Earnings Release • Feb 21, 2017
Earnings Release
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Group 9 month report
| Key figures (IFRS) | 01.04.2016-31.12.2016 | 01.04.2015-31.12.2015 | Change in % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business development in €m | |||
| Group turnover | 118.4 | 81.5 | 45.3% |
| EBITDA | 9.3 | 7.5 | 24.0% |
| EBITDA margin | 7.9% | 9.2% | |
| Group result | 2.3 | 1.3 | 76.9% |
| Earnings per share in € | 0.19 | 0.11 | 72.7% |
| Key figures (IFRS) | 31.12.2016 | 31.03.2016 | Change in % |
| Financial and assets position in €m | |||
| Balance sheet total | 161.0 | 111.8 | 44.0 |
| Equity | 54.4 | 49.7 | 9.5% |
| Equity ratio | 33.8% | 44.5% |
Bastei Lübbe attained a group revenue of 118.4 million euros in the first nine months of the 2016/2017 financial year compared to 81.5 million euros in the same period of the previous year.
The group's EBITDA increased to 9.3 million euros in the period under review, compared to 7.5 million euros in the same period the previous year.
In addition to the significant transactions already reported in the half-year financial statement, the following key events occurred during the reporting period:
Bastei Lübbe held its annual general meeting for the previous financial year (2015/2016) on 30 November 2016 in Cologne. The shareholders approved the recommendations of the management board listed on the agenda. The incumbent supervisory board resigned from office at the end of the general meeting. According to the entry in the agenda, Mr Robert Stein (CEO of Arcana Capital GmbH), Prof Dr Friedrich L. Ekey Attorney-at-Law (professor at the Rheinische Fachhochschule in Cologne), and Dr Mirko Alexander Casper (Managing Director Mister Spex) were elected to the supervisory board at the end of the general meeting, for the period up to the general meeting for the financial year ending on 31 March 2018. In the subsequent constituent meeting, Mr Robert Stein was elected Chairman of the supervisory board. In addition, the general assembly approved a dividend of 0.10 euros per share. The company paid a total of €1,320,010.00 to the shareholders as a dividend of the balance sheet profit of €2,510,695.77 reported in the annual financial statement. The remaining portion of the balance sheet profit, amounting to €1,190,685.77, was carried forward to new account.
By means of a purchase agreement dated 24 November 2016, Bastei Lübbe sold all brand rights, tangible assets and inventories of the Räder division to the newly founded räder GmbH, Bochum for 14.1 million euros, as part of an asset deal. As part of the establishment, Bastei Lübbe AG acquired 20% of the shares in räder GmbH. The remaining 80% of the shares are held by MBH Mamisch Beteiligungsholding GmbH, Grünwald.
With the effectiveness of the räder purchase agreement (1 January 2017), the "non-book" segment is no longer effective, as, since the at-equity sale of the shares in Präsenta Promotion International GmbH in September 2015, only the turnover and results of the Räder segment. had been reported. On the basis of current information, the balances of the book values of the outgoing assets (mainly intangible assets and inventories) and liabilities (deferred tax liabilities) amount to 12.7 million euros (final agreements with the acquirer, in particular concerning the inventories, are still pending). The anticipated book profit of 1.4 million euros will be recorded in the fourth quarter of the current financial year.
No other events which require disclosure here occurred after 31 December 2016.
In November 2015, the disclosure requirements for companies in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange were amended as part of the implementation of the transparency directive which was adopted at EU-level. In this context, facilities for capital market-oriented enterprises were approved in connection with the reports for Q1 and Q3. As part of future quarterly reports, Bastei Lübbe will continue to report over and above the minimum content required by the new stock exchange regulations. In addition to an overview of the assets and earnings situation, this also includes sales and earnings figures per segment.
