September 29, 2017 – axélero: Board of Directors approves results at 30 June 2017 and Business Plan 2017-2021

PRESS RELEASE

• Consolidated revenues of € 21.0 million (€ 23.3 million in 1H 2016) due to the new mix of products launched in the second quarter of 2017, which has yet to reach its full potential
• EBITDA of € 2.9 million (€ 5.7 million in 1H 2016), but improving in absolute terms and in percentage compared to the second half of 2016
• Net income for the period of € 0.1 million (€ 1.9 million in first half of 2016)
• Net Financial Position of (-) € 27 million compared to (-) € 19.0 million at 31 December 2016, for investments aiming to strengthen the Group's sales operations and structure Guidelines for the Business Plan 2017-2021:

  • average revenue growth of 35/40%

  • EBITDA margin on sales > 25%

  • NFP / EBITDA leverage ratio smaller than 3.0 by the end of 2018

    Milan, 29 September 2017 - The Board of Directors of axélero S.p.A., Internet Company listed on AIM Italy Market (Ticker: AXEL), met today and approved the Interim Financial Report at 30 June 2017, prepared in accordance with the international accounting standards IAS / IFRS and simultaneously approved the guidelines of the Business Plan 2017-2021.

    Leonardo Cucchiarini, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of axélero, commented:

    "The company's performance in the first half of the year does not reflect as yet the investments made to launch innovative products and services and change the Group's business model in line with market demands of Small and Medium Italian Enterprises. The first positive effects will be felt in the second half of the year. The coming months will see us involved in an internationalization process, as well as in the dissemination of our innovative digital solutions, with actions to improve the efficiency of fixed costs and business processes. Moreover, in light of the excellent response by the industry operators on ristoranti.it, we are also evaluating whether to provide capital to support the expected growth. For axélero, the year 2018 will mark a significant turning point both from the standpoint of growth of the main indicators and from the standpoint of potential extraordinary transactions in Italy and abroad".

    Consolidated revenues amounted to € 21.0 million at 30 June 2017 (€ 23.3 million in the first half of 2016). This result reflects a change in the Group's commercial offer that has brought the average

    duration of contracts from 48 to 24 months, with the aim of reaching 12 months by the end of 2017. Moreover, the launch of new value-added products, such as mysuite and Ristoranti.it, took place in the second quarter of the year and has yet to generate its real potential in terms of growth contribution.

    EBITDA amounted to € 2.9 million at 30 June 2017 compared to € 5.7 million in the same period last year, mainly due to the increase in overhead costs resulting from the new staff recruitment initiated in the second half of 2016, in addition to the effect of the average duration of contracts. In particular, in the first half of the year, high-profile figures were hired in view of the Group's strategic development.

    Compared with the second half of 2016, the EBITDA margin for the first half of 2017 improved by 2pp to 13% on sales.

    At 30 June 2017 axélero had 175 employees, in growth compared to 93 at 30 June 2016 and 164 at

    31 December 2016.

    EBIT amounted to € 0.5 million (€ 3.2 million in first half of 2016). The higher incidence of amortization by capitalization of development costs, in addition to the contraction of EBITDA, had an impact on this figure. Net income for the period amounted to € 0.1 million compared to € 1.9 million in first half of 2016. In addition to the above, the higher costs incurred for the increase in financial debt contributed to this figure. The Company's Net Financial Position was (-) € 27 million at 30 June 2017 compared to (-) €

  • million at 31 December 2016. This figure mainly reflects investments made by the Group during the period and does not consider the benefits of using the non-recourse factoring facilities available.

    BUSINESS PLAN 2017-2021

    Today the Board of Directors also approved the guidelines of the Business Plan 2017-2021, which will have the following objectives:

    • Completion of the mysuite range of services with the implementation of two revolutionary instruments at European level and in Italy, aimed at reinforcing the companies' ability to compete: the Mobile App mysuite and mysuite Marketing Consulting services. The App will allow our clients to manage their marketing and business activities directly from the smartphone, anywhere and at any time, and especially, easily and quickly. The marketing consulting service consists in a short training course on the use of mysuite tools and coaching of the client for the definition of a targeted marketing strategy.

