Bastei Lübbe AG publishes results for the first quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year: 'Publishing House back on track'

Bastei Lübbe AG publishes results for the first quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year:
"Publishing House back on track"

• Bastei Lübbe had a good start into the new financial year
• Once again profitable: EBIT of EUR 1.5 million with EUR 21.2 million in revenues
• Solid first quarter: Book segment impresses with good revenue growth
• Full-year forecast confirmed

Cologne, 15 August 2019 - Bastei Lübbe AG (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), which is listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, publishes its results for the first quarter of the financial year 2019/2020 today. In the period from 1 April to 30 June 2019, the Group generated revenues of EUR 21.2 million (previous year: EUR 20.8 million). Consolidated earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved to EUR 1.5 million compared with EUR -1.4 million in the same period of the previous year. The EBIT margin increased to 7.0 % (previous year: -6.8 %).

"The focus on our core business and the adjusted cost structure have put the publishing house back on track. Our efforts are beginning to pay off," explains Carel Halff, CEO of Bastei Lübbe AG. The main revenue driver in the first quarter was the "Book" segment. Here, revenues rose from EUR 15.6 million to EUR 16.7 million compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

"Major successes in all publishing divisions contributed significantly to this positive development," says Klaus Kluge, Program and Marketing Director. The successful launch of "Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid", the new children's book by American bestselling author Jeff Kinney based on the universe of his "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series, made a major contribution to this result. In fiction, Petra Hülsmann's novel "Meistens kommt es anders, wenn man denkt" has been very successful; in non-fiction, it has been Dieter Nuhr's "Gut für Dich - Ein Leitfaden für das Überleben in hysterischen Zeiten" and in LYX, it was the novels of the two authors Mona Kasten with "Hope Again" and Bianca Iosivoni with "Falling Fast".

The "Novel Booklets" segment contributed EUR 2.2 million to revenues in the first quarter (previous year: EUR 2.5 million). The revenues of the current financial year are only comparable to a limited extent with those of the previous year, as Bastei Lübbe sold the puzzle division with effect from 31 May 2019. The negative revenue effect from the sale amounted to approximately EUR 0.2 million in the reporting period. The "Games" segment generated revenues of EUR 2.3 million in the first quarter compared with EUR 2.6 million in the previous year.

Taking into account interest and income taxes, Bastei Lübbe Group's result for the period was EUR 0.8 million, compared with EUR -1.5 million in the previous year. EUR 0.7 million of this was attributable to the shareholders of Bastei Lübbe AG, compared with EUR -1.5 million in the previous year. This translates into earnings per share of EUR 0.06 for the first quarter of 2019/2020 compared with EUR -0.11 in the prior-year quarter.

Net debt was reduced by 15 %. As of 30 June 2019, it stood at EUR 15.2 million, compared with EUR 17.8 million as of 31 March 2019.

Restructuring measures pay off
Based on the breadth of its programme portfolio, the company is also confident about the revenue development of the coming months. A major publishing highlight will be released in large volume in just a few days: bestselling author Rebecca Gablé continues her successful Waringham saga with "Teufelskrone", the sixth volume of which is eagerly awaited by her fans.

The consistent implementation of efficiency-enhancing measures, staff reductions and the sale of subsidiaries helped Bastei Lübbe AG to significantly increase its profitability. The Management Board assumes that the earnings situation will also improve significantly for the full financial year.

Ulrich Zimmermann, CFO of Bastei Lübbe AG, states: "Thanks to the initiated restructuring measures, we reaffirm our forecast for the entire financial year. We still expect revenues of around EUR 85 - 87 million and an EBIT between EUR 3.5 and 5.3 million."

The quarterly statement Q1/2019 of Bastei Lübbe AG is available for download on the internet at https://www.luebbe.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports/quarterly-reports.

About Bastei Lübbe AG:

Bastei Lübbe AG is a German publishing house with headquarters in Cologne specialised in the publication of books, audio books and e-books with fiction and popular science content. The company's core business also includes the periodically published puzzle magazines and novel magazines. With its total of twelve publishing houses and imprints, the Bastei Lübbe group of companies currently offers around 3,600 titles in the areas of fiction, non-fiction as well as books for children and young adults. In the growing segment of hardcover fiction books, the company has been one of the market leaders in Germany for many years. At the same time, Bastei Lübbe is an engine for innovation in the area of digital media and distribution channels, among other things by the production of thousands of audio and eBooks. This includes the stake in the renowned game publisher "Daedalic Entertainment".
With annual sales of approx. EUR 95 million (financial year 2018/2019), Bastei Lübbe AG is one of the largest medium-sized publishing companies in Germany. The shares of the company have been listed in the Prime Standard segment on the Frankfurt stock exchange (GSIN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0) since 2013. Further information is available at www.luebbe.com.


Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Head of Press and Public Relations
Tel.: +49 221 / 82 00 28 50
E-Mail: barbara.fischer@luebbe.de