Report for the first half year 2015 GfK Group

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RepoRt foR the fiRst half yeaR 2015

GfK GRoup

GRowth fRom KnowledGe

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the GfK GRoup at a GlanCe

GfK is the trusted source of relevant market and consumer information that enables its clients to make smarter decisions. More than 13,000 market research experts combine their passion with GfK’s 80 years of data science experience.This allows GfK to deliver vital global insights matched with local market intelligence from more than 100 countries. By using innovative technologies and data sciences, GfK turns big data into smart data, enabling its clients to improve their competitive edge and enrich consumers’ experiences and choices.

1) Rounded

2) Excluding the goodwill impairment of € 59.5 million 3) Adjusted operating income in relation to sales

4) Cash and cash equivalents plus securities and fixed-term deposits

5) Liabilities to banks plus pension obligations, liabilities under leases and other interest-bearing liabilities less cash and cash equivalents and securities and fixed-term deposits

6) Percentage points

7) Adjusted due to the reclassification between cost of sales and selling and general administrative expenses, see section 2 of the notes to the half-year financial statements.

in EUR million1) _{2. Quarter}

20147)₂₀₁₅

Change in %

1. Half Year 20147)₂₀₁₅

Change in %

2014 20142) Earnings situation

Sales 363.0 384.8 6.0 697.9 747.2 7.1 1,452.9 1,452.9

Gross income from sales 118.7 120.1 1.2 218.1 227.5 4.3 462.3 462.3

EBITDA 55.5 53.3 – 3.9 90.1 89.5 – 0.7 202.2 202.2

Adjusted operating income 45.0 43.9 – 2.6 68.6 71.2 3.7 178.8 178.8 Margin in percent3) _12.4% _11.4% _– _9.8% _9.5% _– _12.3% _12.3%

Operating income 39.0 38.4 – 1.4 58.3 58.1 – 0.4 68.0 127.5

EBIT 40.0 37.9 – 5.3 60.2 58.7 – 2.4 71.9 131.4

Consolidated total income 20.8 19.7 – 5.4 30.8 28.9 – 6.3 19.4 78.9 Basic earnings per share in EUR 0.48 0.46 – 4.2 0.67 0.63 – 6.0 0.16 1.79

Investment and finance

Cash flow from operating activity 39.3 12.4 – 68.4 57.6 31.4 – 45.5 196.9 Cash flow from investing activity – 15.3 – 19.3 25.7 – 29.2 – 45.4 55.8 – 98.9 Cash flow from financing activity – 14.2 – 25.5 79.3 – 17.3 10.8 – 162.2 – 75.5 Free cash flow before acquisitions, other financial

investments and asset disposals 25.5 – 10.0 – 139.4 31.6 – 11.3 – 135.7 107.7 Free cash flow after acquisitions, other financial

investments and asset disposals 23.9 – 6.9 – 128.7 28.5 – 14.0 – 149.2 98.0

31.12.2014 30.06.2015 Change

as of 31.12. in %

30.06.2014 30.06.2015 Change

as of 30.06. in % Asset and capital position

Total assets 1,767.4 1,887.9 6.8% 1,754.2 1,887.9 7.6%

Equity 705.3 776.1 10.0% 683.9 776.1 13.5%

Equity ratio in per cent 39.9% 41.1% – 39.0% 41.1% –

Liquidity4) _94.1 _95.4 _1.4% _81.9 _95.4 _16.5%

Net debt5) _393.1 _445.0 _13.2% _443.5 _445.0 _0.3%

Employees

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SAlES In EUR mIllIon

month Change

1-3 362.5

334.9

1-6 747.2

697.9

1-9 _1,054.9

2014 2015

AdjUStEd opERAtIng InComE In EUR mIllIon

month Change

1-3 27.3

23.6

1-6 71.2

68.6 1-9

114.7

2014 2015

EARnIngS pER SHARE In EUR

month Change

1-3 0.17 0.19

1-6 0.63

0.67 1-9

1.04

2014 2015

CASH flow fRom opERAtIng ACtIvItY In EUR mIllIon

month Change

1-3 19.0

18.3

1-6 31.4

57.6 1-9

132.9

2014 2015

+ 7.1 % + 3.7 %

– 6.0 % – 45.5 %

SHARE of SECtoRS In totAl SAlES in percent1)

56.4 Consumer Experiences 43.4 Consumer Choices 0.2 Other

1) Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded

SHARE of REgIonS In totAl SAlES in percent1)

36.8 Northern Europe 17.9 Southern &

Western Europe 8.3 Central Eastern Europe/META 4.2 Latin America 20.3 North America 12.5 Asia and Pacific

1) Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded 43.4 0.2 56.4 36.8 20.3 12.5 17.9 8.3 4.2

+ 8.2 % + 15.7 %

– 10.5 % + 3.7 %

Business development at a GlanCe

of GfK GRoup

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Consumer ChoiCes

The Consumer Choices sector investigates what‘s selling when and where. It focuses on the continuous assessment of market segments and trends by analyzing all major sales and information channels and media.

Consumer experienCes

The Consumer Experiences sector deals with consumer habits, behavior, perceptions and attitudes and answers the who, why and how of consumption. This research is based on flexible creative methods. GfK is developing pioneering new procedures to deliver a profound understanding of how consumers experience brands and services.

the seCtoRs at a GlanCe

In EUR million 2. Quarter 2014 2015

Change

in % 1. Half Year 2014 2015

Change in %

Sales 204.7 216.8 5.9 397.2 421.4 6.1

Adjusted operating income 14.4 15.5 7.8 18.7 21.6 15.0

Margin in per cent1) _7.0 _7.1 _4.7 _5.1

Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded 1) Adjusted operating income in relation to sales

In EUR million

2. Quarter 2014 2015

Change

in % 1. Half Year 2014 2015

Change in %

Sales 157.2 167.1 6.3 298.8 324.2 8.5

Adjusted operating income 34.0 32.3 – 5.1 57.9 59.4 2.7

Margin in per cent1) _21.6 _19.3 _19.4 _18.3

Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded 1) Adjusted operating income in relation to sales

