Hornbach: Trend in earnings unsatisfactory

The German Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG Group has reported unsatisfactory figures for the first quarter of the current year (1 March to 31 May 2005) in a press release. The reason given for the poor performance was the unexpectedly low level of sales due to the bad weather, with a lower profit margin compared to last year. Initial provisional figures show results for the group for the first quarter of 2005/2006 to be below the previous year’s figures: EBITDA € 47 mio, down 21 per cent, EBIT € 32 mio, down 29 per cent and pre-tax profits down 37 per cent to € 26 mio.
Group sales (net) rose in the first quarter of 2005/2006 by 5.4 per cent to € 617 mio (previous year: € 585 mio). Comparable store sales by the DIY stores and garden centres fell by 0.5 per cent, resulting in a drop in like-for-like sales in Germany of 1.3 per cent during the first three months. On the other hand, Hornbach  DIY stores and garden centres abroad grew in like-for-like terms by 1.2 per cent.
The detailed first quarter report will be published on 24 June at the statement press conference.