CEWE COLOR aiming for clear increase in earnings for 2010

CeWe Color Holding AG / Final Results/Results Forecast 13.04.2010 07:00 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CEWE COLOR aiming for clear increase in earnings for 2010 - Transformation-related restructuring completed - Business with CEWE PHOTO BOOKS increased extremely effectively - Earnings expectations for 2009 clearly exceeded - Higher dividend: dividend payout rate of more than 100% planned - Double the amount of earnings announced for 2010 Frankfurt am Main/Oldenburg, 13 April 2010. CEWE COLOR Holding AG (SDAX, ISIN: DE0005403901) has exceeded all its earnings targets for 2009 now that transformation-related restructuring measures have been completed and digital business has been very successfully increased: earnings before tax (EBT) rose by 57%, EUR 16.8 million, The company is also aiming for a strong increase in earnings for 2010: in the current business year, EBT is to be raised from EUR 16.8 million to EUR 22 to 27 million and earnings per share are to double to between EUR 1.76 and EUR 2.20. 'In 2010 we will benefit even more from our extended product portfolio, an improved cost structure and a reduced need for investment,' said Dr. Rolf Hollander, Chairman of the Board of Management of CEWE COLOR Holding AG, at today's Annual Report Press Conference in Frankfurt am Main. Digital business successfully expanded: Record earnings in Q4 2009 Record earnings achieved in the fourth quarter of 2009 contributed most significantly to a successful business year in 2009. EBT grew by 97 % in the fourth quarter of 2009, to a record EUR 15.2 million (full year EUR 16.8 million) CEWE COLOR has never registered higher earnings in a fourth quarter throughout the entire history of the company. Digital added-value products, photo calendars, greeting cards, gift articles and high-quality wall decoration products, contributed most significantly to this success. The most successful product is the CEWE PHOTO BOOK, which once again held its Number 1 position as Europe's leading photo book brand. The strong growth in sales and earnings reported in the fourth quarter has contributed - not least because of an improved cost structure - towards the fact that all the targets for CEWE COLOR Holding AG for the 2009 business year were exceeded (see chart). Free cash flow raised by EUR 8.9 million Thanks to a reduced need for investments and a rise in the inflow of operative funds, CEWE COLOR was able to increase its free cash flow in 2009 to EUR 9.9 million (previous year EUR 1.0 million). On the one hand cash flow from operative business was increased by 5 %, from EUR 34.8 million to EUR 36.5 million, and on the other hand the company reduced the outflow of investment-related funds by 17.7 % to EUR 27.4 million. Financing secured: Capital ratio at 41.6 % CEWE COLOR mainly used the high inflow of funds in the fourth quarter to reduce gross financial liabilities during the course of the year, from EUR 35.3 million to 32.5 million. At the same time the company arranged for a more long-term financing structure, reducing short-term financial liabilities by EUR 14.3 million and increasing long-term financial liabilities by EUR 11.6 million. Successful new negotiations concerning credit lines, concluded in keeping with customary routine in the summer of 2009, are notably reflected here. The company has thus enhanced its scope for financing and also secured long-term financing. The capital ratio, at 41.6 %, also remains stable at a high level. Equity at the end of 2009, at EUR 111.7 million, was at around the same level as that of last year (EUR 112.4 million). Consolidated profit to be paid out in full On the basis of the extremely sound financing structure, the rise in earning power and the completion of the transformation phase, the Supervisory Board and the Board of Management will propose payment of a dividend of EUR 1.05 a share at the Annual General Meeting on 2 June (2009 dividend EUR 1.00). With consolidated profits at EUR 6.7 million, this is equivalent to a payout rate of 108%. 'We want our shareholders to participate in the effective completion of transformation-related restructuring measures and the successful establishment of digital business - in particular business with CEWE PHOTO BOOKS: good earnings prospects for 2010 enable us to practice a shareholder-friendly and at the same time sustained dividend policy,' says Dr. Rolf Hollander. The current continued low need for investment and positive expectations in terms of cash flow from current business operations justify the 108% distribution of consolidated profits. Earnings per share to be doubled in 2010 The Board of Management of CEWE COLOR HOLDING AG also presumed that in 2010 the company will perform far better than the economic trend in general: the Board of Management expects to see exchange-rate adjusted turnover increasing to EUR 420 million to 430 million. Key earnings figures are to develop clearly above average: the management expects EBIT to grow by 28% to 55 %, to EUR 24 million to 29 million; at the same time EBT is to rise from EUR 16.8 million to EUR 22 million to 27 million. After-tax earnings are forecast to rise from EUR 6.7 million to around EUR 12 to 15 million. This means that earnings per share are to double from EUR 1.00 in 2009 to EUR 1.76 to 2.20 (+ 76 % to + 120 %). CEWE COLOR Group Unit Actual Target Actual Target 2008 2009 2009 2010 Digital photos in billion 1.8 1.9 2.0 2.0 photos Photos from films in billion 0.8 0.5 0.6 0.35 photos Photos total in billion 2.6 2.4 2.6 2.35 photos CEWE PHOTO BOOK in million 2.6 3.5 3.6 4.2 books Sales in EUR 420.0 405- 409.8 420- millions 410 430** EBIT in EUR 12.4 18.7 24-29 millions EBT before in EUR 22.1 20-25 26.3 - restructuring millions Expenditure for in EUR 11.4 10.0 9.5 - restructuring* millions EBT in EUR 10.7 10-15 16.8 22-27 millions Earnings after tax in EUR 7.0 - 6.7 12-15 millions Earnings per share EUR/share 1.02 - 1.00 1.76- 2.20 * Restructuring costs as a result of the analogue/digital transformation ** Exchange-rate adjusted Financial schedule: 18 May 2010 Announcement of the figures for the first quarter of 2010 2 June 2010 Annual General Meeting, Park Hotel, Bremen 17 August 2010 Announcement of the figures for the second quarter of 2010 16 November 2010 Announcement of the figures for the third quarter of 2010 About CEWE COLOR: Photo service company CEWE COLOR, with 13 highly technical production operations and a staff of around 2,700 employees in 24 European countries, is both market and technological leader. The company supplied around 2.6 billion photos and more than 3.6 million CEWE PHOTO BOOKS to more than 50,000 retail partners in 2009. CEWE COLOR is a 'first mover' in the launch of new digital technologies, for example ordering digital photos in the Internet or with the help of order terminals(DigiFoto Makers) in retail stores. Sales of personalised CEWE PHOTO BOOKSare developing extremely well. 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. Should you have any queries, please contact: CEWE COLOR Holding AG, Axel Weber (Investor Relations) or Dr. Hella Hahm (Press) Tel.: 0441 / 404 - 2288, Fax: 0441 / 404 - 421, Email: IR@cewecolor.de, Internet: www.cewecolor.de or www.cewe-fotobuch.de 13.04.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: CeWe Color Holding AG Meerweg 30-32 26133 Oldenburg Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)441 40 4-1 Fax: +49 (0)441 40 4-42 1 E-mail: IR@cewecolor.de Internet: www.cewecolor.de ISIN: DE0005403901 WKN: 540390 Indices: SDAX Listed: Regulierter Markt in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in München, Hannover, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------