DGAP-News

Leifheit Aktiengesellschaft: - Seite 2

million. The contribution margins from higher turnover contributed to this
rise. The gross margin increased from 46.9% to 47.3%. Earnings before
interest and taxes (EBIT) for the Group stood at EUR 15.7 million after
reaching EUR 17.9 million during the same period in the previous year. EBIT
was considerably impacted by the foreign currency result, which fell by EUR
2.7 million year on year. The reason for this was the appreciation of the
euro against the US dollar in the current financial year, which led to
decreases in the fair value of concluded forward foreign exchange
transactions as at the balance sheet date. In contrast, the result improved
in operational terms. Adjusted for the foreign currency result, EBIT rose
by 3.2% to EUR 16.9 million in a period comparison. The adjusted EBIT
margin stood at 9.4%. Less taxes, the Leifheit Group generated a net result
for the period of EUR 10.2 million after EUR 11.9 million during the same
period in the previous year.

Brand Business grows in particular with the Leifheit brand and in e-
commerce

The strategically important Brand Business is the larger of the Leifheit
Group's two segments. It encompasses the business activities involving
Leifheit and Soehnle branded products and is at the heart of the "Leifheit
2020" long-term growth strategy. The Group was able to continue expanding
turnover in Brand Business to EUR 150.4 million in the first nine months of
the current financial year. This corresponds to a 5.4% increase year on
year. The share in Group turnover thus equated to 83.8% in the same period
(previous year: 82.4%). Turnover for the e-commerce sales channel rose by
28.9% compared to the first three quarters of 2015. The continuous growth
in Brand Business was driven by the product categories cleaning and laundry
care. Turnover from Leifheit cleaning products in particular posted strong
growth in the first three quarters. Segment EBIT stood at EUR 12.9 million
compared to EUR 14.5 million in the same period of the previous year.
Adjusted for the foreign currency result, EBIT was nearly on a par with the
figure from 2015 at EUR 13.9 million.

Volume Business: turnover declines stronger than expected

Volume Business, which encompasses the subsidiaries Herby and Birambeau, as
well as project business, is the smaller of the Leifheit Group's segments
by a considerable margin, and is clearly geared towards profitability.
Turnover in Volume Business declined year on year by 4.7% to EUR 29.1
million. Various factors were relevant to the development of turnover in