Hawesko: Still on course despite the difficult Bordeaux market

6 november 2013 HAWESKO Holding AG / Hawesko: Still on course despite the difficult Bordeaux market . Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG. Processed and transmitted by Thomson Reuters ONE. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. - Accelerated growth in the third quarter - Operating result (EBIT) at the level of the previous year despite special charges - 2014 will be a year under the banner of reinvigorated profitability Hamburg, 6 November 2013. Today the wine-trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) published its report on the first nine months of fiscal year 2013 as well as the figures for the third quarter.  During the quarterly period from 1 July to 30 September, consolidated sales rose in comparison to the same quarter in the previous year (€ 92.3 million) by 8.3% to € 100.0 million before VAT, so that the Group accelerated its growth over the course of the year as expected. All three business segments experienced growth. With an increase of 11.1%, the wholesale segment posted the strongest growth in sales,  due primarily to the initial consolidation of the wine specialist Vogel Vins in western Switzerland. In the mail order segment, sales likewise rose by a double-digit percentage, namely by 10.2%. In the specialist retail segment, Jacques' Wein-Depot grew by 2.9% (adjusted for new openings by 2.5%). The consolidated operating result (EBIT) in the third quarter of 2013 amounted to € 2.0 million, up by 4.0% from the previous year (€ 1.9 million).   As already reported, this result includes an unexpectedly high loss of the French subsidiary Château Classic. The financial result was € -0.4 million (previous year: € -0.3 million). Due to the loss at Château Classic, a correction of the tax rate for the full year was necessary, which led to an extraordinarily high tax expenditure of € -1.7 million for the quarter.  Consolidated net income after deductions for taxes and non-controlling interests for the quarter under review and earnings per share thus amounted to nil (same quarter in the previous year:  € 1.2 million and € 0.13 per share). In the first nine months of fiscal year 2013 (1 January to 30 September), sales rose by 4.0% to € 317.0 million (comparable period in the previous year: € 304.7 million). The operating result (EBIT) at € 12.3 million was € 1.6 million or 11.5% below the figure for the previous year (€ 13.9 million). Consolidated net income after deductions for taxes and non-controlling amounted to € 6.4 million and € 0.71 per share; the figures for the same period in the previous year were € 8.8 million and € 0.98 per share. With regard to the current business performance of the French subsidiary Château Classic, which is worse than expected, the management board assumes that this development will continue over a longer period. It is therefore reviewing various options with regard to the future positioning of the Group in the wholesale trading of Bordeaux wines of the ultra-premium class. A decision will be made shortly. As a consequence, further charges against earnings in the current fiscal year cannot be excluded. However, these charges would be non- recurring by nature and will not exceed a figure in the mid-single-digit million range (in euros). Accordingly, the management board currently assumes that consolidated sales in 2013 will be 4-5% higher than in the previous year (€ 449 million) and the result from operations (EBIT) will be in the range of € 22-24 million (previous year: € 26.1 million). CEO Alexander Margaritoff stated: "Business for the vast majority of the group is progressing positively as expected and is on course. We will find a solution before this year comes to an end for the French subsidiary Château Classic, albeit at the inevitable price of a further charge. In any case, 2014 will be a year under the banner of reinvigorated profitability!" Hawesko Holding AG is a leading supplier of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2012, the Group achieved sales of € 449 million and employed 847 persons in the company's three sales channels: specialty retail (Jacques' Wein- Depot), wholesale operations(Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein- Distributionsgesellschaft) and mail order (especially Hanseatisches Wein- and Sekt-Kontor and Wein & Vinos). The shares of Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg as well as in the SDAX small-cap index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. # # # The full nine-month financial report to 30 September 2013  is available for downloading at http://www.hawesko-holding.com, --> "Press" or "Investors" --> "Downloads". Publisher: Hawesko Holding AG, 20247 Hamburg Internet: http://www.hawesko-holding.com  (Company information) http://www.hawesko.de                   (Online shop) http://www.jacques.de                   (Jacques' Wein-Depot locations and online shop) http://www.vinos.de   (Spanish wines sold through Wein & Vinos) Press/Media Contact and Investor Relations: Thomas Hutchinson, Hawesko Holding AG Phone: +49 (0)40 30 39 21 00 Fax +49 (0)40 30 39 21 05 E-mail: ir@hawesko-holding.com This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: HAWESKO Holding AG via Thomson Reuters ONE [HUG#1740888]