Press release:XING AG results for H1/2010 confirm positive growth strategy
August 11 2010
- Total revenues rise by 20 percent to €25.86 million
- EBITDA of €3.74 million in Q2 is highest quarterly operative result in the company’s history
- 9.63 million members worldwide with 4.07 million members in German-speaking countries
Hamburg, August 11, 2010 – XING AG’s figures at the end of the first half of 2010 reflect and confirm the positive growth strategy it has developed and implemented. Total revenues for the first six months of the year rose by 20 percent from €21.54 million in H1/2009 to €25.86 million in H1/2010. Revenues from XING’s core business of paying Premium Members grew by 18 percent to €20.59 million. E-Recruiting income for the period rose by 34 percent from €2.23 million to €2.99 million, while Advertising revenues saw a 50 percent increase from €1.10 million to €1.65 million.
Stefan Gross-Selbeck, CEO at XING AG, said that “We were able to present excellent figures for the first half of 2010. From an operative perspective, the second quarter was the most successful in the company’s history with our strategy of tapping into new sources of income already bearing fruit. The increased growth we generated in our new income channels - E-Recruiting and Advertising - played a major part in the positive figures for the first half of 2010 along with our efforts to focus even more on the customer and develop our core features to improve customer benefit. Within the scope of this, we made improvements to our Premium Membership product and, in particular, to our Basic Membership. This had a direct impact on our membership figures with Q2 returning the highest growth levels achieved in the last 15 months.”
To quantify this, 460,000 people signed up to XING as new members in Q2 with global membership for H1/2010 rising by 880,000 to 9.63 million.
In XING’s domestic market, i.e. German-speaking countries, the platform had 4.07 million members (an increase of 20 percent), while growth in the Company’s core international markets - Turkey and Spain – accelerated even further. Turkey enjoyed a 64 percent increase in member growth, taking overall figures to 908,000, while Spain reported a 40 percent rise to 1.42 million as of the end of June. During the first half of 2010, 31,000 people chose to upgrade to a Premium Membership, taking overall figures to 718,000 worldwide.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose 20 percent, which was in line with revenues and equates to a total of €7.04 million, while XING’s operative result of €3.74 million for Q2 2010 was the highest ever in the company’s history. The 27 percent EBITDA margin for H1/2010 was the same as last year, although Q2 2010 actually produced a five percent increase over Q2 2009, taking the margin up to 28 percent. Profits also improved during the first half of 2010, growing from €2.18 million in H1/2009 to €2.60 million in H1/2010. The free cash flow for this period rose in turn to €11.07 million (compared to €-7.04 million in 2009).
XING 2010 Half Year Results | | | | | | | H1/2010 | H1/2009 | yoy | Total Revenue¹ | in € millon | 25,86 | 21,54 | +20% | thereof "Subscriptions" | in € millon | 20,59 | 17,83 | +18% | thereof "E-Recruiting" | in € millon | 2,99 | 2,23 | +34% | thereof "Advertising" | in € millon | 1,65 | 1,10 | +50% | EBITDA | in € millon | 7,04 | 5,90 | +20% | Result for the period | in € millon | 2,60 | 2,18 | +20% |
1) including other operating income
About XING
XING.com is the social network for business professionals. Millions of members use the platform to do business and promote their career. XING makes networking and professional contact management simple, with made-to-measure networking functions and services. The XING community is highly active with members meeting, exchanging views in more than 40,000 specialist groups, and getting together at networking events to share their contacts, skills and expertise. The XING business network is based on trust - It boosts members’ career prospects while acting as a recruiting portal for both companies looking to fill vacancies and qualified professionals interested in a new challenge. XING is the only network in the world to offer full SSL encryption. The platform is operated by XING AG, a listed company with headquarters in Hamburg and offices in Barcelona and Istanbul. Please visit www.xing.com for more information.
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Press release:XING Company Profiles now also available to freelancers and as a free basic version
July 15 2010
Additional active online reputation management options
Hamburg, July 15, 2010 - XING, Germany’s largest business network, is now offering freelancers and one-man businesses the opportunity to present themselves by creating their own company profile. More than a million freelancers and one-man companies registered on XING now have the same options available as large companies when it comes to boosting their online presence. In addition, XING now also offers a free BASIC version of its Company Profiles. A professional profile within Germany’s leading social business network allows freelancers and one-man companies both to appeal to customers, clients, and business partners on XING and to be found by any Internet user, e.g. via a search engine.
Online reputation as a success factor; Active reputation management with XING Company Profiles
Helmut Becker, Chief Commercial Officer at XING AG, commented that “A positive online reputation is a key factor for success for companies and freelancers. Nowadays it’s considered the norm to go on the Internet to find out more about companies and service providers. But simply being online is not good enough. Companies need to make sure that they are present where their target group is and actively manage their online reputation. Our BASIC Company Profile now offers freelancers and one-man businesses a simple way of doing just that.”
In addition to the existing fee-based STANDARD and PLUS Company Profiles, XING is now introducing a free BASIC Company Profile. Here, freelancers and one-man companies can use XING to promote their business among a highly attractive business target group. According to AGOF internet facts 2010-1, XING in Germany hosts more than 1.7 million unique users consisting of business professionals who are academics or have a monthly net household income of at least €3,500. They can also be found beyond the XING platform, making Company Profiles an efficient alternative to a personal website or an entry in a business directory. Furthermore, freelancers and one-man companies now have access to a practical addition to their personal XING profile that allows them to draw attention to their business, services, and project experience. For more information about the new offers, please go to http://companyprofile.xing.com.
The appearance and layout of the fee-based STANDARD and PLUS Company Profiles have also been optimized to guarantee even better visibility on the XING platform. PLUS profiles still offer advanced features such as company updates that XING members can subscribe to and follow. This means that companies can create their own communities of followers that keep customers, job applicants, and people interested in the company up to date on the latest products and services. These profiles are now also available to freelancers.
About XING
XING.com is the social network for business professionals. Millions of members use the platform to do business and promote their career. XING makes networking and professional contact management simple, with made-to-measure networking functions and services. The XING community is highly active with members meeting, exchanging views in about 38,000 specialist groups, and getting together at networking events to share their contacts, skills and expertise. The XING business network is based on trust - It boosts members’ career prospects while acting as a recruiting portal for both companies looking to fill vacancies and qualified professionals interested in a new challenge.
XING is the only network in the world to offer full SSL encryption. The platform is operated by XING AG, a listed company with headquarters in Hamburg and offices in Barcelona and Istanbul. Please visit www.xing.com for more information.
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