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lEttER to tHE SHAREHoldERS ... 6

gfK SHARE pERfoRmAnCE ... 7

IntERIm mAnAgEmEnt REpoRt ... 8

1. gEnERAl EConomIC SItUAtIon ... 9

2. EConomIC And fInAnCIAl dEvElopmEnt In tHE gfK gRoUp ... 9

3. CASH flow And InvEStmEnt ...10

4. ASSEtS And CApItAl StRUCtURE ...11

5. tREndS In tHE SECtoRS ...11

6. REgIonAl tREndS ...13

7. own tHE fUtURE – ImplEmEntIng tHE nEw CoRpoRAtE StRAtEgY ...14

8. nUmbER of EmploYEES ...14

9. RESEARCH And dEvElopmEnt ...14

10. oRgAnIzAtIon And AdmInIStRAtIon ...15

11. CHAngES In pARtICIpAtIonS In tHE SECond QUARtER of 2015 ...15

12. ImpoRtAnt EvEntS AftER tHE REpoRtIng dAtE of 30 jUnE 2015 ...15

13. oppoRtUnIt Y And RISK poSItIon ...15

14. oUtlooK ...15

ConSolIdAtEd fInAnCIAl StAtEmEntS ...17

notES to tHE ConSolIdAtEd fInAnCIAl StAtEmEntS ...26

AddItIonAl InfoRmAtIon ...28

Thus, our margin now stands at 9.5 percent, compared to 9.8 percent in the first six months of last year. Sales continued to stabilize in the Consumer Experiences sector. These decreased in organic terms by 0.7 percent – but, with positive currency effects (+6.8 percent), overall growth was 6.1 percent and the sector‘s sales amounted to €421.4 million in the first sixth months. At the same time, we further improved our productivity in Consumer Experiences, in line with our strategy. Our redistribution of sales to focus on standardized products is progressing, with approximately 43 percent of Consumer Experiences’ sales currently achieved with such products. And we are increasingly collecting data digitally. In 2008, less than one-third of the data was collected digitally; today it is approximately three quarters. In addition, we no longer collect data in the way we did a few years ago, using 20 platforms; now it is only two platforms. These measures have helped to raise the sector‘s margin even more in the first sixth months, up 0.4 percentage points to 5.1 percent. Consumer Experience‘s order list is also solid and we therefore expect continued stabilization of sales in the second half of the year.

The Consumer Choices sector grew. Sales increased in the first six months by 8.5 percent, compared with the same period of the previous year, and amounted to €324.2 million. In addition to Consumer Choice‘s organic growth of 1.8, currency effects also had a positive impact, leading to an overall growth of 8.5 percent, of which 0.2 percent was due to acquisitions. The margin was reduced due to startup costs for the media research contracts won in Brazil and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and amounted to 18.3 percent in the first sixth months (the same period of the previous year: 19.4 percent). These contracts, however, are expected to contribute to sales growth in the fourth quarter. As part of our strategy of internationalization, the media research business is achieving further successes: We have won long-term contracts in Poland, Singapore and Sweden and another radio research contract is pending in New Zealand (the other party to the contract is already communicating about awarding the contract to GfK, although the document is not yet signed).

Our Audience Measurement business, in particular, developed positively in the first sixth months. As part of our strategy, we have been – and will be – focusing on internationalizing these activities. The fact that we are winning challenging contracts – some against competitors that have been in place for many years – shows that we live up to our own high aspirations in attracting clients with our online, TV or radio research offerings – and especially with our integrated approaches. The specifics of our contracts vary widely, but the foundation for them all is the need of media companies and advertisers to better evaluate and understand their users, readers, viewers, listeners and consumers. For example, in Singapore we are building an integrated, panel-based measuring system for online and TV viewing across various types of devices. This is creating the official “currency” for the TV and video market in Singapore. In Poland we have won the contract to provide online businesses and advertisers with reliable data, which will be used to support decision-making within this strongly growing economic sector. And in Sweden our media and integration expertise is coming into play in a project where we are combining various measurement systems in a cross-media moving-image currency: a “total video currency.” This project is less about our ability to collect data than about our expertise in the successful integration of various challenging data types and sources.

We remain firm in expecting to reach our guidance for 2015 and are expecting moderate organic sales growth, as well as a margin of 12.4 to 12.8 percent. For the second half of the year, we are expecting sales to pick-up in the fourth quarter, especially from the above-mentioned media contracts we have already won in Brazil and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

We continue to have the necessary leeway for the successful development of our – your – company. The equity ratio stands at 41 percent and we have used the continued favorable interest situation to refinance our liabilities at better conditions.

These examples show that we are continuing to move well ahead on our strategically-oriented journey. Nevertheless, we are not losing sight of the challenges that face us in a quickly changing market research industry.

Sincerely yours,

M AT T h I A S h A R T M A N N

letteR to the shaReholdeRs

mAttHIAS HARtmAnn

Chief executive officer of GfK SE

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GfK shaRe peRfoRmanCe

The opening price of GfK shares at the beginning of 2015 was €33.31. In January and February GfK grew more strongly than the benchmark indices. While the SDAX continued to develop positively, GfK shares began a sideways trend and in March finally gave up most of the gains from January. The price development in the second quarter ran contrary to this. After an initial continued sideways movement, GfK shares increased significantly in June until they reached a high of €39.91 on June 29 and ended the quarter at €39.20 on the following day. Thus, share price was 17.9 percent higher than at the beginning of the year and again on par with the SDAX. The DAX and the DJ Stoxx Media remained behind this development with 12.1 and 13.7 percent respectively.

In the first quarter, the average trading volume of GfK shares on the German stock exchanges was still below the previous year. It reached a six month total of 10,659, which was slightly above the previous year’s figure of 10,103.

On May 28, more than 200 shareholders and shareholder representatives (an attendance of 88.4 percent) voted at the 7th Ordinary General Meeting of GfK. The resolutions were adopted with approval rates between 95.99 and 99.99 percent. Dividends remain stable at €0.65 per share. GfK is covered by national and international financial analysts. At the end of June, out of the 13 analysts rating GfK shares, seven recommended the stock as “buy” and a further five as “hold”.

At the end of June, the number of shares in free float stood at 43.6 percent. At that time, 0.03 percent of the shares were held by GfK’s Management and Supervisory Boards, with 34.35 percent in institutional hands and 9.22 percent held by private investors.

gfK SHARE pRICE pERfoRmAnCE fRom 1 jAnUARY, 2015, to 30 jUnE, 20151)_{In EUR} 43

41 39 37 35 33 31 29

January February March April May June

1) All values are indexed to the GfK share price, closing prices, in EUR

GfK DAX 30 Performance SDAXPerformance Dow Jones Euro Stoxx Media

gfK share1) ₂₀₁₄ _{Q1 2015} _{Q2 2015}

Number of shares in thousands 36,504 36,504 36,504

Market Capitalization EUR mio 1,241 1,254 1,431

high/Low EUR 43.86/30.31 38.42/31.80 39.91/34.20

Close EUR 34.00 34.35 39.20

Earnings per share EUR 1.792) _0.17 _0.46

1) as of reporting dates

2)_{Excluding the goodwill impairment of € 59.5 million}

AnAlYSt RAtIngS AS of 30.06.2015

7 Buy 5 hold 0 Sell

7

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GfK inCReases sales and adjusted

opeRatinG inCome

Sales increased by 7.1 percent, organic growth at 0.3 percent

Adjusted operating income increased by 3.7 percent, margin at 9.5 percent (previous year: 9.8 percent) EBITDA €89.5 million (previous year: €90.1 million)

Guidance for full year unchanged

GfK has seen an increase in sales and adjusted operating income in the first six months of 2015. Organic sales growth amounted to 0.3 percent, and currency effects of 6.7 percent had a strong positive effect. Overall, sales reached €747.2 million in the first six months. This represents an overall growth of 7.1 percent.

The Consumer Experiences sector stabilized, although sales declines were accepted as necessary during the realignment. Sales only dropped by 0.7 percent in organic terms, while the margin rose to 5.1 percent (previous year: 4.7 percent). In the Consumer Choices sector, sales increased in organic terms by 1.8 percent and adjusted operating income rose by 2.6 percent. The margin remained at a high level of 18.3 percent, but, due to investments, below the previous year’s figure of 19.4 percent.

