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Thomas Cook increases sales and earnings The EBIT included in the consolidated financial statements was minus €95 million (previous year pro forma: minus €150 million), with the restructuring expenses having a negative impact on the result. It is important to note that the tourism business tends generally to show a weak first quarter, with most profits generated in the third and fourth quarter of the fiscal year. Primondo sales up slightly e-commerce offsets catalogue sales for the first time The consistent transformation of Quelle to an online player is paying off. In the quarter under review, online demand at quelle.de increased by 38%, thereby more than compensating for the structurally driven decline in sales at the Quelle catalogue business in Germany. Quelles sales in Germany were thus almost at the level of the previous year. In e-commerce, Quelle considerably strengthened its number 3 market position in Germany, after eBay and Amazon. International business at Quelle again increased sharply, improving by a good 15% in the quarter. HSE24 again looks back at a successful quarter. After a weaker start to the quarter, HSE24 achieved the highest December sales in its history, with sales improving by 2.6% in the quarter. However, some specialty mail order companies, particularly those focusing on older customer groups, were considerably impacted by the general economic downturn. Specialty mail order as a whole therefore posted a year-on-year sales decline of a good 3%. Adjusted EBITDA of the Primondo Group totalled minus €54 million, following €70 million in the previous year (adjusted for accounting changes to catalogue costs and factoring fees). Pleasingly the earnings trend was stable at Quelle, the largest unit in the Primondo segment. The key factors driving the earnings downturn of €16 million were the weak development in specialty mail order, which was particularly affected by the economic environment and the closure of FOX markets (markets selling over-stock goods). In the first quarter, Primondo invested large amounts in restruc-turing, including provisions for the closure of some over-the-counter stores. As a consequence, EBIT declined by €67 million to minus €22 million. The reduction of personal costs as a result of the Pact for the Future did not have any significant influence on the quarterly result, but will positively impact subsequent quarters. In addition, the Primondo Management initiated a further cost reduction program to ensure, the planned earnings increase in the current financial year is realised. Karstadt increases operating result - trend reversal achieved In the first quarter of the 2008/2009 financial year, Karstadt delivered adjusted sales for department store business of €1.27 billion. This equates to a slight sales upturn of 0.1%. Across the entire Karstadt segment (including Food and Catering), adjusted sales totalled €1.35 billion, thus reaching the level of the previous year. Sales in the fashion segment increased by 4%, as Karstadt gained market share in this most important sector. Karstadt sports also increased sales in the first quarter while at the same time, there were declines in Multimedia and Catering. This was partly the result of a targeted reduction of unprofitable sales space in some segments, particularly in the Multimedia segment. The cost reduction measures implemented towards the end of the quarter, which consist of the Pact for the Future and the efficiency program, so far have not significantly influenced the result, but will positively impact subsequent quarters. Despite a difficult market environment, Karstadt achieved an EBIT amounting to €99 million, almost at the level of the previous year (€103 million). Outlook Thomas Middelhoff to hand over his duties as of March 1 Thomas Middelhoff continued: "We have come a long way in the development of the Group, even though we have not reached our goal yet. This ordered transition within the Management Board with its combination of experienced operative managers together with a new Chairman and a new CFO is an important aspect of ensuring the company's future standing in the long term. As publicly known the change at the top management was planned long time in advance. I wish the team and all the employees much success and I will support the company in the future as much as possible." Thomas Middelhoff will accompany the ongoing development of Arcandor in an advisory capacity for the major shareholder Sal. Oppenheim and in close contact with the major shareholder Madeleine Schickedanz. |