Intershop Communications AG reports revenue growth and profit for first half of 2020

• Total revenues grow by 8% to EUR 16.5 million
• New cloud orders up 71%, cloud revenues increase by 16%
• Positive EBIT of EUR 0.5 million, up from EUR -3.8 million in the same period of the previous year

Jena, 23 July 2020 – Intershop Communications AG (ISIN: DE000A254211), a leading independent provider of innovative solutions for omni-channel commerce, reports a positive business trend for the first half of 2020. Revenues increased by 8% to EUR 16.5 million (previous year: EUR 15.2 million). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved noticeably to EUR 0.5 million, compared to EUR -3.8 million in the same period of the previous year. The profitable start to the year continued with a positive result in the second quarter.

Cloud and subscription revenues rose by 16% to EUR 3.5 million in the first six months of 2020 (previous year: EUR 3.0 million). Incoming orders for cloud solutions (new and existing customers) surged by 71% to EUR 7.4 million (previous year: EUR 4.3 million) and cloud ARR (annual recurring revenues) climbed from EUR 6.2 million to EUR 7.5 million. At EUR 2.1 million, license revenues were clearly up on the previous year (EUR 1.0 million). Maintenance revenues amounted to EUR 4.1 million (previous year: EUR 4.0 million). Service revenues fell by 5% to EUR 6.9 million (previous year: EUR 7.2 million) due to coronavirus-related project delays.

Dr. Jochen Wiechen, CEO of Intershop Communications AG, believes that the company is on track both strategically and operationally: “We are currently seeing many market players reassess their digital strategy as a result of the crisis. While some companies are already taking advantage of the opportunities arising from the crisis, others find that they now have to supplement their traditional distribution channels faster than planned in order to keep up with the competition. Our scalable cloud commerce solutions support businesses in both scenarios. Consequently, we are very satisfied with the business performance in the first half of the year.”

Based on higher revenues and a streamlined cost structure, the gross margin improved by 12 percentage points to 45% in the period under review. The cloud margin climbed from 35% to 38%. Operating expenses declined by 21% to EUR 6.9 million. While marketing and sales expenses were reduced by 22% to EUR 3.6 million, research and development expenses declined by 27% to EUR 1.8 million. Administrative expenses dropped by 10% to EUR 1.5 million. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) stood at EUR 2.3 million (previous year: EUR -2.4 million), earnings before interest and taxes amounted to EUR 0.5 million (previous year: EUR -3.8 million) and earnings after taxes came in at EUR 0.4 million (previous year: EUR -3.9 million).

On 30 June 2020, the Group reported total assets in the amount of EUR 26.3 million (31 December 2019: EUR 27.6 million). The equity ratio improved from 57% to 61%. Cash and cash equivalents increased by EUR 0.2 million compared to December 2019 and totaled EUR 7.9 million. Cash flow from operations improved to EUR 2.1 million in the reporting period, compared to EUR -2.4 million in the previous year. As of the end of June 2020, Intershop employed a total of 299 full-time equivalents worldwide.

In view of the successful first half of the year and a well-filled new business pipeline, Intershop’s Management Board maintains its forecast for the fiscal year 2020 and continues to expect a slight increase in consolidated revenues. With gross profit and the gross margin to improve slightly, EBIT are expected to be slightly positive.

The interim report for the first six months of 2020 is available at https://www.intershop.com/financial-reports.