All regions, except for Northern Europe, grew in organic terms. The regions of Latin America, Asia and the Pacific achieved the strongest organic growth.

Adjusted operating income was €71.2 million in the first six months, which is €2.5 million more than in the same period of the previous year. The margin fell slightly from 9.8 percent in the first half of last year to 9.5 percent for the same period this year as a result of investments in growth.

however, the recent positive trend in the order book leads to an expectation of a pick-up in business by year end. At the end of June, a total of 78.5 percent of the annual sales required to achieve the guidance had already been posted or were in the order book (previous year: 81.6 percent). This is in line with the last five years, which fluctuated from 77.3 percent to 81.9 percent.

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inteRim manaGement RepoRt

1. General eConomiC situation

In the first six months of 2015, growth in the global economy lost some momentum. however, the development in many industrial nations was more stable than in many emerging markets. In particular, the world-wide fall in raw material prices have very different effects. Loose monetary policy, as well as the positive sentiments of consumers, has supported the economy in North America. In Northern Europe, the development was also solid and in Southern and Western Europe the end of the recession is apparent in many countries. In China, growth fell slightly, and economic uncertainties have increased there. In Japan, the recovery is proceeding slowly. The performance of large South American economies such as Brazil and Argentina continues to decline, in part due to high inflation weighing on the economic area.

After a strong devaluation of the euro in the first quarter in comparison to the US dollar and the British pound, the development of the foreign exchange market has calmed somewhat in the second quarter. The euro was up slightly again compared to the US-Dollar. The British pound continues to be stronger in comparison to the euro, due to the positive economic development of the currency zone.

2. eConomiC and finanCial development in the GfK Group

GfK’s business was realigned in the past three years. The Consumer Experiences sector was particularly affected, and the focus in this sector continues to be on raising income and the margin. The high-margin Consumer Choices sector continues to pursue a growth strategy. The necessary structural changes due to the realignment have been largely completed. Sales development in the Consumer Experiences sector has stabilized and margins improved. The Consumer Choices sector was able to grow organically, but sustained investment activity is currently reducing the sector’s margin.

The Group’s sales increased by 7.1 percent to €747.2 million. Organic growth was 0.3 percent. Currency effects had a significant positive impact of 6.7 percent. Only 0.1 percent of growth came from acquisitions. While sales in the Consumer Experiences sector were only 0.7 percent lower in organic terms, following a significant decline in the past year, the Consumer Choices sector increased its sales in organic terms by 1.8 percent. Over the six month time period, the sales trend in the first quarter was more dynamic than in the second. In organic terms, the Group’s sales decreased by 0.7 percent in the second quarter, compared to the samequarter in 2014. Both sectors contributed to this development. Several new contracts – in particular, television contracts in Brazil and Saudi Arabia – will provide additional sales starting in the fourth quarter.

Adjusted operating income (hereinafter: income) increased by 3.7 percent to €71.2 million in the first six months of 2015 (first six months of

2014: €68.6 million). Both sectors contributed to the improvement. Within the reporting period, the income trend in the first quarter was stronger than in the second. A one-off effect that was already explained in the Q1 report and amounted to approximately two million euros in the same period of the previous year had a marked influence on the income trend: In the past year, there was a delay in the recognition of revenues and income following implementation of the new ERP/SAP system in the North America region, which was offset in the second quarter. Moreover, the investments in panel set-up were noticeable in the margin development. The Group’s margin decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 9.5 percent in the first half of this year, in comparison to the previous year.

gfK gRoUp: KEY fIgURES

In EUR million (rounded)

2. Quarter 2014 2. Quarter 2015

Change in % 1. Half Year 2014 1. Half Year 2015 Change in %

Sales 363.0 384.8 6.0 697.9 747.2 7.1

EBITDA 55.5 53.3 – 3.9 90.1 89.5 – 0.7

Adjusted operating income 45.0 43.9 – 2.6 68.6 71.2 3.7

Margin in percent1) _12.4% _11.4% _– _9.8% _9.5% _–

Operating income 39.0 38.4 – 1.4 58.3 58.1 – 0.4

EBIT 40.0 37.9 – 5.3 60.2 58.7 – 2.4

Other financial income / expenses – 7.9 – 3.3 58.8 – 12.5 – 9.8 21.7

Consolidated total income 20.8 19.7 – 5.4 30.8 28.9 – 6.3

Cash flow from operating activities 39.3 12.4 – 68.4 57.6 31.4 – 45.5

Earnings per share in EUR 0.48 0.46 – 4.2 0.67 0.63 – 6.0

1) Adjusted operating income in relation to sales 2) Percentage points

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Like its competitors, the GfK Group uses adjusted operating income as a key performance indicator. The explanations regarding business performance using adjusted operating income facilitate interpretation of the GfK Group’s business development and enhance the informative value in comparison with other major companies operating in the market research sector. Adjusted operating income is determined by eliminating other expenses and income items from operating income that distort the evaluation of operating earnings power. These items, known as highlighted items, produced an expense of €13.1 million in net terms. In the same period of the previous year, the expense was €10.4 million. The increase was largely due to reorganization and improvement projects. The measures introduced at the beginning of the year to streamline the organization were continued in the second quarter. In Southern and Western Europe, in particular, this led to severance expenses of €4.1 million in the first six months (first six months in 2014: €1.6 million). Other expenses include, among other things, the optimization of the rental situation and the standardization of processes and software. These have led to an increase in expenses due to reorganization and optimization projects from €3.0 million to a total of €8.2 million.

Income from participations decreased from €1.9 million in the first six months of 2014 to €0.7 million. Losses from the previous year strongly contributed to this, which had to be posted in the reporting period as part of a reorganization of investments in France. Consequently, EBIT decreased by 2.4 percent to €58.7 million, and EBITdA decreased by 0.7 percent to €89.5 million.

The net financial income, the balance of other financial income and other financial expenses developed positively. It amounted to -€9.8 million in this reporting period, from -€12.5 million in the first six months of 2014. Interest expenses were reduced by €1.3 million, largely due to the average interest rate was improved by 70 basis points. After the significant devaluation of the euro in the first quarter led to strong negative valuation adjustments of several balance sheet items and foreign currency cash pool liabilities, the more stable rates seen in the second quarter had a slight positive effect.

The TAX RATIO rose from 35.2 percent in the same quarter of the previous year to 40.9 percent this year. The fluctuations during the year mainly resulted from currency effects and evaluating the recognition of tax loss carryforwards as deferred tax assets, which are re-assessed every quarter. Due to the increased tax expenses the consolidated total income fell by €1.9 million to €28.9 million.

3. Cash flow and investment

Cash flow from ongoing activies declined from €57.6 million in the first half of last year to €31.4 million for the same period of 2015. This

was caused by the working capital trend, with the greatest effects coming from Europe. In Southern and Western Europe, the receivables portfolio increased due to the high share of projects with public-sector companies that can only be invoiced when the project is ended. Moreover, the opening balance in 2014 of liabilities on orders in progress was abnormally low, which led to a smaller increase of operating liabilities in the reporting period. The increase in non-operating working capital was largely due to the payout of an amount put aside as a provision in the previous year by GfK Turkey, as a result of a court decision in March.