    • new contracts with Central and Local Public Administration offices and medium-sized companies through the dissemination of the artificial intelligence platform Axél, thereby expanding the market to this segment as well;

    • conclusion of partnership agreements with Industrial Associations and with companies supplying products complementary to the digital proposal of axélero;

    • search for strategic opportunities and focus on internationalization;

      axélero will concurrently focus on improving the efficiency of overhead costs and costs of the sales force. At the same time, in order to reduce the incidence of working capital on the turnover, the Company will be proposing to the market a contract with an amortization plan shorter than twelve months, thus allowing axélero to reduce the absolute value of its trade receivables giving it the possibility to alternatively factor the same under a non-recourse clause with an immediate positive effect on its net financial position.

      In light of the aforementioned guidelines, axélero expects:

    • average growth in sales of 35/40%

    • EBITDA margin on sales > 25%, thanks to the growth in expected volumes, improved cost efficiency and higher added value products

    • NFP / EBITDA leverage ratio under 3.0 by 2018, thanks to an improved commercial offer, reduced average contract duration, and factoring of trade receivables without recourse through factoring facilities.

  • Finally, axélero - in view of enhancing Ristoranti.it, a platform reserved for the catering industry belonging to the investee company Arreeba - has developed a new strategic plan aimed at achieving leadership in the domestic market and at the same time launching a path of internationalization. In view of this, axélero is also considering the listing of Arreeba on the AIM Italy market of the Italian Stock Exchange by the end of 2017.

    SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR

    The first half of 2017 was marked by several important events:

• Completion of the new IT system accompanied by the review and implementation of new business processes;

• Completion of the management team with new recruitments in the financial, credit management and management control areas;

• Launch of Ristoranti.it, a highly innovative B2B service in the food catering and delivery segment reserved for independent restaurant owners who, through the platform, will be able to manage catering orders and takeaways, and table reservations, while providing an effective service for the end customer. The goal of ristoranti.it is to aid restaurants by focusing on cutting out intermediaries and providing a direct communication between the restaurant and the end customer, all of which without paying any commissions on orders but only a fixed monthly fee.

• Launch of mysuite, integrated and customizable solution that enables Small and Medium Enterprises to control their online presence and social networks and the relationship with their customer base on a single platform. All of the marketing tools used by big companies are incorporated in mysuite to help smaller firms make their daily business management fast and easy: responsive website, control panel to monitor one's activities, contact management

  software, mobile App to manage contacts and activities via smartphone, and a dedicated marketing consultant.

• Launch of Axél, the Artificial Intelligence integrated platform based on a proprietary algorithm that can learn concepts and automatically develop its performance through use. Moreover, thanks to Natural Language Processing (NLP), Axél can "understand" natural language, using processes similar to those of the human intellect. The application fields of Axél are numerous: from customer care services to marketing and knowledge management services provided to citizens, being addressed to the Public Administration and large enterprises.

With regard to the agreement for the acquisition of atex - communicated to the market on 23 June - on 7 September, axélero informed the market that, since the parties had not reached an understanding on certain executive terms of the contract, they jointly decided not to proceed with the closing of the transaction.

New commercial agreements aimed at reducing the value of the company's net working capital and, consequently, net financial position, are being concluded with major non-recourse factoring professionals.

axélero S.p.A., a company established in 2008 and listed on the AIM Italia market since December 2014, is a leading provider of digital marketing solutions for SMEs. The Company's mission is in fact to accelerate the business of small and medium enterprises by providing them with access to digital solutions and services such as those used by big companies in order to unleash their competitive potential. Customers that choose axélero gain visibility, useful contacts and concrete results for their business. Market-maker approach, innovation and local roots are the characteristics of the Company, which operates through four business units: Smart & Business, offering digital solutions for SMEs and SOHOs with a network of over 400 digital consultants distributed across the country; Executive, specializing in custom projects for large companies and the Public Administration; Next, focused on developing artificial intelligence-based products that have won the Innovation Award of SMAU and Best Use of Artificial Intelligence in Customer Service; Lab, a corporate venture capital vehicle accelerating startups that develop products and services with high potential for SMEs.

Ticker symbol: AXEL, ISIN Code: IT0005069809 http://www.axelero.it/