Bastei Lübbe AG publishes results for the first nine months of the 2016/2017 financial year

Press Release

Bastei Lübbe AG publishes results for the first nine months of the 2016/2017 financial year

- Consolidated revenue climbs to EUR 118.4 million (previous year: EUR 81.5 million)

- Group EBITDA improves to EUR 9.3 million (previous year: EUR 7.5 million)

- Group earnings increase to EUR 2.3 million (previous year: EUR 1.3 million)

- Outlook for 2016/2017 remains positive

Cologne, 21 February 2017. Bastei Lübbe AG (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), which is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, has published its interim report on the first nine months of the 2016/2017 financial year today. In the period from 1 April to 31 December 2016, the Cologne-based media group generated revenue of EUR 118.4 million after EUR 81.5 million in the same period of the previous year. The sharp rise of EUR 36.9 million (45.3%) is attributable to higher revenue in nearly all segments as well as consolidation of the majority investment in BuchPartner GmbH from 1 April 2016.

"Book" revenue remained virtually constant in the reporting period at EUR 39.1 million compared with EUR 39.7 million in the previous year. Revenue in the Digital segment developed very encouragingly, rising by 24.7% year-on-year from EUR 22.0 million to EUR 27.4 million. The "Non-Book" segment also posted a significant rise in sales of 17.4% from EUR 12.7 million to EUR 14.9 million. For the first time, revenue of the majority investment in BuchPartner GmbH is reported in the new "Retail" segment at EUR 32.5 million. Revenue in the "Novel Booklets and Puzzle Magazines" segment was up 2.9% from EUR 7.2 million to EUR 7.4 million.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 24.0% to EUR 9.3 million as against EUR 7.5 million in the same period of the previous year. Generated earnings were impacted by numerous items of non-recurring expenditure totalling around EUR 2 million. These include consultancy services relating to company purchases and sales and non-recurring financing costs as well non-recurring costs relating to changes to the annual and consolidated financial statements and relocation of the Annual General Meeting.

EBITDA in the "Book" segment amounted to EUR 2.2 million after EUR 4.4 million in the previous year. Much of this decrease is due to increased scheduled write-downs on royalties. EBITDA of the "Digital" segment rose to EUR 2.6 million from EUR 0.9 million in the same period of the previous year. This improvement in earnings mainly stems from a sharp rise in revenue and an associated increase in gross profit. Earnings of the "Non-Book" segment increased from EUR 1.1 million in the previous year to EUR 3.0 million. There is to be considered that a deconsolidation loss of EUR 1.4 million was incurred in the previous year in relation to the sale of the investment in Präsenta Promotion International GmbH. Earnings of the "Novel Booklets and Puzzle Magazines" segment rose to EUR 1.4 million compared with EUR 1.1 million in the previous year.

Group earnings of Bastei Lübbe AG improved by 76.9% in the reporting period to EUR 2.3 million after EUR 1.3 million in the same period of the previous year. Accordingly, earnings per share were up from EUR 0.11 in the first nine months of 2015/2016 to EUR 0.19.

Group total assets rose by EUR 49.3 million from EUR 111.8 million on 31 March 2016 to EUR 161.0 million as at 31 December 2016. This sharp rise is attributable mainly to the full consolidation of BuchPartner GmbH since 1 April 2016.

The Group's liquidity is ensured for the next few years, particularly on the basis of the syndicated loan agreement. As a result of payment of the purchase price for Räder at the end of December 2016 and regular repayments in the third quarter of the current financial year, Bastei Lübbe AG's bond and syndicated loan liabilities were reduced by EUR 13.0 million from EUR 49.2 million to EUR 36.2 million as at 31 December 2016.

"We are firmly on track. Our figures confirm the success of our twin-track strategy geared towards pursuing the transformation of Bastei Lübbe AG into a digital media company without neglecting our traditional print business, which remains popular with readers. The fact that our game software manufacturer, Daedalic, has won the "German Developer Prize 2016" demonstrates how successful our digital strategy is already. Combining the best of both worlds, namely analogue and digital, is our recipe for success for the entire Bastei Lübbe Group", said Thomas Schierack, CEO of Bastei Lübbe AG.

The German Developer Prize is the most prestigious award for outstanding work in the development of video games from German-speaking countries (DACH). Daedalic scooped the coveted prize in nine of the 21 categories. For example, the adventure "Silence: The Whispered World 2" won for best graphics, and the real-time strategy game "Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun" for best game design and "best PC/console game".

The Management Board continues to view the prospects for the 2016/2017 financial year as positive. The Management Board has not identified any indications of a significant change to the revenue and earnings forecast for the 2016/2017 financial year.

The full interim report on the third quarter of 2016/2017 is available online 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: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de