Softline AG

Quarterly Report • Nov 20, 2001

News Details

Ad-hoc | 20 November 2001 07:45

Softline AG english

Figures for the first quarter Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Softline: deficit in spite of increased sales Offenburg, November 20, 2001. In the first quarter of the current financial year 2001/2002 (June 30), the Softline Group raised its sales to 21.4m (previous year: 15.8m) Euro. The main growth contributors were the subsidiaries Rapid Group and Trade Up, both of which had not been members of the Softline Group in the same quarter of the previous year. The share of sales abroad therefore rose by 35.6 to 58.8 percent. The weak IT market sector, marked by investment deferments particularly in Germany and by delays in the market launch of new own-brand products promising good gross margins for the Softline Group, resulted in a deficit of 1.9m (previous year -0.4m) Euro. Sales and expenditure are well within the budgeted parameters, with the effect that the executive board – forecasting a reversal of the economic downturn in the next few months – continues to adhere to its annual target of 17% growth in sales to approx. 100m (85.6m) Euro and to achieving a balanced EBIT. The timely and consistent cost management began to show its effect in the first quarter of the new financial year already: the total operative expenditure was reduced further to 30.5 percent of sales (previous year: 32.6%). The target is an expenditure ratio of well below 30% in the current financial year. As part of the corporate alignment toward qualitative growth and with a clear focus on profitability, the product and supplier portfolio was adjusted further, achieved by screening out low-margin products and suppliers with low sales volumes. The growing portfolio of in-house brands with strong margins, in particular, is expected to deliver an increasing contribution margin in future. In the first quarter, a 5 percent share of sales was generated with just 16 products (September 30), with the share in sales expected to increase to 8 or 10 percent over the entire financial year 01/02. Press Contact: Erik Parkner; Tel: 0781-9293-151; Fax: 0781-9293-5151; E-Mail: eparkner@softline.de end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 20.11.2001 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 720600; Index: Listed: Neuer Markt in Frankfurt, Freiverkehr in Berlin, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München und Stuttgart 200745 Nov 01