ATOSS Software AG: Growth continues for an 11th successive year, new record sales and earnings, future outlook positive

Munich (pta009/31.01.2017/08:00 UTC+1) ATOSS Software AG reports continuing success as provisional results show all key figures again reaching new record highs in financial year 2016. Consolidated sales were up by a substantial 10 percent at EUR 49.5 million. And despite significant future-oriented investments, ATOSS once again exceeded the excellent development in earnings achieved in previous years: double-digit growth saw operating profits (EBIT) climb by 20 percent to EUR 13.6 million with a margin on sales up from 25 percent last year to 27 percent. With these figures, the workforce management specialist has succeeded in further intensifying its dynamic growth and profitability.

The ATOSS success story has now been sustained for eleven years in succession. The ATOSS business model continues to prove extremely successful and highly robust. The double-digit growth in sales offers clear evidence of the competitive strength of this Munich-based leader in innovation, as well as illustrating the steadily increasing importance of workforce management as a corporate instrument. This was emphatically reflected once again in the orders booked in financial year 2016. Orders for software licenses including the software component of contracted Cloud solutions amounted to EUR 12.3 million (previous year: EUR 11.1 million). The cloud business reported especially successful developments with total order intake up by 45 percent to EUR 3.5 million. As a result, at EUR 5.3 million, the order volume for Cloud solutions has almost doubled, following on from EUR 2.7 million in the prior year.

The final figure for overall sales revenues at EUR 49.5 million marked a new high point in the company's history. As the main driver of growth, software licenses accounted for EUR 11.2 million during the period, representing an increase of 14 percent over the year before. The consistent positive development in software maintenance over recent years was also sustained, with sales up 7 percent at EUR 18.1 million. As a result, turnover in software amounted to EUR 29.3 million, representing a proportion of 59 percent of consolidated revenues. In the field of consulting - supported by the excellent order situation for implementation services following the sale of licenses - ATOSS saw turnover increase by 12 percent to EUR 13.4 million. Hardware sales amounted to EUR 4.4 million (previous year: EUR 4.6 million), while other miscellaneous sales came in at EUR 2.4 million, up by EUR 0.7 million over the year before.

ATOSS is a top performer, and not just in sales: Operating profits rose significantly by 20 percent to EUR 13.6 million, adding two percentage points to the margin on sales which came in at 27 percent. With positive financial earnings of EUR 0.1 million, earnings before taxes (EBT) climbed 21 percent to EUR 13.7 million while net income was 22 percent higher at EUR 9.3 million. In financial year 2016 ATOSS recorded earnings per share of EUR 2.33, compared with EUR 1.91 in the year before. The highly positive development in business helped to boost cash flow from operations by 53 percent to EUR 12.2 million, while liquidity remained strong at EUR 24.8 million (previous year: EUR 24.4 million) despite the dividend amounting to EUR 11.1 million paid at the end of April 2016. The equity ratio as of 31.12.2016 stood at 50 percent, underscoring the continuing strength of the ATOSS balance sheet.

The Management Board intends to propose that in resolving on the appropriation of net income, the Supervisory Board recommends a dividend of EUR 1.16 per share. This represents a continuation of the policy adopted by ATOSS more than ten years ago of distributing around 50 percent of earnings per share and assures continuity with the preceding year. In addition at occasional intervals the company also utilizes surplus liquidity to pay special dividends. In financial year 2016 ATOSS disbursed a total of EUR 11.1 million (comprising a dividend of EUR 0.95 and a special payment of EUR 1.85 per share). The recommendations for the appropriation of net income put forward by the Management and Supervisory Boards will be resolved upon at the annual general meeting on April 28, 2017.

A strong demand for workforce management solutions is increasingly being perceived in virtually all sectors and among companies of all sizes. The very concept of Industrie 4.0 can only be implemented with the aid of powerful information systems and software solutions. These extremely positive forecasts are underpinned in particular by the increasingly dynamic growth of our company in recent financial years, each of which have seen double-digit growth in sales, and emphatically confirm that the growth potential of ATOSS is still far from exhausted.

The Management Board regards the latest record figures as an incentive for the future and expects the highly positive trend to be sustained in the current financial year with an EBIT margin of approx. 25 percent.

