The first quarter of fiscal 2001/2002 was characterised by the continued integration of the company's acquisitions and the progressive restructuring of the group. Generating 10.38 m EUR (previous quarter: 10.37 m EUR),the group was able to secure its performance with regard to revenues. When compared with the same period last year, revenues surged by around 357%.

The strained situation within the IT markets and the overall malaise of the global economy had a particular impact on domestic spending, with considerable restraint in terms of investments. caatoosee managed to compensate for the downturn in demand for platform solutions by accelerating its activities within the areas of Data Networking, Business Integration and ASP Services. Major projects for Novartis, Roto Frank, Philipps SMST and Papst Motoren bear witness to caatoosee's high level of expertise when it comes to connecting companies' internal backend systems and processes with the World Wide Web. Other major contracts within this area are about to be concluded. As of June 30, 2001, orders in hand were worth 11 m EUR.

In the period under review, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and before exceptional charges stood at -4.98 m EUR. The caatoosee Group's income performance was affected by increased cost of sales, expenditure on integration and restructuring of the group's portfolio, as well as capital investments in the area of research and development. One-off exceptional charges for the reversal of the company's acquisition of DLI GmbH amounted to an additional -2.6 m EUR. This reversed transaction is the result of a far-reaching restructuring programme introduced by the caatoosee group, the aim of which is to further enhance the level of potential synergies and earnings within the current fiscal year. The company is thus addressing the issue of increased pressure on earnings, as witnessed in a volatile trading environment.

Goodwill amortisation before the reversal of the DLI acquisition increased to a level of 2.6 m EUR, a rise which had been expected. Correspondingly, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to -8.1 m EUR. Operating expenses were impacted by the follow-on costs associated with the integration of related companies as well as the ongoing restructuring measures. Within this context, selling and administrative expenses within the first quarter amounted to 4.9 m EUR. Expenditure on research and development weighed in at 1.2 m EUR, which equates to 11% of group revenues. In order to rein back both the cost of sales and operating expenses, caatoosee implemented a comprehensive cost reduction programme by the name of "Focus", with the express purpose of improving profitability within the group by a considerable margin. As part of this programme, the European subsidiaries in France, Italy and the UK will be closed -in favour of a centralized sales structure. The subsidiary in Singapore is also to be closed, a result of the successful integration of the Indonesian-based Sigma Group. Income before income taxes amounted to -12.9 m EUR (previous year: 1.6 m EUR), alongside an under-par financial result of -2.0 m EUR. After taxes, earnings for the period stood at -12.4 m EUR (previous year: 0.7 m EUR) or -0.72 EUR per share.

With an equity ratio of 73% as well as cash and short-term financial assets in the amount of 39.7 m EUR, caatoosee remains solid in terms of its capital base. Outflows of cash and cash equivalents amounted to only 5.6 m EUR in the period under review, due to the fact that investments were mainly financed from cash flow.

Potential savings for the current year in terms of expenditure are worth more than 6.0 m EUR. Strategically, the restructuring programme and the company's focus on the three sub-groups Sigma, redtoo and caatoosee have created a solid foundation for ongoing growth. Against the background of measures initiated as part of the "Focus" programme, as well as increased sales and development synergies, caatoosee expects to see an improvement in earnings within the second half of the calendar year. The main priority for the company in the current financial year is to substantially increase the level of profitability and to achieve break-even based on EBITDA in the fourth quarter