Hamburg, 6 August 2020. Today the wine-trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) published its financial report for the first six months of fiscal year 2020, including the figures for the second quarter (1 April to 30 June). "In the second quarter we were able to continue the positive development of the first quarter, despite the difficult conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The consumer segments Retail and E-commerce more than compensated for the sales slump in the B2B segment due to closures in the restaurant and hotel industry, so that group sales rose overall by 13% - with a significant increase of 85% in EBIT as well," said Thorsten Hermelink, CEO of the Hawesko Group in Hamburg.

In the second quarter of 2020, consolidated sales rose by 13% to €153.8 million (same quarter in the previous year: € 136.2 million). The E-commerce segment achieved sales of € 62.0 million, corresponding to an increase of 43%. Sales in the Retail segment (Jacques' Wein-Depot and Wein & Co.) rose by 9.1% to € 52.8 million. Jacques' posted growth of 12%, while Wein & Co. posted a decline in sales due to the coronavirus-related branch closures in Austria in April. Sales in the B2B segment at € 39.0 million were below the figure for the previous year's quarter (€ 44.5 million), although sales for the month of June were again above the same quarter in the previous year.

The consolidated operating result (EBIT) amounted to € 9.2 million in the second quarter of 2020, corresponding to an increase of 85% over the previous year's quarter, despite the fact that non-recurring expenditures of more than two million euros were incurred in conjunction with modernisation and restructuring measures as well as the sale of a Swiss subsidiary. The Group's operative (EBIT) margin was 6.0% in the second quarter, compared to 3.7% in the same quarter of the previous year and 3.1% in the first quarter of 2020.

In the first half of the year (1 January to 30 June), consolidated sales increased over the previous year by 8.5% to € 277.6 million, while EBIT rose by 49% to € 13.1 million. Consolidated net income after deductions for taxes and non-controlling interests nearly doubled to € 8.0 million, and earnings per share amounted to € 0.89, after € 0.44 per share in the first six months of the previous year). At the half-year reference date, free cash flow reached a positive value of € 16.2 million, compared to €-10.3 million in the same period of the previous year.

For the Hawesko management board, the successes of the first half of the year have not changed the fact that an assessment of the further course of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact remains difficult. Overall, a reliable forecast for fiscal year 2020 is not possible. However, the management board is optimistic that the performance in the consumer segments will continue in general, albeit perhaps not on the same scale as before, and hopes that the restaurant and hotel industry will recover as rapidly as possible. Should these scenarios turn out to be true, it can be assumed that group EBIT will not lag behind the level of the previous years.
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The full six-month financial report to 30 June 2020 is available for download at -holding.com/en/investors.

The Hawesko Group is a leading purveyor of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2019, the Group employed 1,200 persons in the company's three sales channels: Retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), B2B (Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein-Distributionsgesellschaft) and E-commerce (particularly HAWESKO and Vinos). The shares of Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg as well as in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Publisher:

Hawesko Holding AG
Elbkaihaus
Grosse Elbstrasse 145d
22767 Hamburg

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

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Thomas Hutchinson
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