19.10.2016
Bastei Lübbe AG DE000A1X3YY0
DGAP-News: Bastei Lübbe AG publishes 2015/2016 annual report after change in scope of consolidation
DGAP-News: Bastei Lübbe AG / Key word(s): Final Results
Bastei Lübbe AG publishes 2015/2016 annual report after change in scope of
consolidation
19.10.2016 / 08:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Bastei Lübbe AG publishes 2015/2016 annual report after change in scope of
consolidation
Cologne, 19 October 2016. Bastei Lübbe AG (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), which is
listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, today
published its 2015/2016 annual report containing the restated results for
the 2015/2016 financial year.
As announced in the ad hoc notification on 23 August 2016, Bastei Lübbe AG
found itself compelled to amend the 2015/2016 consolidated financial
statements that had already been audited and published on 29 June 2016 to
reflect a change in assessment by the audit firm KPMG. The British company
Blue Sky Tech Ventures, in which Bastei Lübbe AG holds no shares, and hence
also oolipo AG and Daedalic Entertainment GmbH were required to be
retrospectively included in the scope of consolidation and measured using
the historical cost principle.
Slight downturn in revenue, earnings and margins
Consolidated revenue amounted to EUR 104.9 million in the 2015/2016
financial year after EUR 110.2 million in the previous year. Bastei Lübbe
AG contributed EUR 94.7 million (previous year: EUR 102.8 million) to
consolidated revenue, while its subsidiaries Daedalic
Entertainment GmbH contributed EUR 7.8 million (previous year: EUR 6.0
million), oolipo AG contributed EUR 0.3 million (previous year: EUR 0.2
million), BookRix GmbH & Co. KG contributed EUR 2.4 million (previous year:
EUR 1.2 million) and BEAM Shop GmbH, which was formed in September 2015,
contributed EUR 0.1 million.
At segment level, revenue developed as follows: "Book": EUR 48.3 million
(previous year: EUR 56.5 million); "Non-Book": EUR 17.0 million (previous
year: EUR 14.5 million), "Novel Booklets and Puzzle Magazines": EUR 9.8
million (previous year: EUR 10.5 million), and "Digital": EUR 29.7 million
(previous year: EUR 28.8 million). "The revenue growth throughout the
'Digital' segment clearly demonstrates the success of our digital strategy.
At the end of the 2015/2016 financial year, digital products and content
already accounted for 28.3% of revenue after 26.1% in the previous year,"
commented Thomas Schierack, CEO of Bastei Lübbe AG.
Due to the loss of profit from the transitional consolidation and re-
evaluation conducted in the course of the retroactive amendment to the
group of consolidated companies and consolidated annual financial
statement, the consolidated profit reduced: Consolidated earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Group EBITDA) amounted to
EUR 6.7 million in the 2015/2016 financial year compared with EUR 10.4
million in the previous year. The adjustment meant that Group earnings in
the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 financial years was EUR 7.2 million and EUR 7.9
million lower respectively. All profit figures of the Bastei Lübbe Group
are influenced by unplanned expenditure - beyond the corrections to the
participation evaluation. This includes the loss on the deconsolidation of
PRÄSENTA PROMOTION INTERNATIONAL GmbH, additional costs associated with the
consolidation of Blue Sky Tech Ventures and expenses for the severance
payment etc. for the departed Management Board members totalling around EUR
3.1 million. Following the change in measurement, the net profit of the
Bastei Lübbe Group for the 2015/2016 financial year amounted to EUR -0.3
million after EUR 3.0 million in the previous year.
Growth with investments in digital companies
The activities of the Bastei Lübbe Group in the past financial year focused
on digital content, and especially the investments initiated in this
context. Positive performance was recorded in particular by the investment
in the self-publishing platform BookRix, which doubled its revenue and is
already profitable. BookRix gives Bastei Lübbe rapid access to proven
digital content from established successful authors. "One example is Poppy
Anderson, an extremely successful self-published digital author with whom
we are pleased to now also be developing physical products," noted
Schierack.
Germany's leading digital games developer, Daedalic Entertainment, also
demonstrated how well its strategic positioning in the adventure games
segment fits the portfolio and successful content of Bastei Lübbe AG. In
the next four years, Daedalic is planning a considerable expansion of its
activities in the development and sale of adventure games across all major
games markets.
One important element of the path towards becoming an international digital
media company is based, among other things, on the success of the serial
and streaming platform oolipo, which is perfectly complemented by the
distribution channel beam-ebooks.de, an online store that was acquired in
the previous year. The beta version of the oolipo app has been available
from the Apple Store since August 2016. Bastei Lübbe is reflecting the high
standards and changed reading habits of its customers with short serial
content.