Investments in intangible assets rose by €12.2 million to €28.6 million and investments in fixed assets rose by €4.6 million to €14.1 million.

A large proportion of the investment was for panel set-up in Brazil and, to a lesser extent, in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, investments were made in software. In doing so, expenses were incurred for several projects in the roll-out phase, such as GfK Cross Media Link and the Drive Platform that was developed to automate market research processes. In addition, continuing investments are being made in the StarTrack Platform, which is the Point-of-Sales Tracking production system. Payments arising from the acquisition of consolidated companies were €2.0 million higher than in the previous year and related mainly to earn-out payments for acquisitions in previous years. Overall, cash outflow from

investing activities increased from €29.2 million to €45.4 million.

AdjUStEd opERAtIng InComE1)

In EUR million

1. Half Year

2014 1. Half Year 2015

Operating income 58.3 58.1

Write-ups and write-downs of additional assets identified on acquisitions – 3.5 – 2.5

Income and expenses in connection with share and asset deals – 0.3 – 0.1

Income and expenses in connection with reorganization and improvement projects – 3.0 – 8.2

Personnel expenses for share-based incentive payments – 0.8 – 1.9

Currency conversion differences – 0.8 – 0.7

Income and expenses related to one-off effects and other exceptional circumstances – 1.9 0.4

Total highlighted items – 10.4 – 13.1

AdjUStEd opERAtIng InComE 68.6 71.2

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Free cash flow after acquisitions, other investments and asset disposals was reduced accordingly from €28.5 million in the previous year’s

period to €-14.0 million.

As at the end of June 2015, GfK had cash and cash equivalents amounting to €94.2 million (30 June 2014: €80.7 million). The unutilized credit lines amounted to €256.7 million as at the end of June (30 June 2014: €241.0 million).

4. assets and Capital struCture

During the first six months of 2015, GfK SE’s total assets increased by €120 million to €1,888 million in comparison to the 2014 year-end figure. The reason for this 6.8 percent increase was mainly currency effects. These currency effects led to an increase in goodwill of €50 million, and the increase in intangible assets can mainly be attributed to currency effects as well. The currency related effects were particularly strong in the first quarter. When taking an isolated look, the development showed a downward trend in the second quarter again: Goodwill decreased by €7 million compared to 31 March 2015. Investments in associates increased to a total of €6 million because of acquiring a share in YouEye Inc. in the first quarter, as well as an increase in investment book value in NPD Intelect USA.

As at 30 June 2015, equity increased by €71 million to €776 million (31 December 2014: €705 million). This was mainly caused by the currency-related increase of the other reserves by €69 million, as well as retained earnings being increased. This development also had a slight decline in the second quarter due to the dollar exchange rate. The equity ratio increased by 1.2 percentage points to 41.1 percent, compared with the figure at the year-end. GfK SE’s share capital remained constant at €153 million.

Net debt on 30 June 2015 amounted to €445.0 million – approximately the same as the previous year’s level (30 June 2014: €443.5 million).

Net debt rose by €51.8 million compared to the end of 2014. The main reasons for the increase in net debt in the first six months of 2015 were the payments to the Turkish tax authorities, amounting to €16.2 million, and the negative cash flow from investing activities that was already addressed in section 3.

The ratio of modified net debt to EBITDA was 2.23 as at the reporting date (30 June 2014: 2.02). The gearing ratio, which reflects net debt in relation to equity, slightly increased to 57.3 percent as at 30 June 2015 (end of 2014: 55.7 percent). The covenants agreed with the banks were comfortably met once again. €25 million of the revolving credit facility (totaling €200 million) had been drawn as at 30 June.

5. trends in the seCtors

GfK conducts its business activities in two sectors: Consumer Experiences and Consumer Choices.

The Consumer Experiences sector deals with consumer habits, behavior, perceptions and attitudes and answers the ‘who, why and how’ of consumption. GfK is developing pioneering new procedures to deliver a profound understanding of how consumers experience brands and services.

The Consumer Choices sector investigates what is bought by consumers, when and where. The main focus here is on continuous measurement of market volumes and trends. All the significant sales and information channels and media are included in the analysis process.

StRUCtURE of SAlES gRowtH bY SECtoRS1)

total

Consumer Experiences 6.1 %

Consumer Choices 8.5 %

Other2) _{– 15.9 %}

Total 7.1 %

1) Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded Currency Acquisitions Organic 2) Other division

6.8% – 0.7%

– 27.4% 11.5%

0.1% 0.3% 6.7%

1.8% 6.6%

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Consumer experiences: The substantial negative sales trend from the past year was largely stabilized in the first six months of 2015 after the

sector was successfully realigned. In organic terms, sales dropped by 0.7 percent, but, because of positive currency effects, sales increased by a total of 6.1 percent to €421.4 million. The first quarter trend continued. The global standardized products introduced as part of the realignment are successful – as shown not only by new contracts won, but also by the first contract extensions for these products, which show that they meet the needs of the clients. As at the end of June, 43 percent of sales world-wide were generated with global standardized products.

The order book has developed well, which points to a further stabilization of sales trends in the second six months.

The profitability of this sector has developed positively. Income rose by 15.0 percent to €21.6 million. The margin rose from 4.7 percent in the same period of the previous year to 5.1 percent.

Consumer choices: Sales in the Consumer Choices sector grew organically by 1.8 percent. The total growth for the six months was 8.5 percent,

mainly due to strong currency effects, with sales reaching €324.2 million.

The growth dynamics of point-of-sales tracking (previously: retail tracking) has declined in the second quarter in comparison to the beginning of the year, but the order book shows that a better development can be expected in the second six months. The weak growth was notable particularly in the region of Northern Europe, where two major Asian customers in the consumer electronics sector have reduced their order volumes, whose global orders are posted in this region. On the other hand, business with medium-sized customers shows good growth. A regional shift can also be seen: While business with certain established Asian technology companies is stagnant, high levels of growth can be reported with emerging competitors in China. During the reporting period, this growth could not yet completely compensate for the lost sales – however, the orders received in the second quarter show that these customers will contribute to the growth of the sector in the current year. In the area of Audience Measurement, the set-up of TV audience measurement panels in Brazil and Saudi Arabia has been largely completed, with the supply of data – and thus the first sales from these orders – expected in the fourth quarter. In the second quarter, GfK was able to win more media research contracts. The first major television research contract for the region of Asia and the Pacific was won in Singapore, and a new contract for online audience measurement was won in Poland. Furthermore, GfK was appointed to produce Sweden’s first universal currency covering the full scope of this advanced market that includes traditional linear and time-shift television audiences as well as those viewing video content on smartphones, tablets, laptops and PCs.

