Hornbach posts further growth
(Thomson Reuters ONE) - Corporate news announcement processed and transmitted by Hugin AS.The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Sales grow by 4.8 percent in first half- Operative earnings substantially up on previous yearFrankfurt/Neustadt a. d. W., September 30, 2009. Hornbach continuesto grow: in the first half of the 2009 financial year, the HornbachGroup (Hornbach Holding AG Group) boosted its net sales by 4.8percent to ? 1.6 billion. Sales at the 130 DIY megastores with gardencenters at the largest operating subgroup, Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG,in-creased by 4.4 percent to ? 1.5 billion.As expected, the Group's operating earnings (EBIT) for the periodfrom March 1 to August 31, 2009 decreased to ? 130.1 million, down8.1 percent on 2008. This was because the company posted a highvolume of non-operating real estate profits in the previous year,whereas no significant disposal gains are budgeted for the currentyear. Despite the difficult economic and competitive climate both inGermany and in the company's eight other country markets acrossEurope, Hornbach increased its earnings from operations alone by13.6 percent. The company has thus posted a pleasing earningsperformance for the first half of its financial year.Hornbach's growth was driven above all by the 92 DIY megastores withgarden centers in Germany, which boosted their like-for-like sales by3.1 percent in the first half of the financial year (March 1 toAugust 31, 2009). The Federal Association of German DIY, HomeImprovement and Specialist Garden Stores (BHB) reported a 1.1 percentdecline in like-for-like sales across the sector in the first sixmonths of the calendar year. By contrast, Hornbach's stores inGermany achieved like-for-like sales growth of 1.3 percent over thesame period. Germany's fourth-largest DIY group has thus furtherexpanded its share of the German market.Hornbach Baustoff Union GmbH also posted a strong performance.Defying the clearly negative trend in the builders' merchant sector,this subgroup increased its first-half sales by 11.1 percent overalland by 4.1 percent on a like-for-like basis.Shareholders' equity at the Hornbach Group grew by 9.3 percent to? 852.9 million, or 39.9 percent of total assets. At the same time,cash and cash equivalents rose from ? 275.2 million to? 418.9 million. These figures underline the company's solidfinancing policies, that focus on ensuring flexibility in managingthe company and safeguarding its liquidity.Kundenmonitor customer survey confirms top position in DIY sector"These pleasing figures encourage us to uphold our strategies ofquality leadership and permanent low prices. Hornbach caters to thoseaiming to tackle building, renovation or garden projects", explainedAlbrecht Hornbach, Chairman of the Board of Management of theHornbach Group. That was why the company was working continuously onenhancing its combination of product range, permanent low prices andadvice tailored to customers' needs. Hornbach sees the company'sstrategy as being confirmed by the results of the 2009 Kundenmonitor.This representative annual survey of customer satisfaction in Germanyrecently underlined Hornbach's leading position in the DIY sectoronce again. German DIY customers thus awarded Hornbach top positionsboth for quality and for its product range. "We are especially proudof our top position among all DIY players in terms of specialistadvice", stressed Hornbach.Sales at the Hornbach stores outside Germany grew by 5.2 percent to? 614.9 million in the first half of the financial year. On alike-for-like basis, these stores matched the previous year's highfigure. The international share of sales at the Baumarkt-AG subgroupreached around 41 percent.Hornbach will be opening one further store in Switzerland, inGalgenen in the Zurich area, in the current financial year. Thecompany will then operate 92 stores in Germany and 39 in otherEuropean countries. The