XING AG increases revenues by 80 percent and continues to grow profitably

Hamburg, February 11, 2009 – XING AG (O1BC) can report the most successful financial year in the Company’s history, according to preliminary and unaudited results. In spite of the difficult overall economic climate, the Company has achieved a significant rise in all of its key performance indicators over the previous financial year.

The Hamburg-based Company XING AG continues on its path of profitable growth. More than 2 million new members have registered on the leading network for business contacts in Europe over the course of the last 12 months. By the end of the 2008 financial year, a total of more than 7 million business professionals were therefore active on XING. Having gained 188 thousand additional Premium Members, the Company can report a total of approximately 550,000 paying members subscribed to its online platform as of the end of 2008 – enabling it to exceed the previous year’s growth for this reporting period.

“Our figures for the financial year just passed once again reflect the qualitative growth that our business model facilitates and place us in a strong position amongst those with much to gain from the current financial situation. The first weeks of the new year have shown that more and more business professionals across Europe are turning to XING for their business networking needs,” commented Thorsten Vespermann, Director Corporate Communications at XING AG.

As a result of this growth in its membership base, revenues increased by 80 percent to 35.3 million euros (2007: 19.6 million euros). The Company also increased its operational result (EBITDA) by more than 85 percent. The EBITDA (adjusted for non recurring expenses resulting from discontinued M&A processes totaling 768 thousand euros) therefore rose by 86 percent to 12.82 million euros in the 2008 financial year (2007: 6.89 million euros).

XING AG generated more than 28 million euros with its core Subscription business model for Premium Memberships, constituting 80 percent of the Company’s overall revenues. The additional business models eCommerce (Jobs and “Best Offers”) and Advertising have also proven to be profitable sources of income in 2008 that are undergoing sustained growth. Since the introduction of the performance-based business model for job listings in October 2007, XING AG has generated around 4.3 million euros in additional revenues from the eCommerce segment in 2008. In 2007, this newly introduced segment in Q4 2007 had generated initial revenues totaling 370 thousand euros. The Company’s third Advertising segment produced revenues amounting to 2.4 million euros (Q4 2008: 750 thousand) in the 2008 financial year. 

XING AG plans to publish its 2008 Annual Report with audited KPIs for the 2008 financial year on March 26th, 2009.
Preliminary & unaudited KPIs according to IFRS

_{*N.B.: Company revenues including other operating income; EBITDA 2008 adjusted for non-recurring expenses resulting from discontinued M&A processes (EUR 768k); EBITDA 2007 adjusted for extraordinary items resulting from the IPO.} Important notice:
Provisional financing figures and proforma figures subject to confirmation
The results and figures published in this notification are unaudited and have been determined by the company on the basis of the provisional annual financial statements and the previous annual financial statements for the specified periods in order to enable a better comparison to be made, and also to present exceptional factors; some of the figures have been calculated on a pro-forma basis. The provisional financial figures may be the subject of changes when the annual financial statements are audited. Although, in the opinion of XING AG, the proforma figures reflect the direction of development of ordinary business and the current status of the company, there is no guarantee that the proforma figures precisely reflect this development direction and this status.

About XING
XING is the leading network for business contacts in Europe. Far more than a directory of business contacts, XING makes your professional network an active part of your life, enabling members to discover professional people, opportunities and privileges through its unique discovery capability and advanced contact management tools.
With the successful IPO of XING as the first Web 2.0 company to go public, XING AG has had a long-term impact on the social networking trend amongst professionals. By focusing on the target group 'business people worldwide', the company is able to offer tailored features, thereby making networking and contact management simpler. Besides Headquarters in Hamburg, XING AG is also represented with offices in Barcelona, Istanbul and Beijing.
XING. Powering Relationships.