A forward-looking company with strong traditional roots
"As one of Germany's largest trade publishers with a long history, we not
only address future topics such as digitalisation, but are also committed
to the printed word. The further development of the value chain in
publishing would be inconceivable without bricks-and-mortar retail,"
explained Thomas Schierack. With the majority interest in BuchPartner,
Bastei Lübbe has secured another option for generating sustainable growth
in this area in future.
Balance sheet
As of 31 March 2016, total assets amounted to EUR 111.8 million after EUR
117.2 million as of 31 March 2015. The share of equity attributable to the
shareholders of the parent company decreased to EUR 46.6 million at the end
of the reporting period in 2016 (31 March 2015: EUR 50.8 million).
Including own capital contributions of minority shareholders, the equity
ratio amounted to 44.4% as of 31 March 2016 after 45.6% as of 31 March
2015. Due to a high level of funds allocated to working capital, further
high investments, particularly in intangible assets, and the dividend
payment to shareholders, cash and cash equivalents significantly decreased
in the 2015/2016 financial year. As of 31 March 2016, cash and cash
equivalents amounted to EUR 0.6 million after EUR 13.7 million in the
previous year. As a result of the acquisition of BuchPartner GmbH and LYX,
the loan portfolio at Bastei Lübbe AG's disposal rose to EUR 53 million
after the end of the reporting period within the context of a syndicated
loan with a term of six years. The Bastei Lübbe Group therefore continues
to have a stable financial and liquidity
structure and is in a position to meet its payment obligations at all
times.
Dividend proposal for the 2015/2016 financial year
The goal of Bastei Lübbe AG is to maintain the continuity of its dividend
policy despite the temporary downturn in earnings. As planned, the
Management Board and the Supervisory Board will propose the payment of a
dividend of EUR 0.10 per share at the Annual General Meeting on 30 November
2016. Taking into account the treasury shares that are not entitled to the
dividend, this corresponds to a distribution of EUR 1.32 million. The
2015/2016 annual financial statements of Bastei Lübbe AG prepared in
accordance with German commercial law, on which the resolution on the
dividend to be distributed is based, report net retained profits of EUR
2.51 million. The remainder of EUR 1.19 million is to be carried forward to
new account.
Outlook
The 2016/2017 financial year will again be strongly characterised by the
transition to an international media company. The digital share of revenue
will be driven in particular by the significant expansion of the business
area of Daedalic Entertainment GmbH and the launch of the streaming
platform oolipo.
The Management Board expects consolidated revenue to increase significantly
to EUR 150-160 million in the 2016/2017 financial year before continuing on
this growth path to around EUR 190-200 million over the next two financial
years. This is due to the consolidation of BuchPartner GmbH, as well as
revenue growth at Bastei Lübbe AG resulting from the publication of various
blockbusters in the 2017/2018 financial year. EBITDA in the 2016/2017
financial year is expected to increase substantially compared with the past
financial year to EUR 13-15 million. Overall, the Management Board is
anticipating positive performance in the current financial year and
especially in subsequent financial years.
The full annual report for the 2015/2016 financial year is available on
Bastei Lübbe AG's website at https://www.luebbe.com/en/investor-relations/
financial-reports.
About Bastei Lübbe AG:
Bastei Lübbe AG is an international media group based in Cologne. Its
business operations focus on developing and licensing content distributed
worldwide physically and digitally. The company's core business includes
the traditional publishing business and the periodical puzzle magazines and
novel booklets in the "Book" segment. With its twelve publishers and
imprints, the group of companies currently offers approximately 3,600
titles in fiction, non-fiction and books for children and young adults. In
the growing segment of hardcover fiction, the company has been the market
leader in Germany for many years. At the same time, Bastei Lübbe is driving
innovation in the field of digital media. As well as the production of
thousands of audio and e-books, the "Digital" segment also includes
holdings in the self-publishing platform "BookRix" and the renowned games
publisher "Daedalic Entertainment". Bastei Lübbe AG's value chain is
completed by the investment in the online shop "beam-ebooks.de" and the new
and internationally unique streaming platform "oolipo".
With currently 413 employees and an annual turnover of roughly EUR 104.9
million (financial year 2015/2016), Bastei Lübbe AG is the largest medium-
sized family company in the German publishing industry. Since 2013, the
company's shares have been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt
Stock Exchange (WKN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0). Further information is
available at www.luebbe.de.
Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Director / Vice President
Public Relations
Tel.: +49 (0) 221 / 82 00 28 50
E-mail: [email protected]
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19.10.2016 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
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Language: English
Company: Bastei Lübbe AG
Schanzenstraße 6 - 20
51063 Köln
Germany
Phone: 02 21 / 82 00 - 0
Fax: 02 21 / 82 00 - 1900
E-mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.luebbe.de
ISIN: DE000A1X3YY0, DE000A1K0169
WKN: A1X3YY, A1K016
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated
Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover,
Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
End of News DGAP News Service
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