Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA: Hornbach Group increases sales and earnings

Hornbach Group increases sales and earnings

Consolidated sales up 5.1% to Euro 3.3 billion in first nine months / DIY stores with like-like-for-like growth of 3.6% / Builders' merchant business posts solid sales growth / Nine-month operating earnings (EBIT) up 12.4% to Euro 205.0 million / Full-year forecast confirmed

Neustadt a. d. Weinstrasse, December 21, 2017.
The Hornbach Group (Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA Group) remains on track to meet its full-year forecast after the first nine months and its business performance in the fall quarter (September 1 to November 30, 2017). Nine-month sales grew by 5.1% to Euro 3,317.6 million (2016/2017: Euro 3,155.4 million), while operating earnings (EBIT) rose by 12.4% to Euro 205.0 million (2016/2017: Euro 182.3 million). In the statement on the third quarter published today, the Board of Management confirmed the sales and earnings forecast for the 2017/2018 financial year as a whole (balance sheet date: February 28, 2018).

The 4.0% sales growth generated in the third quarter (Q3) was comparable with the growth reported for the past summer quarter. "Our international DIY stores with garden centers continued to act as our main growth driver in the current financial year. We reported strong sales growth in other European countries, while sales in Germany showed slower growth", commented Albrecht Hornbach, Chairman of the Board of Management of Hornbach Management AG. "In the nine-month period in 2017/2018, we once again outperformed the sector average in Germany and most other countries where we operate DIY megastores and e-commerce. As we see it, that is due not least to the way we dovetail our stationary stores with our online business, and that more consistently than practically any of our competitors."

In the third quarter of 2017/2018, the Group opened one new DIY store with a garden center in Halle and closed one older store in Hanau. Not only that, Hornbach also launched operations with its online stores in Slovakia and Sweden. As of November 30, the Group operated 156 stationary DIY stores with garden centers, of which 98 in Germany, as well as online stores in Germany and seven other European countries. By the end of February 2018, the Hornbach Group plans to launch operations with its online store in Romania, currently the only country not yet linked up to the company's digital network.

Following strong growth in the first half of the year, the Group's operating earnings (EBIT) of Euro 29.2 million in Q3 2017/2018 almost matched the previous year's figures (2016/2017: Euro 29.8 million). EBIT for the nine-month period thus grew by 12.4% to Euro 205.0 million (2016/2017: Euro 182.3 million). Nine-month EBIT at the Hornbach Baumarkt AG subgroup rose by 15.6% to Euro 153.7 million, while sales in the DIY retail business increased by 4.9% to Euro 3,109.6 million. The Hornbach Baustoff Union GmbH subgroup, which focuses in particular on the needs of professional construction customers, reported nine-month sales growth of 8.2% to Euro 206.3 million and improved its EBIT for the same period by 1.1% to Euro 8.8 million. Nine-month EBIT at the HORNBACH Immobilien AG subgroup grew by 2.4% to Euro 44.9 million.

When presenting the nine-month results, the Board of Management confirmed the full-year sales and earnings forecast for 2017/2018. Both the Hornbach Group and the Hornbach Baumarkt AG subgroup are therefore still forecast to generate sales growth in a medium single-digit percentage range. With regard to the earnings forecast, the Board of Management still expects the year-on-year head start in earnings to decrease significantly by the end of the financial year on February 28, 2018. In the fourth quarter of 2017/2018 (December 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018), the Hornbach Group expects to incur higher costs, particularly for measures intended to promote the digitization of its retail business. In view of this, the Board of Management still expects full-year operating earnings (EBIT) at the Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA Group to match or slightly exceed the previous year (Euro 156.8 million). EBIT adjusted to exclude non-operating earnings items is still expected to more or less match the figure reported for the 2016/2017 financial year (Euro 159.8 million).

Notes:
The quarterly statements of Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA and Hornbach Baumarkt AG can be downloaded from the "Publications" section of our website at the following link: www.hornbach-group.com.
 

Key Figures of the Hornbach Group for the 3^rd Quarter and 1^st Nine Months at a Glance

Rounding up or down may lead to discrepancies between percentages and totals. Calculation of percentage figures based on Euro 000s.

¹⁾ Including minority interests pursuant to IFRS