Bastei Lübbe AG publishes half-year report 2015/2016: Digital revenue share rises to 28 %

Bastei Lübbe AG publishes half-year report 2015/2016:
Digital revenue share rises to 28 %

- Consolidated revenue reaches EUR 47.4 million (HY 2014/2015: EUR 49.2 million)
- Group EBITDA improved to EUR 7.9 million (HY 2014/2015: EUR 3.0 million)
- Net profit adjusted for non-recurring effects increase by around EUR 0.4 million
- Outlook: numerous top titles promise high revenue in the third quarter

Cologne, 12 November 2015. Bastei Lübbe AG (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), which is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, presented its half-year report for the period from 1 April to 30 September 2015 today. In the first six months of the 2015/2016 financial year, the Cologne-based media group generated revenue of EUR 47.4 million after EUR 49.2 million in the previous year. With a moderate decline of 3.6 %, consolidated revenue was in line with internal planning.

Group EBITDA improved to EUR 7.9 million in the reporting period after EUR 3.0 million in the same period of the previous year. Group EBIT increased to EUR 6.1 million after EUR 1.6 million in the previous year. Net profit for the period reached EUR 5.0 million after EUR 0.2 million in the previous year. Earnings per share increased to EUR 0.38 in the first six months of 2015/2016 after EUR 0.03 in the first half of the previous year.

The significantly positive net profit are because of the first-time consolidation of Daedalic Entertainment GmbH and the subsequent remeasurement at fair value of the remaining 48 % share now recognised according to the equity method, which resulted in a positive earnings contribution of approximately EUR 6.4 million. This is offset by the loss on the deconsolidation of Präsenta Promotion International GmbH and a provision for the severance payment, etc., for the departed Management Board member Jörg Plathner totalling nearly EUR 2.0 million. Adjusted for these non-recurring effects, net profit in the reporting period were around EUR 0.4 million higher than in the first half of the previous year.

In the first half of 2015/2016, the "Book" segment posted a decline in revenue to EUR 20.8 million as expected after EUR 24.9 million in the comparative period of the previous year. The decline is attributable primarily to the fact that top titles were already delivered in September last year, whereas most of the deliveries in the current year were made in October. In the reporting period, the "Novel Booklets and Puzzle Magazines" segment generated revenue of EUR 4.8 million after EUR 5.2 million in the previous year. The "Non-Book" segment generated a significant increase in revenue to EUR 8.3 million after EUR 6.1 million in the previous year. Revenue in the "Digital" segment increased slightly to EUR 13.5 million in the first half of 2015/2016 after EUR 13.0 million in the comparative period of the previous year. The digital revenue share was therefore 28 % in the first six months compared to 26 % in the previous year.

In the reporting period, total assets fell from EUR 124.3 million as of 31 March 2015 to EUR 117.0 million as of 30 September 2015. Equity after non-controlling interests amounted to EUR 59.1 million after EUR 58.0 million as of 31 March 2015. The dividend payout of roughly EUR 4 million was more than offset by the net profit for the period of approximately EUR 5 million.

Outlook: prospects for success remain positive

The Management Board continues to view the prospects for the current 2015/2016 financial year as positive. The third quarter in particular is the quarter with the highest revenue for Bastei Lübbe AG as a result of the seasonal effects of Christmas business. This year, the company is again represented in the Christmas programme with numerous top titles. Particularly notable here are Das Joshua-Profil by Sebastian Fitzek, Der Palast der Meere by Rebecca Gablé and the tenth volume of Gregs Tagebuch - So ein Mist! by Jeff Kinney. Pre-orders and sales for these titles are so far very encouraging. Christmas business has also had a good start in the "Non-Book" segment. The "Digital" segment is performing in line with expectations. It should be noted that the revenue of Daedalic Entertainment GmbH will no longer be allocated to this segment in future because of its deconsolidation in September 2015.

Against this backdrop, the Management Board assumes that both the revenue and the EBITDA of the Group - dependent on the start-up costs in the Digital segment - will be slightly lower in the 2015/2016 financial year as a whole than in the previous year. "We are on a good path. Our core business is developing very stably. At the same time, we are making good progress in the development and expansion of our very promising new digital offerings," explains Thomas Schierack, CEO of Bastei Lübbe AG. In particular, the establishment of our entertainment portal oolipo AG (formerly BEAM AG), the world's first streaming platform for reading serial content especially for smartphones and tablets, is developing very positively. "We expect to conclude the first contracts with other publishers for the supply of oolipo in the next few weeks. There is enormous interest in collaborating with oolipo, especially from foreign publishers," says Schierack.

The full half-year report 2015/2016 is available online at https://www.luebbe.com/de/investor-relations/finanzberichte.

About Bastei Lübbe AG:
Bastei Lübbe AG is an international media group based in Cologne. The business operations focus on the development and licensing of 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 334 employees and an annual turnover of roughly EUR 110.2 million (financial year 2014/2015), 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: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de