(November 02, 2000) – Forecast 2000 revised downwards to DM 450 million
– For 2001 further growth and significant earnings increase expected
Hamburg, 2 November 2000 – The wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAWG.F, 604270) was able to expand its business in the traditionally weak third quarter of fiscal year 2000, but had to take a loss for the quarter because of start-up costs for new activities and a marked restraint in consumer buying habits in the mail-order wine market. Upon publication of its nine-month interim report (at 30 September) the group announced that its sales in the third quarter (1 July bis 30 September) increased by 28% overall. Adjusted for the Wein-Wolf Group, consolidated from 2 September 1999, growth came to 15%. The operating result (EBIT) of the group amounted to DM –4.9 million (Q3 1999: DM 1.0 million). In view of the course of business in the third quarter, the board of management has revised its sales forecast for fiscal 2000 from DM 470 million down to DM 450 million and also announced that it believes the current expectations of the capital markets for this year's earnings can not be fulfilled. For fiscal year 2001, on the other hand, sales growth of 10% and a higher increase in earnings is expected.
In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, group sales rose by 30% to DM 277.1 million; adjusted for the acquisition of the Wein-Wolf Group, by 7%. The group's operating result (EBIT) in the same period amounted to DM - 0.9 million (1999: DM 13.2 million). It was primarily influenced in the mail-order/E-commerce and wholesale segments by the business development in the first quarter of 2000 as well as the investment expenditures in the mail-order/E-commerce segment for the development of Carl Tesdorpf – Weinhandel zu Lübeck, the Austrian business and the E-commerce unit.
Hawesko Chairman Alexander Margaritoff: "The traditionally weakest quarter of the year is now behind us – in a fiscal year which is, on the whole, not an easy one for the Hawesko Group. Whether we can achieve a satisfactory business result for the year is very much dependent on the Christmas business running smoothly and well. We have set the stage for this by adopting numerous improvements."