euro adhoc: Earnings Forecast
Zapf Creation adjusts guidance for 2008 due to
weak Christmas business
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02.12.2008
Zapf Creation AG Ad hoc release
Rödental, December 2, 2008 - Zapf Creation AG, Europe's leading manufacturer of play and functional dolls, today announced that its sales in the recently started Christmas business have been significantly lower than expected. This development is due to considerable consumer restraint in the European core markets in the wake of the general economic downturn, particularly in Germany and the United Kingdom. Another reason is the increasingly difficult situation of the retail trade, which also includes the bankruptcy of one important trading partner. These factors have a clearly negative impact on the Christmas business, which is of great importance to the toy industry. Against this backdrop, the Management Board no longer expects to meet the sales and earnings targets of the Zapf Creation Group for the 2008 financial year as a whole. Instead, based on the information available today, the Management Board anticipates a slight decline in consolidated sales compared to the previous year and negative consolidated after-tax earnings in the lower single-digit million euro range.
For further information: Frank Elsner Frank Elsner Kommunikation für Unternehmen GmbH Tel.: +49 (0) 54 04 - 91 92 0 Fax: + 49 (0) 54 04 91 92 29
end of announcement euro adhoc --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further inquiry note:
Katrin Kühnel
Telefon: +49 (0)9563-7251-513
E-Mail: katrin.kuehnel@zapf-creation.de
Branche: Consumer Goods
ISIN: DE0007806002
WKN: 780600
Index: MDAX, CDAX, Classic All Share
Börsen: Börse Frankfurt / regulated dealing/prime standard
Börse Berlin / free trade
Börse Hamburg / free trade
Börse Stuttgart / free trade
Börse Düsseldorf / free trade
Börse Hannover / free trade
Börse München / free trade
Original content of: Zapf Creation AG, transmitted by news aktuell