Corporate | 1 April 2008 14:05
CeWe Color Holding AG / Final Results
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PRESS RELEASE
CeWe Color achieves projected earnings for 2007
- Dividend proposal: EUR 1.20
- Dividend yield: 6,5 percent
Oldenburg, 01.04.2008 - CeWe Color Holding AG (Prime Standard, ISIN DE
0005403901) achieves projected earnings for 2007. In particular thanks to a
strong fourth quarter and a positive development in Central Eastern Europe
and in retail business, sales figures for digital photos of the leading
European photo service company rose by 4.4 percent, to EUR 413.5 million.
At EUR 27.8 million, operative earnings before restructuring and extra
expenses for the Annual General Meeting, are at the same level as those of
the previous year. After taking account of special factors, earnings before
tax (EBT) amounted to EUR 12.8 million (- 39.3 %). CeWe Color earned EUR
5.9 million after tax (- 67.0 %). Earnings after tax for 2006 amounted to
EUR 17.9 million due to non-recurring tax effects to the amount of EUR 9.7
million.
Increase in digital photo production of 35.9 percent
Consistently strong increases in the number of digital photos in 2007
almost fully compensated for declines in the volume of analogue photos. At
1.5 billion digital photos (+35.9 percent), the figure exceeded the number
of analogue photos (1.3 billion photos; - 27.6 %) on an annual basis for
the first time ever, so that the overall number of photos produced, at 2.8
billion prints, was almost at the same level as in 2006 (2.87 billion
photos). In 2006 the total number of photos produced had still contracted
by more than 16 percent in comparison to figures for the previous year. The
volume of digital photos sold in the Internet and prints in CEWE PHOTO
BOOKS (+58.9 percent to 642 million photos) increased particularly strongly
in 2007.
Production basis further concentrated
'CeWe Color commenced with establishing digital production capacities and
investing in online marketing skills and in market representation
intensively and at an early stage,' says Dr. Rolf Hollander, Chairman of
the Board of Management of CeWe Color Holding AG. At EUR 35.5 million,
capital expenditure in 2007 exceeded that of the previous year by 9.3
percent. The strategy was combined with the concentration of production at
highly efficient operations and will also determine the strategy for the
2008 financial year. CeWe Color will hence – as already announced – be
closing the photofinishing operations in Bad Schwartau and Eisenach. We
will also – as we had previously announced – be closing two of the five
production operations in France in the period up to mid-year, namely those
in Valence and Bordeaux, and will be transferring sales to other
operations. 'In addition to our marketing expertise and best-possible
quality, our business model is based on cost leadership, requiring large
volumes and batch sizes, in terms of both production and logistics.' For
this reason it was imperative to concentrate production at a few locations
in Europe. Rolf Hollander: 'It is becoming clear that we will emerge
stronger from this market transformation.'
Supervisory Board approves proposed dividend
At its meeting held today, the Supervisory Board resolved to support the
dividend proposed by the Board of Management for the financial year of 2007
and to recommend the payment of a dividend amounting to the same as that of
the previous year, namely EUR 1.20, to the Annual General Meeting to be
held on 28 May. In terms of the closing price (XETRA) for the CeWe Color
ordinary share on 31 March 2008 (EUR 18.60), this means that CeWe Color
Holding AG shareholders will receive an attractive dividend yield of 6.5 %.
Business figures
2006 in 2007 in Change
billions billions
Digital photos incl. CEWE PHOTO BOOK 1.11 1.52 +35.9 %
prints
Prints from films 1.76 1.28 -27.6 %
Photos total 2.87 2.80 -3.0 %
in € in €
millions millions
Sales* 396.0 413.5 + 4.4 %
Earnings before restructuring, extra 27.8 27.8 unchanged
costs for the AGM and tax
Extra costs for restructuring and for 6.7 14.9 + 122.4 %
the AGM
Earnings before tax (EBT) 21.1 12.8 -39.3 %
Earnings after tax 17.9** 5.9 -67.0 %
Capital expenditure 32.5 35.5 +9.3 %
Dividend for 2007 (proposal) (in EUR) 1.20 1.20 unchanged
* Figure for previous year adjusted due to reclassification
** Incl. non-recurring tax effect to the amount of approx. EUR 9.7 million
Should you have any queries, please contact:
CeWe Color Holding AG, Hella Hahm, Tel.: 0441 / 404 - 400 (Secretary: –
234) or 0171 / 34 50 530, Fax: 0441 / 404 – 421,
Email: hella.hahm@cewecolor.de, company website: www.cewecolor.com
CEWE product portal: www.cewe.de; CEWE PHOTO BOOKS: www.cewe-fotobuch.de
About CeWe Color: Photo service company CeWe Color, with highly-technical
production operations and a staff of around 3,000 employees in 24 European
countries, is both market and technological leader. The company supplied
around 2.8 billion photos, more than one million CEWE PHOTO BOOKS and photo
gift articles to more than 50,000 retail partners in 2007. In 2007 turnover
amounted to EUR 413.5 million. CeWe Color is 'first mover' in the launch of
new digital technologies, for example ordering digital photos in the
Internet or with the help of order terminals (DigiFoto Makers) in retail
stores. Sales of personalised CEWE PHOTO BOOKS are developing extremely
well. In 1961, CeWe Color was founded by Senator h.c. Heinz Neumüller and,
with Hubert Rothärmel at the helm, the company went public in 1993. CeWe
Color Holding AG is listed on the Prime Standard.
01.04.2008 Financial News transmitted by DGAP
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Language: English
Issuer: CeWe Color Holding AG
Meerweg 30-32
26133 Oldenburg
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)441 40 4-1
Fax: +49 (0)441 40 4-42 1
E-mail: info@cewecolor.de
Internet: www.cewecolor.de
ISIN: DE0005403901
WKN: 540390
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard);
Freiverkehr in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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