EANS-News: asknet AG / asknet publishes business figures for the first half of 2011

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Company Information/6-month report

Subtitle: *** Sales amount to EUR 32.5 million (-4.8%)
*** Gross profits of EUR 5.0 million at the previous year's level
*** Earnings impacted by an unscheduled provision and one-off fees

Karlsruhe, San Francisco (euro adhoc) - August 15, 2011 - asknet AG,
a leading supplier of global eCommerce solutions for software and
digital media companies, has announced its business figures for the
first half of 2011. The Group generated sales revenues of EUR 32.5
million in the first six months of 2011, down approximately 5 percent
from the previous year´s figure. Gross profits, which represent the
growth of the Group, were the same as in the previous year at EUR 5.0
million in the reporting period, of which EUR 3.5 million came from
the eDistribution segment and EUR 1.5 million from ePortals. asknet
Group´s operating result (EBIT) was EUR -1.0 million. Earnings before
taxes (EBT) came to EUR -1.8 million.

The decline in earnings is mainly due to an unscheduled provision of
EUR 763 thousand, which was set aside for an interest charge due to a
formal error during VAT calculations for software publishers by tax
authorities. Responsible tax authorities have since approved the
suspension of execution applied for by asknet. Tax authorities
usually only approve a suspension of execution when there are serious
doubts about the lawfulness of a notice. No interest payments will be
due until further notice on account of the suspension of execution
and no additional interest will be incurred during the period of
suspension. One-off fees for Executive Board reorganization and
strategic consultancy services also impacted the net result for the
first half of the year. After interest and taxes, asknet reported a
loss in the first half of the year of EUR 1.8 million.

Apart from a slight decline in growth in the eDistribution segment
due to weaker growth of existing customers and a lack of new customer
agreements with major software publishers, the ePortals segment
continued to develop positively. asknet already supplies
approximately 80% of all German universities with software products.
The company aims to further consolidate its market leadership in
Germany and to accelerate the expansion of its software portals in
Switzerland and Austria. Furthermore, the experienced and well-versed
executive duo Michael Konrad and Dr. Dietmar Waudig will continue to
consistently improve results regarding sustainable profitability
following CEO Michael Scheib´s resignation effective July 15, 2011.
"We expect to generate positive operating cash flow as early as the
fourth quarter of this year with the help of stringent cost control",
explained Michael Konrad.

The company is operating in an intact growth market with software and
electronic software distribution. The trend to supplement and
substitute stationary trade in the software market through the
Internet as a sales channel continues.

The half-year report 2011 of asknet AG is available on the company
website at www.asknet.com.

About asknet: asknet offers its clients customized outsourcing
solutions for global software sales via the Internet. Founded in 1995
as a spin-off of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT, formerly
the University of Karlsruhe), the company has become a leading
independent global provider for electronic software distribution. In
addition to its fully integrated shop solutions for software
publishers, the company develops and maintains portals for software
distribution such as softwarehouse.de, one of Europe's largest
platform for downloads of standard software. In 2010, asknet posted
sales of approximately EUR 72.7 million. asknet´s clients include
numerous providers of specialty software such as F-Secure, IS3, Nero,
NetObjects, Norman, and Panda Security. The company also supplies
software products to around eighty percent of German universities.

Further inquiry note:
Martina Oerther
Director Corporate Marketing
Tel.: +49 (0)721 96 458-6369
Email: martina.oerther@asknet.com

end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: asknet AG
Vincenz-Priessnitz-Str. 3
D-76131 Karlsruhe
phone: +49 (0)721 96 458 6369
FAX: +49 (0)721-96 45899
mail: info@asknet.de
WWW: http://www.asknet.de
sector: Electronic Commerce
ISIN: DE0005173306
indexes:
stockmarkets: free trade: Berlin, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München, Open Market /
Entry Standard: Frankfurt
language: English