Press Release: Hawesko Holding AG: Hawesko Holding: Positive run in the first nine months

HAWESKO Holding AG / Hawesko Holding AG: Hawesko Holding: Positive run in the first nine months . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

* EBIT rises on a comparable basis by nearly 10%

* Sales of EUR 322 million at the previous year's level

* Forecast for 2016 confirmed

Hamburg, 3 November 2016. Today the wine-trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) published its report on the first nine months of fiscal year 2016 as well as the figures for the third quarter. Thorsten Hermelink, chief executive officer of the group, confirmed today in Hamburg that the figures presented are in line with the expectations of the management board: "The first nine months of 2016 went very well for the Hawesko Group overall. As expected, we maintained sales at the previous year's level of EUR 322 million, and increased the adjusted group EBIT (adjusted) by nearly 10%! Among other things, the fact that we are ranked among the top 100 online shops in Germany - as one of only two food retailers - shows that we are on the right course. We want to progress further with digitalisation and grow organically, but we will also resolutely seize external growth opportunities when they arise, just as we recently did by acquiring the majority interest in the innovative online marketplace WirWinzer.de. We are currently preparing additional sustainable growth initiatives in order to expand our target group and improve our earnings power."

EBIT increased in the nine-month period

In the first nine months (1 January to 30 September) of fiscal year 2016, sales of the Hawesko Group amounted to EUR 322.1 million, thus remaining at the level of the previous year (EUR 322.7 million). In contrast, the consolidated gross profit margin rose significantly by 1.2 percentage points from 41.6% to 42.8% of sales. The operating result (EBIT) amounted to 5.3% (previous year: 2.1%) of sales or EUR 17.1 million (previous year: EUR 6.8 million). Adjusted for non-recurring costs in both periods, an EBIT margin of 4.6% was achieved, up from 4.2% in the previous year. The EBIT at Jacques' rose by 8.4% to EUR 10.1 million, proportionately higher than sales. In the wholesale segment, the rise of 10.4% to EUR 2.7 million resulted from the turnaround in Switzerland as well as the elimination of the charges from the former French subsidiary; in contrast to this, sales were lost due to a restructuring of the supplier portfolio. The EBIT in the distance selling segment rose by 6.3% to EUR 6.5 million thanks to improved profitability at Wein & Vinos and The Wine Company. The result before taxes on income amounted to EUR 16.6 million (same period in the previous year: EUR 6.0 million). Consolidated net income for the first nine months after deductions for non-controlling interests amounted to EUR 10.8 million, compared to EUR 3.9 million in the same period of the previous year. The profit per share amounted to EUR 1.21, compared to EUR 0.44 for the same period in the previous year.

Predominantly good performance in the 3rd quarter

During the quarterly period from 1 July to 30 September, consolidated sales at EUR 104.3 million declined slightly as expected by 1.0% from the same quarter in the previous year (EUR 105.4 million). The stationary wine retail segment (Jacques' Wein-Depot) increased its sales by 4.5% to EUR 32.7 million (previous year: EUR 31.3 million). The segment benefited from the attractive new locations as well as the successful, smartphone-optimised online shop, and increased its operating result (EBIT) proportionately higher than sales, by 9.0% to EUR 3.2 million. In the B2B segment (wholesale), business performance was in line with the management board's expectations with sales of EUR 37.7 million (same quarter in the previous year: EUR 39.7 million) and EBIT of EUR 0.9 million (EUR 1.0 million). The distance selling unit achieved sales of EUR 33.9 million, down by 1.6% from the same quarter of the previous year (EUR 34.5 million). This was due primarily to a temporal shift in the advertising schedule at Hawesko.de, which caused sales to be moved forward to the second quarter. Increased investment in digital resources - the share of online sales in the distance selling segment rose to 50% (previous year: 44%) - led to a reduction in the segment EBIT from the previous year by roughly one third to EUR 1.4 million. This also caused the decline in the consolidated result of operations (EBIT) in the third quarter of 2016 to EUR 3.9 million (previous year: EUR 4.6 million). The result before taxes on income amounted to EUR 3.7 million (previous year: EUR 4.4 million). Consolidated net income after deductions for non-controlling interests amounted to EUR 2.4 million (EUR 2.8 million). The profit per share amounted to EUR 0.27, after EUR 0.31 in the previous year.

Management board reaffirms outlook

The forecast of the Hawesko management board for fiscal year 2016 remains unchanged, and it expects sales for the Group to remain stable overall in fiscal year 2016. The stationary specialist wine retail segment (Jacques') is expected to grow by approximately 3% and distance selling to grow by 1-2% compared to the previous year. After the aforementioned adjustments in the supplier portfolio, the sales for the wholesale segment are expected to be below those of the previous year. The group EBIT, adjusted for one-off items, is still expected to be in the range of EUR 28-29 million, which corresponds to an EBIT margin of approximately 6% (2015: 4.2%).

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The full nine-month financial report to 30 September 2016 is available for downloading at http://www.hawesko-holding.com, --> "Press" or "Investors" --> "Downloads".

Hawesko Holding AG is a leading supplier of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2015, the Group achieved sales of EUR 477 million and employed 933 persons in the company's three sales channels: specialty retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), wholesale operations/distribution (Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein-Distributionsgesellschaft) and distance selling (especially Hawesko.de and Wein & Vinos). The shares of Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg as well as in the prime standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Publisher: Hawesko Holding AG

Elbkaihaus

Grosse Elbstrasse 145d

22767 Hamburg

Internet: hawesko-holding.com (Company information)

hawesko.de (online shop)

jacques.de (Jacques' Wein-Depot information and online shop)

vinos.de (Spanish wines sold through Wein & Vinos)

wirwinzer.de (German wines directly from the producers)

Press Contact and Investor Relations:

Thomas Hutchinson, Hawesko Holding AG

Phone: +49 (0)40 30 39 21 00

Fax +49 (0)40 30 39 21 05

E-mail: ir@hawesko-holding.com

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Hawesko Holding AG via Globenewswire

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Hawesko Holding AG

Große Elbstraße 145 d Hamburg Germany

WKN: 604270;ISIN: DE0006042708;Index:CLASSIC All Share,CDAX,SDAX,Prime All Share,GEX;

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

   November 03, 2016 03:01 ET (07:01 GMT)- - 03 01 AM EDT 11-03-16