EUR 42,973 thousand as at March 31, 2016 (March 31, 2015: EUR 33,049 thousand). Overall, the Management Board reaffirms its forecast of an increase in consolidated revenue to between EUR 71 and EUR 75 million in fiscal year 2016, together with a strong rise in adjusted EBIT to between EUR 9 and EUR 10.5 million. On the basis of this forecast, the Management Board is planning to enable the shareholders of USU Software AG to participate in the company's operating success again in 2016, as in previous years, and thus to continue the shareholder-friendly dividend policy in the interests of sustained continuity. For fiscal year 2015, the Management Board and Supervisory Board of USU Software AG have proposed to the Annual General Meeting a profit distribution of EUR 0.35 per share, equivalent to a dividend increase of 16.7% compared with the previous year. By the end of 2017, revenue is expected to rise to over EUR 100 million, including around EUR 15 million in growth through acquisitions. Here, the operating margin on the basis of adjusted EBIT is expected to rise to 15%.

USU Software AG

The USU Group is the largest European provider of IT and knowledge management software. Market leaders in all sectors of the international economy use USU applications to create transparency, become more agile, save costs, and reduce risks. USU Software AG (ISIN DE 000A0BVU28), listed in the Prime Standard of the German stock exchange, incorporates USU AG - established in 1977 - as well as Aspera GmbH, Aspera Technologies Inc., BIG Social Media GmbH, LeuTek GmbH, and OMEGA Software GmbH.

The IT Management division supports companies with extensive ITIL(R)- compatible solutions for strategic and operational IT & enterprise service management. With USU solutions, customers gain an overall view of their IT processes and IT infrastructure and are able to transparently plan, allocate, monitor and actively manage IT services. USU is one of the world's leading providers in the software license management sector.

With intelligent solutions and expertise in digital interaction, USU is a prime mover in the digitization of business processes. Standard software and consulting services help to automate service processes and actively provide knowledge for all communication channels and customer contact points in sales, marketing, and customer service. Our range in this field is rounded off by system integration, individual applications and software for industrial big data.

Further information: www.usu-software.de

Contact:

USU Software AG Investor Relations Dr. Thomas Gerick Tel.: +49 (0) 71 41 / 48 67 440 Fax: +49 (0) 71 41 / 48 67 909 E-mail: t.gerick@usu-software.de

USU Software AG Investor Relations Falk Sorge Tel.: +49 (0) 71 41 - 48 67 351 Fax: +49 (0) 71 41 - 48 67 108 E-mail: mailto:f.sorge@usu-software.de

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24.05.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Language: English Company: USU Software AG Spitalhof 71696 Möglingen Germany Phone: +49 (0)7141 4867-0 Fax: +49 (0)7141 4867-200 E-mail: info@usu-software.de Internet: www.usu-software.de ISIN: DE000A0BVU28 WKN: A0BVU2 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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