CONSOLIDATED OVERVIEW AS PER IFRS: YEAR ON YEAR COMPARISON IN KEUR

	01.01.2016- 31.12.2016	Proportion ofTotal sales	01.01.2015- 31.12.2015	Proportion of Total sales	Change 2016 / 2015
Total sales	49,544	100%	44,941	100%	10%
Software	29,307	59%	26,714	60%	10%
Software licenses	11,206	23%	9,838	22%	14%
Software maintenance	18,101	37%	16,876	38%	7%
Consulting	13,379	27%	11,906	26%	12%
Hardware	4,444	9%	4,610	10%	-4%
Others	2,414	5%	1,711	4%	41%
EBITDA	14,277	29%	12,032	27%	19%
EBIT	13,569	27%	11,344	25%	20%
EBT	13,677	28%	11,322	25%	21%
Net profit	9,278	19%	7,591	17%	22%
Cash flow	12,232	25%	7,980	18%	53%
Liquidity (1/2)	24,785		24,368		2%
EPS in euro	2.33		1.91		22%
Employees (3)	367		340		8%

CONSOLIDATED OVERVIEW AS PER IFRS: QUARTERLY COMPARISON IN KEUR

	Q4/16	Q3/16	Q2/16	Q1/16	Q4/15
Total sales	13,003	12,612	12,233	11,696	11,888
Software	7,790	7,391	7,242	6,884	7,125
Software licenses	3,134	2,858	2,747	2,467	2,782
Software maintenance	4,656	4,533	4,495	4,417	4,343
Consulting	3,528	3,195	3,355	3,301	3,125
Hardware	969	1,267	1,173	1,035	1,094
Others	716	759	463	476	544
EBITDA	3,974	3,708	3,225	3,370	3,182
EBIT	3,778	3,544	3,050	3,197	2,909
EBIT margin in %	29%	28%	25%	27%	25%
EBT	3,670	3,518	3,149	3,340	2,855
Net profit	2,409	2,415	2,170	2,284	1,867
Cash flow	75	7,301	608	4,248	7,980
Liquidity (1/2)	24,785	25,238	18,065	28,657	24,368
EPS in euro	0.60	0.61	0.55	0.57	0.47
Employees (3)	367	359	348	354	340

(1) Cash and cash equivalents, other current and non-current financial assets (sight deposits, investment funds, gold) as of the qualifying date, adjusted to exclude borrowings (loans)
(2) Dividend of EUR 2.80 per share on 27.04.2016 (kEUR 11,134) and dividend of EUR 0.88 per share on 29.04.2015 (kEUR 3,499)
(3) at the end of the quarter/year

Upcoming dates:
March 10, 2017 Publication of the annual report for 2016
March 10, 2017 Balance sheet press conference
April 25, 2017 Publication of the 3-monthly financial statements
April 28, 2017 Annual General Meeting
July, 25, 2017 Press release announcing the 6-monthly financial statements
August 11, 2017 Publication of the 6-monthly financial statements
October 25, 2017 Publication of the 9-monthly financial statements
November 27-29, 2017 ATOSS at the German Equity Forum

Background information
ATOSS Software AG is a provider of consulting, software and services focusing on professional workforce management and demand optimized personnel deployment. From conventional working time management to mobile apps, detailed workforce forecasting, sophisticated workforce scheduling or strategic capacity and demand scheduling, ATOSS has the right solution - in-the-cloud or on-premises. The modular product families are distinguished by maximum functionality and state-of-the-art technology and are entirely platform-independent. Established in 1987, the stock market listed company generated sales of around EUR 49,5 million in financial year 2016. ATOSS workforce management solutions are now delivering measurable contributions to greater value creation and competitive strengths for around 5,000 customers in over 40 countries, while at the same time enhancing fair planning and job satisfaction. Customers include enterprises such as Coca Cola, Deutsche Bahn, Edeka, Leverkusen Clinical Center, Lufthansa, Meyer Werft, Schmitz Cargobull, Sixt, the municipality of Regensburg and W.L. Gore & Associates.

More information is available at: http://www.atoss.com

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