MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - The IT service provider Cancom has started the new year with growth. While the international business, and in particular the Austrian subsidiary, developed positively, the company felt the effects of restraint in Germany, for example from the public sector. The Group confirmed its forecast for the year and expects business to improve over the course of the year.

The stock market responded positively to the statements on Tuesday and sent the share price upwards. The price of the SDax-listed share rose by around seven percent in the morning. The stock thus achieved a small gain for the year.

Turnover rose by almost 39 percent to 440.6 million euros in the first quarter. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose from 24.1 to 30.4 million euros.

Thanks to the contribution of the Cancom Austria Group, the international business saw a strong increase in sales and profitability compared to the same quarter last year. In Germany, on the other hand, the difficult economic environment made itself felt. Small and medium-sized customers and public-sector clients held back, and sales and earnings in this area declined.

Cancom has made a good start to the year, commented Group CEO Rüdiger Rath on the figures. Demand in international business for the Group's focus areas, in particular Security & Networking and Artificial Intelligence (AI), continues to be good. Overall, the first quarter was in line with Cancom's forecasts. The second half of the year will be important, Rath explained.

The company assumes that demand will pick up over the course of the year and that Cancom will grow above the level of the IT market. The Munich-based company is likely to be buoyed by the approaching replacement cycles for hardware, increasing demands on IT landscapes and the need for investment driven by AI solutions.

Cancom has therefore confirmed its forecast for the year. Revenue should reach 1.75 to 2.0 billion euros and the operating result (EBITDA) 130 to 155 million euros./nas/mis/stk