The increase in all income and expenses compared to the same period in the previous year is mainly due to the full consolidation of BuchPartner GmbH as of 1 April 2016. The income situation in the period under review is as follows:
| Q1 to Q3 | Q1 to Q3 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.4.-31.12. | 1.4.-31.12. | ||
| KEUR | 2016 | 2015 | Change |
| Sales revenue | 118,410 | 81,535 | 36,875 |
| Change in inventories of finished goods and work in progress | 2,867 | 373 | 2,494 |
| Other operating income | 1,805 | 582 | 1,223 |
| Cost of materials | -62,566 | -35,831 | -26,735 |
| Personnel costs | -23,648 | -18,079 | -5,569 |
| Other operating expenses | -27,896 | -21,455 | -6,441 |
| Earnings from investments | 342 | 424 | -82 |
| Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) | 9,314 | 7,549 | 1,765 |
| Amortisations | -3,608 | -2,712 | -896 |
| Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) | 5,706 | 4,837 | 869 |
| Financial result | -2,164 | -1,711 | -453 |
| Earnings before taxes (EBT) | 3,542 | 3,126 | 416 |
| Taxes on income and earnings | -1,243 | -1,786 | 543 |
| Results for the period | 2,299 | 1,340 | 959 |
In the period from 1 April to 31 December 2016, Bastei Lübbe achieved group revenue of 118.4 million euros (previous year: 81.5 million euros). In the period under review, the turnover was 36.9 million euros more than the turnover recorded in the same period the previous year. This is due to the consolidation of the majority stake in BuchPartner GmbH (turnover: 32.5 million euros) which was acquired with effect as of 1 April 2016, as well as increased turnover in just about every segment. The acquisition of the majority stake in BuchPartner GmbH led to the formation of a new "retail" segment.
The "book", "digital", "non-book", "novel booklets and puzzle magazines", and "retail" segments developed as follows:
| Book Digital |
Non-book | Novel booklets and puzzle magazines |
Retail | Cross-segment consolidation |
Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | |
| 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | |
| KEUR | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 |
| Segment sales revenue |
39,057 | 39,665 | 27,607 | 22,290 | 14,934 | 12,723 | 7,368 | 7,159 | 32,500 | --- | 0 | --- | 121,466 | 81,837 |
| Internal sales revenue |
0 | 0 | 184 | 302 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | --- | 2,872 | --- | 3,056 | 302 |
| External sales revenue |
39,057 | 39,665 | 27,423 | 21,988 | 14,934 | 12,723 | 7,368 | 7,159 | 32,500 | --- | -2,872 | --- | 118,410 | 81,535 |
At 39.1 million euros, the turnover for the "book" segment is similar to that recorded for the same period the previous year (39.7 million euros). The turnover in the digital segment has increased remarkably, from 22.0 million euros to 27.4 million euros. A considerable increase can also be seen in the "non-book" segment (from 12.7 million euros to 14.9 million euros). For the first time, sales of the majority stake in BuchPartner GmbH in the new "retail" segment are reported at 32.5 million euros. Turnover in the "novel booklets and puzzle magazines" segment rose from 7.2 million euros to 7.4 million euros.
The fully consolidated investments contributed to group sales as follows:
| Q1 to Q3 | Q1 to Q3 | |
|---|---|---|
| KEUR | 1.4.-31.12.2016 | 1.4.-31.12.2015 |
| BuchPartner GmbH | 32,500 | --- |
| Daedalic Entertainment GmbH | 7,375 | 5,457 |
| oolipo AG (formerly BEAM AG) | 0 | 313 |
| BEAM Shop GmbH | 229 | --- |
| BookRix GmbH & Co. KG | 1,568 | 1,728 |
The increase in all expenses compared to the same period in the previous year is mainly due to the full consolidation of BuchPartner GmbH. Material costs rose from 35.8 million euros in the previous year to 62.6 million euros. Personnel expenditure rose from 18.1 million euros in the previous year to 23.6 million euros. Other operating expenditure rose from 21.5 million euros in the previous year to 27.9 million euros.
In the reporting period from 1 April 2016 to 31 September 2016, the group achieved earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 9.3 million euros. The profit for the previous year was 7.5 million euros.
