• Legislator provides clarity on fiscalisation
• Improvement in earnings (EBITDA) expected for Q4
• Financial year 2020 is to become clearly profitable again

Münster, 22 November 2019: Vectron Systems AG (Vectron), a leading provider of intelligent, digitised POS systems consisting of hardware, software and cloud services, with focus on the catering and bakery trade, presents the key figures for the first nine months of the current financial year 2019. 

In the first three quarters of 2019, the entire POS industry had to contend with a market that in Germany was characterized above all by customers' reluctance to buy in view of the final introduction of the new legal requirements for data security in POS systems on January 1, 2020. Customers held back on investments because the change in the law did not clarify for how long POS systems may be operated without the new technical security device (TSE). 

Although the law will start on 1 January, the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) determined and published the exact implementation only a few days ago. However, since it is impossible to replace or convert all POS systems on the market in such a short time, the legislator has now stipulated in a non-objection clause that the use of POS systems without TSE will be exempt from punishment until 30 September 2020. Thereafter, penalties of up to EUR 25,000 per infringement will be due.

In the context of the general conditions described above, the decline in revenue compared with the same period of the previous year fell by around 9.1 percent to EUR 17.5 million (9M 2018: EUR 19.2 million). Despite the lower revenues, the operating result (EBITDA) improved by 42.6 percent to minus EUR 1.6 million (9M 2018: minus EUR 2.8 million) thanks to consistent cost management. In this regard, it must be pointed out that the negative result includes extraordinary expenses of EUR 2.0 million for the development of the new digital products and costs in connection with a capital increase. If these factors were excluded, the company would still have been profitable in its core business despite lower sales. 

Now that the final implementation date is clear, the company is already noticing the first signs of a revival in demand. After a positive start to the quarter, Vectron is optimistic for the final quarter of 2019. For the full year 2020, the company expects clearly positive figures again. 

"After the past quarters were really challenging due to the consumer reticence, we are now very optimistic about the future. A few days after the BMF made its statement, we are already feeling the first signs of recovery. From spring 2020 onwards, based on experience with earlier fiscalisation, e.g. in Austria, we expect a real boom, which could lead to temporary supply bottlenecks. We are therefore working closely with our specialist trade partners to inform end customers in good time and increase stocks at all sales levels", explains Thomas Stümmler, Member of the Vectron Systems Board of Management.  

About Vectron:
With more than 200,000 installations, the listed Vectron Systems AG is one of the leading European manufacturers of POS systems. Stable hardware combined with flexible, reliable software has made Vectron a market leader within the hospitality and bakery industries in German-speaking countries and in Benelux. Several hundred specialist trade partners distribute the products internationally. Digital Cloud Services are offered under the brand names myVectron and bonVito. The portfolio ranges from loyalty and payment functions to online reservations and online reporting. All the services are directly connected to the POS system, making it the core data center. More information available at


Contact:
Vectron Systems AG
Tobias Meister
Willy-Brandt-Weg 41
48155 Münster, Germany
phone +49 (0) 2983 908121
mobile +49 (0) 170 2939080
fax +49 (0)251 2856-560