Press Release: Hawesko: First quarter better on operative basis than previous year

Hawesko Holding AG / Hawesko: First quarter better on operative basis than previous year . Processed and transmitted by Nasdaq OMX Corporate Solutions. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

- Increase of 8.6% in the operating result (EBIT) before non-recurring expenditures

- Sales declined by 2% due to special factors

- Focus on successive improvement in profitability in 2015 and 2016

Hamburg, 7 May 2015. At today's annual press conference in Hamburg, the wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW DE, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) presented its annual report for 2014 as well as its three-month report for the period from January to March 2015.

Consolidated sales in the first three months of the current fiscal year declined by 2.0% from the same quarter in the previous year, namely from EUR 108.0 million to EUR 105.8 million due to special factors. These included primarily the discontinuation of sales from the French subsidiary Château Classic in liquidation, which had become unprofitable. Moreover, a substantial part of the revenues from the delivery of the Bordeaux subscription wines will shift to the second quarter this year. Without these two factors, sales figures would have been at the previous year's level. The specialist wine-shop retailing segment of the Group (Jacques' Wein-Depot) grew by 4.3% (like-for-like 3.4%). In the wholesale segment, sales declined by 5.6% compared to the previous year for the aforementioned reasons. Sales in the distance-selling segment remained 3.1% below the comparable quarter in the previous year, in which an extremely high figure was reached due to the special anniversary offers. The consolidated operating result (EBIT), adjusted for non-recurring charges, rose by 8.6% to EUR 4.2 million in the first quarter of 2015 (previous year: EUR 3.8 million). The non-recurring charges resulted from a personnel provision of approximately EUR 6 million as well as from follow-on costs of the takeover process. This resulted in a deficit excluding deductions for non-controlling interests of EUR -2.0 million as the first-quarter result for the Group (previous year: net income of EUR 2.5 million), corresponding to EUR -0.22 per share, after EUR 0.28 per share in the previous year.

After the departure on 30 April 2015 of Alexander Margaritoff, the company's CEO for many years, the Hawesko management board currently consists of four members who are in charge and leading the entire group jointly. At the beginning of the year, the Hawesko supervisory board had already initiated a structured process to search for a new chief executive officer.

The Hawesko management board still considers the general economic and business conditions in Germany to be good, and notes that the figures for the first quarter of 2014 are within expectations. For the full fiscal year 2015, they anticipate an increase in sales in the order of magnitude of 1% compared to the previous year (EUR 473 million). The EBIT in 2015 is expected to be approximately EUR 26-27 million on an adjusted basis (2014 on an adjusted basis: EUR 24.6 million); on an unadjusted basis, i.e., after the non-recurring charges resulting from the takeover process, it is expected to be approximately EUR 19-20 million (2014: EUR 20.1 million). The financial result will presumably be lower than in the previous year and consolidated net income is expected to be in the range of EUR 12-13 million. The management board expects free cash flow to be on the order of EUR 17-20 million for 2015.

The annual report presented for 2014 confirms the previously announced figures for the reporting period: Consolidated sales rose in the past year by 1.6% to EUR 473 million. Sales in Germany rose by 2.9% compared to the same period of the previous year, while a decline of 1.0% was registered for the German wine market overall in 2014. The result from operations (EBIT) amounted to EUR 20.1 million (previous year: EUR 22.6 million). Consolidated net income after deductions for taxes and non-controlling interests amounted to EUR 14.8 million and EUR 1.65 per share in 2014 (previous year: EUR 16.2 million and EUR 1.80 per share).

At 18% (previous year: 16%), the return on capital employed (ROCE) for 2014, adjusted for non-recurring consultant costs, reached the minimum long-term return defined by the management board. The free cash flow (cash flow from ongoing business activities minus investments and interest paid out) amounted to EUR 13.1 million and EUR 1.46 per share, compared to EUR 22.7 million and EUR 2.52 per share in the previous year. The annual shareholders' meeting on 15 June 2015 will vote on a dividend of EUR 1.30 (previous year: EUR 1.65); the payout ratio of 92% in the previous year is being reduced to 79% in the year under review.

Hawesko Holding AG is a leading supplier of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2014, the Group achieved sales of EUR 473 million and employed 925 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 and Wein & Vinos). The shares of Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg as well as in the prime standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

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The full annual report for 2014 as well as the quarterly financial report to 31 March 2015 can be found at http://www.hawesko-holding.com, -->"Press" or "Investors" --> "Downloads".

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 locations and online shop)

http://www.vinos.de (Spanish wines sold through Wein & Vinos)

Press/Media Contact and 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@hawesko-holding.com

This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: HAWESKO Holding AG via Globenewswire

HUG#1919664

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HAWESKO Holding AG

Plan 5 Hamburg Germany

WKN: 604270;ISIN: DE0006042708;Index:GEX,CLASSIC All Share,SDAX,Prime All Share,CDAX;

Listed: Freiverkehr in Börse Stuttgart,

Freiverkehr in Börse Berlin,

Freiverkehr in Börse Düsseldorf,

Freiverkehr in Bayerische Börse München,

Freiverkehr in Niedersächsische Börse zu Hannover,

Prime Standard in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse,

Regulierter Markt in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse,

Regulierter Markt in Hanseatische Wertpapierbörse zu Hamburg;

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

   May 07, 2015 04:05 ET (08:05 GMT)- - 04 05 AM EDT 05-07-15