DGAP-News: A.S. Création Tapeten AG

A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Gummersbach
(ISIN DE000A1TNNN5)

Anti-trust penalties weigh heavily on bottom line

A.S. Création Tapeten AG, Europe's leading wallpaper manufacturer, today published the interim report for the period ended September 30, 2017. A summary is provided below:

Decline in revenues slows down notably in Q3 2017
At EUR 109.4 million, A.S. Création's consolidated sales revenues for the first nine months of 2017 were down by EUR 6.9 million or 6.0% on the previous year's EUR 116.3 million. The strongest declines in revenues were recorded in the EU, which were faced with reduced overall demand for wallpapers and furnishing fabrics. Gross revenues in non-EU Eastern European countries were up by a pleasant 11.1% on the first nine months of the previous year. Some positive signs can be identified in the sales trend in Q3 2017. On the one hand, A.S. Création has been able to reduce the sharp drop in revenues of 7.3% in H1 2017 to only 2.7% in Q3 2017. On the other hand, A.S. Création Tapeten AG won significant market shares in the third quarter of 2017 both in Germany and abroad, according to the market data collected by the Association of German Wallpaper Manufacturers. On balance, however, the revenue trend in the current fiscal year is not satisfactory.

Anti-trust penalties and margin pressure send earnings falling
The earnings position of A.S. Création deteriorated notably in the current fiscal year and is adversely affected by the penalties of EUR 13.9 million imposed by the Düsseldorf Supreme Court in the ongoing anti-trust proceedings in Germany. Together with the lower revenues, the reduced gross profit margin, exchange losses, severance payments in conjunction with restructuring measures and the ongoing optimisation of the cost structure, these penalties resulted in an operating loss of EUR -14.1 million for the first nine months of 2017 (previous year: EUR +4.9 million). Adjusted for extraordinary effects, the operating result decreased from EUR 4.6 million in the first nine months of 2016 to EUR -0.6 million in the reporting period.

The Group's financial result declined from EUR 2.7 million in the previous year to EUR -1.9 million in the first three quarters of 2017. The earnings situation of the Russian joint venture, A.S. & Palitra, in which A.S. Création Tapeten AG holds a 50% stake, has the biggest influence on the consolidated financial result. While a pro-rated profit of EUR 2.4 million was reported for the first nine months of 2016, a pro-rated loss of EUR -2.3 million was posted for the reporting period. The latter contains translation-related exchange losses of EUR -1.3 million (previous year: EUR +2.0 million), however.

The decline in EBIT and in the financial result led to earnings before taxes of EUR -16.0 million in the first three quarters of 2017 (previous year: EUR +7.6 million). Adjusted for extraordinary effects, earnings before taxes amounted to EUR -1.2 million (previous year: EUR +5.3 million) in the first nine months of 2017.

Expectations for full year 2017 put in more concrete terms
In view of the business trend in the first nine months of 2017, the Managing Board projects revenues of between EUR 138 million and EUR 143 million and earnings after taxes of between EUR -16 million and EUR -19 million for the full year 2017. The fourth quarter of 2017 is expected to be influenced by a continuation of the fierce competition for market share.

The Group's key figures for the first nine months of 2017 are summarised below:

Gummersbach, October 26, 2017

A.S. Création Tapeten AG

The Managing Board

Inquiries:
Maik Krämer,
Chairman of the Managing Board, Director of Finance and Controlling,
phone +49-(0)22 61/542-387,
fax +49-(0)22 61/542-304,
e-mail: m.kraemer@as-creation.de

The full 9-month report is available at:
www.as-creation.de
or from:
A.S. Création Tapeten AG,
Frau Börngen,
Südstr. 47,
D - 51645 Gummersbach,
phone +49-(0)22 61/542-350,
e-mail investor@as-creation.de