stores have an average size of more than11,250 square meters - according to Hornbach, this "warehouseconcept" with huge product ranges and the stocking of largequantities is one of the secrets of the company's success.Hornbach affirmed the forecast that the Group's sales would growyear-on-year in a "low to medium single-digit percentage range" bythe balance sheet date on February 28, 2010. Notwithstanding itscurrent expansion, which can be described as conservative in the bestsense, the Hornbach Group will thus grow more rapidly than the DIYsector as a whole.Successful focus on projectsAccording to Albrecht Hornbach, one of the main reasons for thecompany's success is its focus on "project customers" - where theproject in hand may involve building a garage or a garden pond,assembling and installing a sauna, new flooring, an attic extensionor a bathroom renovation. This way, the company appeals to customerson the lookout for an extensive product range, excellent productquality, constant availability, and specialist advice. This isreflected in the title of the current autumn - "Make it your ownproject!"The Hornbach Group invested ? 64.9 million in the first six months ofthe financial year (6.4 percent more than in the previous year).Investments were financed in full by the cash flow of ? 191.5 millionfrom operations. The total workforce grew by 1.3 percent to 13,342employees, around 8,300 of which working in Germany and 5,000 abroad.The most important key figures can be found below. The extensiveinterim reports of Hornbach Holding AG and Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG havebeen published in the investor relations section of the internet siteof the Hornbach Group at www.hornbach-group.de.Overview of Key Figures for the 2nd Quarter / 1st Half of 2009/2010HORNBACH HOLDING AG Group 2ndQuarter 2ndQuarter Change(in ? million, unless otherwise stated) 2009/2010 2008/2009 %Net sales 779.4 747.7 4.2of which in other European countries 302.3 290.1 4.2Like-for-like sales growth1) 1.9% 3.0%Gross margin as % of net sales 35.7% 35.6%EBITDA 88.4 92.0 (4.0)EBIT2) 70.5 74.4 (5.2)Consolidated earnings before taxes 60.8 66.3 (8.3)Consolidated net income3) 41.1 49.8 (17.5)Earnings per preference share in ? 4.15 4.92 (15.7)Investments 26.1 25.8 1.3HORNBACH HOLDING AG Group 1st Half 1st Half Change(in ? million, unless otherwise stated) 2009/2010 2008/2009 %Net sales 1,599.2 1,525.5 4.8of which in other European countries 614.9 584.7 5.2Like-for-like sales growth1) 1.7% 2.2%Gross margin as % of net sales 36.0% 35.9%EBITDA 165.5 176.4 (6.2)EBIT2) 130.1 141.5 (8.1)Consolidated earnings before taxes 111.2 124.8 (10.9)Consolidated net income3) 78.2 95.7 (18.3)Earnings per preference share in ? 7.84 9.76 (19.7)Investments 64.9 61.0 6.4Misc. Key Figures of the HORNBACH August 31, 2009 February 28, ChangeHOLDING AG Group 2009(in ? million, unless otherwise %stated)Total assets 2,139.6 1,995.8 7.2Equity 852.9 780.5 9.3Shareholders' equity as % oftotal assets 39.9% 39.1%Number of employees 13,342 13,169 1.3HORNBACH-Baumarkt-AG Subgroup 2nd Quarter 2nd Quarter Change(in ? million, unless otherwisestated) 2009/2010 2008/2009 %Net sales 728.1 699.8 4.0of which in other European countries 302.2 290.0 4.2Like-for-like sales growth1) 1.9% 3.0%Gross margin as % of net sales 36.5% 36.4%EBITDA 72.6 79.2 (8.3)Earnings before interest and taxes 58.7 65.2 (10.0)(EBIT)4)Consolidated earnings before taxes 53.0 61.8 (14.3)Consolidated net income 35.5 47.1 (24.7)Basic earnings per share in ? 2.25 3.00 (25.0)Investments 14.9 20.1 (26.1)HORNBACH-Baumarkt-AG Subgroup 1st Half 1st Half Change(in ? million, unless otherwise stated) 2009/2010 2008/2009 %Net sales 1,502.9 1,439.0 4.4of which in other European countries 614.9 584.6 5.2Like-for-like sales growth1) 1.7% 2.2%Gross margin as % of net sales 36.6% 36.6%EBITDA 135.8 141.6 (4.1)Earnings before interest and taxes(EBIT)4) 108.3 113.9 (4.9)Consolidated earnings before taxes 97.4 105.4 (7.6)Consolidated net income 68.5 78.9 (13.1)Basic earnings per share in ? 