EMAILVISION / 2009 Full Year Results: Revenue Growth Acceleration and Gross Margin Improvement

PARIS and NEW YORK, March 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ --

- Operating Margin Impacted by Investments

- Adoption of IFRS

Emailvision, the global market and technology leader in software as a service (SaaS) for e-mail marketing announces its 2009 full year results.

    EUR millions           2009   2008      YOY %       2008
                           IFRS   IFRS     change      French
                                                        GAAP

    Backlog as at 31/12    39.3   25.4      + 55%       25.4
    Revenues               29.3   21.8      + 35%       21.8
    Gross margin %           73%    71%                   71%
    EBIT                   0.73   1.90       -62%       2.22
    EBIT %                  2.5%   8.7%                 10.2%
    Adjusted* EBIT         1.52   2.08       -27%       2.22
    Adjusted* EBIT %        5.2%   9.5%                 10.2%
    Net income             0.45   0.87       -48%       0.93
    Adjusted* net income   1.24   1.05       +18%       0.93

    * Adjusted for stock option & warrant charges
    Continued improvement in gross margin, reaching 73% in 2009

2009 was a year marked by strong growth with sales increasing by 35% (+38% at constant exchange rates) to EUR29.3 million, in accordance with the company's growth strategy.

Revenue growth was accompanied by an improvement in gross margin which reached 73% of revenues (71% in 2008), driven by the pooling of IT resources and economies of scale from its SaaS platform. This is the fourth consecutive year that gross margin has improved significantly.

Bookings growth led to an increase in backlog of 55%, reaching EUR39.3 million compared to EUR25.4 million in 2008, providing strong visibility into Emailvision's future revenues. Of the total backlog as at December 2009, EUR17.9 million will be recognized in 2010 and EUR11.1 million in 2011.

Sales growth acceleration impacted profitability, as expected

During 2009, Emailvision intensified its strategy of market share growth in Europe and in the USA with the opening of two new subsidiaries (Sweden and Italy) and an increase in headcount (67 new staff recruited in 2009, representing an increase of 45%). By end 2009, the group had subsidiaries in 10 countries. Emailvision won more than 900 new clients during the year.

As previously announced, investments in people, mainly in the sales team (56 sales staff present at the end of 2009 compared to 36 at the end of 2008) and the R&D team, temporarily impacted the company's profitability.

Adoption of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)

Starting in 2009, and as part of the process of transferring to Euronext, Emailvision has decided to present its accounts in IAS/IFRS format.

The effect on the profit and loss account of adopting IFRS mainly concerns the inclusion of a charge for stock options & warrants granted to staff and managers. These changes, which negatively impact the EBIT by EUR0.79 million, have no cash impact for the Group.

The EBIT for 2009 is EUR0.73 million (2.53% of revenues) compared to EUR1.89 million in 2008 (restated for the adoption of IFRS). Adjusting for the impact of stock option and warrant charges, EBIT for the year was EUR1.52 million (5.2% of revenues), representing a decrease of 27% compared to 2008.

Adjusted net income for the year was EUR1.24 million, increasing by 18% compared to 2008, due to low corporation tax rate. The good short-term and medium-term outlook for the Group has allowed it to benefit from tax credits carried forward from previous losses.

The Group's financial structure remains robust, with cash of more than EUR3.1 million at the year end and low levels of debt (gearing 17%).

2010 Outlook

Retention e-mail marketing, one of the most profitable marketing channels, is being adopted by an increasing number of companies of all sizes, in all industry verticals.

In order to respond to the increasing demand for its Campaign Commander(TM) software service, Emailvision will continue its market share growth strategy by further accelerating its recruitment and international expansion.

The Group's target is to achieve a revenue growth of at least 30% in 2010.

The market share growth strategy will involve further significant investments in its sales force, its technical infrastructure and in R&D.

Taking into account the company's growth objectives, the Group is likely to report an operating loss for the first-half of 2010. For the full year, the Group expects to remain profitable.

    Emailvision has been profitable since 2005.

      Next announcement - publication of 2010 Q1 revenues: 20 April 2010

            Emailvision is listed on the NYSE Alternext - Code ISIN :
                         FR0004168045 / MNEMO: ALEMV

About Emailvision

Emailvision is the international market and technology leader in software as a service for the management and optimisation of e-mail marketing campaigns. Its flagship product, Campaign Commander(TM), has become the benchmark software service for the e-commerce and publishing industries. With over 250 staff, Emailvision is present in the major global markets with offices in the United States, the UK, France, Germany (Hamburg and Munich), Switzerland (Geneva and Zurich), Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Italy. Emailvision is driving a global market share growth strategy in a fast-growing market.

    Contacts:

    Emailvision,
    Nick Heys, CEO,
    Olivier Candau, CFO,
    Tel. : +33(0)1-41-27-27-17,
    [email protected] ;

    Global Equities,
    Listing Sponsor,
    Stephane Lefevre-Sauli,
    Tel. : +33(0)1-44-43-33-00,
    [email protected] ;

    ACTIFIN,
    Communication financiere,
    Jean-Yves Barbara - Emilie Debes,
    Tel. : +33(0)1-56-88-11-11,
    jybarbara or [email protected] .

SOURCE Emailvision