Good start to 2022: CEWE with earnings at pre-Corona level

Good start to 2022: CEWE with earnings at pre-Corona level

• Q1 2022 Group EBIT, at 2.1 million euros, slightly exceeds that of the last comparable pre-coronavirus Q1 in 2020 (Q1 2020 EBIT: 2.0 million euros)
• As expected, the lockdown-related upswing in the photofinishing business segment in the same quarter of the previous year, Q1 2021, was not repeated
• Outlook for 2022 confirmed: Upturn in vacation and long-distance travel boosts consumers' picture stock for photo orders again
• Annual General Meeting to vote on 13th consecutive dividend increase on 15 June

Oldenburg, 11 May 2022. CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA (SDAX, ISIN: DE 0005403901) starts the year 2022 with a good result at pre-Corona level after the first three months. With turnover at 138.9 million euros, Group EBIT amounted to 2.1 million euros, making it even slightly better than the EBIT in the last comparable pre-coronavirus Q1 in 2020 (Q1 2020 Group EBIT: 2.0 million euros). As expected, the coronavirus-related upswing of the same quarter of the previous year was not repeated: during the lockdown in the first quarter of 2021, many customers used the time spent at home to place orders for photos or to catch up with placing these orders. Boosted by this strong stay-at-home effect, the Group EBIT jumped to an exceptionally high 8.6 million euros in the previous year. With this positive Q1 result CEWE is confirming its forecast for 2022 as a whole, namely the achievement of turnover of up to 740 million euros and EBIT of up to 80 million euros. “The positive earnings of the first quarter completely confirm the targets we have set for the year. We are pleased to see that as the coronavirus situation is increasingly normalised, holidays and trips abroad are possible again and demand for them is brisk. This also fills up our customers' stock of pictures for ordering photo products once again, and many customers are now saving beautiful moments and memories of a fantastic holiday trip, for example in a CEWE PHOTOBOOK," says Dr. Christian Friege, Chairman of the Board of Management of CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA. During the course of the Annual General Meeting on 15 June, the 13th consecutive dividend increase is to be decided on at 2.35 euros per share. This makes CEWE one of the few German index companies to be able to report reliable increases in dividends over a period covering so many years.

Photofinishing shows development in line with the period prior to the coronavirus in Q1
In the reporting quarter, with turnover at 112.6 million euros and EBIT at 2.5 million euros, the core business segment of photofinishing achieved earnings at the level of a comparable first quarter prior to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Turnover per photo also once again increased slightly in a comparison with the previous year, to reach 24.10 eurocents (Q1 2021: 24.03 eurocents). As expected, the previous year's upswing was not repeated in the quarterly period at the start of this year. The stay-at-home effect of last year's pandemic-related lockdown in Q1 2021 was a strong rise in demand for photo products, which saw a rise in sales of CEWE PHOTOBOOKS, wall art, photo calendars and many other photo gift articles - in some cases with high double-digit growth rates, to achieve an exceptional increase in earnings through economies of scale in production (photofinishing turnover in Q1 2021: 125.0 million euros; photofinishing EBIT in Q1 2021: 9.8 million euros).

Commercial Online-Print increases considerably and improves earnings
Even though the level of turnover prior to the pandemic has not yet been reached again, in a comparison with the lockdown-impacted quarter of the previous year, Commercial Online-Print is benefiting from ongoing coronavirus normalisation which sees a return to trade fairs and events. With growth at 38.8%, turnover in Q1 2022 rose to 17.8 million euros (Q1 2021: 12.8 million euros). With this growth in sales and the sustainably optimised cost structure, EBIT in the business segment of Commercial Online-Print has improved to -0.3 million euros (Q1 2021: -0.6 million euros).

CEWE Retail improves sales and earnings with an optimised store structure
Contrary to the further pursued deliberate waiver of low-margin hardware business and the focus on photofinishing and online business, retailing also increased its turnover over that of the lockdown-weakened same quarter of the previous year, by 4.0% to 6.5 million euros (Q1 2021: 6.3 million euros). This saw retailing, following the optimisation of the store structure carried out last year, achieving an improved Q1 EBIT of -0.3 million euros (Q1 2021: - 0.4 million euros).

Traditionally sound equity ratio increases to as much as 64%
The equity ratio was raised again as at 31 March 2022, by 5.8 percentage points to an extremely sound 64.0% (31 March 2021: 58.2%), with the ROCE also developing positively. Against the comparable most recent pre-coronavirus Q1 in 2020, this performance indicator showed an encouraging increase of 1.3%, to 15.9% (ROCE in Q1 2020: 14.6%). Due to the one-off upswing in photofinishing during the previous year's lockdown, the Q1 2021 ROCE - as at the reference date of 31 March - jumped to an exceptionally high 21.9%.

Q1 earnings confirm outlook for 2022
The CEWE management sees itself confirmed in its declared aim by the results returned for the first quarter, and is adhering to its outlook for 2022: Group turnover is to reach a figure in the range of 680 million to 740 million euros in 2022; Group EBIT is expected to be in the range of 65 million to 80 million euros in 2022. The easing of coronavirus restrictions - those already implemented and those imminent - will enable more holiday travels and trips abroad, celebrations, festivals and events to take place. These will give rise to many new photos, and should also back up the order situation in photofinishing at CEWE.


Virtual Annual General Meeting on 15 June to resolve on 13th consecutive dividend increase
The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board have proposed to the Annual General Meeting that the dividend be raised to 2.35 euros per eligible share on the basis of results for the financial year of 2021 (dividend for the 2020 financial year: 2.30 euros). Subject to approval being given by the shareholders at the regular Annual General Meeting on 15 June 2022, the dividend now proposed at 2.35 euros a share amounts to a dividend yield of 2.9% on the basis of the current share price of 80.20 euros (Xetra closing price on 10.05.2022). This is the thirteenth consecutive dividend increase and the dividend is the highest in the history of the company.

An overview of Q1 2022 results

Rounding differences may occur. Deviations have all been calculated at the exact values.

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 - 2288, Fax: 0441 / 404 - 421, Email: IR@cewe.de

Internet: cewe.de , deindesign.de , whitewall.com , cheerz.com ,
cewe-print.de , viaprinto.de , saxoprint.de, laser-line.de

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

Financial schedule
(insofar as already scheduled)

15.06.2022 2022 Annual General Meeting
09.08.2022 Publication of the 2022 HY1 interim report
20.09.2022 2022 Berenberg & Goldman Sachs German Corporate Conference
21.09.2022 2022 Baader Investment Conference
11.11.2022 Publication of the 2022 Q3 interim communication
29.11.2022 2022 German Equity Forum

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 more than six million books being sold each year. Customers can purchase other personalised photo products under the brand names of CEWE, 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, which is still a new 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.