EANS-News: Wolford Aktiengesellschaft Detailed Figures Presented for the First
Half of 2016/17
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6-month report
* Revenue decline of 15% due to weak customer frequency and product deliveries
delayed to the subsequent quarter
* Slightly positive operating results in the second quarter cannot offset first-
quarter loss
* Third quarter begins with slight upswing in revenues in November
Vienna/Bregenz, December 16, 2016:Wolford AG, which is listed on the Vienna
Stock Exchange, generated revenues of EUR 67.62 million in the first half of the
current financial year (May 2016 to October 2016), comprising a year-on-year
decline of 14.7%. The drop in revenue equaled 13.1% when adjusted for currency
effects, in particular the decrease in value of the British pound. As a
consequence of weaker customer frequency and a delivery date shifted to the next
quarterly period, second-quarter revenues were down 11.9% to EUR 39.88 million.
Operating results (EBIT) in the second quarter only turned slightly positive to
EUR 0.03 million. Against the backdrop of the substantial loss generated in the
first quarter, EBIT in the first six months of the current financial year
amounted to EUR -8.24 million (previous year: EUR -0.28 million).
Delayed delivery dates and weak customer frequency
A substantial portion of the revenue decline of EUR 11.62 million in the first
six months of the 2016/17 financial year can be attributed to the development of
the wholesale business. As a consequence of the delay in a delivery date for the
fall/winter collection, first quarter figures did not include revenues from so-
called pre-season orders to the amount of EUR 3.19 million. Up until now Wolford
has only succeeded in partly compensating for the revenue shortfall. In
addition, Wolford delayed another delivery date for this collection to be closer
to the Christmas season and thus to the third quarter, so that second-quarter
revenues were also down by about EUR 3 million from the prior-year level. On
balance, revenues of the wholesale segment fell by 20% in the first half-year.
However, Wolford-owned retail stores also reported a perceptible 12% drop in
revenues, not least due to the lack of customer frequency in the boutiques,
which other clothing retailers also suffered from. The garment sector in
important European core markets was sluggish in August and September 2016. For
example, sales on the German fashion market were down by 3% in August in a year-
on-year comparison, and even fell by more than 12 % in September.
Negative EBIT and earnings before tax
As a result of the weak revenue development, operating earnings (EBIT) in the
first six months of the current financial year amounted to EUR -8.24 million,
compared to EUR -0.28 million in the previous year. EBIT in the prior-year
period benefited from the sale of non-core rental apartments (other operating
income to the amount of EUR 1.09 million). Adjusted for this special effect,
EBIT in the first six months of the 2016/17 financial year was EUR 6.87 million
below the comparable figure in 2015/16.
The financial result at EUR -0.40 million represents an improvement from the
prior-year figure of
EUR -0.51 million, which can be particularly attributed to the positive
valuation effects on financial assets. Against the backdrop described above,
earnings before tax in the first half-year totaled
EUR -8.64 million, down from EUR -0.80 million in the previous year. The income
tax expense amounted to EUR 0.19 million (previous year: EUR -0.10 million).
Accordingly, earnings after tax equaled EUR -8.45 million compared to the prior-
year figure of EUR -0.90 million. Earnings per share were EUR -1.73, down from
EUR -0.18 in the first half of 2015/16.
Slight upswing in revenues in November
Wolford succeeded in breaking the downward revenue trend in November 2016, and
achieved slight growth once again in its own retail stores on a like-for-like
basis. The third-quarter recovery is even more pronounced in the wholesale
business. Here Wolford will partly be able to compensate for the revenue drop in
the first half of 2016/17 after delaying the last delivery date for this year's
fall/winter fashion collection to the beginning of November and thus to the
third quarter. This was designed to ensure that the products would be newly on
display at the point of sale at an optimal time.
Outlook
Most recently Wolford predicted a slight drop in revenues and negative operating
earnings in the low single-digit range for the current financial year. The
ongoing program of measures designed to sustainably increase revenues and
profitability should show initial positive cost effects in the second half of
the financial year, whereas a large part of the restructuring expenses was
reported in the first six-month period. Nevertheless, it will be a challenge to
attain the communicated business targets in the light of the company's revenue
development in the first half of 2016/17. The third-quarter revenue development
will be the decisive factor in this regard.
The Half-Year Report 2016/17 can be viewed and downloaded in the Investor
Relations section of the company's Website at company.wolford.com:
http://company.wolford.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Wolford_HY_Report_2016_17.pdf
Earnings
Data 05 -10/16 05 -10/15 Chg. in % 2015/16
Revenues in EUR mill. 67.62 79.24 -15 162.40
EBIT in EUR mill. -8.24 -0.28 >100 1.55
Earnings
before tax in EUR mill. -8.64 -0.80 >100 0.62
Earnings
after tax in EUR mill. -8.45 -0.90 >100 -6.19
Capital
expenditure in EUR mill. 4.89 3.60 +36 7.30
Free cash
flow in EUR mill. -18.70 -7.33 >100 -2.35
Employees
(on average) FTE 1,558 1,578 -1 1,571
Balance
Sheet Data 31.10.2016 31.10.2015 Chg. in % 30.04.2016
Equity in EUR mill. 58.73 73.28 -20 68.15
Net debt in EUR mill. 40.47 25.50 +59 20.86
Working
capital in EUR mill. 56.61 43.74 +29 43.15
Balance
sheet total in EUR mill. 153.02 154.28 -1 139.25
Equity ratio in % 38 48 -21 49
Gearing in % 69 35 +97 31
Stock Exchange
Data 05 -10/16 05 -10/15 Chg. in % 2015/16
Earnings per
share in EUR -1.73 -0.18 >100 0.21
Share price
high in EUR 26.01 23.98 +8 24.12
Share price
low in EUR 22.67 20.89 +9 18.75
Share price at
end of period in EUR 22.85 22.42 +2 24.00
Shares
outstanding
(weighted) in 1,000 4,912 4,900 +1 4,900
Market
capitalization
(ultimo) in EUR mill. 114.25 112.10 +2 120.00
About Wolford AG
Wolford AG, which has its headquarters in Bregenz on Lake Constance (Austria),
has 16 subsidiaries and markets its products in more than 60 countries via 262
mono-brand points of sales (company-owned and partner-operated), around 3,000
distribution partners, and online. Listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since
1995, in the 2015/16 financial year (May 1, 2015 - April 30, 2016) the company
had around 1,570 employees and generated revenues of EUR 162.4 million. Founded
in 1950, Wolford has since grown to become the leading global brand for
luxurious legwear, exclusive lingerie, and high-quality bodywear.
Further inquiry note:
Wolford AG
Maresa Hoffmann
Referentin Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Tel.: +43 5574 690 1258
investor@wolford.com | company.wolford.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Wolford Aktiengesellschaft
Wolfordstrasse 1
A-6900 Bregenz
phone: +43 (0) 5574 690-1268
FAX: +43 (0) 5574 690-1219
mail: investor@wolford.com
WWW: company.wolford.com
sector: Textiles & Clothing
ISIN: AT0000834007
indexes: ATX Prime, ATX GP
stockmarkets: free trade: Frankfurt, regulated dealing: Wien, ADR: New York
language: English
