Munich, March 14, 2013 – The Munich fashion group LUDWIG BECK (ISIN: 519 990) concluded the fiscal year 2012 with branch-adjusted sales up 2.6% and gross sales at € 103.2m. Following three consecutive record-breaking years, earnings before taxes (EBT) could again be improved by 7.0% and came to € 12.1m. Having anticipated a branch-adjusted sales increase of 2% – 3%, and EBT between € 10m - € 12m, the Executive Board saw its expectations fully met.
Development of sales
With € 103.2m, gross sales maintained last year’s level (€ 103.3m). This was achieved despite the closure, respectively sale, of the branches in Augsburg and in Munich’s Olympia Shopping Center (OEZ) in the years 2011 and 2012. The dissolved business activities still yielded sales of € 1.6m in 2012 and € 4.6m in 2011.
The flagship store at Marienplatz (incl. FÜNF HÖFE) achieved growth in sales of 2.9% (€ 101.5m as compared to € 98.6m in 2011). The “trading up” strategy implemented in the “Store of the Senses“ once again proved to be a guarantor of success. The German textile retail trade however posted a fall in sales of 2% in 2012.
Earnings situation
The operative result (EBIT) amounted to € 13.9m (in 2011: € 12.9m) representing a 7.8% increase. The EBIT margin rose by 1.2 percentage points to 16.0% as compared to 14.8% in the previous year.
With earnings before taxes (EBT) at € 12.1m, the previous year’s result of € 11.3m could be clearly surpassed also in 2012. This corresponds to an increase of 7.0%. Consequently, the EBT margin was 13.9% as compared to 13.0% in the previous year.
Taxes on earnings amounted to € 3.5m in 2012, thus clearly exceeding last year’s level of € 2.5m. The previous year’s figure took advantage of the positive effect of the purchase of Feldmeier GmbH and a company audit, amounting to €1.1m net.
Consolidated net income amounted to € 8.6m (previous year: € 8.8m). The previous year’s figure adjusted for the special effect of the company audit and purchase of Feldmeier GmbH would have amounted to € 7.4m.
Comprehensive income was € 8.3m (previous year: € 8.8m). Following the acquisition of Feldmeier GmbH, the profit shares of minority shareholders, which amounted to € 0.3m in 2012, are disclosed after the consolidated net income, rather than in the financial result as previously.
Dividend payment
In view of the positive results, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board will propose to the Annual General Meeting on May 8, 2013, to distribute a dividend of € 0.50 per no-par share entitled to profit. In 2011, the dividend was at € 0.35 plus a special dividend of € 0.10 on the occasion of the 150th company anniversary. The group thus underscores vis-à-vis shareholders its efforts to permanently strengthen the value of the LUDWIG BECK share as an attractive security and to let investors directly benefit from the company’s success. By allocating the residual amount to accumulated profit the company further enhanced its equity base. Shareholders’ equity increased to € 59.9m in 2012, as compared to € 53.7m in the previous year. The equity ratio thus rose to 56.8%.
Outlook
The upward trend continued in the year 2012 will set the direction also for the current year. The Executive Board is certainly aware that Europe’s still bewildering macro-economic development situation doesn’t allow for really reliable forecasts and may actually give rise to concern. Nevertheless the company assumes that it will be strong enough to create its own dynamics and be able to restrain imponderable external factors even if they cannot be completely excluded. “The group is in a position to crank its own growth engine even in difficult times“, member of the Executive Board Dieter Münch emphasized.
Confident of this, the Executive Board expects a branch-adjusted increase in sales (including ludwigbeck.de GmbH) of between 4% and 6% and earnings before taxes (EBT) of between € 11.0m and € 13.0m in the fiscal year 2013.
For more information about the company and its stock please visit the company website at http://kaufhaus.ludwigbeck.de.
Key figures of the group
| €m | 2012 | 2011 |
| Sales (gross) | 103.2 | 103.3 |
| Sales (net) | 86.7 | 86.8 |
| Earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) | 16.8 | 15.6 |
| Operative result (EBIT) | 13.9 | 12.9 |
| Earnings before taxes (EBT) | 12.1 | 11.3 |
| Consolidated net income | 8.6 | 8.8 |
| Shareholders’ equity | 59.9 | 53.7 |
| Equity ratio in % | 56.8 | 49.9 |
| Investments | 2.4 | 11.6 |
| Employees as of 12/31 1) | 506 | 502 |
| Earnings per share (in €) | 2.25 | 2.37 |
| Dividend (in €) | 0.50 | 0.45 |
1) without apprentices
About LUDWIG BECK
Founded in the year 1861 as a button maker and dress trimmer workshop with four assistants and one apprentice, LUDWIG BECK, in the course of time advanced to one of the most innovative commercial enterprises in Germany.
Directly situated at Marienplatz right in the heart of Munich, LUDWIG BECK, with a staff of approximately 500 and a 11,500 square meters sales area on seven levels offers an extraordinary product range mix including the latest fashion, exquisite leather goods and accessories, unique beauty products, fancy gift ideas, traditional sewing and knitting creations as well as delicious ear candies.
In 2012, LUDWIG BECK generated gross sales of € 103.2m and earnings before taxes (EBT) of € 12.1m.