BoConcept's 2013/2014 financial year characterised by difficult market conditions and hard work to boost future growth and earnings


Herning, Denmark, 2014-06-27 08:01 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

 

Today the supervisory board has approved the annual report of BoConcept Holding A/S for the 2013/2014 financial year. The 2013/2014 annual report contains the following highlights:

Revenue was DKK 1,049 million, corresponding to an increase of 2.3%. Revenue was favourably affected by the acquisition of the Chinese activities, but adversely affected by changes in foreign exchange rates

Same-store-sales in terms of order intake were up by 1.4%. A negative trend in the first six months of the year was followed by progress, especially in the fourth quarter, when the full effect of our sales promotion initiatives was seen

• With 40 new store openings and 26 closures the franchise chain reached a record number of 266 brand stores at year-end, partly due to the opening of a sizeable number of stores in Germany, Asia and the USA

An EBIT percentage of minus 2.1% as a result of additional expenses for concept development, more marketing initiatives, higher provisions for losses on debtors and declining foreign exchange rates

The group posted a negative result after tax of DKK 13 million

• Investments in Chinese master rights, location involvement, own stores and inventories increased the balance sheet and resulted in an equity ratio of 36.1% at year-end

• An improvement in the composition of working capital boosted cash flow from operating activities in the last quarter of the year. After net investments totalling DKK 59 million, cash flow before financing activities was an outflow of 5% of revenue

 

OUTLOOK

Subject to unchanged market conditions and foreign exchange rates, management expects BoConcept to increase its level of activity and earnings in the 2014/2015 financial year through its updated business base. We expect revenue to increase by 5-8%, with positive contributions from same-store-sales and additional stores. The operating margin will be 2-3%, driven by revenue growth, greater efficiency and lower provisions for losses.

Over the next few years, investment will return to normal at a level that matches depreciation charges.

Our forecast for the 2014/2015 financial year is based on the assumption that exchange rates remain at their current level and market conditions remain stable.

 

'Implementation of a series of activities designed to increase traffic throughout the past financial year was slow to make an impact on sales figures for 2013/2014. Large-scale losses on debtors and the adverse effect of foreign exchange rates only made things worse, but the excellent improvement seen in same-store-sales in the fourth quarter, the opening of a record number of new stores and an adjustment of capacity costs had a favourable effect on our business', says Torben Paulin, CEO of BoConcept Holding A/S.

'To counteract the trend, we allocated substantial resources in the past financial year, which have helped point BoConcept in the right direction and adopt a strategy that will increase sales per square metre in our stores. We followed this up with considerable investment in our business base, giving our concept, collection and communications platform a radical makeover. At the same time, we implemented cost-cutting measures, reduced the number of management layers and prepared the organisation for greater efficiency in key areas. When we introduce our 2015 collection in September, our many initiatives will have been fully implemented. The task will then be to translate the updated platform into results in the form of higher sales and improved earnings, which we consider to be our only parameters for success in 2014/2015', concludes Torben Paulin.

 

Annual general meeting

The annual general meeting will be held at the company's office, Mørupvej 16, Herning on 27 August 2014 at 4 pm.

Motions for consideration at the general meeting must be submitted in writing to the supervisory and executive boards no later than six weeks before the general meeting, i.e. no later than 16 July 2014.

 

BoConcept Holding A/S

 

 

 

         For further information, please contact CEO Torben Paulin or CFO Hans Barslund on tel. +45 70 13 13 66


Attachments

fo 270614_8_gb.pdf