DGAP-News: Beate Uhse AG: Beate Uhse Group presents report for the quarter
(firmenpresse) - DGAP-News: Beate Uhse AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results
Beate Uhse AG: Beate Uhse Group presents report for the quarter
11.11.2011 / 09:24
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Beate Uhse Group presents report for the quarter
- Targets met
- Result improved
- Costs down sharply
Flensburg, Germany, 11 November 2011. Beate Uhse Group has improved its
results substantially and closed the first nine months of the year
according to plan. 'Our aim for 2011 was to get the company back on a
stable track' is how CEO and Management Board spokesperson Serge van der
Hooft explains the strategic objective for the year. 'And by shifting the
catalogue business towards more modern e-commerce, concentrating on
high-yielding retail sites and systematically reducing selling expenses,
that is exactly what we have done.' Last year's loss (EBIT) was improved by
EUR 7.3 million to EUR -4.8 million for the first nine months, on sales of
EUR 109.4 million (9M 2010: EUR 147.1 million). Germany is the most
important market for Beate Uhse, accounting for 37.3 per cent of sales.
Consumer divisions developing on plan
The B2C business with its three sales divisions Mail Order, Retail and
Entertainment are progressing satisfactorily under the leadership of COO
Sören Müller. The Mail Order unit completely erased its losses of EUR 3.3
million for the same period last year, generating earnings of EUR 2.1
million on sales of EUR 45.7 million (9M 2010: EUR 68.5 million).
Concentrating on the e-commerce business made a vital contribution to
boosting profitability. The Retail unit also improved its result
considerably. Last year's loss (EUR -3.8 million) was cut by more than half
to EUR -1.5 million. The focus on profitable outlets and sites had a
positive effect. Thinning out the retail network did impact the sales
figures, however. In the first nine months, the Retail department generated
sales of EUR 34.4 million (9M 2010: EUR 40.7 million) with 103 of its own
shops and 105 licensed partners in ten countries. The Entertainment
division repeated last year's positive result for the period with earnings
of EUR 1.0 million (9M 2010: EUR 1.2 million), although sales declined to
EUR 7.1 million (9M 2010: EUR 8.1 million) as the market environment
remained tough.
Wholesale optimises goods delivery and inventories
The Wholesale business was affected by the decline in demand from the
internal sales units due to their restructuring and by the generally tense
situation for adult lifestyle retailers. Sales for the first nine months of
2011 sank by EUR 7.8 million to EUR 22.2 million. Of this, EUR 4 million is
attributable to the low-margin magazine business, whish the Group made the
decision to discontinue in the course of its restructuring programme at the
German wholesale subsidiary ZBF. The successful process optimisation
nevertheless enabled losses to be cut to EUR 3 million (9M 2010: EUR -3.5
million). The inventory turnover rate was increased considerably via a
strict review of the product range: goods with a high turnover were
expanded, whereas slower-moving articles were removed from the assortment.
Restructuring has positive impact
The Management Board has driven the restructuring programme forward swiftly
and consistently throughout the Group. The business model of offline and
online businesses was successfully implemented in the Mail Order unit,
selling expenses and inventories were cut sharply, contract terms with
producers and service providers were renegotiated to the company's
advantage, and the supply chain management project is to be completed
shortly. Thanks to the visible success of the restructuring activities and
the fact that the fourth quarter is traditionally one of the strongest, the
Management Board stands by its forecast for the year 2011 and is
anticipating an improvement of EUR 13.5 million to EUR 15.5 million in the
operating result (FY 2010: EUR -19.5 million) and sales of between EUR 140
million and EUR 144 million.
Still bearing the name of the woman who founded it, the company Beate Uhse
has been in existence for 65 years. Today, the firm is active across Europe
with 900 employees in 16 countries, generating sales of EUR 198 million in
2010. Beate Uhse (XETRA: USE.DE) has been listed on the Prime Standard of
the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since May 1999. The adult lifestyle company
owns the best-known brands in the business with Beate Uhse, Pabo, Adam et
Eve and Christine le Duc. Its successful European product portfolio also
includes ToyJoy, Mae B. and Geisha. In the B2C sector, Beate Uhse has 205
shops, a catalogue and e-commerce business as well as a media entertainment
programme. The wholesale group Scala Playhouse and ZBF is the market leader
in B2B with worldwide exports to more than 60 countries.
End of Corporate News
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11.11.2011 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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Language: English
Company: Beate Uhse AG
Gutenbergstraße 12
24941 Flensburg
Germany
Phone: +49 (461) 99 66 307
Fax: +49 (461) 99 66 99307
E-mail: ir(at)beate-uhse.de
Internet: www.beate-uhse.ag
ISIN: DE0007551400
WKN: 755140
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover,
München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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145882 11.11.2011
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Datum: 11.11.2011 - 09:24 Uhr
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