4.35 5.03 (13.5)Investments 42.3 32.9 28.3Misc. Key figures of the August 31, February 28, ChangeHORNBACH-Baumarkt-AG Subgroup 2009 2009(in ? million, unless otherwise %stated)Total assets 1,515.2 1,425.2 6.3Equity 651.5 591.3 10.2Shareholders' equity as % of totalassets 43.0% 41.5%Number of stores 130 129 0.8Sales area in 000 m² (based on BHB) 1,464 1,447 1.2Number of employees 12,753 12,576 1.41) currency-adjusted.2) net of non-operating earnings items, the operative EBIT of theHORNBACH Group improved by 20.9% in the second quarter and by 13.6%in the first half of 2009/2010.3) pursuant to IFRS including minority interests.4) net of non-operating earnings items, the operative EBIT at thissubgroup improved by 19.8% in the second quarter and by 11.5% in thefirst half of 2009/2010.Rounding up or down may lead to discrepancies between percentages andtotals. Percentages calculated on basis of ? 000s.About HORNBACHThe Hornbach Group is one of Europe's largest operators of DIYmegastores with garden centers. In addition to the largest operatingsubgroup, Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG (DIY megastores with garden centers),the overall Hornbach Holding AG Group also comprises the subgroupsHornbach Baustoff Union GmbH (regional builders' merchant andconstruction materials business) and Hornbach Immobilien AG (realestate and location development). The Hornbach DIY megastores withgarden centers have an average size of more than 11,000 squaremeters, a figure unmatched by any other competitor in Europe.The Hornbach Group generated sales of ? 2.75 billion in the past2008/2009 financial year (March 1, 2008 to February 28, 2009). Thisis equivalent to growth of 5.1 percent on the previous year. Thecompany's market share in Germany rose during the financial year from8.3 percent to 8.5 percent. The 38 international stores contributed41 percent of total DIY store sales.Founded in 1877, the family-run company, which has its roots in thePalatinate region, was first publicly listed in 1987. Hornbachcurrently operates 130 DIY megastores with garden centers in ninecountries, of which 92 stores are in Germany. The other countries areAustria, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Sweden,Slovakia, Luxembourg, and Romania.Hornbach's sales concept and product range are entirely tailored tothe needs of project and professional customers. Hornbach guaranteesits customers permanently low prices and is thus the price leader inthe sector. The high quality of advice and excellent service providedby the company have been attested in numerous independent tests andstudies. Hornbach was awarded the German Retail Prize in 2006 for themanagement achievement of the year. A year later, Otmar Hornbach,pioneer and founder of the DIY company, received the top prizeawarded by the Federal Association of German DIY, Home Improvementand Specialist Garden Stores (BHB) - the "Life Time Award" - for hislife's achievement.Pioneering achievements, such as the first combined DIY store with agarden center (1968), the first megastore (1980) and the first DIYstore with a drive-in facility (2003), provide proof of Hornbach'songoing innovative power. Since 2001, a strategic partnership hasbeen in place with the British retail group Kingfisher. Hornbach hasacted as a "job machine" for decades, with more than 13,000individuals now employed at the Group.http://hugin.info/130429/R/1344684/322516.pdfhttp://hugin.info/130429/R/1344684/322517.pdfhttp://hugin.info/130429/R/1344684/322518.pdf --- End of Message ---HORNBACH HOLDING AGLe Quartier Hornbach 19 Neustadt an den Weinstraÿe GermanyWKN: 608343; ISIN: DE0006083439 ; Index: CDAX, Prime All Share;Listed: Prime Standard in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse, Regulierter Markt in Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse;
Datum: 30.09.2009 - 11:00 Uhr
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