CEWE COLOR takes over online print shop SAXOPRINT

CEWE COLOR takes over online print shop SAXOPRINT

- 2012 Group turnover: more than half a billion euros for the first time ever

- CEWE COLOR becomes a full-range online print supplier

- Market for consumers and enterprises targeted

- Surge in growth for new business segment

- Online printing market will see double-digit growth in coming years

Oldenburg/Dresden, 3 February 2012. CEWE COLOR AG & Co. OHG, a subsidiary of CEWE COLOR Holding AG (SDAX, ISIN: DE0005403901), has acquired all the shares in Saxoprint GmbH Dresden. The companies agreed not to disclose the price. 'This acquisition will quickly give us a leading position on the market for online printing. The Saxoprint acquisition is increasing the value of the company,' Dr. Rolf Hollander, Chairman of the CEWE COLOR Holding AG Board of Management, points out.

CEWE COLOR aiming to achieve 40 million euros with online prints already in 2012
Saxoprint is a leading company in the growing online printing market for enterprises, i.e. printed articles that can be ordered online conveniently and quickly. 'The acquisition completes our online printing range: the digital printing capacities we installed for our photo products will now be supplemented with offset print capacities,' says Dr. Hollander. CEWE COLOR commenced with tapping the market for business customers two years ago. These customers can now order printed products such as flyers, visiting cards and brochures online at viaprinto.de. This CEWE COLOR online printing service contributes towards an even more uniform and more efficient utilisation of the most extensive digital print capacities in Europe, established by CEWE COLOR as a result of the enormous success of its CEWE PHOTO BOOK and its photo greeting cards and calendars. The current digital printing capacity allows for orders for prints of up to around 500 copies to be produced at favourable prices. The Saxoprint acquisition now also gives CEWE COLOR comprehensive online offset print capacities to be able to efficiently handle more copies in its print runs. 'The technology and know-how brought in by Saxoprint and CEWE COLOR are like two puzzle pieces that fit exactly,' is how Dr. Hollander describes the strategic step taken in the business customer segment. Turnover in the online printing segment is to increase to around 40 million euros in 2012 thanks to the Saxoprint acquisition. 'In 2012, we are looking to generate turnover of more than half a billion euros for the first time ever,' Hollander emphasises.

Online printing with sustainable market growth
In the past few years the online printing market has seen exceptional growth, and CEWE COLOR reckons that it is likely to grow in the double-digit range in the period up to 2015. This makes online printing an attractive market segment. CEWE COLOR is already generating more than two-thirds of its photo product turnover online. 'Supplementing our range with offset printing is a logical development for our company, given our strength in the Internet and the trend on the print market. The market for commercial online print products and the photofinishing market are converging and we are actively involved in shaping this change,' Hollander explains.

Dr. Hollander: 'Saxoprint employees can be proud of their achievement'
Saxoprint GmbH in Dresden commenced its online printing service in 2006 and achieved a positive result in 2011 when turnover amounted to more than 30 million euros. 'This is an impressive performance of which the 350 Saxoprint employees can all be proud. We are pleased to be promoting the development of our own company together with Saxoprint GmbH employees and customers,' says Hollander. CEWE COLOR made a decision to acquire Saxoprint because of the high quality of the company's products and its reliable service, short delivery times and outstanding customer satisfaction.

Saxoprint intends to continue to grow
Founder and current chief partner Thomas Bohn looks forward to the next phase in the development of his company: 'We'll be able to continue to accelerate growth with a strong group behind us.' Thomas Bohn will continue to head Saxoprint GmbH as its Managing Director. 'Since Saxoprint operates in a market segment that we intend to expand considerably in future, we will give the team our strong support in its continuous growth,' CEO Rolf Hollander assures. Both managers emphasise: 'In the coming five to ten years we want to generate turnover of more than 100 million euros and also positively influence the earning power of the entire CEWE COLOR group.'

Should you have any queries, please contact:
CEWE COLOR Holding AG, Axel Weber (Investor Relations)
Tel.: 0441 / 404 - 2288, Fax: 0441 / 404 - 421,
Email: IR@cewecolor.de
Internet: www.cewecolor.de , www.cewe-fotobuch.de , www.viaprinto.de , www.saxoprint.de

Financial schedule:

22 March 2012: Financial Statements Press Conference & Analyst Conference, Frankfurt/Main
6 June 2012: Annual General Meeting, Park Hotel, Bremen

About Saxoprint: Saxoprint GmbH, Dresden, was founded by Thomas Bohn as a small local printing works in 1999. As early as in 2006 the company entered the market for online printing with great success, trading under the brand name of saxoprint.de. Saxoprint has operated its service in the United Kingdom, France, Austria, Spain and Switzerland since 2009. The company produces at a central, highly automated, efficient operation in Dresden with a staff of more than 350 employees working in production, customer service, development, marketing and administration. In 2011 Saxoprint processed more than 200,000 orders for prints for around 150,000 customers - small and large-scale enterprises, agencies, graphic artists, designers, tradespeople, event organisers, printing works - and achieved turnover of more than 30 million euros. The company offers an extensive range of products on its Internet portal www.saxoprint.de - including flyers, visiting cards, folders, large-format posters and placards. The express services delivers to customers within 24 hours.

About CEWE COLOR: Photo service company CEWE COLOR, with 12 highly-technical production operations and a staff of around 2,700 employees in 24 European countries, is both market and technological leader. In 2011 CEWE COLOR delivered around 2.5 billion prints, more than 5.1 million CEWE PHOTO BOOKS and photo gift articles to more than 45,000 retail partners to generate consolidated turnover of 469 million euros. CEWE COLOR is a 'first mover' in the introduction of new digital technologies and products. CEWE COLOR is continuing to expand its commercial online printing service viaprinto.de as an additional business segment. CEWE COLOR celebrated its 50th company anniversary in 2011: In 1961 CEWE COLOR was founded by Senator h.c. Heinz Neumüller. The company went public under the leadership of Hubert Rothärmel in 1993. CEWE COLOR Holding AG is listed on the SDAX.