BETER BED : achieves 4% growth in revenue and an 8% increase in net profit in the first six months of 2011

• Higher advertising spending and an increase in the number of stores lead to 4.1% growth in revenue.
• Revenue in Germany continues to grow, consumer reluctance to spend causes a slight decrease in revenue in the Netherlands.
• 7.8% increase in net profit due to further rise in gross profit.
• Outlook for third quarter 2011: net profit growth of at least 10%.

The net profit of Beter Bed Holding N.V. grew by 7.8% to ? 10.6 million in the first six months of 2011 (first six months of 2010: ? 9.9 million).
Net profit in the second quarter of 2011 equalled ? 1.6 million and was consequently marginally lower (2.9%) than net profit in the comparable quarter of 2010 (? 1.7 million).

Key half-year figures

Ton Anbeek, Chief Executive Officer:
'The disappointing results in April and May in both the Netherlands and Germany were partly attributable to reluctant consumers and the fine weather. The order intake has improved considerably from June onwards. This positive development is most strongly visible in Germany, due in part to the company's anniversary promotions. The expansion in the number of stores, the increase in the gross profit and higher advertising spending have enabled us to once again achieve strong growth in net profit in the first six months of 2011.'

Key second-quarter figures

Second quarter 2011
Revenue at comparable stores in Germany rose by 1.3% in the second quarter. In the Netherlands, revenue at comparable stores fell by 4.8% in the second quarter.

Revenue at comparable stores for the entire group decreased by 1.0% in the second quarter.

Total revenue increased by 2.9% to ? 84.1 million in the second quarter (second quarter 2010: ? 81.7 million). Gross profit was 55.7% higher in the second quarter of 2011 than in the second quarter of 2010 (55.0%). Operating expenses climbed from ? 42.2 million to ? 44.5 million due to the growth in the number of stores and increased advertising spending. Operating expenses as a percentage of revenue rose in the second quarter from 51.7% in 2010 to 52.9% in 2011. Operating profit (EBIT) decreased in the second quarter by 9.1% to ? 2.4 million (second quarter 2010: ? 2.6 million). Net profit in the second quarter of 2011 totalled ? 1.6 million (second quarter 2010: ? 1.7 million).

Revenue and net profit are generally lower in the second and third quarter than in the first and fourth quarter due to the seasonal pattern of consumer demand.

First six months of 2011
Revenue in the first six months of 2011 increased by 4.1% to ? 185.5 million (first six months 2010: ? 178.2 million). Revenue at comparable stores decreased by 0.3% in the first six months of 2011.

Revenue in the Netherlands decreased by 1% in the first six months of 2011. In addition to the negative revenue performance at comparable stores, the decline was also caused by the lower order portfolio at year-end 2010 compared to year-end 2009.

Revenue performance per country in the first six months of 2011 was as follows:

Gross profit as a percentage of revenue rose in the first six months of 2011 from 54.9% in 2010 to 55.9% in 2011. Operational expenses as a percentage of revenue increased in the first six months from 47.5% in 2010 to 48.2% in 2011. Average expenses per store remained virtually unchanged in the first six months of 2011. Operating profit (EBIT) grew in this period from ? 13.3 million to ? 14.3 million. Operating profit (EBIT) as a percentage of revenue edged up from 7.4% to 7.7%.

The tax burden in the first six months of 2011 rose from 24.2% to 25.2%. This increase was caused by the realisation of tax losses in 2010 and the greater share of Germany in the consolidated profit before taxes in the first six months of 2011.

Net profit rose in the first six months of 2011 by 7.8% from ? 9.9 million to ? 10.6 million. Earnings per share in the first six months of 2011 amounted to ? 0.49 (first six months 2010: ? 0.46).

Financial
Investments in the first six months of 2011 amounted to ? 5.5 million (in 2010: ? 4.0 million). Investments in stores totalled ? 4.1 million in the first six months of 2011 (2010: ? 3.3 million). The remaining amount was invested primarily in IT. The cash flow (net profit plus depreciation) equalled ? 14.7 million compared to ? 13.7 million last year. Solvency amounted to 53.7% on 30 June 2011 compared to 52.9% on 30 June 2010 and 53.4% at year-end 2010.

Net debt totalled ? 6.1 million at the end of June 2011, compared to a net debt of ? 2.0 million at the end of June 2010. The net cash position stood at ? 9.8 million on 31 December 2010.

Operational
A total of 56 stores were opened and 26 stores were closed in the first six months of 2011. This means a total of 30 stores were added on balance in the first half of 2011. The largest number of stores, namely 15, was opened on balance in Germany in the first six months of 2011. There were a total of 1,147 stores at the end of June 2011.

Matratzen Concord (incl. MAV)

The cash & carry formula Matratzen Concord achieved revenue totalling ? 109.2 million in the first six months of 2011 (59% of the total group revenue). This constitutes growth of 7.8% compared to the comparable period in 2010. 82.8% of this formula's revenue was realised in Germany. Revenue at comparable stores rose by 1.4%.

The formula opened a net total of 23 stores in the first six months of 2011. Of this amount, 15 were opened on balance in Germany, six in Austria and three in Switzerland. The number of stores in the Netherlands decreased by one. The number of stores remained unchanged in Belgium and Poland.

Beter Bed
This formula operates exclusively in the Netherlands. Beter Bed opened one store and closed one store in the first six months of 2011, meaning the total number of stores remained unchanged at 85. Revenue in the first six months of 2011 decreased from ? 56.6 million to ? 54.8 million, representing a decrease of 3.2%. Revenue at comparable stores decreased by 2.8% in the first six months of 2011. Beter Bed contributed 30% to the total group revenue.

Other formulas
The revenue of the other formulas amounted to ? 21.4 million in the first six months of 2011 and consequently contributed 11% to the total group revenue. This includes the revenue of  BeddenREUS (Netherlands), Slaapgenoten/Dormaël (Netherlands), El Gigante del Colchón (Spain) and wholesaler DBC. The revenue of the other formulas in the first six months of 2011 was consequently 6.2% higher than in the comparable period of last year.

Outlook
While consumer confidence will not increase for the time being owing to the crisis in the housing market in the Netherlands and the general crisis on the financial markets, the company expects, barring unforeseen circumstances, to be able to achieve at least 10% growth in net profit, in part as a result of strong promotions.

Interim dividend
The company intends to once again pay an interim dividend in 2011. As customary, further information regarding this interim pay-out will be provided upon publication of the third-quarter figures on 28 October 2011.

Profile
Beter Bed operates in the European bedroom furnishings market. Its activities include retail trade through a total of 1,147 stores at the end of June 2011 that operate via the chains Beter Bed (active in the Netherlands), Matratzen Concord (active in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Poland), El Gigante del Colchón (active in Spain), BeddenREUS, Dormaël and Slaapgenoten (all three active in the Netherlands) and MAV (active in Germany). Beter Bed Holding is also active in the field of developing and wholesaling branded products in the bedroom furnishings sector in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Spain via its subsidiary DBC International. Beter Bed Holding achieved net revenue of ? 374.7 million in 2010. The company has been listed on Euronext Amsterdam since December 1996. The Beter Bed Holding share is included in the Amsterdam Small Cap Index.

For more information, please contact: Ton Anbeek, Chief Executive Officer
Tel. +31 (0)413 338819 / Fax +31 (0)413 338829 / Mob. +31 (0)6 53662838
E-mail: ton.anbeek@beterbed.nl:
mailto:ton.anbeek@beterbed.nl / Website: www.beterbedholding.co:
http://www.beterbedholding.com/m:
http://www.beterbedholding.com/

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