Bastei Lübbe AG publishes preliminary figures for 2017/2018: Earnings hit harder despite increase in revenue from core business

DGAP-Ad-hoc: Bastei Lübbe AG / Key word(s): Preliminary Results
Bastei Lübbe AG publishes preliminary figures for 2017/2018: Earnings hit harder despite increase in revenue from core business

14-Jun-2018 / 13:14 CET/CEST
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Ad hoc disclosure in accordance with section 17 MAR

Bastei Lübbe AG publishes preliminary figures for 2017/2018: Earnings hit harder despite increase in revenue from core business

Cologne, 14 June 2018. According to provisional figures for the 2017/2018 financial year, Bastei Lübbe AG reports consolidated revenue of around EUR 140 million. Based on provisional calculations, EBITDA amounted to EUR 0.5 million (previously: around EUR 5 million), and EBIT totalled minus EUR 18 million (previously: around minus EUR 11 million). Several factors, in particular, one-time effects, negatively impacted on earnings in the 2017/2018 financial year by around EUR 18 million. These include the loss of the affiliate BuchPartner GmbH, sold on 31 March 2018, unscheduled impairment at the affiliates and subsidiaries Oolipo AG, BookRix GmbH & Co. KG, Beam Shop GmbH and B+M Entertainment GmbH (formerly operating under Bastei Media GmbH) and an additional negative impact on earnings with no effect on cash amounting to EUR 8 million for capitalised royalties. The latter item largely involves a one-time effect stemming from the adjustment of the expected course of amortization. The detailed analysis of the annual financial statements resulted in a EUR 3 million higher amortization and impairment requirement than expected compared to the ad-hoc release of 1 February 2018.

Adjusted for unscheduled impairment on investments as well as the additional write-downs on capitalised royalties, provisional EBIT in the core business increased significantly by around EUR 1 million to approx. EUR 3.5 million compared with the 2016/2017 financial year, this includes the fact that the fourth quarter was below plan due to high remissions. Revenue in the core business of book publishing rose by around 20% year-on-year to approx. EUR 85 million.

The subsidiary Deadalic Entertainment GmbH managed in the 'Digital' segment increased its revenue by around 40% to approx. EUR 9 million in the year under review and fulfilled expectations with EBITDA of around EUR 3 million. However, the blockbuster game 'The Pillars of the Earth', developed at great expense, failed to perform and sell as expected in the fourth quarter of 2017/2018, meaning that an unscheduled impairment of EUR 3 million had to be carried out.

The extensive programme launched in January 2018 to generate lasting efficiency improvements in the core business is continuing. It is aimed at generating a sustained improvement in the EBIT margin in the core business by 2 to 3 percentage points to between 6% and 8%.

Despite the balance-sheet adjustment that proved to be higher than expected in January 2018, Bastei Lübbe AG has the necessary resources to withstand these high non-recurring negative impacts with an equity ratio of 30%. In addition, most of these effects have no impact on cash flow and have not affected the Group's liquidity.

The consolidated financial statements for the 2017/2018 financial year, including an outlook for 2018/2019, will be published on 31 July 2018 as a result of a significant increase in work involved in this year's annual financial statements. The publication of the financial statements was originally planned for 2 July 2018.

Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Head of Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 (0) 221 / 82 00 28 50
E-Mail: [e-mail]

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