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  Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc with the aim of a Europe-wide 
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Strong first half year despite Covid-19: sales stabilized, earnings increased by 
6 % compared to previous year, break-even 2021 within reach! 
 
Mid Year Financial Report 
 
Bregenz - December 23, 2020: The first six months of the new short fiscal year 
2020 of the Wolford AG, listed on Vienna Stock Exchange, were strongly marked by 
the impacts of the first Covid-19-related lockdown. Although stores in the EMEA 
region and the USA were open again as of late April/early May (in China already 
end of February), customer frequency and buying behavior did not normalize 
during the reporting period by any means. Despite this, Wolford generated sales 
of EUR48.17 million, in the first six months of the current fiscal year 2020 
(May 2020 to December 2020), registering a drop in revenue of about 20 percent 
compared to the prior-year figure of EUR60.49 million. The drop in sales of 
EUR12 million compared to the same period of the previous year was lower than 
planned. 
 
Despite the decline in sales revenues, at EUR-11.28 million the previous year's 
earnings before taxes (EBT) of EUR-12.03 million were exceeded by EUR1 million. 
The effects of the sale of the real estate were not taken into account (EBT 
incl. effects from the sale of real estate EUR30.00 million). The revenue of 
EUR72 million related to the selling of Wolfordstraße 1-3 in Bregenz was used, 
to fully repay the debts at the beginning of May. 
 
Online grows by over 50%, over 630,000 Wolford Care Masks sold, cost reduction 
of over 12% Success of online retail, Wolford Care Mask and the restructuring 
program 
 
Main growth driver in the reporting period was Wolford's online business with a 
54 percent increase over the previous year. The revenue share of the company's 
own online business and the associated online business of its wholesale partners 
increased to a total of around 25 percent. The company's own retail and 
wholesale business also contributed to achieve sales. Both, the Spring Summer 
2020 as well as the Fall Winter 2020/21 collections, were very well received in 
all channels despite the current situation. To date, a revenue of EUR9 million 
has been generated through the sale of approximately 630,000 Wolford Care Masks 
since the beginning of production in March 2020. As a new accessoire, the 
different styles of the Wolford Care Mask have become a must-have of the Wolford 
product range. 
 
Overall, our restructuring program, PITBOLI (Program for Immediate Top and 
Bottom Line Impact), is systematically delivering its intended effects on 
revenue and efficiency. Therefore, the structural costs (personnel and 
operational costs) were reduced by EUR7 million (12 percent) in the prior-year 
period, well above target. 
 
Going forward, the company will focus on consistently pursuing this course. As 
part of it, the lines "The W" and "W lab" were successfully added to the brand 
architecture, which became part of the new face of the Wolford brand. Indeed the 
collaboration with adidas has significantly exceeded expectations, as well as 
the launch of "The W" on the online platform Farfetch. Furthermore, a relaunch 
of the Essential Collection has started, which will be implemented in the 
upcoming months with targeted campaigns. With the Aurora Monogram line, which is 
part of the "The W" collection, Wolford is further implementing its commitment 
to sustainability. All new Aurora Styles are Cradle to Cradle Gold Certified TM. 
With the goal of being the first environmentally neutral brand in the fashion 
industry, Wolford is leading the way for change. 
 
Business with e-tailers and marketplaces are also growing at double-digits 
rates, expected to grow as well in the following year 2021. Wolford is expecting 
further positive sales effects from the partnership with a new distributor in 
Japan, as well as from the planned expansion of the omnichannel architecture. 
 
Outlook 
 
Despite strong half-year results, Wolford has been clearly feeling the effects 
of the second wave of lockdown measures since the end of October, which have hit 
retail during what is traditionally the strongest quarter, the holiday season. 
The effects are expected to be felt well into the coming year. Nevertheless, 
from today's perspective, Wolford still expects to be able to reach break even 
in the coming year, assuming that our expectations regarding the development of 
the Covid-19 pandemic remain valid. In this context, the management board has 
implemented additional measures to secure liquidity on a sustainable basis. 
 
The reported half-year results show that Wolford is on course for a successful 
restructuring. Decisive is now, to ensure a stable sales development despite the 
Covid-19 pandemic, to consistently continue PITBOLI and the use of the offered 
governmental support services. 
 
 
 
Further inquiry note: 
Wolford AG 
Madeleine Dubois 
Tel: +43 5574 690 
investor@wolford.com / company.wolford.com 
 
end of announcement                         euro adhoc 
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 23, 2020 02:41 ET (07:41 GMT)