year include the redesign and reopening of shops and the launch ... findings about usage of our new online shop in the f
ANNUAL REPORT 2014
Letter to shareholders
Dear readers, shareholders, and employees, Beate Uhse has entered into the expansion phase it has been striving for. Growth in turnover shows that the Group is on the right path. The consistent implementation of our strategy and other measures to strengthen the Beate Uhse brand and our countryspecific brands of Pabo, Adam & Eve and Christine le Duc have contributed to this and mark the start of the growth phase. However, we are not satisfied with the growth in operative earnings in 2014 and continue to focus our efforts on improving the future earnings situation. In addition to the relaunch and the optimisation of our e-commerce platform, the major measures implemented in the past financial year include the redesign and reopening of shops and the launch of TV advertising on German television. The migration of our e-Commerce platform to the Hybris technology in the reporting period resulted not only in significant investments but also one-off regular technical establishment and optimisation processes. This had an impact on the sales and result for the growth driver Mail Order in particular. We used the findings about usage of our new online shop in the first half of 2014 to further optimise our e-commerce platform. These adjustments helped to make the shopping experience in our online shops more customer-friendly and intuitive. In Retail, we pushed ahead with the redesign of existing shops and the expansion of our chain of branches. In the meantime, nearly 40% of existing shops have been adapted in line with the new shop concept and new shops have been opened in Karlsruhe, Koblenz and Amsterdam, to name a few. Our TV ad was broadcast in German and Dutch television in the early part of the year. This marketing campaign allowed us to appeal to a broad public, boost the personality of the brand and acquire new customers. Another milestone in our expansion strategy is the successful placement of our first corporate bond. The funds generated by this secured our financing over the long term and enabled us to repay our remaining financial liabilities to banks. We also used part of the money to optimise our stock levels, negotiate better purchasing conditions and thus boost our margin over the medium term. In addition, we also invested heavily in our brand marketing. Building on this, we implemented an annual campaign for the countryspecific brands Beate Uhse, Pabo and Adam & Eve in the first quarter of 2015. The clear message of this campaign is that Beate Uhse is the go-to brand for self-assured, erotic moments in the life of a woman and her partner.
Annual Report
A measurable success of the consistent implementation of our brand relaunch can also be seen in the latest Semion Brand study, which shows that the brand value of Beate Uhse increased by 1% in 2014 to EUR 33.4 million. According to this study, Beate Uhse is one of the 50 most valuable brands in Germany. Our measures are also showing the first successes in terms of sales development. In the 2014 financial year, we increased our sales by 0.6% from EUR 142.0 million to EUR 142.9 million. EBIT increased from EUR 3.4 million in the previous year to EUR 5.0 million in the 2014 financial year. This result means that we fulfilled our forecast expectations once again in the 2014 financial year. The increased focus on our core markets and the related decision to close down operations on the Norwegian market in future played a positive role in this with a special effect from the deconsolidation of Kondomeriet AS amounting to EUR 3.2 million. The strengthening of our profitability is one of our key areas of focus in the current financial year. We aim to achieve this by boosting sales as part of the continued expansion. We would like to thank our employees in particular. They have contributed to Beate Uhse’s success through their dedication and hard work every day. We would also like to thank our shareholders for their trust in us. We are delighted to be able to pursue the course we have set ourselves together with our employees, shareholders and investors in future. We will implement the necessary measures and steps in order to drive the successful growth of our company in a targeted way. Erwin Cok has decided to leave the company on 31 March after more than 20 years with Beate Uhse Group. Serge van der Hooft and Cornelis Vlasblom would like to take this opportunity to thank Erwin Cok for his dedicated service during his time as COO and wish him all the best for the future.
Yours,
Serge van der Hooft (Chairman of the Management Board, CEO)
Erwin Cok (COO)
Cornelis Vlasblom (CFO)
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FINANCIAL SUMMARY
EUR 000s Sales performance Retail Mail Order Wholesale Entertainment Total sales Share of international sales (%) Earnings position EBITDA EBIT EBT Net result Other earnings indicators (%) Return on sales before tax Return on sales after tax Return on equity Gross profit margin Financial situation Cash flow from operating activities Capital expenditure Depreciation, amortisation and impairment Assets and equity Total assets Shareholders‘ equity Equity ratio (%) Non-current assets Current assets Additional information Fulltime equivalten (FTE) Cost of sales Selling expenses The share (EUR) Number of shares Share price at end of period Share price high Share price low Earnings per share
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2014
2013
Change %
44,330 59,694 33,485 5,399 142,908 68.4
45.998 60.465 28.762 6.810 142.035 67.8
-3.6 -1.3 16.4 -20.7 0.6
10,310 5,017 2,397 2,540
10,053 3,375 1,314 3,681
2.6 48.7 82.4 -31.0
1.7 1.8 9.1 51.0
0.9 2.6 13.5 52.5
80.1 -31.9 -32.6 -2.8
-287 7,231 5,293
7,409 5,307 6,678
-103.9 36.3 -20.7
98,852 27,894 28.2 43,114 55,738
82,618 27,245 33.0 42,126 40,492
19.6 2.4 -14.4 2.3 37.7
620 69,972 58,359
663 67,489 58,749
-6.4 3.7 -0.7
78,074,696 0.61 0.78 0.61 0.03
78,074,696 0.67 1.20 0.63 0.04
0.0 -9.0 -35.0 -3.2 -21.5
Annual Report 2014
