CEWE announces group sales up nearly 9 percent

CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA is entering the fourth quarter with a strong increase in sales and an earnings lead and confirms its annual targets for 2023: increased in the first nine months CEWE increased group sales by +8.9% to 453.2 million euros (Q1-3 2022: 416.1 million euros) and at the same time improved group EBIT by +3.7 million euros to 2.3 million euros (Q1-3 2022: -1.4 million euros). In the third quarter, group sales exceeded the previous year’s value by +5.8% and rose to 157.8 million euros (Q3 2022: 149.2 million euros). Both photofinishing and commercial online printing contributed to the growth.

“We are well prepared and are heading into the home stretch for 2023: We are excellently positioned in production, marketing, sales and customer service as well as in all other areas of the company,” said Yvonne Rostock, CEO, CEWE. “Once again, many product innovations – such as the CEWE PHOTO BOOK or a wall calendar made from 100% recycled paper – as well as a high-reach marketing campaign will further strengthen the Christmas business.”

Photofinishing sales grow significantly by +7.1% in Q3

Photofinishing sales increased by +7.1% to 128.7 million euros in the third quarter of 2023 (Q3 2022: 120.2 million euros). This is due to both the higher photo volume and the increased sales per photo. The photofinishing EBIT is 0.7 million euros, slightly below the EBIT of the same quarter of the previous year (Q3 2022: 0.9 million euros). In the first nine months, photofinishing sales increased by +9.3% to 365.2 million euros (Q1-3 2022: 334.0 million euros). The photofinishing EBIT improved during this period by +2.7 million euros to 1.8 million euros (Q1-3 2022: -0.9 million euros).

Commercial online printing continues profitable growth

In the third quarter, Commercial Online Printing (KOD) also benefited from the cost efficiency achieved in production at SAXOPRINT and the resulting “best price guarantee” for its customers: sales grew by +2.7% in Q3 compared to the same quarter last year. to 21.9 million euros (Q3 2022: 21.3 million euros), the company said. With the improved cost structure, commercial online printing increased its EBIT significantly by +0.5 million euros to 0.7 million euros (Q3 2022: 0.2 million euros). Accumulated in the first nine months, the KOD increased its sales by +10.5% to 66.3 million euros (Q1-3 2022: 60.0 million euros). EBIT improved during this period by a strong +1.5 million euros to 1.5 million euros (Q1-3 2022: 0.0 million euros).

Photo hardware retail with stable results

In Q3, CEWE retail achieved slightly weaker sales of 7.2 million euros compared to the previous year with the sale of photo hardware (cameras and accessories) due to the focus on higher-margin products (Q3 2022: 7.7 million euros). The EBIT, which was traditionally always slightly negative in the third quarter, was kept constant at -0.1 million euros compared to the previous year (Q3 2022: -0.1 million euros). In the period Q1-3, the retail sector achieved sales of 21.8 million euros (Q1-3 2022: 22.2 million euros) and a slightly improved EBIT of -0.4 million euros (Q1-3 2022: -0 .5 million euros). Due to the seasonality of business, retailers traditionally earn their annual earnings in the fourth quarter.

“Based on the positive development of the first nine months, our very good preparation for the Christmas business, and our robust business model, we remain clearly on target for the full year 2023,” said Rostock. Based on the positive development of the first nine months, CEWE management is reaffirming its goals for 2023: Group sales should reach a value in the range of 720 to 780 million euros in 2023, and group EBIT in 2023 will be in the range of 70 to 82 million. Euro expected.

Results Q3 and Q1-3 2023 at a glance