• Pandemic changes wine market: permanent boost for wine sales via e-commerce expected
• 12 percent rise in sales to € 620.3 million and 50 percent online growth in financial year 2020
• EBIT for 2020 rises 45 percent to € 42.2 million
• Increased dividend of € 2.00 per share proposed

Hamburg, 22 April 2021. The Board of Management of Hawesko Holding AG (HAW, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) expressed its satisfaction with the 2020 financial year at today's Annual Press Conference. The Hawesko Group's diversified position comprising the Retail, e-commerce and B2B segments afforded it protection in the extraordinary financial year of 2020 and enabled it to continue to operate reliably despite shifts between the sales channels.
The Hawesko Group's Chief Executive Officer Thorsten Hermelink commented: "We are convinced the digital transformation of the premium wine market will continue at speed even after the pandemic. The e-commerce share of the wine trade in structural terms jumped to a higher level last year, giving it a springboard for further progress after the pandemic, certainly in the medium term."

Sales revenues were increased by around 28 percent in the first quarter of 2021, to approximately € 159 million. EBIT almost quadrupled and exceeded € 15 million over the same period. However the prior-year period was barely affected by the coronavirus. For all the optimism surrounding e-commerce, it can be assumed that a portion of wine consumption will go "out of house" again after the pandemic. The further course of the current financial year will depend very much on the duration and nature of the measures taken to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, but also on how consumers respond after restrictions have eased. Bearing this in mind, it is currently not possible to issue a meaningful forecast for business development for the remainder of the financial year.

In the 2020 financial year, consolidated earnings were increased by 11.6 percent to € 620.3 million and the consolidated operating result (EBIT) grew by 44.6 percent to € 42.2 million. e-commerce served as the main driver of this leap in growth, but the Retail formats were also major contributing factors in this success. The Retail segment reported a 12.0 percent rise in sales to € 227.7 million. The operating result (EBIT) for the segment climbed from € 18.0 million in the previous year to € 24.3 million in the year under review. In the e-commerce segment, sales were boosted by 29.0 percent to € 230.4 million. EBIT for the segment came to € 22.4 million (previous year: € 11.6 million, including income of € 4.0 million from the sale of a property). The B2B segment was the most severely affected by coronavirus-related restrictions in 2020. Sales for the segment of € 162.1 million were consequently down 6.8 percent on the previous year. EBIT for the segment came to € 3.1 million (previous year: € 6.0 million). Costs for the holding company reached € 7.7 million (previous year: € 6.5 million).

The consolidated net income and the profit due to non-controlling interests amounted to € 23.8 million (previous year: € 15.8 million). This corresponds to € 2.65 per share (previous year: € 1.76). The consolidated balance sheet total was € 427.7 million (previous year: € 394.9 million), with the equity ratio consequently falling to 27.4 percent (previous year: 28.1 percent). Capital expenditure on property plant and equipment and intangible assets totalled € 5.7 million (previous year: € 7.7 million). The free cash flow was € 71.6 million (previous year: € 31.6 million).

The Hawesko Group is in rude health and well equipped to face the current challenges. The plan is to propose to the Annual General Meeting that the basic dividend be increased from € 1.30 to € 1.60 per share, with a special dividend of € 0.40 in recognition of the exceptional financial year.

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As a leading trading group for high-quality wines, champagnes and spirits, the Hawesko Group achieved sales of € 620 million and EBIT of € 42 million in 2020. The Hawesko Group employs around 1,200 people across the Retail (Jacques' and Wein & Co.), B2B (especially Wein Wolf, Abayan and Grand Cru Select) and e-commerce (especially HAWESKO, Vinos and WirWinzer) segments. The shares in Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange, Hamburg, and in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Publisher:

Hawesko Holding AG
Elbkaihaus
Grosse Elbstrass 145 d
22767 Hamburg
Germany

Internet: hawesko-holding.com (corporate information)
hawesko.de (online shop)
jacques.de (Jacques' Wein-Depot locations and online shop)
vinos.de (Spanish wines)
wirwinzer.de (German wines directly from the producer)
weinco.at (online shop)

Press and Investor Relations contact:

Tel. (+49) 40 3039 2100
Tel. (+49) 40 3039 2105
E-mail: