Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA: Hornbach Group maintains profitable growth in first half of 2021/22 - Sales and earnings continue at record levels

Hornbach Group maintains profitable growth in first half of 2021/22 - Sales and earnings continue at record levels

- High customer demand for DIY products has continued in the second year of the pandemic: Half-year consolidated sales grow by 5.1 % to EUR 3.3bn

- Market share expanded in key country markets - Like-for-like growth in Germany continues to be well ahead of sector average

- Online sales surge by 48 % to EUR 593m in first half - Online business now accounts for 19.2 % of total sales (2020/21: 13.6%)

- At EUR 337.2m, adjusted EBIT beats previous year's record - Profitability remains significantly ahead of pre-pandemic levels

- Full-year forecast for 2021/22 confirmed and specified in greater detail: Hornbach Group expects adjusted EBIT in upper third of corridor of EUR 290m to EUR 326m

Key Figures of the Hornbach Group for the 2^nd Quarter and 1^st Half Year at a Glance

Rounding up or down may lead to discrepancies between percentages and totals. Calculation of percentage figures based on EUR 000s.
¹⁾ Adjusted to exclude non-operating income and expenses
²⁾ of which two Bodenhaus specialist stores

Bornheim, September 30, 2021.
The Hornbach Group (Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA Group) maintained its profitable growth course in the first half of 2021/22 (March 1 to August 31, 2021) and gained additional market share in the countries where it operates. Consolidated sales in the first six months grew by 5.1 % to EUR 3,292.4m (2020/21: EUR 3,132.2m). Thanks to this pleasing sales performance and to earnings growth in the second quarter, the Hornbach Group's adjusted consolidated operating earnings (adjusted EBIT) exceeded the previous year's record figure in the first half of the year. Based on this strong first-half performance, full-year sales and adjusted EBIT are now expected to reach over the mid point of the forecast range.

"Our half-year results clearly show that consumers are still very keen on making their homes attractive and safe. Customer demand for construction and DIY products remained high in the summer months, although the weather was very unsettled and consumers began to travel much more again. We increased our sales by a further 5.1 % in the first half of 2021/22 and our adjusted EBIT beat the previous year's record figure. That all underlines the performance capacity of our interconnected retail (ICR) approach", commented Albrecht Hornbach, CEO of Hornbach Management AG. "Thanks to ICR, Hornbach significantly outperformed the sector average in Germany and other major country markets, particularly during the difficult period of the pandemic in the first half of the calendar year, and gained further market share

Hornbach Baumarkt AG, the largest operating subgroup (DIY retail) which operated a total of 165 locations and online shops in nine European countries as of August 31, 2021, increased its net sales by 4.6 % to EUR 3,085.2m in the first half of 2021/22 (2020/21: EUR 2,949.0m). New DIY stores and garden centers were opened in the second quarter in Trollhättan (Sweden) and Cluj (Romania). On a like-for-like basis and net of currency items, the DIY stores and garden centers generated sales growth of 3.4 % in the first six months. The online DIY business (interconnected retail; ICR) boosted its sales by 48.4 % to EUR 593m in the first half of the financial year and thus accounted for a 19.2 % share of the subgroup's sales (2020/21: 13.6 %).

Net sales at Hornbach's DIY stores and online shop in Germany rose by 1.5 % to EUR 1,579.7m in the first half of 2021/22 (2020/21: EUR 1,557.0m). Like-for-like sales in Germany increased by 0.7 % over the same period (2020/21: 24.3 %). Net sales in the eight countries outside Germany (other European countries) grew by 8.2 % to EUR 1,505.5m in the first half of 2021/22 (2020/21: EUR 1,391.9m). The international business contributed 48.8 % of the Hornbach Baumarkt AG subgroup's sales (2020/21: 47.2 %). On a like-for-like basis and net of currency items, sales in other European countries grew by 6.4 % (2020/21: 14.4 %).

The Hornbach Baustoff Union GmbH subgroup, which currently operates 34 builders' merchant outlets in south-western Germany and two locations close to the border in France (Lorraine), increased its half-year sales by 13.2 % to EUR 206.5m (2020/21: EUR 182.4m).

Operating earnings exceed previous year's record

Thanks to the pleasing sales performance and to earnings growth in the second quarter, the Hornbach Group's key earnings figures for the first half of the year (March 1 to August 31, 2021) surpassed the records set in the previous year's period. EBIT adjusted to exclude non-operating earnings items grew by 3.8 % to EUR 168.1m in the second quarter of 2021/22 (2020/21: EUR 161.9m) and by 0.7 % to EUR 337.2m in the first half of 2021/22 (2020/21: EUR 334.7m). With an adjusted EBIT margin of 10.2 % in the half-year period (2020/21: 10.7 %), profitability remained significantly higher than before the pandemic. Six-month earnings per share rose year-on-year to EUR 11.69 (2020/21: EUR 11.57).

On the level of the Hornbach Baumarkt AG subgroup, the adjusted EBIT of EUR 304.3m almost matched the high previous year's figure (2020/21: EUR 307.0m). Earnings per Baumarkt share are reported at EUR 6.58 (2020/21: EUR 6.62). The Hornbach Baustoff Union GmbH subgroup and Hornbach Immobilien AG subgroup contributed adjusted EBITs of EUR 12.6m (2020/21: EUR 5.7m) and EUR 29.1m (2020/21: EUR 29.4m) to consolidated earnings.

Guidance: Sales and adjusted EBIT expected to reach above mid point of previous guidance

At the end of the first half of 2021/22, the company has confirmed and specified in greater detail the full-year forecast published on June 25, 2021 in the Quarterly Statement on the first quarter of 2021/22. The Hornbach Group's sales growth is now expected to be above the mid point of the forecast range of 1 % to 5 % (2020/21 financial year: EUR 5,456m). With regard to the earnings performance, the company currently expects adjusted consolidated operating earnings (EBIT) to reach the upper third of the forecast range of EUR 290m to EUR 326m and, as previously forecast, to fall slightly short of the record figure reported for the 2020/21 financial year (EUR 326.4m). Hornbach aims to achieve an adjusted EBIT margin at the upper end of the 5.3 % to 5.7 % range in 2021/22. Profitability should therefore significantly exceed the figure for the financial year prior to the coronavirus pandemic (2019/20: 4.8 %) and the average for the past 20 years (4.5 %).

Fourth Sustainability Magazine published

The Hornbach Group has published its annual Sustainability Magazine together with its Half-Year Financial Report. Looking beyond statutory reporting obligations, this publication offers space for those topics that motivate the company, its employees, and its customers, such as resource-efficient logistics, recycling construction materials, women in management positions, and of course the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.

Note: The Half-Year Financial Reports of Hornbach Holding AG & Co. KGaA and Hornbach Baumarkt AG and the Sustainability Magazine can be downloaded from the "Publications" section of our website. Link: www.hornbach-group.com/FinancialReports