Hawesko plans to pay a dividend of EUR 1.30 per share

- Majority shareholder Detlev Meyer elected as chairman of the supervisory board
- CEO Alexander Margaritoff to leave on 30 April 2015
- Search for successor being pushed ahead quickly

Hamburg, 27 March 2015.  At its meeting yesterday, the supervisory board of the wine trading group Hawesko Holding AG (HAW GR, HAWG.DE, DE0006042708) elected Detlev Meyer as the chairman of the supervisory board. As a result of the takeover offer of Tocos Beteiligung GmbH dated 21 November 2014, Meyer had become the majority shareholder of Hawesko Holding AG. The previous chairman of the supervisory board, Dr. Joh. Christian Jacobs, had consequently offered to step down.
A further topic on the agenda was the departure of Alexander Margaritoff, the company's chief executive officer and majority shareholder for many years. Due to the prompt completion of the handover process, he will leave the company already on 30 April 2015. In recognition of his many years of outstanding work on behalf of the Hawesko Group and in accordance with his contract, his remuneration will continue to be paid out until February 2019.  To fulfill this obligation, a provision in the amount of EUR 6 million will be formed in the first quarter of 2015. The entire supervisory board wishes to thank Mr. Margaritoff explicitly for his extraordinary commitment and his outstanding achievements over the past 34 years. During this time he enjoyed great respect among his staff, suppliers, customers and partners. As previously announced, the search for a successor to Alexander Margaritoff has begun and is being pushed forward quickly.
At the same meeting, the supervisory board reviewed, discussed and approved the annual and consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2014; the annual financial statement was approved.  The final consolidated balance sheet reveals that Group sales in 2014 (1 January to 31 December) rose by 1.6% to EUR 472.8 million (previous year: EUR 465.2 million). The result from operations (EBIT) amounted to EUR 20.1 million (previous year: EUR 22.6 million); the decline is due primarily to non-recurring consulting costs in the amount of EUR 4.8 million incurred in conjunction with the takeover process as well as in connection with a project to expand the Group. Consolidated net income after deductions for taxes and non-controlling interests amounted to EUR 14.8 million and EUR 1.65 per share in 2014 (previous year: EUR 16.2 million and EUR 1.80 per share). Adjusted for a revaluation in accordance with IAS 39, consolidated net income amounted to EUR 12.5 million and EUR 1.39 per share; the corresponding values in the previous year were EUR 12.7 million and EUR 1.41 per share. The consolidated balance sheet total amounted to EUR 217.2 million, compared to EUR 234.3 million on the the previous year's balance sheet date. The free cash flow (cash flow from ongoing business activities minus investments and interest paid out) amounted to EUR 13.1 million and EUR 1.46 per share,   compared to EUR 22.7 million and EUR 2.52 per share in the previous year.
With this in mind, the supervisory board agreed with the proposal of the management board to pay a dividend in the amount of EUR 1.30 per share for the past fiscal year 2014. The annual general shareholders' meeting of the company will vote on this proposal on 15 June 2015. The dividend in the previous year amounted to EUR 1.65 per share. A total of EUR 11.7 million will be paid out to the shareholders. This corresponds to a payout ratio of 79% (previous year: EUR 14.8 million, payout ratio of 92%).
The management board will present details of the results of fiscal year 2014 as well as the business performance in the first three months of the current fiscal year 2015 at the balance sheet press conference of Hawesko Holding AG on 7 May 2015.
Hawesko Holding AG is a leading supplier of premium wines and champagnes. In fiscal year 2014, the Group achieved sales of EUR 473 million and employed 925 persons in the company's three sales channels: specialty retail (Jacques' Wein-Depot), wholesale operations (Wein Wolf and CWD Champagner- und Wein-Distributionsgesellschaft) and distance selling (especially Hanseatisches Wein- and Sekt-Kontor and Wein & Vinos).The shares of Hawesko Holding AG are listed on the Hanseatic Stock Exchange in Hamburg as well as in the Prime Standard Segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

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The complete 2014 annual report and accounts will be presented at the annual press conference on 7 May 2015.

Publisher:
Hawesko Holding AG, 20247 Hamburg
Internet: 
http://www.hawesko-holding.com (Company information)
http://www.hawesko.de (Online shop)
http://www.jacques.de (Jacques' Wein-Depot information and online shop)
http://www.vinos.de (Spanish wines sold through Wein & Vinos)
       
Press/Media Contact and Investor Relations:
Thomas Hutchinson, Hawesko Holding AG
Phone: +49 (0)40 30 39 21 00
Fax +49 (0)40 30 39 21 05
E-mail: [email protected]