DGAP-Adhoc: Hawesko Holding AG adjusts forecast for 2018

- Long hot summer wilted demand

- Unexpected provision because of fraud case at subsidiary

Hamburg, 19 October 2018. The wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) has announced that, based on the preliminary third-quarter figures, it is adjusting its forecast for fiscal year 2018. The Hawesko management board now expects - excluding the initial consolidation of the subsidiary Wein & Co, acquired on 1 October 2018 - an increase of approximately 2.5% over the previous year's sales of EUR 507 million and an operating result (EBIT) between EUR 28-30 million, slightly below that of the previous year (EUR 30.4 million). Until now, sales growth of 3% and an EBIT increase to EUR 32-33 million had been anticipated.

The adjustment of the forecast is taking place for two reasons: On the one hand, sales in the third quarter (1 July to 30 September 2018) were lower than expected, particularly in September, due to the long hot summer. Based on preliminary figures, the Hawesko Group achieved sales of EUR 108.4 million for the quarter under review (previous year: EUR 110.7 million). The heat-related shift of demand to light white and rosé wines that were both cheaper and had smaller margins had a negative impact on the quarterly result. On the other hand, the management board has become aware during the current preparation of the quarterly financial statements that a provision of EUR 1 million will need to be made for an impending charge in connection with a case of fraud at the subsidiary Gebrueder Josef und Matthaeus Ziegler GmbH, Freudenberg. The quarterly EBIT will not reach the previous year's level of EUR 4.1 million, but will be positive. A detailed analysis, the expected effects of the initial consolidation of Wein & Co and the complete interim finanical statements to 30 September 2018 will be published in the Quarterly Financial Report on 8 November 2018.

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Publisher:

Hawesko Holding AG
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22767 Hamburg, Germany

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Thomas Hutchinson
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Fax +49 (0)40 30 39 21 05
E-mail: ir@hawesko-holding.com