Leifheit Aktiengesellschaft: Stable turnover development in the third quarter of 2019

Leifheit AG: Stable turnover development in the third quarter of 2019

• At EUR 177.2 million, Group turnover on par with previous year
• Group EBIT at EUR 7.1 million following EUR 8.7 million in previous year
• Eastern Europe continues to drive turnover with almost 10% growth
• Earnings forecast confirmed, turnover expectation for 2019 adjusted

Nassau, 12 November 2019 - The Leifheit Group, a leading European brand supplier of household items, experienced stable development overall in the first three quarters of the current financial year and recorded turnover of EUR 177.2 million (previous year: EUR 177.0 million). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was EUR 7.1 million in the first nine months of 2019, following EUR 8.7 million in the previous year, and was in line with expectations. The decline was mainly the result of negative product and customer mix effects. Less taxes, Leifheit achieved a positive net result for the period of EUR 4.2 million (previous year: EUR 5.5 million).

Henner Rinsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Leifheit AG, comments: "We are working consistently to implement the strategic focal points, which, as expected, is not yet directly reflected in the figures for the third quarter. Starting in early 2020, we intend to use a TV campaign in our home market of Germany to gain considerable momentum again and convince even more consumers of the high quality of our products. Our focus is on developing TV campaigns, which will be tested on a small scale at first. The positive results in selected test markets show that our approach is the right one."

In Eastern Europe, Leifheit recorded turnover of EUR 21.9 million in the first nine months of 2019, which equates to growth of almost 10 percent (previous year: EUR 20.0 million). Leifheit has invested constantly in consumer advertising in this region over the last few years. Over the coming year, Leifheit will build on the strategy that has already been tried and tested and roll out the successfully tested advertising campaigns for high-margin products across Germany, too. Foreign turnover increased overall by 2.5 percent to EUR 101.9 million (previous year: EUR 99.4 million). At EUR 73.7 million, turnover in the Central Europe region was virtually on par with the previous year (previous year: EUR 74.1 million). In non-European markets, the Group recorded turnover of EUR 6.3 million (previous year: EUR 5.3 million).

With regard to the business segments, the Leifheit Group recorded slight turnover growth of 0.7 percent to EUR 140.9 million in the Household segment in the first nine months of 2019 (previous year: EUR 139.9 million). The cleaning and kitchen goods categories were stable overall. A new kitchen range will be introduced in the fourth quarter and is set to considerably boost consumer demand in this product category. The Group recorded turnover on par with the previous year at EUR 14.0 million in the Wellbeing segment. The new range of scales, especially for the kitchen, got off to a good start and made a substantial contribution to the turnover. Meanwhile, the Private Label segment recorded turnover of EUR 22.3 million (previous year: EUR 23.1 million), because the turnover generated by the French subsidiaries Birambeau and Herby declined.

"In addition to the major TV campaign, we are also working to expand our distribution further and promote sales via retail partners through shared marketing activities. In order to improve gross margin, we will focus more intensely on our core 'Made in Europe' products from now on and align our processes to these. At the same time, the terms and conditions with retailers are under review. Our aim here is to continue to reduce complexity and costs", says Ivo Huhmann, a member of the Board of Management and the Chief Financial Officer of Leifheit AG.

Due to the modest development in the first half of the year and the drop in growth momentum in the third quarter, the Board of Management is adjusting its turnover expectations for the whole of 2019. It now forecasts Group turnover growth slightly below 1 percent for 2019 as a whole. At the same time, Leifheit confirms its original earnings forecast and continues to predict EBIT of approximately EUR 9 million to EUR 10 million.

Additional information can be found in the Quarterly statement for the period ending
30 September 2019, which is available at http://financial-reports.leifheit-group.com.

About Leifheit

Leifheit AG, founded in 1959, is one of the leading European brand suppliers of household items. The Leifheit Group divides its operating business into the Household, Wellbeing and Private Label segments. Leifheit and Soehnle products - two of Germany's best-known brands - are known for high quality and great utility for consumers. Its French subsidiaries Birambeau and Herby are also active in the service-oriented Private Label segment with a selected product range. In each segment, the company focuses on its core areas of expertise in the product categories of cleaning, laundry care, kitchen goods and wellbeing. The Leifheit Group employs some 1,100 people and operates 15 locations and branches of its own around the world. Leifheit AG shares have been listed on the regulated market (Prime Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 1984. More information on Leifheit is available online at www.leifheit-group.com, www.leifheit.de and www.soehnle.de.