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LBI International AB (publ.) PRESS RELEASE 24 July, 2008 Stockholm/Amsterdam
LBI International AB ("LBi"), the global marketing and technology agency, today announces its results for the second quarter and first half year. Mr Luke Taylor (CEO), Mr Theo Cordesius (EVP) and Mr Huub Wezenberg (acting CFO) will comment on the results and market developments during a conference call for press, analysts and investors. The conference call will start at 09.00 CET.
The dial in number for the conference call is: +31 20 717 68 68 Participant pin code: 60482374#
Executive summary - Strong turnaround in the second quarter from soft performance in the first quarter.
- Focus on quality of earnings and cost reductions have pressured revenue growth to some extent but improved margins.
- Net sales in the second quarter increased by 7.2% and amounted to EUR 42.6 million (40.4).
- Second quarter EBITDA improved both sequentially 75% and year-on-year 13%.
- Earnings per share in the second quarter came to EUR 0.05 (0.05).
- Recovery plan on track in the Netherlands as operations return to profitability in the quarter.
- Acquisition of Special Ops Media early April 2008, a New York (US) - based agency, completes the formation of our East coast Hub offering.
- Execution against strategic roadmap presented earlier this year continues according to plan.
A word from the CEO In the second quarter we saw a strong turnaround from a soft performance in the first quarter. We showed a significant improvement in profitability as we focused on increasing the quality of earnings and reducing costs across the entire group. As a result, EBITDA improved both sequentially (75%) and year-on-year (13%).
During the quarter under review we also made good progress executing against our published strategic roadmap; this is discussed in further detail in the back section. We have now begun to apply more control from the centre to ensure a greater consistency of offering and a more standardized approach to global delivery. Qualification procedures and commercial terms are also now more rigorously enforced; while this is impacting our short term revenue development it clearly contributed to improved profitability.
We are particularly encouraged by the speed with which we have managed to effect both organizational and operational change in the Netherlands. A new sense of momentum and urgency has quickly translated into improved new business success. We have found in general that the strides we have made in building out our ROI-led data offering and the fast evolution of our digital advertising and media services make us increasingly relevant in a challenging economic environment. We have experienced a strong increase in demand for these specific services across all geographies.
While we are confident of our ability to manage costs and meet our EBIT forecasts we are cautious of current market conditions. Although it is widely anticipated that digital marketing activity will be least affected by cost-cutting measures, we are starting to see a significant tightening of marketing and technology budgets inside large multinationals. It is vital, therefore, that we continue to focus on higher-margin retained business while deepening existing client relationships by selling across our entire service range.
Luke Taylor, CEO
For further information please contact: Luke Taylor, CEO, LBI International AB +44 (0) 20 70 63 64 65, luke.taylor@lbi.com Huub Wezenberg, acting CFO, LBI International AB +31 20 460 4500, huub.wezenberg@lbi.com Eva Ottosson, Group Communications Manager, LBI International AB +46 709 41 21 40, eva.ottosson@lbi.com
About LBi: LBi is a global marketing and technology agency. The Company employs approximately 1,600 professionals located primarily in the major European, American and Asian business centres, such as Amsterdam, Atlanta, Berlin, Brussels, London, Milan, Mumbai, New York, Paris and Stockholm. LBi blends the full range of service disciplines to create innovative multi-channel solutions for national and international corporate clients. By combining business and media strategy development with creative design, industry expertise and the latest digital communications technology, LBi offers a unique and uniquely valuable proposition. LBi is listed on OMX Nordic in Stockholm and Euronext in Amsterdam as (symbol: LBI). www.lbi.com