Income in the Consumer Choices sector rose by €1.5 million to €59.4 million, while the margin in this sector declined from 19.4 to 18.3 percent in comparison to the same period of the previous year

ConSUmER CHoICES1)

in EUR million 2014

1. Half Year 2015

Change in %

Sales 298.8 324.2 8.5

Adjusted operating income 57.9 59.4 2.7

Margin in per cent2) _19.4 _18.3

1) Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded 2) Adjusted operating income in relation to sales

otHER1)

1. Half Year 2015

Change in %

Sales 1.9 1.6 – 15.9

Adjusted operating income – 8.0 – 9.8 – 22.8

1) Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded ConSUmER ExpERIEnCES1)

1. Half Year 2015

Change in %

Sales 397.2 421.4 6.1

Adjusted operating income 18.7 21.6 15.0

Margin in per cent2) _4.7 _5.1

1) Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded 2) Adjusted operating income in relation to sales

(13)

Other: Complementary to these two sectors is the Other category, which unites the central services that GfK provides for its subsidiary

companies and other services unrelated to market research.

In the first six months of 2015, sales generated by the Other category were at €1.6 million and were slightly lower than the previous year (first six months of 2014: €1.9 million). The costs in this category increased from €8.0 million in the same period of the previous year to €9.8 million, due to increased investments in a better infrastructure and professional methods and processes. This was, among other things, the result of the centralization of various functions, whose costs are now recognized in the area of Other.

6. reGional trends

The GfK Group offers its products and services in over 100 countries via a network of subsidiaries. In geographic terms, business is divided into six regions: Northern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Central Eastern Europe/META, Latin America, North America, and Asia and the Pacific.

In the top-selling region of Northern Europe, GfK companies’ sales amounted to €275.0 million. Although this was strengthened by positive currency effects, it decreased in organic terms by 4.9 percent. This was, in part, due to weaker business, particularly in the UK, but also in Germany. Sales were also affected in the wake of a merger of two customers, resulting in an order that was previously booked in the region, being shifted to the US.

Southern and Western Europe resumed growth of 1.6 percent, in spite of the continued difficult economic situation for many countries in the

region. The positive trend already apparent in the first quarter has slightly increased in the course of the second quarter. Encouraging here, among other things, is the development in the Benelux countries, where the restructuring in recent years is now bearing fruit. The ongoing reorganization of GfK’s business in this region has not yet been completed, with one-off costs for restructuring, in particular severance payments, being accrued in the second quarter.

Business in the Central Eastern Europe/META (Middle East, Turkey and Africa) region continued to develop positively. An organic sales increase of 3.3 percent was achieved. however, the increase was countered by marked currency effects, and total sales dropped by 3.0 percent to €62.0 million. This region has also seen the positive trend in the second quarter strengthened somewhat. In spite of the crisis, business in Russia continued to grow.

Sales grew particularly strong in Latin America. The business of GfK companies in this region grew in organic terms by 11.1 percent and was able to defy the negative tendencies in some South American economies. Currency effects made an additional positive contribution, and the overall growth in the region totaled 13.9 percent.

Sales in the North America region increased by €30.6 million to €151.6 million. This increase of 25.3 percent was due, in large part, to the price slump of the euro against the US dollar in the first quarter, but also organic sales grew in this region by 1.9 percent. Over the six month period, the growth in the first quarter was stronger than in the second. This was attributed to the one-off effect addressed in the explanation of income (section 2).

StRUCtURE of SAlES gRowtH In tHE REgIonS1)

total

Northern Europe – 1.1 %

Southern & Western Europe 1.6 %

Central Eastern Europe/META – 3.0 %

Latin America 13.9 %

North America 25.3 %

Asia and the Pacific 23.4 %

Total 7.1 %

1) Figures from the Management-Information System – rounded Currency Acquisitions Organic – 6.3% 3.3%

2.8%

1.9% 23.4%

6.7% 0.3% 0.1%

15.6% 7.9%

1.6% 0.2% 3.6% – 4.9%

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The Asia and the Pacific region showed strong organic growth again with 7.9 percent. Because of positive currency effects, sales in the region increased by a total of 23.4 percent to €93.6 million. In China, business developed positively in the automotive sector, as well as with new Chinese customers in consumer electronics.

7. “own the future” – implementinG the new Corporate strateGy

Since 1 January 2012, GfK has pursued its “Own the Future” strategy. The aim of the strategy is to make global use of strengths within GfK for specific client groups and in various regions in the future. GfK has changed from a network of local units to a global organization in the three years of implementing this strategy. Today, GfK has a global matrix-based organizational model, global standardized product portfolios and company structures. This not only offers the opportunity to create added value for clients, but also to optimize costs and increase return on investment.

This foundation will be used in the current year with the motto “Shape for Growth”, to increase productivity (“Shape”), as well as to increase sales and income (“Growth”). In order to achieve this, all digital offers will be perfectly matched in a consistent way and global service centers will be used. The share of global products in sales will continue to be expanded and particular focus placed on digital products and invests in new technologies and opportunities to consolidate and accumulate data.

An example of this is the GfK Reference Layer Concept for calibrating large amounts of data. In times of “big data”, the amounts of data to be evaluated have multiplied, but they are mostly unstructured, and it is difficult to separate the “signal” from the “noise.” GfK has various reference data, such as data from consumer panels and GfK cross media link, which it uses to calibrate and evaluate unstructured data.

8. number of employees

As at 30 June 2015, the GfK Group had 13,434 employees. That is an increase of 54 employees compared to year end 2014, 17 of whom are from the newly consolidated companies. The growth was notable in the fast-growing region of Latin America, as well is in the Middle East. In both regions, major television research panels are being set-up, among other things. The number of employees was reduced by restructuring measures in the regions of North America, Southern and Western Europe, where business did not grow in past periods. Personnel expenses increased by 11.3 percent to €384.2 million compared to the same period last year, but the increase slowed somewhat in the second quarter. This was attributable to a great extent to strong currency effects, but also to growth in the number of employees and increased severance payments. The personnel cost ratio, which expresses the ratio of personnel expenses to sales, increased accordingly, from 49.5 percent to 51.4 percent.

9. researCh and development

GfK has a dedicated team and clear processes established to identify innovative capabilities and drive them into GfK methods and products. Since the process has been introduced, a significant number of ideas have been processed and identified as promising and have been prioritized for further investigation and development. The assessment of all ideas received according to strategic criteria ensures that development is in line with the concrete commercial application of these ideas. Two new organizational initiatives were rolled out in second quarter 2015 to support this process:

GfK Idea Lab was launched to broaden the reach of the innovation process inside the GfK global organization. Idea Lab is an internal crowdsourcing capability, supported by software specially designed to solicit ideas and engender discussion among internal colleagues. Innovation ideation and problem-solving are instigated by structured campaigns, sponsored by various product and capability areas from around the company and managed and curated by the Idea Lab team.

REgIonS: SAlES gRowtH1)

in EUR million 2014 1. Half Year 2015 Change in %

Northern Europe 278.0 275.0 – 1.1

Southern & Western Europe 131.9 134.0 1.6

Central Eastern Europe/META 63.9 62.0 – 3.0

Latin America 27.3 31.1 13.9

North America 121.0 151.6 25.3

Asia and the Pacific 75.8 93.6 23.4

Total 697.9 747.2 7.1

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GfK Data Lab is a new global group formed within our Data & Technology organization to research, develop and enhance GfK’s data landscape, and to further expand GfK’s ability and agility to combine our own data with data from our clients, publicly available data, and data from new sources (e.g., sensor data). Utilizing these data assets, the Lab team will develop and use cutting edge IT and data science tools to drive deeper insights that help answer our clients’ questions. The group was formed by combining leading internal innovation and data science talent with new external hires from physics and computer science.

