- Ninth consecutive rise in the ordinary dividend
- Best results ever for sales and EBIT in 2011
- Final accounts confirm preliminary figures
Hamburg, 23 March 2012. The wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) will raise its regular dividend for the past 2011 fiscal year to € 1.60 per share (previous year: € 1.50); last year, as a result of an extraordinary gain, an additional bonus of € 0.25 per share had been paid. At its meeting today, the supervisory board of the company approved the corresponding dividend proposal of the management board which will be put to a vote of the annual general meeting on 18 June 2012. With the proposed rise of 7% the ordinary dividend will be raised for the ninth consecutive time since 2002. A total of € 14.4 million will be paid out to the shareholders from the tax contribution account (previous year: € 13.5 million plus € 2.2 million bonus). For most private investors domiciled in Germany the dividend will be tax-free.
Furthermore, the supervisory board reviewed, discussed and approved the annual and consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2011; the annual financial statements of the parent company were officially approved. As previously announced, Group sales in 2011 (1 January to 31 December) rose by 8.9% to € 411.4 million (previous year: € 377.7 million). The final approved accounts show a result from operations (EBIT) of € 26.7 million (previous year: € 25.7 million). This is once again the best result in the company's history. Consolidated net income after deductions for taxes and non-controlling interests amounted to € 17.9 million or € 1.99 per share in 2011 (previous year: adjusted for the non-recurring gain, € 16.7 million or € 1.88 per share; including the extraordinary gain these figures were € 20.0 million or € 2.24 per share). The consolidated balance sheet total amounted to € 217.1 million, and the equity ratio was 44% (previous year: € 201.8 million and 46%). The free cash flow (cash flow from current operations minus investments and interest paid out) amounted to € 12.3 million or € 1.37 per share. In the previous year it amounted to € 23.8 million or € 2.67 per share including the extraordinary gain; on a comparable basis - i.e. excluding the extraordinary gain - to € 16.5 million or € 1.85 per share.
The management board will present details of the complete fiscal year 2011 as well as the business performance in the first three months of the current fiscal year 2012 at the annual press conference of Hawesko Holding AG on 10 May 2012.
Hawesko Holding AG is a leading supplier of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2011, the Group achieved sales of € 411 million and employed 750 persons in the company's three sales channels: specialty retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), wholesale operations(Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein-Distributionsgesellschaft) and mail order (especially Hanseatisches Wein- and Sekt-Kontor). 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.
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The complete 2011 annual report and accounts will be presented on 10 May 2012.
Publisher:
Hawesko Holding AG, 20247 Hamburg
Internet:
http://www.hawesko-holding.com (Company information)
http://www.hawesko.de (Online shop)
http://www.jacques.de (Jacques' Wein-Depot information and online shop)
http://www.vinos.de (Wein & Vinos online shop with Spanish wines)
http://www.chateauclassic.com (Online shop with outstanding Bordeaux wines of older vintages)
Press/Media:
Vera Maria Bau, VMB Consulting
Phone: +49 (0)228 4496 406
Fax: +49 (0)228 4496 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 30 39 21 05
E-Mail: ir(at)hawesko.com