· Sales rise by 12% to € 378 million
· EBIT exceeds € 25 million (previous year: € 22.4 million)
· Free cash flow at record level,
proposal for higher dividend likely
· Promising start to the new fiscal year
Hamburg, 1 February 2011. The wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) published its preliminary results for the fiscal year just completed (1 January to 31 December 2010) today. The Group's net sales rose by 11.6% to € 377.9 million before (2009: € 338.5 million). The wholesale segment grew particularly strongly, thanks to the normalisation of the market after the upheavals of the financial crisis, by 26.4%. The specialist wine-shop retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot) and mail order (primarily Hanseatisches Wein- und Sekt-Kontor) segments also posted sales increases of 1.5% and 4.0% respectively. Consolidated sales in Germany accounted for 88% (previous year: 93%) of total sales, increasing by 6.1% over the previous year. In contrast, according to data of the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK), the wine market in Germany overall declined by 2.9% in 2010. According to preliminary calculations, the consolidated operating result (EBIT) of the Hawesko Group exceeds € 25 million (previous year: € 22.4 million). The financial result is expected to show net income of € 1.7 million (previous year: expenditure of € 2.6 million). Based on a tax rate of 26-28%, consolidated net profit after taxes and deductions for minority interests is currently expected to be approximately € 19.5 million, with earnings per share of € 2.10 to € 2.20 (previous year: € 13.1 million and € 1.48 per share). The estimated free cash flow will amount to € 20-22 million or € 2.25-2.55 per share (previous year: € 20.8 million or € 2.36 per share). The consolidated balance sheet is expected to show a net liquidity of roughly € 15 million. These excellent figures confirm the opinion of the Hawesko management board that an increase in the dividend (previous year: € 1.35 per share) is possible. The Hawesko consolidated balance sheet will be audited in March 2011 and submitted to the supervisory board for review.
For the current fiscal year 2011, the Hawesko management board expects positive business development and an even better year in 2012. Alexander Margaritoff, chief executive officer: 'Business development in 2010 significantly exceeded our original expectations. In the current fiscal year 2011 we will continue to grow and pursue the promising new projects we began in the past two years. We are optimistic with regard to 2012 as well, as we will then reap the benefits from the delivery of the top 2009 Bordeaux vintage.'
In the fourth quarter of the past fiscal year (1 October to 31 December 2010), sales of the Hawesko Group rose from € 119.7 million in the corresponding period of the previous year by 9.0% to € 130.5 million in the quarter under review. Fourth-quarter sales of the specialist wine-shop retail segment (Jacques' Wein-Depot) rose by 0.5% to € 38.2 million; on a like-for-like basis that corresponds to +0.1%. In many parts of Germany snow and ice had an adverse influence on the holiday business. At the end of 2010, there were 274 depots (end of 2009: 272). Over the past year, new depots were opened in four locations. As part of the continuous adaptation of the network to the customer structure, two depots were closed and five relocated. Sales of the mail order segment increased in the fourth quarter by 0.7% from € 34.8 million to € 35.0 million, although the demand for corporate gifts was rather sluggish. The extremely positive business development of the previous quarters in the wholesale segment continued in the fourth quarter of 2010, so that sales rose by 22.1% to € 57.3 million. This resulted primarily from the sustained and strong recovery of demand beginning in spring 2010 for Bordeaux wines of older vintages at the Bordeaux-based subsidiary Château Classic and from the ongoing healthy domestic demand for the premium wines carried by the company. In the estimation of the Hawesko management board, this demand continued to broaden in the fourth quarter. The Swiss subsidiary Globalwine AG nearly doubled its sales to € 3.0 million (same quarter in the previous year: € 1.6 million); the development of sales and marketing and the intensified acquisition of catering clients proved very successful.
According to preliminary calculations, consolidated EBIT amounted to € 11.8 million in the final quarter of the 2010 (same quarter in the previous year: € 13.1 million), divided among the business segments as follows: specialist wine-shop retail € 5.4 million (same quarter in the previous year: € 5.5 million), mail order € 3.0 million (€ 4.7 million), wholesale € 4.8 million (€ 4.3 million); the expenditures for the corporate divisions totalled € 1.3 million (€ 1.3 million). In the mail order segment, a charge for the market entry test in Sweden (€ 0.4 million) as well as the sluggish demand for corporate gifts was reflected in the result.
Hawesko Holding AG is a leading supplier of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2010 the Group achieved sales of € 378 million through its three sales channels - specialist wine-shop retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), wholesale (Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner und Wein Distributionsgesellschaft) and mail order (in particular Hanseatisches Wein- und Sekt-Kontor) - and employed 686 people. The shares of Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg as well as in the SDAX small-cap index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
# # #
The complete annual report and accounts for 2010 will be published on 12 May 2011.
Published by:
Hawesko Holding AG
20247 Hamburg
Internet:
http://www.hawesko.com (Company information)
http://www.hawesko.de (Online shop)
http://www.jacques.de (Jacques' Wein-Depot information and online shop)
http://www.chateauclassic.com (Online sales of outstanding Bordeaux wines of older vintages)
Press/Media:
Vera Maria Bau,VMB Consulting
Tel. +49 (0)228 44 96 406
Fax: +49 (0)228 44 96 9406
E-mail: vmb(at)veramariabau-pr.de
Investor Relations:
Thomas Hutchinson, Hawesko Holding AG
Phone +49 (0)40 30 39 21 00
Fax: +49 (0)40 39 30 21 05
E-mail: ir(at)hawesko.com