· On a sales, EBIT and EPS basis the figures were far better than we had expected. The discrepancy vis-à-vis our EPS estimate is due to a substantially lower tax rate. The traditionally weak first quarter was significantly influenced by two factors. · The traditionally weak first quarter was significantly influenced by two factors. The Technology Consulting division is developing far better than expected, particularly in Italy and Spain. The US branch office was also able to make its first positive contribution to earnings in March. · The development in the Products division was, however, not satisfactory. Isolated technical problems occurred in the new product version Guard! 2.0 launched in January, leading to delivery delays. As a result, it has not been possible to book the product’s contributions to sales completely. We nevertheless assume that these teething problems will be remedied before the end of the quarter. ·Demand for services in the mySAP.com segment remains heavy. Particularly the CRM segment is developing very positively in the SAP environment. RealTech is well positioned here for consulting work thanks to its close cooperation with SAP as the only in Global Alliance Partner Support. In connection with these higher added value services realTech is likely to be able to further improve its profitability in the course of the year. We expect additional sales potential, which is not included in our estimates, from the Hosting division.