The achieved earnings are influenced by several special charges amounting to around 2 million euros. These include:
The results for the individual segments, compared to the same period in the previous year, are as follows:
| Book | Digital | Novel booklets Non-book and puzzle magazines |
Retail | Cross-segment consolidation |
Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | 1.4. - | |
| 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | 31.12. | |
| KEUR | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 | 2016 | 2015 |
| EBITDA | 2,154 | 4,402 | 2,565 | 884 | 2,994 | 1,129 | 1,365 | 1,134 | 366 | --- | -130 | --- | 9,314 | 7,549 |
The EBITDA in the "book" segment was 2.2 million euros in the reporting period, following 4.4 million euros in the previous year. The main reason for the decrease is the increased scheduled amortisation of royalties. The EBITDA in the "digital" segment was 2.6 million euros, following 0.9 million euros in the previous year. The increase in earnings is mainly due to a significant increase in sales and a corresponding increase in gross profit. The result of the "non-book" segment increased from 1.1 million euros in the previous year to 3.0 million euros. In this respect, it should be taken into account that the sale of the stake in Präsenta Promotion International GmbH in the previous year resulted in a deconsolidation loss of 1.4 million euros. The result of the "novel booklets and puzzle magazines" segment was 1.4 million euros, compared to 1.1 million euros in the previous year.
The fully consolidated investments contributed to group sales as follows (per EBITDA, according to the individual financial statements):
| Q1 to Q3 | Q1 to Q3 | |
|---|---|---|
| KEUR | 1.4.-31.12.2016 | 1.4.-31.12.2015 |
| BuchPartner GmbH | 1,010 | --- |
| Daedalic Entertainment GmbH | 1,391 | 1,504 |
| oolipo AG (formerly BEAM AG) | -689 | -908 |
| BEAM Shop GmbH | -205 | --- |
| BookRix GmbH & Co. KG | 28 | 40 |
The increase in all balance sheet items compared to the 31 March 2016 is mainly due to the full consolidation of BuchPartner GmbH as of 1 April 2016. The group balance sheet total increased by 49.3 million euros, from 111.8 million euros to 161.0 million euros.
| KEUR | 31.12.2016 | 31.03.2016 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term assets | 88,379 | 66,671 | 21,708 |
| Short-term assets | 72,663 | 45,108 | 27,555 |
| Total assets | 161,042 | 111,779 | 49,263 |
| Equity | 54,381 | 49,680 | 4,701 |
| Long-term liabilities | 24,033 | 4,770 | 19,263 |
| Short-term liabilities | 82,628 | 57,329 | 25,299 |
| Total liabilities | 161,042 | 111,779 | 49,263 |
The increase of long-term assets amounting to 21.7 million euros primarily relates to intangible assets (+10.1 million euros), prepaid authors' royalties (+6.8 million euros) and financial investments (+3.0 million euros). The increase in short-term assets amounting to 27.6 million euros primarily relates to inventories (+18.2 million euros) as well as other receivables (+4.4 million euros).
The increase in long-term liabilities of 19.3 million euros primarily relates to long-term financial liabilities (+19.2 million euros). The increase in short-term liabilities of 25.3 million euros primarily relates to accounts payable trade (+16.5 million euros) as well as other liabilities (+14.5 million euros). The decline in short-term financial liabilities (-5.9 million euros) has a divergent effect.
On 26 October 2016, Bastei Lübbe AG paid back loans issued to it in excess of 30 million euros plus interest. In order to ensure sufficient liquidity, the consortium loan of 53 million euros has been concluded. Triggered by the subsequent amendment to the consolidated annual financial statement, the consortium banks were entitled to terminate the consortium credit agreement extraordinarily. With their written communication of 14 October 2016, the banks declared their intent to forego the exercising of this right.
The liquidity of the group is assured for the coming years thanks to the conclusion of the syndicated loan agreement with the firm's banks. As a result of the purchase price payment for Räder at the end of December 2016 and regular repayments in the third quarter of the current financial year, liabilities from the bond and syndicated loans of Bastei Lübbe AG have decreased by 13.0 million euros as at 31 December 2016, from 49.2 million euros to 36.2 million euros.
The Board of Directors gave a largely positive judgement on the prospects for the 2016/2017 financial year. In its forecast, the Board of Directors does not believe that there are any indications that a significant change will occur in terms of turnover and profits in the 2016/2017 financial year.
Cologne, 21 February 2017
Bastei Lübbe AG
The Executive Board
Thomas Schierack Klaus Kluge
Published by Bastei Lübbe AG Schanzenstrasse 6-20 51063 Cologne, Germany Tel.: +49 (0)221 82 00 22 44 Fax: +49 (0)221 82 00 12 44 E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]
The group 9 month report for Bastei Lübbe AG can be downloaded as a PDF file at www.luebbe.de.
You can also find further corporate information
online at www.luebbe.de.
All book covers shown are from the Bastei Lübbe publishing program.
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