Press Release

AdLINK Group posts sales of EUR 222.5 million and an EBITDA of EUR 14.0 million in 2008 - Earnings are burdened by write-downs on participations of EUR 17.1 million.

Montabaur, March 25, 2009. In its fiscal year 2008, AdLINK Internet Media AG (the AdLINK Group) generated consolidated sales of EUR 222.5 million, compared with EUR 229.2 million in the previous year. After adjustment for currency effects, sales were with EUR 229.9 million at the prior-year level.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached EUR 14.0 million in fiscal year 2008 (prior year: EUR 26.5 million without non-recurring earnings of EUR 16.8 million from the initial recognition of the Goldbach shares). Before taxes and write-downs, the AdLINK Group posted a profit of EUR 8.1 million (prior-year: EUR 21.1 million). Currency losses burdened this result by EUR 2.6 million more than in 2007.

EBT in 2008 was burdened by the following negative special items: write-downs of EUR 7.9 million due to the fall in the share price of our investment in Goldbach Media AG and goodwill amortization of EUR 9.2 million.

Including the negative special items, pre-tax earnings amounted to EUR -9.0 million (prior year EUR 28.5 million). Earnings per share (EPS) fell from EUR 0.72 in 2007 to EUR -0.53 in 2008.

In fiscal year 2008, the AdLINK Group reduced its net borrowing from EUR 41.7 million in the previous year to EUR 32.9 million.

On the basis of current market conditions, the AdLINK Group’s Management Board expects sales revenues to reach approximately EUR 200 million. EBT is expected to reach the prior-year level (EBT 2008 without special items: EUR 8.1 million).

“We are optimistic about the further development of the company in the time after the economic and financial crisis. Online advertising will remain a fast growing market in the medium and long term. The shift from print to online advertising will continue and, if anything, will even be accelerated by the global recession. Online advertising will therefore continue to take a greater share of the overall advertising mix.
As a network of specialists for digital marketing solutions, we will thus ultimately emerge significantly strengthened from the crisis,” says Andreas Janssen, CFO of AdLINK Internet Media AG.

“In 2009 we will focus on the development of new advertising formats, technical innovations and the further automation of our business processes. We also plan to invest further in our domain portfolio and are currently considering how we can actively participate in the consolidation of this market,” explains Marc Stilke, Speaker of the Management Board of AdLINK Internet Media AG.

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