10. orGanization and administration

The Group has embraced the challenges associated with globalization and set up an organizational structure that enables the local GfK companies to respond to market opportunities quickly and efficiently. Worldwide, the GfK Group has 138 consolidated associates and 14 other associates, three participations and 28 non-consolidated affiliated companies. The Group is headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany.

11. ChanGes in partiCipations in the seCond quarter of 2015

In the second quarter 2015, GfK increased its shares in the subsidiaries Incoma GfK Czech Republic and GfK CR Japan from 85 and 86 percent respectively to 100 percent.

12. important events after the reportinG date of 30 June 2015

In August 2015, GfK acquired the Swedish market research company NORM Research & Consulting AB. NORM specializes in digital methods in the area of shopper research.

13. opportunity and risK position

The risk position and opportunities of the GfK Group are described in the Group Management Report as at 31 December 2014. No material changes have occurred compared with the description provided there and no risks have been identified that could jeopardize the continued existence of the Group.

The GfK Group’s risk position is impacted by the ongoing uncertainties related to the economic environment. If the global economic situation should worsen significantly and severely affect the business of GfK clients, this would also impact GfK.

The GfK business model is subject to seasonally-related fluctuations. Traditionally, sales and income trends are significantly better in the fourth quarter than in the other quarters, since year-end business is highly relevant to GfK’s clients’ operations.

Thanks to its global network as a full-service provider, the GfK Group is well-positioned. GfK is equipped to meet new challenges in the market research industry with an innovative portfolio of products and services tailored to client requirements..

14. outlooK

GfK expects overall global economic growth to continue to increase moderately in the course of this year. In its last economic forecast in June, the World Bank raised its growth forecast for the euro zone from 1.1 percent to 1.5 percent in 2015, but at the same time lowered its global outlook by 0.2 percent points to 2.8 percent growth. The reduction in the global outlook was based on a growth slowdown in emerging markets. however, there are still uncertainties due to the political crises in the euro area and the crisis between Russia and Ukraine, as well as in various centers of conflict in the Middle East.

GfK’s motto for financial year 2015 is “Shape for Growth”. This involves both creating growth in the various business divisions and raising productivity. The capital expenditure investment level will remain at a similar level to the previous year. We are currently expecting a slight increase in expansion and replacement investments compared to the previous year’s figure of €90 million. Amortization and depreciation is CHAngES In tHE gfK nEtwoRK dURIng tHE SECond QUARtER 2015

Company Reason for investment Shareholding in % Sector Country

Incoma GfK CZ Increase in shares 85% to 100% CE Central and Eastern Europe/META

(16)

*The outlook contains predictive statements on future developments, which are based on current management assessments. Words such as “anticipate”, “assume”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “intend”, “could/might”, “planned”, “projected”, “should”, “likely” and other such terms are statements of a predictive nature. Such predictive statements contain comments on the anticipated development sales proceeds and income for 2015. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, for example, economic effects such as exchange rate fluctuations and changes in interest rates. Some uncertainties and other unforeseen factors which might affect ability to achieve

targets are described under “risk position” in the Management Report. If these or other uncertainties and unforeseen factors arise or the assumptions on which the statements are based prove to be incorrect, actual results could materially differ from the results indicated or implied in these statements. We do not guarantee that our predictive statements will prove to be correct. The predictive statements contained herein are based on the current Group structure and are made on the basis of the facts on the day of publication of the present document. We do not intend nor accept any obligation to update predictive statements on an ongoing basis.

likely to amount to around €70 million and will therefore be approximately €10 million higher than in 2014. In the next few years, the figure is set to rise further on the back of higher investment activity.

In the Consumer Experiences sector, the focus is on stabilizing sales at the level generated in 2014. The transformation towards more profitable activities and digital products will continue while purely local and less profitable contract research projects will be scaled back. In light of this, the sector is not expected to make a growth contribution in 2015. A further decline in sales is also possible. It is anticipated that the margin will continue to rise modestly.

The Consumer Choices sector will continue systematically to pursue growth and margin opportunities. The core point-of-sales tracking business will be expanded further, and new panels are expected to make a gradual contribution to sales and earnings growth. In Audience Measurement, the set-up of new panels to measure TV audiences will be completed in 2015, and the contracts will begin to contribute significantly to sales growth in this sector in the fourth quarter. The main focus is still on expansion into new regions and countries. The Management Board assumes that this sector will grow faster than in the previous year. Its share of sales relative to Group sales will therefore increase further. Even though Audience Measurement sales are likely to account for a larger share of the business, the margin is not expected to change significantly against the previous year.

The Group anticipates a return to modest organic growth in 2015. Adjusted operating income should improve, and the margin should to rise to somewhere in the region of between 12.4 percent and 12.8 percent.

The Group is aiming to outpace the market in 2016, in terms of organic growth. GfK is still aiming for a margin of between 14 percent and 15 percent.

At the end of June, a total of 78.5 percent of the annual sales required to achieve the guidance had already been posted or were in the order book (previous year: 81.6 percent). This is in line with the last 5 years, which fluctuated from 77.3 percent to 81.9 percent.

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Consolidated inCome statement

of GfK GRoup

fRom 1 ApRIl to 30 jUnE 2015 In EUR ’000 (ACCoRdIng to IfRS, not AUdItEd)

Q2 20141)

% of sales

Q2 2015

% of

sales abs. %

Sales 363,001 100.0% 384,753 100.0% 21,752 6.0%

Cost of sales – 244,287 – 67.3% – 264,626 – 68.8% – 20,339 8.3%

gross income from sales 118,714 32.7% 120,127 31.2% 1,413 1.2%

Selling and general administrative expenses – 76,691 – 21.1% – 79,930 – 20.8% – 3,239 4.2%

Other operating income 967 0.3% 1,532 0.4% 565 58.4%

Other operating expenses – 3,987 – 1.1% – 3,281 – 0.9% 706 – 17.7%

operating income2) _39,003 _10.7% _38,448 _10.0% _{– 555} _{– 1.4%}

Income from associates 1,113 0.3% – 638 – 0.2% – 1,751 – 157.3%

Other income from participations – 114 0.0% 77 0.0% 191 – 167.5%

EbIt 40,002 11.0% 37,887 9.8% – 2,115 – 5.3%

Other financial income 586 0.2% – 829 – 0.2% – 1,415 – 241.5%

Other financial expenses – 8,486 – 2.3% – 2,429 – 0.6% 6,057 – 71.4%

Income from ongoing business activity 32,102 8.8% 34,629 9.0% 2,527 7.9%

Tax on income from ongoing business activity – 11,289 – 14,940 – 3,651 32.3%

ConSolIdAtEd totAl InComE 20,813 5.7% 19,689 5.1% – 1,124 – 5.4%

Attributable to equity holders of the parent: 17,241 4.7% 16,512 4.3% – 729 – 4.2%

Attributable to minority interests: 3,572 1.0% 3,177 0.8% – 395 – 11.1%

basic earnings per share (EUR) 0.48 0.46 – 0.02 – 4.2%

diluted earnings per share (EUR) 0.48 0.46 – 0.02 – 4.2%

Adjusted earnings per share (EUR) 0.64 0.60 – 0.04 – 6.2%

for information:

Personnel expenses – 174,411 – 48.0% – 192,125 – 49.9% – 17,714 10.2%

Depreciation/amortization – 15,500 – 4.3% – 15,457 – 4.0% 43 – 0.3%

EbItdA 55,502 15.3% 53,344 13.9% – 2,158 – 3.9%

1) Adjusted due to the reclassification between cost of sales and selling and general administrative expenses, see section 2 of the notes to the half-year financial statements. 2) Reconciliation to internal management indicator “adjusted operating income“ amounting to EUR 43,882 thousand (Q2 2014 EUR 45.049 thousand) as indicated on page 10.

