Marked growth in earnings at Hornbach

During the 2004/2005 financial year, which ended on 28 February, Hornbach Holding AG increased its sales by 8 per cent to € 2,220 million. The Group’s pre-tax earnings rose by 37 per cent to around € 62 million. Hornbach Holding AG comprises the subgroups Hornbach-Baumarkt AG, Hornbach-Baustoff Union GmbH and Hornbach Immobilien AG.
Like-for-like sales in the Hornbach-Baumarkt subgroup rose in fiscal 2004/2005 by 1.5 per cent, well above the figure for the sector generally. The stores of Hornbach-Baumarkt AG outside Germany increased their like-for-like sales by 4.4 per cent over the same period, and currently account for a share of overall sales of 33 per cent.
Hornbach plans to open nine new stores in the new financial year, including five in Germany. The number of DIY stores with garden centres will thus increase by up to eight to 125 by the end of February 2006. This new round of openings commenced with the opening of a second Swedish store in Malmö on 13 April, to be followed by a second Hornbach store in Slovakia opening on 27 April. The store in Mannheim-Neckarau, which opened in 1982 and is regarded as outdated, will be closed in the current financial year.