DGAP-News: Hawesko Group has positive start to fiscal year 2020

Hawesko Group has positive start to fiscal year 2020

 

- Consolidated sales +3.4%, EBIT at € 3.9 million up from previous year despite special charge due to warehouse relocation

- Retail and E-commerce segments post strong performance

- Restructuring and cost reduction programme to mitigate corona-related losses initiated in the B2B segment

- Group well positioned to weather the crisis with diversified business models

Hamburg, 12 May 2020. Today the wine-trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) published its statement on the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. 'We started the year off positively. With an increase in sales of 3.4% over the previous year, we've achieved solid growth as well as earnings slightly higher than the previous year despite considerable one-off charges from a warehouse relocation. Since mid-March we've been experiencing the effects of the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Our Retail segment is stable overall, despite temporary restrictions imposed by the authorities. In the E-commerce segment demand has increased significantly, while the B2B segment has been hit hard by the closures in the restaurant and hotel industry. Particularly now we see that our diversified positioning in the market is once again proving its worth, and we are certain that it will carry us through the current extraordinary situation,' said Thorsten Hermelink, CEO of the Hawesko Group in Hamburg.

In the first quarter of 2020, consolidated sales rose to € 123.8 million thanks to the growth in the Retail and E-commerce segments (same quarter in the previous year: € 119.7 million), thus outperforming the market, which according to the German Wine Institute declined by one per cent in terms of value during the same period. Sales in the Retail segment (Jacques' Wein-Depot and Wein & Co.) rose by 4.3% to € 45.6 million. Jacques' posted growth of 7.6%, while Wein & Co. posted a decline in sales due to the corona-related branch closures in Austria during the first quarter. The E-commerce segment achieved sales of € 41.3 million, corresponding to an increase of 5.6%. At € 36.9 million, sales in the B2B segment overall were at the level of the same quarter in the previous year, whereby significant declines in sales were posted in March due to the closures in the restaurant and hospitality industry. The consolidated operating result (EBIT) amounted to € 3.9 million in the first quarter of 2020, corresponding to an increase of 2.6% over the previous year, despite the fact that planned non-recurring expenditures of € 1 million for the warehouse relocation of Jacquesʼ were posted.

The current restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic have had varying effects on the different business models. The E-commerce segment has been booming since mid-March due to increased consumption in private households, with growth rates of nearly 50% for all of the group's E-commerce brands. With the return to normal operation in the restaurant and hotel sector, a reduction in wine consumption in private households and the subsequent normalisation of the growth rates is expected. In the Retail segment, despite restrictions imposed by the authorities and temporary shop closures, sales have been stable and increasing, so that we expect business performance to be close to what was originally planned. The Wholesale segment, as suppliers to restaurants and hotels, posted sharp declines in sales, and recovery is expected to be slow. A restructuring and cost reduction programme to mitigate corona-related losses has already been initiated in the B2B segment.

Overall, a concrete forecast for fiscal year 2020 is not possible, so that an estimate for sales or earnings for 2020 cannot be provided. However, based on current information, the management board expects that a clearly positive result overall will be achieved despite the heavy burdens in the B2B segment.

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The full quarterly statement to 31 March 2020 is available for download at https://www.hawesko-holding.com/en/investors/.

Hawesko Holding AG is a leading purveyor of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2019, the Group employed 1,200 persons in the company's three sales channels: Retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), B2B (Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein-Distributionsgesellschaft) and E-commerce (particularly HAWESKO and 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.

Publisher:

Hawesko Holding AG

Elbkaihaus

Grosse Elbstrasse 145d

22767 Hamburg

Internet: hawesko-holding.com (Company information)

hawesko.de (Online shop)

jacques.de (Jacques' Wein-Depot information and online shop)

vinos.de (Spanish wines)

wirwinzer.de (German wines directly from the producers)

weinco.at (Online shop)

Press and Investor Relations:

Thomas Hutchinson

Phone: +49 (0)40 30 39 21 00

Fax +49 (0)40 30 39 21 05

E-mail: [email protected]