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Consolidated inCome statement

of GfK GRoup

fRom 1 jAnUARY to 30 jUnE, 2015 In EUR ’000 (ACCoRdIng to IfRS, not AUdItEd)

H1 20141)

% of sales

H1 2015

% of

sales abs. %

Sales 697,916 100.0% 747,225 100.0% 49,309 7.1%

Cost of sales – 479,812 – 68.7% – 519,754 – 69.6% – 39,942 8.3%

gross income from sales 218,104 31.3% 227,471 30.4% 9,367 4.3%

Selling and general administrative expenses – 155,021 – 22.2% – 163,020 – 21.8% – 7,999 5.2%

Other operating income 3,030 0.4% 5,736 0.8% 2,706 89.3%

Other operating expenses – 7,824 – 1.1% – 12,136 – 1.6% – 4,312 55.1%

operating income2) _58,289 _8.4% _58,051 _7.8% _{– 238} _{– 0.4%}

Income from associates 1,995 0.3% 598 0.1% – 1,397 – 70.0%

Other income from participations – 114 0.0% 89 0.0% 203 – 178.1%

EbIt 60,170 8.6% 58,738 7.9% – 1,432 – 2.4%

Other financial income 2,504 0.4% 19,550 2.6% 17,046 680.8%

Other financial expenses – 15,052 – 2.2% – 29,370 – 3.9% – 14,318 95.1%

Income from ongoing business activity 47,622 6.8% 48,918 6.5% 1,296 2.7%

Tax on income from ongoing business activity – 16,783 – 20,029 – 3,246 19.3%

Attributable to equity holders of the parent: 24,293 3.5% 22,898 3.1% – 1,395 – 5.7%

Attributable to minority interests: 6,546 0.9% 5,991 0.8% – 555 – 8.5%

basic earnings per share (EUR) 0.67 0.63 – 0.04 – 6.0%

diluted earnings per share (EUR) 0.67 0.63 – 0.04 – 6.0%

Adjusted earnings per share (EUR) 0.95 0.99 0.04 4.2%

for information:

Personnel expenses – 345,338 – 49.5% – 384,202 – 51.4% – 38,864 11.3%

Depreciation/amortization – 29,967 – 4.3% – 30,771 – 4.1% – 804 2.7%

EbItdA 90,137 12.9% 89,509 12.0% – 628 – 0.7%

1) Adjusted due to the reclassification between cost of sales and selling and general administrative expenses, see section 2 of the notes to the half-year financial statements. 2) Reconciliation to internal management indicator “adjusted operating income“ amounting to EUR 71.172 thousand (h1 2014 EUR 68.640 thousand) as indicated on page 10.

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H1 2014

H1 2015

Consolidated total income 30,839 28,889

Write-downs/write-ups of intangible assets 17,354 18,528

Write-downs/write-ups of tangible assets 12,613 12,243

Write-downs/write-ups of other financial assets 142 876

total write-downs/write-ups 30,109 31,647

Increase/decrease in inventories and trade receivables – 30,213 – 23,238

Increase/decrease in trade payables and liabilities on orders in progress 34,296 18,904

Changes in other assets not attributable to investing or financing activity 4,231 – 2,243

Changes in other liabilities not attributable to investing or financing activity – 25,712 – 41,286

Profit/loss from the disposal of non-current assets – 29 – 975

Non-cash income from associates – 1,411 – 967

Increase/decrease in long-term provisions 2,162 2,129

Other non-cash income/expenses 4,388 4,579

Net interest income 9,601 8,170

Change in deferred taxes – 2,462 1,472

Current income tax expense 19,245 18,557

Taxes paid – 17,438 – 14,221

a) Cash flow from operating activity 57,606 31,417

Cash outflows for investments in intangible assets – 16,415 – 28,597

Cash outflows for investments in tangible assets – 9,545 – 14,105

Cash outflows for acquisitions of consolidated companies and other business units – 1,148 – 3,154

Cash outflows for investments in other financial assets – 2,194 – 3,907

Cash inflows from disposal of intangible assets 0 1

Cash inflows from disposal of tangible assets 144 4,345

Cash inflows from the sale of consolidated companies and other business units 0 2

Cash inflows from disposal of other financial assets 2 0

b) Cash flow from investing activity – 29,156 – 45,415

Dividend payments to equity holders of the parent – 23,728 – 23,728

Dividend payments to minority interests and other equity transactions – 1,876 – 3,462

Cash inflows from loans raised 39,990 103,633

Cash outflows for repayment of loans – 17,321 – 49,614

Interest received 1,028 963

Interest paid – 15,430 – 17,010

c) Cash flow from financing activity – 17,337 10,782

Changes in cash and cash equivalents (total of a), b) and c)) 11,113 – 3,216

Changes in cash and cash equivalents owing to exchange gains/losses and valuation – 114 4,207

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period 69,706 93,180

CASH And CASH EQUIvAlEntS At tHE End of tHE pERIod 80,705 94,171

Consolidated Cash flow statement

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CalCulation of net deBt and fRee Cash flow

In EUR ’000 (ACCoRdIng to IfRS, not AUdItEd)

Calculation of net debt 30.06.2014 31.12.2014 30.06.2015

Liquid funds 80,705 93,180 94,171

Short-term securities and time deposits 1,229 945 1,272

liquid funds, short-term securities and time deposits 81,934 94,125 95,443

Liabilities to banks – 231,005 – 188,278 – 249,325

Pension obligations – 50,394 – 64,326 – 65,560

Liabilities from finance leases – 353 – 188 – 27

Other interest-bearing liabilities – 243,645 – 234,477 – 225,511

Interest-bearing liabilities – 525,397 – 487,269 – 540,423

net debt – 443,463 – 393,144 – 444,980

Calculation of free cash flow H1

2014

H1 2015

Consolidated total income 30,839 28,889

Write-downs/write-ups of intangible assets 17,354 18,528

Write-downs/write-ups of tangible assets 12,613 12,243

Write-downs/write-ups of other financial assets 142 876

Others – 3,342 – 29,119

Cash flow from operating activity 57,606 31,417

Investments in tangible and intangible assets – 25,960 – 42,702

free cash flow before acquisitions, other investments and asset disposals 31,646 – 11,285

