Greatly improved result in Q3 despite drop in net sales - 11/2001

jobpilot AG achieved in the third quarter, according to preliminary numbers, global net sales of 10.1 million euro. This corresponds to a shortfall of 17 percent in comparison with the second quarter 2001 (12.3 million euro). This was the tangible effect of the economic situation and the correspondingly reduced recruitment activities of numerous large companies on the business of jobpilot AG.

The operating result (EBIT), including restructuring costs, amounts in the third quarter to provisionally -6.6 million euro (-7.3 million euro in Q2 2001). Without the one-off restructuring costs of 3.2 million euro, jobpilot would have achieved an operating result of -3.4 million euro compared with -5.4 million euro in the second quarter 2001. Despite the drop in sales, jobpilot was able to reduce the operating loss in the last quarter by almost 40 percent. Business in Germany remains profitable and the entire jobpilot group will exceed the break-even point in the 2002 financial year. The cash funds required for this are sufficiently available, amounting to 19 million euro at the end of the third quarter.

A further reduction in the operating loss is expected for the fourth quarter since the jobpilot group will reduce its operating expenses by a further 15 percent. As part of this strategy the number of employees in Germany is being reduced from 200 to around 165. There will be labour shedding in some European subsidiary companies too.

Thus, for instance, in Italy the number of employees is being reduced by around 20 percent. The company is therefore adjusting its capacities to the temporarily reduced recruitment activities of the economy.

On the Board of Management of jobpilot AG there has been a new appointment to the position of CFO. Rebecca Polley has retired from the company. Her successor is Willi Stahlmann (48). In the past Stahlmann worked for Dimension Data AG & Co (200 million Euro net sales, 350 employees) as authorized representative.

ìWe have the costs under control even in this difficult market environment and are sticking to our consistent and long term approachî, Dr. Roland Metzger, chairman of the Board of Management of jobpilot AG, stated. ìThe recruiting market and our company is likely to profit immediately and more than most from any economic upturn and increased recruitment activities.î

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