• fluxx.com e-production GmbH was able to report a profit for the very first time in June.

• Consolidated sales for the first half were up 192 percent on the prior-year period, to DM 14.807 million (EUR 7.571 million).

• Gambling stakes handled by the company's own electronic trading sites rose by an even sharper 234 percent, to a new record high of DM 9.679 million (EUR 4.949 million).

• The consolidated loss before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the second quarter was DM 3.678 million (EUR 1.881 million), a significant improvement on the loss for the first quarter of 2000. The EBIT margin has accordingly improved significantly from -90 percent to -61 percent.

• The consolidated net loss according to IAS at the end of the first half therefore rose less sharply than originally anticipated, to DM -4.493 million (EUR -2,297 million), as against DM -2.079 million (EUR -1.063 million) for the corresponding prior-year period.

• The company attributes the loss to measures designed for acquiring and retaining new customers for the company's own online services jaxx.de and horses.de, and to technical development work and preparatory sales measures for the scheduled licensing of the trading platform.

• As a result of the loss and further outflows of funds for the acquisition of Interjockey.com in the first quarter, liquid funds fell from DM 20.717 (EUR 10.592 million) to DM 14.856 million (EUR 7.596 million).

• The total number of employees rose by roughly the same rate as in the first quarter. On June 30, 2000 the fluxx.com Group employed a total of 169 persons-­14 more than at the end of March. The emphasis of recruitment measures was on software developers, as well as project and product managers.

• Growth in the customer total in the gambling division likewise reached a new record level, helping fluxx.com to assert its market lead in this area. Compared with the half-way mark in 1999, on June 30, 2000 fluxx.com had a total of 133,000 registered punters ­ an increase of 90,000 customers, or around 210 percent. With an average growth rate of 30 percent per quarter, as matters stand the company is on course to exceed its target of 200,000 customers by the end of the year.

Partnerships:
In addition to its cooperation with NordwestLotto Schleswig-Holstein, the first partnership of this kind in Germany, fluxx.com is aiming to forge partnerships with further German lottery corporations. On the basis of the current state of negotiations, fluxx.com expects to conclude a further agreement with a state lottery corporation before the end of this year. As part of its international strategy, the company is planning to license the present jaxx.de platform through partnerships and joint ventures. In this way, fluxx.com will be pursuing its goal of marketing its own platforms and the associated expertise worldwide in the form of standard software. In the business-to-business segment, these activities will be flanked by the development of the jaxx.com platform, which is to serve as the basis for international business-to-consumer trade.

Business-to-Business Progress:
A large number of major contracts from existing and new custoers, including Grundig, Stella Entertainment and the Arthur Andersen subsidiary Unamite, mean that production capacity is booked up until well into next year. By concentrating on online expertise, the company aims to render individual sectors even more efficient and to exploit synergy benefits more intensively. The board of management expects to see the entire e-business services division break even by the end of this year.