CEWE increases dividend for the ninth consecutive year

- Annual General Meeting decides to raise dividends to EUR 1.85 per share

- Shareholders earn a dividend yield of 2.1 % on the basis of the price at the end of 2017

- Turnover and earnings to continue to increase in 2018

- New Supervisory Board elected

 

Oldenburg, 6 June 2018. The regular Annual General Meeting of CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA (SDAX, ISIN: DE 0005403901) approved all the agenda items proposed by the management in Oldenburg today. The attendance rate was 48.9 %. The dividend rises to 1.85 euros per share - the ninth dividend increase in succession. On the basis of the price at the end of 2017 (88,05 euros), shareholders are thus earning a dividend yield of 2.1 %. "We are in a position to offer our shareholders an increase in dividends for the ninth year in succession. This is made possible by a renewed increase in our earning power and a sound balance sheet," explains Dr. Christian Friege, Chairman of the Board of Management of the CEWE Group. The total return for shareholders for the 2017 financial year was as much as 6.24 % on the basis of the dividend for 2016 and the rise in the share price.

Turnover and EBIT to continue to increase in 2018
The first quarter of 2018, which was successfully closed with a 10.1 % increase in turnover, confirms the Board of Management forecast for 2018: Group turnover is to increase considerably to an amount in the range of 630 to 665 million euros (2017: 599.4 million euros). The Group EBIT is to be in a target corridor of 48 million to 54 million euros (2017: 49.2 million euros), the EBT in a target corridor of 47.5 million to 53.5 million euros (2017: 48.9 million euros) and earnings after tax are to be in the range of 33 million and 37 million euros (2017: 33.6 million euros),

Takeovers promise further growth
The Board of Management expects to see the growth rate strengthened by the investment in the leading French photo app "Cheerz" and by the takeover of online printing provider LASERLINE. CEWE is giving photofinishing and commercial online printing an extra boost with these acquisitions.

Increasing earnings to see a further increase in dividends as well
CEWE confirms its expectation for future dividends with this goal: "We will not be diverting from the successful course pursued in previous years. On the basis of an enhancement of our earning power, we intend to continue to increase our dividend in absolute terms, thus regularly ensuring the our financing and our capital ratio are sound," emphasised Dr. Christian Friege in his first Annual General Meeting as CEO of CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA. The Board of Management was also pleased with the trust shown by the staff and its exceptional identification with CEWE: 70 % of the staff members are shareholders themselves.

Annual General Meeting elects a Supervisory Board with two new members
The Annual General Meeting followed the recommendation of the Supervisory Board and the nomination committee for the Supervisory Board election. This means that the CEWE Supervisory Board has two new members: Patricia Geibel-Conrad (born in 1962) operates her own auditing and management consulting business after having previously been employed by PricewaterhouseCoopers for 14 years. Dr. Birgit Vemmer is an independent consultant. The mathematician (born in 1065) was previously employed in managerial positions, mainly with IT companies. The Annual General Meeting relieved the long-term members Corinna Linner and Professor Michael Paetsch of their duties. "We thank Ms Linner and Professor Paetsch for their many years of service and for the competency they brought into the Board. With our two new members, we in the Supervisory Board are once again getting outstanding expertise in the areas of finance and also IT," Otto Korte, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA, points out.

 

Should you have any queries, please contact:
CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA, Axel Weber (Investor Relations)
Tel.: 0441 / 404 - 2288, Fax: 0441 / 404 - 421, Email: IR@cewe.de

Internet: cewe-fotobuch.de , cewe-photobook.com , deindesign.de , cewe.de , cewe-print.de , viaprinto.de , saxoprint.de , laserline.de

The CEWE apps are all available in the app stores: CEWE PHOTO WORLD, CEWE POSTCARD, CEWE SERVICE and other photo apps, and the CEWE Investor Relations app for iPad(c) or android tablets, with annual reports and quarterly reports, presentations and sustainability reports.

Financial schedule:
(insofar as already scheduled)

09.08.2018 Publication of the 2018 Q2 interim report
09.08.2018 Press release on the 2018 Q2 interim report
24.09.2018 2018 Berenberg & Goldman Sachs German Corporate Conference
25.09.2018 2018 Baader Investment Conference
13.11.2018 Publication of the 2018 Q3
13.11.2018 Press release on the 2018 Q3 interim report
26.11.2018 2018 German Equity Forum

About CEWE: The innovative photo and online print service company, with twelve highly-technical production operations and a staff of around 3,600 employees in 24 European countries, is both market and technological leader. In 2017 CEWE delivered around 2.2 billion prints, 6.0 million CEWE PHOTO BOOK copies and numerous photo gift articles to more than 20,000 retail partners to generate consolidated turnover of 599.4 million euros. The company is continuously generating new impulses in the photographic industry with innovations for people who enjoy taking photos. CEWE is a leading company when it comes to climate protection. CEWE brand products are all produced in a climate-natural process. In the "commercial online printing" business segment, printed material for businesses is marketed through the sales platforms of CEWE-PRINT.de, SAXOPRINT, viaprinto and LASERLINE. Founded by Senator h. c. Heinz Neumüller in 1961, CEWE has been listed on the stock exchange since 1993 and is currently an SDAX member.