DGAP-News: Hornbach AG & Co. KGaA

Net sales at Hornbach Group clearly exceed four billion euros

Trading statement 2017/18: Consolidated sales up 5.1% to Euro 4,141 million / Like-for-like growth of 3.6% at DIY and garden stores / Builders' merchant sales up 8.3%

Neustadt/Weinstrasse, March 22, 2018.
Sales at the Hornbach Group (Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA Group) clearly topped the four billion euro mark in the 2017/18 financial year. According to today's trading statement, consolidated sales grew by 5.1% to Euro 4,141 million. Hornbach Baumarkt AG, the largest operating subgroup with 156 DIY stores with garden centers and e-commerce operations in nine countries across Europe at the balance sheet date on February 28, 2018 (2016/17: 155), increased its sales by 4.9% to Euro 3,891 million. On a like-for-like basis and net of currency items, group-wide sales at the DIY stores with garden centers (DIY) grew by 3.6% (3.3% including currency items). As in the previous year, the international stores reported the highest growth momentum. As a result, the international share of sales at the Baumarkt subgroup rose from 45.0% to 46.8%. The Hornbach Baustoff Union GmbH subgroup boosted its sales by 8.3% to Euro 248 million.

"We met our sales targets in the past 2017/18 financial year. That shows we successfully asserted ourselves in a competitive environment that has become more challenging than ever given the advance of digitization. Our strategy of dovetailing stationary and online retail means we can offer our customers individually tailored solutions for their construction and renovation projects, and that across all distribution channels", comments Albrecht Hornbach, CEO of Hornbach Management AG.

Germany: 1.5% like-for-like growth at DIY and garden stores - builders' merchant sales up 8.3%

Net DIY sales in Germany, including online retail, grew by 1.5% to Euro 2,071 million in the 2017/18 financial year (March 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018). On a like-for-like basis, i.e. excluding stores newly opened or closed in the past twelve months, Hornbach generated growth in all four quarters. Overall, like-for-like sales growth also came to 1.5%. The German stores had an average of four business days fewer than in the previous year. As of the balance sheet date, Hornbach operated 98 stores in its stationary DIY retail business in Germany (2016/17: 98).

The Hornbach Baustoff Union GmbH subgroup posted substantial sales growth in the 2017/18 financial year. Including sales at two locations newly opened in the third quarter, net sales at the 29 builders' merchant outlets rose by 8.3% to Euro 248 million, following growth of 4.8% in the previous year.
 

Other European countries still the Group's growth driver

Like in the two previous years, the DIY retail activities in the eight countries outside Germany (Other European countries region) once again acted as the Group's key growth driver. Including a newly opened DIY store with a garden center in The Hague (Netherlands) and online retail, Hornbach increased its sales here by 9.0% to Euro 1,820 million. The international share of consolidated sales therefore rose from 45.0% to 46.8%. On a like-or-like basis and net of currency items, Hornbach increased its sales in other European countries by 6.1% in the 2017/18 financial year, following growth of 5.1% in the previous year. Including currency items, like-for-like sales rose by 5.6% (2016/17: 4.6%).
 

Like-for-like sales performance at Hornbach's DIY stores with garden centers * (in %)
 

* Excluding currency items
 

Earnings forecast for 2017/18 financial year

Based on preliminary and as yet unaudited annual results, the earnings forecasts have largely been confirmed for the Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA Group and the Hornbach Baumarkt AG subgroup. The Hornbach Group's operating earnings (EBIT) are thus still expected to match or slightly exceed the previous year's figure (Euro 156.8 million). For the Hornbach Baumarkt AG subgroup, the Board of Management still expects EBIT for 2017/18 to slightly exceed the previous year's figure (Euro 97.5 million). EBIT adjusted for non-operating earnings items, both at the Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA Group and at the Hornbach Baumarkt AG subgroup, is expected to increase slightly compared with the previous year.

Details of the earnings performance and the annual financial statements will be presented at the Annual Results Press Conference on May 24, 2018.

¹⁾ Head count at balance sheet date on February 28/29, including passive employment relationships
Rounding up or down may lead to discrepancies between percentages and totals. Percentage figures calculated on basis of Euro 000s.