Europris

Earnings Release • Jul 15, 2021

Record high results in a challenging quarter

Record high results in a challenging quarter

Highlights for the second quarter of 2021

· Total sales of NOK 2,096 million, a decline of 5.2 per cent compared with Q2

2020

· April sales negatively affected by the temporary closure of 22 per cent of

the stores owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and by the timing of Easter

· Positive sales development in May and June, driven by strong seasonal

execution

· Gross margin of 47.2 per cent, an increase of 4.6 percentage points

· Positive effects from hedging currency and inbound freight rates

· Successful category development initiatives and changes to sales mix

· Improved profitability owing to higher margins and good cost control

· EBITDA increased by 11.3 per cent to NOK 537 million

· Net profit of NOK 283 million (NOK 247 million)

· Results from employee engagement survey at all-time high

· Remarkable efforts by employees during the Covid-19 pandemic

· Acquired 67 per cent of Lekekassen Holding AS, Norway's largest online toy

store, for NOK 501 million

Highlights for the first half of 2021

· Solid sales growth despite following the best first half in Europris'

history last year

· Sales of NOK 3,814 million, up by 6.2 per cent from the same period of

2020 and by 33.4 per cent from 2019

· Nine per cent of stores on average temporarily closed

· Gross margin of 45.4 per cent, an increase of 2.9 per cent

· Operational efficiency improved, with a decline in the Opex-to-sales ratio

by 0.5 percentage points to 23.7 per cent

· Strong profitability with EBITDA of NOK 829 million, up by 25.5 per cent

· Earnings per share of NOK 2.41 (NOK 1.49)

· Solid financial position with cash and liquidity reserves of NOK 1,577

million (NOK 1,315 million)

Europris produced a strong performance in the second quarter of 2021, despite

low sales in April owing to 22 per cent of the chain's stores being temporarily

closed owing to Covid-19 and to the timing of Easter. On average, eight per cent

of the stores were temporarily closed during the quarter. Despite following the

strongest second quarter in Europris' history last year, the chain had like-for

-like sales growth in both May and June owing to strong execution of campaigns

and the season. Strong margin development and continued good cost control offset

the sales decline and led to growth in EBITDA and net profit.

"The second quarter was challenging for us owing to pandemic restrictions,"

comments Espen Eldal, CEO of Europris. "Nevertheless, we continued to improve

operational efficiency and were able to produce a record result.

"In this demanding situation, I am pleased that we were able to create a safe

working environment, and that employee satisfaction proved to be at an all-time

high. I'm proud of the remarkable enthusiasm and efforts shown by my colleagues

during these unpredictable times.

"The acquisition of 67 per cent of Lekekassen will further strengthen our

expertise in e-commerce, and we will continue to exploit market opportunities. I

believe we are well prepared and positioned to continue being a market winner."

Group sales came to NOK 2,096 million, down by 5.2 per cent from the same period

of last year. Sales were negatively affected by temporary store closures and by

the timing of Easter, which hit sales of chocolate and snacks. The upgraded

kitchen and home and interior categories continued to perform well. In addition,

sales growth was strong for pet food and accessories as well as for spring and

summer seasonal items.

Gross profit came to NOK 989 million (NOK 941 million), an improvement of 5.1

per cent. The gross margin was 47.2 per cent (42.6 per cent), up by 4.6

percentage points. A net unrealised currency gain of NOK 24 million was

recognised on hedging contracts and accounts payable (loss of NOK 30 million).

Operating expenditure (Opex) was NOK 453 million (NOK 459 million), a decrease

of NOK 6 million.  Opex as a proportion of revenues amounted to 21.6 per cent

(20.8 per cent).

EBITDA was NOK 537 million (NOK 482 million), up by NOK 54 million or 11.3 per

cent, and net profit came to NOK 283 million (NOK 247 million), an improvement

of NOK 36 million or 14.7 per cent. Europris has a strong financial position and

cash and liquidity reserves for the group at 30 June 2021 amounted to NOK 1,577

million (NOK 1,315 million). A total dividend of NOK 434 million was paid in the

second quarter, up by NOK 111 million from last year.

The quarterly report, presentation materials and spreadsheet with key figures

are available on the group's website at https://investor.europris.no.

CEO Espen Eldal and CFO Stina C Byre will present the group's results at 09:00

CEST via webcast. The presentation will be held without physical participants.

It will be held in English, transmitted as a live webcast, and available through

the group's website at https://investor.europris.no. It will be possible to ask

questions via the web.

For further information, please contact:

Espen Eldal, CEO, +47 48 29 24 24, espen.eldal@europris.no

Stina C Byre, CFO, +47 41 10 58 08, stina.byre@europris.no

About Europris:

Europris is Norway's largest discount variety retailer by sales. The group

offers customers a broad range of quality own brands and brand-name merchandise.

Its merchandise is sold through the Europris chain, which consists of a network

of 268 stores throughout Norway, 240 of which are directly owned by the group

and 28 of which operate as franchise stores. The group's headquarters are

located in Fredrikstad, Norway.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5

-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.