EOS Group Earnings Increase 25 percent in Most Recent Fiscal Year

In 2010/11, EOS Consolidated achieved a positive annual result considerably above the previous year: Earnings before taxes (EBT) amounted to EUR 76.8 million in the 2010/11 financial year, compared to EUR 61.5 million in 2009/10. Consolidated sales by the international provider of receivables management, marketing and risk information, and payment services increased by EUR 56.9 million to a total of EUR 370.9 million. Thereof, EOS Consolidated achieved sales of EUR 340.6 million with companies outside the Otto Group (net external sales).

Hans-Werner Scherer, Chairman of the EOS Group’s Board of Directors, explains, “Our clients put their trust in our service quality. Moreover, we were able to utilise the economic upturn and invest in our growth in a targeted fashion. This strategy paid off.”

EOS Consolidated sales in the German market rose by 6.7 percent, from EUR 183.7 million in the previous year to their current level of EUR 196.0 million. Germany’s share of aggregate sales was 52.8 percent (58.5 percent in 2009/10). Germany thus remains the most important regional market.

In Western Europe, EOS Consolidated recorded growth, thanks to solid collecting performance in purchased debt collection portfolios, the further strategic development of EOS Aremas Belgium and the successful integration of EOS Acción de Cobro in Spain, which was acquired in 2009. Sales in the region rose by 17.7 percent to EUR 64.9 million (EUR 55.2 million in 2009/10).

The sales increase of 65.9 percent to EUR 58.4 million in the Eastern Europe region shows that many of the companies there were able to recover significantly following the difficult 2009/10 financial year. Development of the EOS companies in Romania, Slovakia and Russia was especially positive. In the US market, EOS Consolidated also recorded growth. There, sales grew by 26.2 percent to EUR 49.5 million. This development was mainly due to the acquisition of True North AR, LLC.

EOS successfully continued its international growth strategy in the 2010/11 financial year with market entries in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Ukraine and China. International expansion will continue to define the EOS strategy in future. EOS strives to open up new countries over the next few years and remains true to its goal of attaining or maintaining a top-three position in all relevant countries, except the US.

The EOS Group, an Otto Group subsidiary, is a leading international provider of tailor-made services covering the entire life cycle of a customer relationship – from customer acquisition to electronic payment processing, debt collection and purchase of receivables portfolios. The core business is receivables management. EOS is committed to high standards of debt collection to protect creditors and consumers. With over 8000 employees, EOS serves its 20,000 customers in more than 20 countries worldwide through over 45 subsidiaries.