Wolford AG — Earnings Release 2004

Jul 16, 2004

News Details

Ad-hoc | 16 July 2004 08:30

Wolford proves itself in a difficult environment in fiscal 2003/2004

Ad-hoc-announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ——————————————————————————– Wolford proves itself in a difficult environment in fiscal 2003/2004 Bregenz and Vienna, Austria, July 16, 2004 The listed company Wolford AG succeeded in posting a positive result for the 2003/2004 fiscal year ended April 30. In an extremely difficult period for luxury item providers, all earnings figures remained positive despite sales declining by 7.4 percent to EUR 119.2 million. This is proof that the restructuring program initiated three years ago is having a sustained impact, thus providing an excellent basis for the targeted stimulation of business. The improvement in the trend was particularly apparent in the fourth quarter: Adjusted for currency effects, sales remained at the same level year on year. Around half of the decline in sales is due to exchange rate fluctuations. The loss of business from closing unprofitable own boutiques was responsible for 28.1 percent of the lost revenue. The number of outlets was reduced from 248 the previous year to 226. Retail business reported growth in all markets; on a constant-currency, same-store basis, sales were up 12 percent. EBIT receded from EUR 3.4 million to EUR 2.6 million. Although the EBIT margin of 2.2 percent testifies to the success of the restructuring measures in an exceedingly difficult environment, the Company still is not satisfied and will seek to improve margins primarily by expanding sales. Earnings before taxes (EBT) were EUR 1.0 million compared to EUR 1.4 million the previous year. Net profit for the year fell from EUR 2.5 million to EUR 0.9 million due mainly to the lower deferred tax assets. This puts earnings per share at 18 cents. Shareholders’ equity rose from EUR 64.4 million to EUR 65.1 million, which improved the equity ratio to 47.9 percent. Wolford further optimized its financing structure and at the end of the last fiscal year net debt had been reduced to EUR 23.4 million, cutting it in half since 2001/2002. As a consequence, the gearing ratio showed a very positive development last year, dropping to 36.0 percent. The sales momentum seen in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year was carried over in a positive way into the first weeks of the new fiscal year. With the financial and organizational restructuring of the company now largely complete, the management is concentrating entirely on expanding sales while protecting and widening margins. Sales growth even in the single digits should generate disproportionately higher earnings growth, thus bringing Wolford much closer to the medium-term goal of delivering a double-digit EBIT margin. Contact: Holger Dahmen, Chief Executive Officer Peter Simma, Chief Financial Officer investor@wolford.com Wolford AG, Wolfordstrasse 1, A-6901 Bregenz Tel. +43 (0) 5574/690 0 http://www.wolford.com end of ad-hoc-announcement (c)DGAP 16.07.2004 ——————————————————————————– WKN: 083400; ISIN: AT0000834007; Index: ATX Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, München und Stuttgart 160830 Jul 04