CEWE is planning another increase in turnover and earnings in 2023

CEWE is planning another increase in turnover and earnings in 2023

• Business figures presented at annual press conference: Turnover rises to 741.0 million euros in 2022, EBIT increases to 75.6 million euros
• 14th dividend increase in a row: Executive Board and Supervisory Board propose 2.45 euros dividend per share for financial year 2022
• Strong results also planned for 2023: Turnover expected to increase to up to 780 million euros, EBIT to rise further to up to 82 million euros

Oldenburg/Frankfurt, March 30, 2023. CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA (SDAX, ISIN: DE 0005403901) today presented its results for 2022 and the outlook for 2023 at its annual press and analysts' conference. The company closed the financial year 2022 with a significant increase in turnover and the second strongest result in the company's history: Turnover increased by +7.0%, up €48.2 million to €741.0 million, exceeding the 2022 target of €680 to €740 million (2021: €692.8 million). Operating profit (EBIT) rose to 75.6 million euros, clearly in the upper half of the 2022 target range of 65 to 80 million euros (2021 EBIT: 72.2 million euros). The dividend for the financial year 2022 is to increase to 2.45 euros per share (previous year: 2.35 euros). Subject to the approval of the Annual General Meeting, this is the fourteenth dividend increase in a row. CEWE is thus one of the top 5 German index companies with a dividend that has been increasing for so many years. "In addition to the strong brand portfolio, the continuous innovations and the excellent retail relationships, it is above all a first-class team performance - i.e. the "WE" in "CEWE" - which makes our company so strong. I would therefore like to thank all my colleagues for their outstanding performance in the past year. I am very much looking forward to continuing this success story together with all employees and partners in 2023,'' said Yvonne Rostock, CEO of CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA, at today's annual press conference. CEWE is also planning to achieve strong results in the 2023 business year: Group turnover is expected to reach a value in the range of 720 to 780 million euros in 2023, and Group EBIT is expected to be in the corridor of 70 to 82 million euros.

Photofinishing again drives Group earnings with stronger Christmas business

In 2022, CEWE again presented many innovations around personal photo gifts for Christmas, such as the new XXL Advent calendar with Tony's Chocolonely®, the photo Advent calendar with poster collage, the "Nature" desk calendar made of 100% recycled paper, or the TIPA award-winning personalized slipcase for the CEWE PHOTOBOOK XL. In the reporting year, the CEWE PHOTOBOOK increased by 3.6% to a sales volume of 5.85 million copies (2021: 5.65 million copies). Likewise, the total number of photos across all products rose by 4.4% to 2.28 billion units (2021: 2.18 billion photos). In this context, the product mix also changed compared with the previous Corona year, when the "stay-at-home" effect led to even greater demand for high-quality single-photo products such as wall prints. The Corona normalization with the return of mainly international vacations, events, celebrations and parties led to many new photos among consumers in the past year, which CEWE successfully converted into its own business growth: thus, turnover in the core business segment photofinishing increased significantly by 26.0 million euros or +4.4% to 616.1 million euros (photofinishing turnover 2021: 590.1 million euros). Necessary price increases also supported the turnover growth and offset inflation-related cost increases. The operating result (EBIT) in photofinishing increased to a pleasing 73.7 million euros (photofinishing EBIT 2021: 71.2 million euros).
 

Commercial Online-Print with significant sales growth of 31.0% and improved earnings

In the past year 2022, Commercial Online-Print (COP) successfully translated the growing demand for commercial print products as Corona normalization progressed into a significant increase in sales with its "Best Price Guarantee" for its customers: Turnover increased by 31.0% year-on-year to 86.5 million euros. (2021: 66.0 million euros). Although the pre-pandemic turnover from 2019 has not yet been reached again, however, COP vs. 2019 shows a strongly improved EBIT in the amount of 2.3 million euros (EBIT before restructuring costs 2019: -2.7 million euros). Compared to the previous year 2021, Commercial Online Print also improves its EBIT contribution to the Group result by a pleasing 1.1 million euros, almost doubling the previous year's result (EBIT 2021: 1.2 million euros). The improvement in earnings is primarily the result of the consistent optimization of the production and cost structure of COP with its SAXOPRINT, viaprinto and LASERLINE brands in recent years.
 

Retail shows itself to be well positioned

The retail business segment also benefited from the recovery after the Corona restrictions in the past financial year and achieved a 3.9% increase in turnover to 32.4 million euros (2021: 31.2 million euros). At 0.2 million euros, the EBIT contribution of the CEWE retail business to the group result was at the level of the previous year (EBIT 2021: 0.2 million euros"). Thus, CEWE's retail business is also well positioned in 2022 with the optimized branch structure. The clear focus will continue to be on the sales of CEWE PHOTOBOOKS, calendars, greeting cards, wall pictures and other photo gifts. The turnover and earnings contribution of this photofinishing product portfolio is reported in the photofinishing business segment.
 

Strong results also planned for 2023

Group turnover in 2023 is expected to be in the range of 720 to 780 million euros. Group EBIT in 2023 is expected to be in the corridor of 70 to 82 million euros, EBT between 69 and 81 million euros, and after-tax earnings between 47 and 55 million euros. The ranges of these targets for the business year 2023 are about expected dimensions and reflect the uncertainties currently resulting from the inflation-related increase in the cost of sales and its potential effects on the development of CEWE's business. At present, the persistently high inflation has no influence on the ordering behavior of customers and thus on the development of CEWE's turnover.
 

