RESTAMAX PLC SIX-MONTHLY REPORT FOR 1 JANUARY-30 JUNE 2016: Turnover grew and profitability improved

Restamax Plc

SIX-MONTHLY REPORT 9 AUGUST 2016 at 8:00 am

RESTAMAX PLC SIX-MONTHLY REPORT FOR 1 JANUARY-30 JUNE 2016

Turnover grew and profitability improved in January-June 2016

TURNOVER AND INCOME

The Group's income for April-June 2016

Entire Group:
The Group's turnover was MEUR 31.9 (MEUR 26.4), growth of 20.9 per cent. EBITDA was MEUR 4.3 (MEUR 2.7), growth of 56.5 per cent. Operating profit was MEUR 1.5 (MEUR 0.5), growth of 189.8 per cent.

Restaurant business:
The turnover of the restaurant business segment was MEUR 26.5 (MEUR 23.7), growth of 11.9 per cent. EBITDA was MEUR 3.6 (MEUR 2.3), growth of 56.5 per cent. Operating profit was MEUR 1.3 (MEUR 0.3), growth of 306.3 per cent.

Labour hire business:
The turnover of the labour hire business was MEUR 8.5 (MEUR 5.4), growth of 57.5 per cent. EBITDA was MEUR 0.8 (MEUR 0.6), growth of 43.2 per cent. Operating profit was MEUR 0.1 (MEUR 0.2), decrease of 25.3 per cent.

The Group's income for January-June 2016

Entire Group:
The Group's turnover was MEUR 59.2 (MEUR 50.9), growth of 16.3 per cent.
EBITDA was MEUR 7.1 (MEUR 5.6), growth of 25.3 per cent. Operating profit was MEUR 1.7 (MEUR 1.3), growth of 29.4 per cent.

Restaurant business:
The turnover of the restaurant business segment was MEUR 49.6 (MEUR 46.2), growth of 7.6 per cent. EBITDA was MEUR 5.9 (MEUR 4.8), growth of 21.5 per cent. Operating profit was MEUR 1.4 (MEUR 1.0), growth of 38.5 per cent.

Labour hire business:
The turnover of the labour hire business was MEUR 15.1 (MEUR 9.7), growth of 54.7 per cent. EBITDA was MEUR 1.4 (MEUR 1.0), growth of 37.8 per cent. Operating profit was MEUR 0.3 (MEUR 0.3), growth of 0.8 per cent.

Figures in parentheses refer to the same period last year, unless otherwise stated.

The Restamax Group's income from the first half of 2016 is clearly better than the previous year, in spite of the rather poor first quarter. Growth in turnover in both business segments was strong. The turnover of the entire Group increased by over 16 per cent over the previous year, EBITDA by over 25 per cent and operating profit by almost 30 per cent. Result for the review period was affected by the opening of several new restaurants and the integration of new restaurant functions and labour hire companies into the Group.

Due to the seasonal nature of both the restaurant and labour hire businesses, most of the profits are made at the end of the year.

PROSPECTS FOR 2016

Result management (as of 23/02/2016):

Restamax expects the Group's turnover to increase and profitability to remain on a good level in the 2016 financial year.

CEO MARKKU VIRTANEN

A successful quarter puts us back on the path to growth

Between January and June 2016, the turnover of the entire Group increased by more than 16 per cent, EBITDA increased by over 25 per cent and operating profit by almost 30 per cent from the corresponding period the previous year. In the previous review period, i.e. the first quarter of 2016, our result was poor. The result in the second quarter, on the other hand, shows that we have been able to get back onto the path of growth. Although the generation of profit in the restaurant sector and the labour hire sector is focused on the end of the year, profit for the second quarter was good.

Behind the result is the successful launch of our summer restaurant business. The warm and sunny weather in late spring and early summer had a positive impact on demand for our services, and operating conditions for the restaurant business were good. Our result was however affected by the costs of integrating new restaurant businesses and labour hire companies, which have balanced out since the review period.

Strongly involved in the Helsinki area

During the first half of the year, we strongly expanded our restaurant business in the Helsinki area. At present in the market area in question, Restamax already has 15 restaurants and two Wayne's Coffee franchising cafeteria companies. At the beginning of April, we acquired the business operations of the Namu and Showroom restaurants in Helsinki. In April, in Helsinki we also opened the Hook restaurant, which has acquired a reputation in Tampere for its chicken wings, and the Lintsi American Diner restaurant at Linnanmäki. We almost tripled the size of our Hernesaaren Ranta business by increasing the number of customer seats from 1,200 to 3,500. In May, we strengthened our range of restaurants with Helsinki Mexican restaurants, when the Cholo, Patrona and Lucha Loco restaurants and the food truck Taco-bot joined our Group. In May too, in Hanko we opened a Stefan's Steakhouse at the HSF restaurant and we renovated the restaurant's interior and terrace to give it new credibility. The nightclub world in Lappeenranta also received a newcomer in April, when the Union Work & Leisure Club opened in the heart of the city.

Operationally, the summer season for restaurants in the Helsinki area started well. For example, the Lintsi American Diner, which opened on the site of the Midhill restaurant at Linnanmäki but larger in terms of space and number of seats, increased its turnover in the second quarter significantly and the restaurant business at Hernesaaren Ranta has been rather brisk.

