Ad-hoc | 22 September 2005 08:30

Wolford AG: Earnings for the first quarter of 2005/06

Ad hoc announcement Earnings for the first quarter of 2005/06 Wolford AG: Earnings for the first quarter of 2005/06 Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— WOLFORD IMPROVES PROFITABILITY RESULT IN FIRST QUARTER – EBIT better by 5.6 percent, EBT by 0.7 percent – Profitability of operating activities significantly higher – Sales up 1.9 percent Bregenz, Austria, September 22, 2005 The Wolford Group, a listed company, had an encouraging start to the new fiscal year. In addition to the first-quarter sales growth of 1.9 percent already reported at the beginning of August 2005, the earnings situation also showed a positive trend compared to the previous year. Especially EBIT improved by 5.6 percent compared to the year-ago quarter, to EUR -2.3 million. The operating portion of EBIT in the first quarter (traditionally the weakest quarter by far in terms of sales) improved by EUR 0.9 million or 27.2 percent. As a result of a slightly larger deficit in the financial result (EUR -0.4 million compared to EUR -0.3 million in the first quarter of 2004/05), the pre-tax loss (EBT) improved by only 0.7 percent to EUR -2.7 million. The operating portion of EBT improved by EUR 0.8 million or 21.5 percent. Also changing in the company’s favor, the net loss for the quarter was 4.0 percent smaller at EUR -1.7 million. Earnings per share reached EUR -0.35 (Q1 2004/05: EUR -0.37). Net debt was slashed by EUR 6.1 million (19.6 percent) compared to twelve months earlier. As previously reported, sales of the Wolford Group grew by 1.9 percent in the first quarter to EUR 24.6 million. This attractive trend is driven by the positive course of business with the partner-operated and Wolford’s own boutiques. In the latter distribution channel alone, sales increased by 16.0 percent compared to the previous year’s first quarter. In the Retail segment as a whole (boutiques, shop-in-shops and factory outlets), sales expanded by 11.0 percent. The Executive Board expects the positive trend to continue and remains confident for the business performance going forward. The target for the full fiscal year remains an increase in sales to at least EUR 120 million and an accompanying improvement in profitability at a rate exceeding the pace of sales growth. Contacts:Holger Dahmen, Chief Executive Officer Peter Simma, Chief Financial Officer investor@wolford.com , http://www.wolford.com Wolford AG, Wolfordstraße 1, A-6901 Bregenz, Austria Tel. +43 (0) 5574/690 0 Wolford AG Wolfordstraße 1 6901 Bregenz Austria ISIN: AT0000834007 WKN: 083400 Listed: Amtlicher Handel in Wien; Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, München und Stuttgart End of ad hoc announcement (c)DGAP 22.09.2005 220830 Sep 05