Ahlers Q3 sales up 8.6 percent, raises full year outlook

REPORT_ The Ahlers Group’s strong growth of the first half-year continued in the third

quarter of 2014, when sales revenues rose by 8.6 percent. This was due to both increased pre-sales and very positive stock sales. Nine-month sales 2013/14 climbed 7.9 percent to 197.9 million euros (254.4 million dollars) compared to 183.4 million euros (235.7 million dollars), last year.

“We are pushing ahead the development of Ahlers AG and laying the foundations to secure the sustainable growth of the company,” said Stella A. Ahlers, CEO of Ahlers AG, adding, “We continue to work on the structures and orientation of our brands. The positive trend in our sales revenues vindicates the strategy we are pursuing.”

Ahlers’ premium segment reported an 8.2 percent increase in sales revenues, which was in line with the company-wide trend. This pleasant performance was attributable to Pierre Cardin, which posted high single-digit growth, and to Baldessarini, which achieved double-digit growth. The strongest growth in the 2013/14 reporting was reported by the Jeans & Workwear segment, whose revenues grew by 10.4 percent. Both Workwear and the Pioneer Jeans brands contributed to this growth. Jupiter posted strong revenue growth in the third quarter of 2014, which means that the decline in the men’s & sportswear segment sales of the previous months was a offset in the third quarter of 2014. Total nine-month sales revenues were slightly down by 1.8 percent on the previous year.

Ahlers‘ EBIT before special effects also increased sharply 64 percent. At the half-year stage of 2013/14, the Management Board of Ahlers had announced that the Sindelfingen branch would be closed within the next twelve months and that Gin Tonic would be integrated into the Herford headquarters. Earnings before income taxes grew by a strong 35 percent to 10.7 million euros (13.7 million dollars), while consolidated net income after taxes climbed 23 percent.

Management Board projects 5 to 6 percent increase in sales revenues and approximately 5 to 10 percent rise in consolidated net income after taxes for the full year 2013/14 and has confirmed its forecast of a strong double-digit increase in EBIT before special effects. All figures in the report are preliminary and the final figures will be published on October 14, 2014.