transtec maintains its hold in a difficult market environment 2001: Further specialisation ensures profitable core business

tec2b: Cost leadership strived for with standard products

Tübingen, March 27th 2001.
transtec AG still maintained its good hold on the difficult IT market of year 2000 with its core business. Despite the low dynamics in the computer industry the Tuebingen-based IT specialist managed to increase turnover by 5.8 percent from 175 million Euro to 185.2 million Euro in 2000. Unique and unusually high restructuring costs in Switzerland as well as high investments in the tec2b AG subsidiary and the international country
corporations in Belgium, Sweden and Denmark were a burden on the result. In
accordance with IAS the result of the ordinary business activity amounted to minus 6.1 million Euro (previous year: plus 6.8 million Euro). The net loss for the year was 4.0 million Euro following a net profit for the year of 4.1 million Euro in 1999. On the balance sheet date the liquid funds amounted to 3.8 million Euro (previous year 4.3 million Euro). The measures resulting from business operations were consistently implemented by transtec. These include the concentration of logistics, focusing via the creation of strategic business units as well as the elimination of distribution turnovers with low margins. Restructuring measures in the first three quarters have borne fruit. Thus, transtec introduced a trend reversal in the core business in the final quarter
and achieved a balanced quarterly result.

Earnings from core business will be reinvested in future segments.
For the current fiscal year the company plans a purely organic growth of the core business with an increase in turnover of roughly 15 percent to approx. 190 million Euro. Despite further investments in the expansion of tec2b AG the group anticipates a balanced result in the current fiscal year - the revenue from the core business should be selectively reinvested in future segments. On 1 April the organisational structure will be further optimised and the broad spectrum of internally produced products will be extended. With this focusing on central segments of modern technology transtec anticipated the emerging IT market specialisation and strengthened its orientation as experts for highly complex solutions. http://www.transtec.co.uk/