GERRY WEBER International AG — Earnings Release 2009

Mar 26, 2009

News Details

Corporate | 26 March 2009 09:00

Successful start to the fiscal year for GERRY WEBER

Gerry Weber International AG / Quarter Results

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• Double-digit sales and earnings growth in the first quarter of 2008/2009

• Strict cost management will secure profitability during the global
  recession

• Economic crisis will allow for even faster expansion of retail business

Halle/Westphalia, 26 March 2009

A 12.2 percent rise in sales and a clearly disproportionate increase in all
earnings figures in the first quarter of 2008/2009 mean that GERRY WEBER
International AG had an excellent start to the current fiscal year. In
spite of the global economic crisis and the resulting general spending
restraint, the fashion and lifestyle company continued to expand its unique
market position. 'It is true that there is a crisis, but it hits those
companies that are not well positioned. Unlike these market players, we
have achieved a lot in the past years, as we optimised our internal
processes and introduced flexible procurement structures as well as
state-of-the-art logistics systems. We are strong partners to the retail
sector, as our brands offer retailers higher mark-ups and, hence, higher
profits. It is not without reason that the trade press calls us the
'lighthouse of the fashion industry',' said CEO Gerhard Weber. 'When the
global crisis started on 29 September 2008, we adopted even tighter cost
management principles the very next day. We will now put our expansion
plans into practice with the existing headcount and not hire additional
people outside the Retail segment. We have also streamlined our collections
with a view to definitely reaching our targeted EBIT margin of 12 percent.'

At EUR 136.6 million, Group sales were up by 12.2 percent on the previous
year's EUR 121.8 million. Brand sales increased by 22.5 percent from EUR
97.7 million to EUR 119.7 million. At 29.5 percent, the GERRY WEBER core
brand achieved the highest sales growth. The brand's revenues rose from EUR
70.5 million to EUR 91.3 million.

The company's own Retail activities again were the main growth driver. The
Retail segment, which comprises the 112 HOUSES OF GERRY WEBER managed by
the company, boosted its sales by 21.2 percent from EUR 27.2 million in the
previous year to EUR 32.9 million. The GERRY WEBER eShop, which complements
the company's Retail activities, reported a 16.9 percent increase in total
sales of the Group's three brands.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)
rose by 17.3 percent from EUR 12.7 million to EUR 14.9 million in the first
quarter of 2008/2009. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) climbed
20.1 percent from EUR 9.9 million to EUR 11.9 million, while earnings
before taxes (EBT) rose by 21.4 percent from EUR 8.9 million to EUR 10.7
million. The respective margins increased accordingly. At EUR 7.4 million,
net profit for the first quarter was up by 30.8 percent on the previous
year's EUR 5.7 million. DVFA earnings per share rose by EUR 0.08 to EUR
0.33.

Thanks to its continued strong growth, the company again created many new
jobs, especially in the Retail segment. As of 31 January 2009, the company
employed 2,340 people, 282 more than in the previous year (2,058).

Incoming orders for the first and second collection for the autumn/winter
2009 season, which refer only to the Wholesale segment and do not cover the
fast-growth Retail segment, totalled EUR 195.8 million, up by approximately
three percent on the previous year. As the company has changed its
collection intervals, the exact order figures will not be available before
the end of the ordering round in May 2009.

The GERRY WEBER Group intends to continue its expansion in the current
financial year despite the challenging economic conditions. But until the
economy regains momentum, the company will attach greater importance on
reliable profitability. The Group will use the current economic crisis to
discontinue relations with customers showing poor payment behaviour so as
not to fall below its excellent bad debt ratio of only 0.1 percent.
Compliance with the profitability targets is to be monitored closely in all
countries in which the company operates. This applies especially to those
countries that are hit harder by the global recession than Germany and
whose currencies have depreciated noticeably such as Russia, the UK and the
Scandinavian countries. In view of the much bleaker economic outlook and
the slowdown to single-digit growth in incoming orders for the
autumn/winter 2009 season, the GERRY WEBER Group projects growth of about
six percent and Group sales of at least EUR 600 million for the current
fiscal year. The company sticks to its plan to increase the EBIT margin to
12 percent. 'Instead of jeopardising our profit targets, we take a very
close look at every order we receive and prefer to discontinue relations
with customers that are adversely affected by the economic crisis,' said
Gerhard Weber. 'We are convinced that our strict cost management will
definitely allow us to reach the targeted EBIT margin of 12 percent.'

An equity ratio of 54.6 percent means that the GERRY WEBER Group is
excellently positioned to cope with the challenging funding conditions in
today's capital market. This is still a high equity ratio but it is below
the 60.9 percent reported on 31 October 2008; the decline is due to the
fact that the company bought back 368,216 own shares in the context of the
stock repurchase programme between 1 November 2008 and 31 January 2009. The
comfortable liquidity situation will allow the planned investments to go
ahead despite the bleaker outlook for the economy as a whole. In
particular, the company will expand its own Retail activities. 'Thanks to
our vertical integration strategy, we have our very own business trend.
This has taken us far ahead in the past years and is paying off in the
current recession. Thanks to our own Retail operations we can actively
manage our growth. We will therefore push ahead our vertical integration in
the next two years. From April 2009, we will operate seven concessions
shops at El Corte Inglés, the largest Spanish department store chain, and
plan to increase this number in the future,' the CEO added. 'The global
crisis is making us even stronger. During the current recession, rents are
descending and interesting properties in Germany and abroad are on offer.
This is our chance for getting ahead in the Retail business even faster.'

The GERRY WEBER Group in the first three months:

in EUR million (to IFRS) 2008/2009 2007/2008
Sales revenues 136.6 121.8
EBITDA 14.9 12.7
EBITDA margin 10.9% 10.4%
EBIT 11.9 9.9
EBIT margin 8.7% 8.2%
EBT 10.7 8.9
EBT margin 7.9% 7.3%
Net profit 7.4 5.7
DVFA result per share in EUR 0.33 0.25
Gross cash flow 13.7 11.5
Fixed asset investments 3.4 3.2
Headcount on January 31 2,340 2,058

Investor relations contact:

Hans-Dieter Kley

Tel.: +49 (0) 52 01 185-0
E-Mail: b.uhlenbusch@gerryweber.de
www.gerryweber-ag.de

26.03.2009 Financial News transmitted by DGAP

Language: English
Issuer: Gerry Weber International AG
Neulehenstraße 8
33790 Halle/Westfalen
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)5201 185-0
Fax: +49 (0)5201 5857
E-mail: h.kley@gerryweber.de
Internet: www.gerryweber-ag.de
ISIN: DE0003304101
WKN: 330410
Indices: SDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard), Düsseldorf;
Freiverkehr in Berlin, Stuttgart

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