Acquisitions – 2,370 – 5,904

Other financial investments – 972 – 1,157

Asset disposals 146 4,348

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Consolidated BalanCe sheet

AS of 30 jUnE, 2015 In EUR ’000 (ACCoRdIng to IfRS, not AUdItEd)

ASSEtS

30.06.2014 31.12.2014 30.06.2015

Goodwill 794,379 772,709 822,978

Other intangible assets 248,466 266,719 285,186

Tangible assets 100,905 115,859 111,464

Investments in associates 14,750 11,669 17,215

Other financial assets 8,742 8,988 8,161

Deferred tax assets 39,516 41,373 48,349

Non-current other assets and deferred items 8,357 14,038 19,578

non-current assets 1,215,115 1,231,355 1,312,931

Trade receivables 404,098 384,694 423,266

Current income tax assets 12,826 17,413 13,109

Securities and fixed-term deposits 1,229 945 1,272

Cash and cash equivalents 80,705 93,180 94,171

Current other assets and deferred items 40,272 39,850 43,168

Current assets 539,130 536,082 574,986

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Consolidated BalanCe sheet

AS of 30 jUnE, 2015 In EUR ’000 (ACCoRdIng to IfRS, not AUdItEd)

EQUItY And lIAbIlItIES

30.06.2014 31.12.2014 30.06.2015

Subscribed capital 153,316 153,316 153,316

Capital reserve 212,403 212,403 212,403

Retained earnings 349,487 330,818 330,115

Other reserves – 79,671 – 44,847 24,399

Equity attributable to equity holders of the parent 635,535 651,690 720,233

minority interests 48,360 53,589 55,845

EQUItY 683,895 705,279 776,078

Long-term provisions 65,759 79,316 79,944

Non-current interest-bearing financial liabilities 354,545 359,215 257,139

Deferred tax liabilities 74,698 75,522 82,080

Non-current other liabilities and deferred items 7,391 9,757 14,545

non-current liabilities 502,393 523,810 433,708

Short-term provisions 21,840 36,642 18,327

Current income tax liabilities 13,097 15,522 12,051

Current interest-bearing financial liabilities 120,458 63,728 217,724

Trade payables 87,005 95,534 90,823

Liabilities on orders in progress 179,936 152,584 186,441

Current other liabilities and deferred items 145,621 174,338 152,765

Current liabilities 567,957 538,348 678,131

lIAbIlItIES 1,070,350 1,062,158 1,111,839

EQUItY And lIAbIlItIES 1,754,245 1,767,437 1,887,917

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Consolidated statement of

CompRehensive inCome

H1 2014

H1 2015

Consolidated total income 30,839 28,889

Items that will not be reclassified to profit or loss:

Actuarial gains/losses on defined benefit plans – 115 – 2,718

Items that will be reclassified to profit or loss in future periods:

Foreign currency translation differences 16,991 74,460

Valuation of net investment hedges for foreign subsidiaries – 64 – 253

Changes in fair value of cash flow hedges (effective portion) – 71 – 358

Changes in fair value of equity securities available-for-sale – 3 0

other comprehensive income (net of taxes) 16,738 71,131

total comprehensive income 47,577 100,020

Attributable to

Equity holders of the parent 40,429 92,144

Minority interests 7,148 7,876

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Consolidated equity ChanGe statement

of GfK GRoup

Attributable to equity holders Attributable to equity holders of the parent of the parent

other reserves Subscribed capital Capital reserve Retained earnings translation reserve Hedging reserve fair value reserve

Actuarial gains / losses on defined

benefit plans total

minority interests

total equity

balanCe at 1 January, 2014 153,316 212,403 349,176 – 96,655 18,891 3 – 18,046 619,088 44,621 663,709

Total comprehensive income for the period

Consolidated total income 24,293 24,293 6,546 30,839

Other comprehensive income

Foreign currency translation differences 16,387 16,387 604 16,991

Valuation of net investment hedges for foreign subsidiaries, net of tax – 64 – 64 – 64

Effective portion of changes in fair value of cash flow hedges, net of tax – 71 – 71 – 71

Change in fair value of securities available for sale, net of tax – 3 – 3 – 3

Defined benefit plan actuarial gains and losses, net of tax – 113 – 113 – 2 – 115

total other comprehensive income 0 0 0 16,387 – 135 – 3 – 113 16,136 602 16,738

Total comprehensive income for the period 0 0 24,293 16,387 – 135 – 3 – 113 40,429 7,148 47,577

Transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity

Contributions by and distributions to owners

Dividends to shareholders – 23,728 – 23,728 – 3,385 – 27,113

Changes in ownership interest in subsidiaries that do not result in a change of control

Other changes – 254 – 254 – 24 – 278

Total transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity 0 0 – 23,982 0 0 0 0 – 23,982 – 3,409 – 27,391

bAlAnCE At 30 jUnE, 2014 153,316 212,403 349,487 – 80,268 18,756 0 – 18,159 635,535 48,360 683,895

balanCe at 1 July, 2014 153,316 212,403 349,487 – 80,268 18,756 0 – 18,159 635,535 48,360 683,895

Consolidated total income – 18,434 – 18,434 6,973 – 11,461

Foreign currency translation differences 46,643 46,643 1,072 47,715

Change in fair value of securities available for sale, net of tax 12 12 12

Defined benefit plan actuarial gains and losses, net of tax – 11,201 – 11,201 – 12 – 11,213

total other comprehensive income 0 0 0 46,643 – 630 12 – 11,201 34,824 1,060 35,884

Total comprehensive income for the period 0 0 – 18,434 46,643 – 630 12 – 11,201 16,390 8,033 24,423

Dividends to shareholders 0 0 – 2,828 – 2,828

Acquisition of minority interests – 285 – 285 – 42 – 327

Other changes 50 50 66 116

Total transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity 0 0 – 235 0 0 0 0 – 235 – 2,804 – 3,039

bAlAnCE At 31 dECEmbER, 2014 153,316 212,403 330,818 – 33,625 18,126 12 – 29,360 651,690 53,589 705,279

balanCe at 1 January, 2015 153,316 212,403 330,818 – 33,625 18,126 12 – 29,360 651,690 53,589 705,279

Consolidated total income 22,898 22,898 5,991 28,889

Foreign currency translation differences 72,575 72,575 1,885 74,460

Defined benefit plan actuarial gains and losses, net of tax – 2,718 – 2,718 0 – 2,718

total other comprehensive income 0 0 0 72,575 – 611 0 – 2,718 69,246 1,885 71,131

Total comprehensive income for the period 0 0 22,898 72,575 – 611 0 – 2,718 92,144 7,876 100,020

Dividends to shareholders – 23,728 – 23,728 – 5,941 – 29,669

Acquisition of minority interests 219 219 379 598

Other changes – 92 – 92 – 58 – 150

Total transactions with owners, recorded directly in equity 0 0 – 23,601 0 0 0 0 – 23,601 – 5,620 – 29,221

Report for the first half year 2015 GfK Group