Delticom enjoys strong growth despite unfavorable climate
- Preliminary revenues in H1 2008 up 19% year-on-year - More than 340,000 new customers - Foreign revenues at high level of 65%
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finances
Hannover (euro adhoc) - Hanover, July 31, 2008 - Delticom AG (German Securities Code (WKN) 514680, ISIN DE0005146807, ticker symbol DEX), Europe´s leading Internet tyre dealer, recorded revenues totaling EUR 121.5 million in the first six months of fiscal year 2008 - according to preliminary figures. This corresponds to an increase of 19.1% compared with the prior-year period (EUR 102.0 million). Delticom's growth has thus become substantially more dynamic in the second quarter after 9.4% in the first quarter.
Despite the sluggish start to the quarter for European tyre retailing due to the poor weather, Delticom again enjoyed significant growth. Only a little or no snow fell at the start of the year in practically all European countries with a high proportion of winter tyres, with the result that European tyre retailers were not able to sell as many winter tyres as in the previous year. The subsequent business with summer tyres also got off to a delayed start, as it was comparatively cold throughout Europe in March and even into April, with many car drivers putting off buying their summer tyres. Temperatures started to lift in mid-April, boosting summer tyre sales, and there have been substantial increases in sales since May.
The consistent international orientation of Delticom's business means that it is able to compensate for weaker sales in some countries with excellent growth in other regions. Foreign sales already accounted for 65% of revenues in the first half of the year.
The company was able to acquire more than 340,000 new customers in the period under review. More than 133,000 repeat purchasers again bought products from one of the 93 online shops. At present, this means that more than 2.3 million customers have decided to make purchases from Delticom's TÜV-certified Internet shops.
CEO Rainer Binder is very pleased with business: "Following seamlessly on from the very successful first quarter, we have again enjoyed substantial growth in Q2, countering the market trend. As the market leader we have succeeded in further growing our market share throughout Europe."
The driving force behind this positive business growth is the surge in eCommerce. More and more people are using the Internet as a matter of course to specifically find information and to make purchases. In Germany, more than EUR 18 billion was turned over in online retail with end customers in 2007. Shop operators are also forecasting increased revenues for this year. A survey by the specialist eCommerce Group in the Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft (BVDW - Federal Association for Digital Business) shows that Internet retailers are forecasting average growth of around 18% for the current year. The product group "tyres" also reflects this trend: According to the ADAC's "Reifenmonitor 2008" - a representative survey of members of the ADAC (German Motorists' Association) - an average of 28.1% of 18 to 39-year old car drivers can certainly imagine buying their tyres online in future. Of this group, just 6.1% have actually bought tyres in the Internet. Other studies also point towards continued strong growth in European tyre retail in future.
As a result of the growth to date and the available market forecasts, Delticom's management is forecasting unchanged revenues of EUR 240 - 260 million and an EBIT margin of between 5% and 6% for the current fiscal year.
The portal www.mytyres.co.uk was revamped at the start of July. The shop was reworked to make it more transparent and customer friendly, allowing consumers to find the right tyres even more quickly, and to then conclude their purchase.
Delticom AG will publish its full six-month report for 2008 on August 13, 2008.
Company profile:
Delticom was formed in Hanover in 1999 and has grown to become Europe's leading Internet tyre retailer. The company offers its private and business customers a wide range of products in its 93 online shops in 35 countries, including car tyres, motorcycle tyres, truck tyres, bus tyres, the respective rims, complete wheels (pre-mounted tyres on rims), selected replacement car parts and accessories, engine oils and batteries. Delticom´s customers receive information on product characteristics and alternatives; they benefit from a comprehensive range of goods with more than 100 tyre brands and more than 25,000 tyre models. The products are supplied, depending on the customer's instructions, either directly to the customer, to a service partner, i.e., a workshop with which Delticom cooperates and which allows tyres to be delivered directly to their address to be mounted on the customer's vehicle, or to a different delivery address. In addition, Delticom's Wholesale division also sells tyres to wholesalers in Germany and abroad.
On the Internet at: www.delti.com Online tyre store in the UK: www.mytyres.co.uk
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Further inquiry note:
Contact:
Company
Delticom AG Investor Relations
Melanie Gereke
Brühlstraße 11
30169 Hanover
Tel.: +49 (0)511-936 34-8903
Fax: +49 (0)89-208081147
e-mail: melanie.gereke@delti.com
IR Agency
cometis AG
Henryk Deter
Unter den Eichen 7
65195 Wiesbaden
Tel.: +49 (0)611-205855-13
Fax: +49 (0)611-205855-66
e-mail: deter@cometis.de
Branche: Electronic Commerce
ISIN: DE0005146807
WKN: 514680
Index: CDAX, Classic All Share, Prime All Share
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Börse Berlin / free trade
Börse Stuttgart / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Börse München / free trade
Original content of: Delticom AG, transmitted by news aktuell