Bastei Lübbe AG: dividend of 0.29 euros per share approved at the 2021 virtual annual general meeting

PRESS RELEASE

Bastei Lübbe AG: dividend of 0.29 euros per share approved at the 2021 virtual annual general meeting

• All items of the agenda adopted with large majorities
• Favourable business performance despite pandemic
• Dividend yield of 3.9 percent based on the closing price on 14 September 2021

Cologne, 15 September 2021 - Bastei Lübbe AG, a company listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A1X3YY0), held its annual general meeting for fiscal year 2020/2021 today, on 15 September 2021.

The Supervisory Board and the Executive Board began the Cologne-based publishing company's virtual annual general meeting with a review of fiscal year 2020/2021, stating that the year exceeded expectations in all respects despite the pandemic. "A key element in this respect is Bastei Lübbe's positive development across all play-out formats, including traditional printed books, audio books and e-books. Bastei Lübbe was thus able to continue on its growth trajectory even without short-time work and special measures," said Joachim Herbst, Chief Financial Officer and Speaker of the Executive Board, explaining the company's success in the fiscal year to the shareholders. "Thanks to the appeal of our catalogue, we also entered the new fiscal year on an upbeat note and expect a further full-year increase in revenues and EBIT. This assumes that we will not see any further pandemic-related restrictions or significant disruptions along the paper supply chains."

The distribution of a dividend of 29 cents per share was approved on the strength of the company's successful business performance. It consists of the regular dividend of 25 cents plus a bonus dividend of 4 cents as an additional distribution of the after-tax proceeds from the settlement with the former members of the governance bodies. This brings the total payout ratio to 46 percent of the distributable earnings, corresponding to a dividend yield of 3.9 percent.

Representing more than 50 percent of the share capital, the shareholders approved the motion to ratify the actions of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board in fiscal year 2020/21 and passed all other items of the agenda of the virtual annual general meeting with large majorities. Ebner Stolz GmbH & Co. KG, Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Steuerberatungsgesellschaft, Stuttgart, was elected as external auditor of the parent-company and consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2021/2022.

About Bastei Lübbe AG:

Bastei Lübbe AG is a German general-interest publisher based in Cologne, specialising in the publication of books, audio books and e-books featuring fiction and popular science content. The company's core business also includes the periodically published novel booklets. With a total of sixteen imprints, the group currently offers several thousand titles in the fields of fiction, non-fiction and children's and young people's books. In the growing segment of hardcover fiction, the company has been one of the market leaders in Germany for many years. At the same time, Bastei Lübbe is a driver of innovation in digital media and exploitation channels through the production of thousands of audio and e-books among other things.

The Bastei Lübbe Group reported revenues of around EUR 93 million in fiscal year 2020/2021. Bastei Lübbe AG is one of the largest medium-sized companies in the German publishing industry. Its shares have been listed in the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (WKN A1X3YY, ISIN DE000A1X3YY0) since 2013. Further information can be found at www.luebbe.de.

Contact Bastei Lübbe AG:
Barbara Fischer
Head of Press and Public Relations
Phone: +49 (0)221 8200 2850
E-Mail:barbara.fischer@luebbe.de