Sustainability in focus: Thirteenth Sustainability Report published

CEWE takes a comprehensive view of sustainability - ecologically, economically and socially. Sustainable action has been deeply rooted at CEWE for a long time. The company has been reporting regularly on its sustainability initiatives and progress in this area since as early as 2010. Together with the Annual Report 2022, the new Sustainability Report is also available online at https://company.cewe.de or https://ir.cewe.de with immediate effect.

Dividend to increase for the fourteenth time in succession

On the basis of the results for the financial year 2022, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board have proposed to the Annual General Meeting that the dividend be increased to 2.45 euros per dividend-bearing share (dividend for the financial year 2021: 2.35 euros). Subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for June 7, 2023, the dividend of 2.45 euros per share now proposed corresponds to a dividend yield of 2.8% based on the 2022 year-end share price of 88.70 euros. This is the fourteenth dividend increase in succession and also the highest dividend in the Company's history.

Fundamentally sound: Equity ratio rises to 57.3%, ROCE improves to 17.6%

After an already very solid level in the previous year (December 31, 2021: 56.0%), the equity ratio rose again to now 57.3% in 2022, thus underlining that CEWE continues to have an extremely stable position. The return on capital employed (ROCE) was significantly stronger in 2022 than in the comparable last pre-Corona year (ROCE 2019: 14.8%) and also slightly better than in the previous year (ROCE 2021: 17.5%).

Full year of 2022 and targets for 2023

The ranges of these targets for the business year 2023 reflect the uncertainties currently resulting from the increase in prices/inflation on the cost of sales and cost side and their potential effects on CEWE's business development.

1  The number of photos is the total amount of photos used to create CEWE photo products and includes all the photos used in added-value products (e.g. CEWE PHOTOBOOKS, CEWE CARDS, CEWE CALENDARS, CEWE WALL ART and other photo gifts).

2  Outflows of funds for investments in fixed and intangible assets, balanced by inflows of funds from the disposal of fixed and intangible assets; not including additional purchases and corporate acquisitions

3  Target for 2023: Excluding subsequent valuation of equity instruments

4  Target for 2023: Based on the normalised Group tax rate for the previous year

Rounding differences may occur. Exact values have always been used for percentage deviation calculations.

An overview of results for 2022

Rounding differences may occur. Exact values have always been used for percentage deviation calculations.

Notes to the "Earnings by Business Segment" chart

(1) Photofinishing:  Production and sale of photo products such as the CEWE PHOTO BOOK, calendars, greeting cards, wall art and individual (analogue and digital) photos as well as other photo products

(2) Retailing: Trading in photo hardware, such as cameras and lenses, in Norway, Sweden, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia

(3) Commercial online printing: Production and sale of commercial print products in the online printing portals of SAXOPRINT, viaprinto and LASERLINE

Should you have any queries, please contact:
CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA, Axel Weber (Investor Relations)
Tel.: 0441 / 404 - 552, Fax: 0441 / 404 - 421, Email: IR@cewe.de

Internet:  cewe.de , pixum.de , deindesign.de , whitewall.com , cheerz.com ,   

saxoprint.de, viaprinto.de , laser-line.de

The CEWE apps are all available in the app stores: CEWE PHOTO WORLD, CEWE POSTCARD and other photo apps, and the CEWE Investor Relations app for iPad© or android tablets, with annual reports and quarterly reports, presentations and sustainability reports.

You are welcome to join us at one of these investment conferences or to follow up on our pending publications:

Financial schedule

(insofar as already scheduled)

11.05.2023 Publication Interim Statement Q1 2023

07.06.2023 Annual General Meeting 2023, Weser-Ems-Halle Oldenburg

11.08.2023 Publication Interim Report H1 2023

19.09.2023 Berenberg & Goldman Sachs German Corporate Conference 2023, Munich

20.09.2023 Baader Investment Conference 2023, Munich

10.11.2023 Publication Interim Statement Q3 2023

28.11.2023 Deutsches Eigenkapitalforum 2023, Frankfurt

About CEWE:

The CEWE Group is Europe's leading photo service and online printing supplier.

From its beginnings in 1912, CEWE has progressed to become the leading photo service company for all those wanting to make more of their photos. This is mainly due to the much-awarded CEWE PHOTOBOOK, with about six million books being sold each year. Customers can purchase other personalised photo products under the brand names of CEWE, Pixum, WhiteWall and Cheerz – and from many leading retailers in Europe. They are inspired to produce a variety of creative designs from their personal photos in these brand environments, entrusting the company with more than 2 billion photos every year.

The CEWE Group has also set up a highly efficient production system for advertising prints and business prints for the online printing market. Every year billions of high-quality printed products are delivered reliably to their purchasers through the SAXOPRINT, LASERLINE and viaprinto sales platforms.

The CEWE Group, through the founder family of Neumüller as an anchor shareholder, focuses on sustainable corporate management and has already received many awards for this effort:  economically sustainable in the long term; cooperative and fair in dealings with customers, employees and suppliers; socially responsible and protective of the environment and resources. An example of this is the climate-neutral process used to produce all the CEWE brand-name products.

The CEWE Group has a staff of 4,000 employees and operates in 21 countries. CEWE is listed on the SDAX. More information is available at company.cewe.de.