Hamburg, 25 January 2006. The wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) published its preliminary results today for the fiscal year just completed (1 January - 31 December 2005). According to these, Group sales for the year 2005 overall rose slightly to Euro 287 million (previous year: Euro 286 million). According to experts in the sector, the overall wine market declined in value by some percentage points during the same period, so that the Hawesko Group further increased its market share. The operating result (EBIT) also increased, and will reach Euro 18 million or slightly above, which corresponds to an increase of at least 5% (previous year: Euro 17.1 million). The consolidated pre-tax result is expected to be in line with the development of EBIT. As expected, the Group tax rate will be far below that of the previous year (54%) - the current estimate is 31% -  so that, from today's point of view, consolidated earnings after taxes and minority interests will amount to more than Euro 10 million or more than Euro 2.26 per share (previous year: Euro 6.2 million or Euro 1.41 per share). Thanks to this sharp rise in profits and the continued rigorous management of working capital, the preliminary calculations of the company indicate that the free cash flow for 2005 will rise to over Euro 14 million. This cash flow from current operations minus outpayments for interest and capital spending will thus reach the previous year's level (Euro 14.5 million), exceeding the Group's expectations. The strong free cash flow of the last several years has enabled the Hawesko Group further to reduce its bank borrowings to a level expected to be below Euro 10 million at 31 December 2005.

 

In the fourth quarter of the past fiscal year (1 October - 31 December 2005), Group sales amounted to Euro 103 million, 1.0% above the figure for the corresponding period of the previous year. In the final quarter of 2005, the Group's operating profit (EBIT) again exceeded Euro 12 million (same quarter in the previous year: Euro 12.9 million). Sales in the specialist wine-shop retail division (Jacques' Wein-Depot) declined slightly in the fourth quarter by 1.5% to Euro 32 million, and by 3% on a like-for-like basis. However, the high base for comparison of the same period in the previous year must be taken into account, as it greatly benefited from the special offers which were part of the company's 30-year anniversary. At 31 December 2005, there were 256 depots, the same number as in the previous year. In addition, four more locations had been leased by the end of 2005 (end of the previous year: three). In the mail order segment, sales in the fourth quarter declined by 7% to Euro 32 million, partially due to the lack of revenues from the now-closed Austrian mail order subsidiary. In this segment, the use of the Internet as a sales channel showed further positive development: online sales rose by 17% to  Euro 3.5 million. The wholesale division increased its sales in the final quarter of 2005 by 11% to Euro 39 million, primarily due to higher sales of Italian wines and the expansion of the business in the Austrian and other foreign markets.

 

Hawesko CEO Alexander Margaritoff stated that the Hawesko Group did well in achieving the desired increase in sales and results for 2005 on the basis of the continued positive development of the company: "While the German retail sector overall posted losses again this year, we were able to gain market share as well as to increase our profitability. This means that our business model has proven itself even in these difficult times. Furthermore, the good start of the current fiscal year gives us reason for optimism."

 

Hawesko Holding AG is a leading supplier of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2005, the Group achieved sales of Euro 287 million through their three sales channels - specialist wine retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), wholesale (Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner und Wein Distributionsgesellschaft) and mail order (in particular Hanseatisches Wein- und Sekt-Kontor). The Group employs 565 people.

 

Preliminary key data for the Hawesko Group

	FY 2004	FY 2005 (preliminary)
Sales	285.8	287.1	+0.4%
of which:
Specialist wine-shop retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot)	96.5	97.0	+0.5%
Wholesale	94.9	103.0	+8.6%
Mail order	94.2	86.5	-8.2%
Operating result (EBIT)	17.1	approx. 18	approx. +5%

	2004	2005 (preliminary)
Sales	102.2	103.2	+1.0%
of which:
Specialist wine-shop retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot)	32.8	32.3	-1.5%
Wholesale	35.1	39.0	+11.0%
Mail order	34.2	31.8	-6.9%
Operating result (EBIT)	12.9	approx. 13	approx. +0%

 

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Publisher: 
Hawesko Holding AG
Postfach 20 15 52    
20205 Hamburg, Germany

 

Internet: 
http://www.hawesko.com
(Company information)
http://www.hawesko.de   
(Online shop)
http://www.jacques.de
(Information about Jacques' Wein-Depot)

 

Press/Media:                                                 
Vera Maria Bau, VMB Consulting              
Tel. +49 (0)228 44 96 240                            
Fax +49 (0)228 44 96 298                             
E-mail:  vmb.pr@t-online.de             

     

Investor Relations:
Thomas Hutchinson, Hawesko Holding AG
Tel. +49 (0)40 30 39 21 00
Fax  +49 (0)40 30 39 21 05
E-mail: ir@hawesko.com