Adler reports revenue rise of 3.3 percent in H1

REPORT_ Adler Modemärkte enjoyed continued success in the first half of 2014.

Despite closing five unprofitable stores and opening only one new store, Adler revenues increased by 8.1 million euros (10.8 million dollars) to 255.9 million euros (341.9 million dollars) compared to 247.8 million euros (331 million dollars), last year, representing a rise of 3.3 percent and 3.2 percent on like-for-like basis.

The Company continued to considerably outperform in the overall market owing to stagnant growth in brick-and-mortar retail sales. An average decline in revenue of 3 percent in the second quarter offset equally strong growth in Q1. ADLER's strong first quarter with 8.4 percent revenue growth was followed by a 0.5 percent drop in revenues in the second quarter.

“Extremely strong performance in Q1 contrasted sharply with the weak previous-year period, while Q2 2013 was tremendously strong, setting a challenging precedent that we almost matched. We're very pleased with the Company's performance, and without the low-revenue days during the World Cup, we would have topped the previous year,” opined Adler CEO, Lothar Schäfer.

Moreover, the development of the gross profit margin and the earnings indicators shows that the company was able to grow its core. Company's gross profit rose by 4.9 percent. EBITDA grew from 17.9 million euros (23.9 million dollars) to 18.5 million euros (24.7 million dollars), pushing up the EBITDA margin by 0.4 percentage points to 12.9 percent. EBIT increased from 14.5 million euros (19.3 million dollars) to 14.6 million euros (19.5 million dollars). ADLER expects revenue growth for the overall year to continue to be in the low single-digit percentage range due to the Company's positive business performance, which is also expected to result in a similar rise in EBITDA.