Growth prospects for the restaurant business lie in centres of growth and commerce, where there is strong demand for restaurant and other leisure services. The fast-food restaurants in the Helsinki area are expected to create thousands of new jobs in the coming years. In future, we will also strengthen our position in the market of the Helsinki area in accordance with our growth strategy.

Positive economic prospects

The economic prospects in the tourism and restaurant sectors have been exceptionally gloomy over the past four years. Now at last, the situation in the sector looks brighter. According to the Finnish Hospitality Association MaRa, turnover in the restaurant field increased by 4.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2016. According to a forecast by MaRa, restaurant turnover increased by 5.1 per cent in the second quarter of this year.

In the first half of the year, the Finnish economy grew more than was expected, and all in all, the summer season is expected to be good. According to an economic survey carried out by MaRa in May, most companies in the sector believe that summer sales will increase. Moderate growth in sales is also expected to continue for the rest of the year. The improved economic situation has not, however, been reflected in the sales of alcohol in restaurants, the decline of which continues. According to a forecast by MaRa, alcohol sales in the first half of the year fell by almost 1 per cent, whilst sales by food restaurants increased by 6 per cent.

The reform of alcohol legislation, which will enter into force next year, will make things easier for restaurants by reducing bureaucracy and aiding customer service. This alone, however, will not be enough. In order for the share of alcohol sales in restaurants to achieve a much needed boost, the value added tax applicable to it must be considerably reduced.

According to forecasts by MaRa, in spite of the positive prospects growth in purchasing power will slow down towards the end of the year, and the growth in private consumption is expected to halve next year. So from the point of view of the development of the restaurant sector, economic growth and improvement in purchasing power and employment, tax reductions enabled by the competitiveness agreement will be necessary next year.

The Finnish government has proposed to Parliament reform of food legislation, by which domestic legislation that is stricter than EU directives would be repealed in the near future. If the reform brings much-needed relief to reporting and statutes, this will be positive news for food restaurants.

Turnover for labour hire growing strongly

In the review period just gone, turnover in the labour hire segment continued strong growth. The purchases by the present customer base of our subsidiary Smile Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy developed positively and the stock of contracts has strengthened. Operations have also been taken into new fields, whose growth prospects are quite favourable.

In May, the labour hire business was expanded geographically when Smile bought the majority of shares in Make My Solutions Oy, which is based in Seinäjoki. The main markets of the company now operating under the name Smile MMS Oy are South Ostrobothnia and Northern Finland. As a result of the transaction, the labour hire business was also expanded into the fields of industry, construction and logistics. Smile Industries Oy was established for new fields of business, and is focusing on the national expansion of operations. In the review period gone by, labour hire for corporate events was entirely focused on Smile Event & Promotions Oy. During the summer, the sector employs up to 1,000 people. The integration of new sectors and companies into the business of the segment had an impact on our result for the period under review.

The strong path of growth in the labour hire sector continues. The total value of the market in Finland is about EUR 1.5 billion, and the total turnover of the field was over a billion euros in 2015, two-thirds of which consists of labour hire. In comparison with the previous year, the total turnover of the labour hire sector increased in May 2016 by more than 22 per cent, and the turnover of labour hire services by more than 14 per cent. The total value of the cumulative turnover of labour hire in January­­­-May 2016 was MEUR 317.27, which represents growth of 13.3 per cent over the previous year.

Development stronger than general market development

A target set by our company's Board of Directors for the strategic period 2016-2018 is to expand the restaurant business abroad, both through corporate acquisitions and organically. Taking operations to new market areas outside Finland is presently at the investigative stage. At the same time, we will grow our business in domestic markets, both in the restaurant business and labour hire.

The development of our turnover, both in the restaurant business and labour hire, has been considerably stronger than general market development. At the same time, our profitability has remained clearly better than the average level of profitability in the sectors. I believe that the favourable development and profitable growth of our business will also continue for the rest of the year.

Markku Virtanen, CEO

The full Restamax six-monthly report for January-June 2016 is appended to this release in PDF format. The six-monthly report is also available on the company's website at www.restamax.fi.

RESTAMAX PLC

Board of Directors

Markku Virtanen, CEO

APPENDIX: Restamax Plc Six-monthly Report Q2/2016

More information:
Markku Virtanen, Restamax Plc, CEO, tel. +358 400 836 477
Jarno Suominen, CFO, Restamax Plc, tel. +358 40 721 5655

Distribution:
Nasdaq OMX Helsinki
Major media
www.restamax.fi

Restamax Plc is a Finnish restaurant business and labour hire services group established in 1996. The company, which listed on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki in 2013 and became the first Finnish listed restaurant company, has continued to grow strongly throughout its history. The group companies include over 100 restaurants, nightclubs and entertainment centres all over Finland. Well-known restaurant concepts of the group include Stefan's Steakhouse, Viihdemaailma Ilona and Classic American Diner. In 2015, Restamax Plc's turnover was MEUR 113.7 and EBITDA MEUR 16.5. Depending on the season, some 1,000 persons work at the group. The workforce of Restamax subsidiary Smile Henkilöstöpalvelut Oy is about 3,000.

Restamax company website: www.restamax.fi, Restamax consumer website: www.ravintola.fi, Smile Henkilöstöpalvelut: www.smilepalvelut.fi