Corporate | 1 February 2012 07:00

CEWE COLOR exceeds sales forecast with a strong Q4

CeWe Color Holding AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results

01.02.2012 / 07:00

CEWE COLOR exceeds sales forecast with a strong Q4

– Photo service company increases turnover by 5 % in 2011

– New sales record: 5.1 million CEWE PHOTO BOOKS

– For the first time ever 2/3 of photos ordered online

Oldenburg, 1 February 2012. CEWE COLOR Holding AG (SDAX, ISIN: DE0005403901) achieved annual turnover of 469 million euros thanks to a strong fourth quarter, thus exceeding the figure for the previous year by 5 % and also bettering its own forecast (447 to 460 million euros). The figures are based on the preliminary, unaudited financial statements of the Group. As expected, the trend towards a higher proportion of sales in the fourth quarter continued: at 161 million euros, CEWE COLOR generated more than a third (34.3 %) of its total sales in this quarter. 'In 2011 we once again managed to stabilise our value-oriented growth. Our value per photo and earning power also grew in 2011,' says Dr. Rolf Hollander, Chairman of the Board of Management of CEWE COLOR Holding AG.

More turnover per photo
The company also managed to stabilise the number of prints produced, at around 2.5 billion prints, for the first time in five years. 'This is an achievement that exceeded our own expectations. The success is due to our brand and the CEWE PHOTO BOOK product family, our added-value products and our distribution power,' Dr. Hollander said. The CEWE PHOTO BOOK and the extended product portfolio also increased the proportion of digital photos to 90 % (2010: 85.3 %). With 5.146 million books sold, the CEWE PHOTO BOOK achieved a new sales record (2010: 4.337 million photos). This increase of more than 809,000 CEWE PHOTO BOOKS meant that growth was even far higher than that of the previous year (+693,000). The growing success of high-quality wall decorations and personalised added-value products such as calendars, greeting cards and photo gift articles also contributed considerably to the high sales volume and the 6.2 % increase in turnover per photo. Customers orders 67.4 % of their digital photos online, more than two-thirds of digital photos ordered (2010: 60.7%).

Earnings targets confirmed
Given the positive trend in sales, the Board of Management expects to have achieved the company's ambitious earnings targets. The Board of Management had forecast EBIT at 28 to 31 million euros. 'We achieved our target corridor securely in spite of a few non-recurring effects, such as impairments to receivables which became necessary when two business associates filed for insolvency,' said Dr. Olaf Holzkämper, CFO with CEWE COLOR Holding AG. Since the majority of these receivables had been secured, the company was able to keep the potential impact to a minimum. The 2011 annual net profit is still expected to increase in the range of 16 to 19 million euros in spite of initial funding for commercial digital printing. The earnings target per share in the range of 2.36 to 2.80 euros has also been confirmed – an increase of up to +39 %. CEWE COLOR will present full, audited annual financial statements during an annual report and analysts' press conference to be held in Frankfurt am Main on 22 March 2012.

Should you have any queries, please contact:
CEWE COLOR Holding AG, Axel Weber (Investor Relations)
Tel.: 0441 / 404 – 2288, Fax: 0441 / 404 – 421,
Email: IR@cewecolor.de
Internet: www.cewecolor.de , www.cewe.de , www.cewe-fotobuch.de , www.viaprinto.de

Financial schedule:

22 March 2012: Annual report and analysts' press report, Frankfurt/Main
06/06/2012: Annual General Meeting, Park Hotel, Bremen

About CEWE COLOR: Photo service company CEWE COLOR, with 12 highly-technical production operations and a staff of around 2,700 employees in 24 European countries, is both market and technological leader. In 2011 CEWE COLOR delivered around 2.5 billion prints, more than 5.1 million CEWE PHOTO BOOKS and photo gift articles to more than 45,000 retail partners to generate consolidated turnover of 469 million euros. CEWE COLOR is a 'first mover' in the introduction of new digital technologies and products. CEWE COLOR is continuing to expand its commercial online printing service viaprinto.de as an additional business segment. CEWE COLOR celebrated its 50th company anniversary in 2011: In 1961 CEWE COLOR was founded by Senator h.c. Heinz Neumüller. The company went public under the leadership of Hubert Rothärmel in 1993. CEWE COLOR Holding AG is listed on the SDAX.

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Language:	English
Company:	CeWe Color Holding AG
	Meerweg 30-32
	26133 Oldenburg
	Germany
Phone:	+49 (0)441 40 4-1
Fax:	+49 (0)441 40 4-42 1
E-mail:	IR@cewecolor.de
Internet:	www.cewecolor.de
ISIN:	DE0005403901
WKN:	540390
Listed:	Regulierter Markt in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, München, Stuttgart

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