TAKKT continues to grow, confirms the forecast and presents its Digital Agenda

• TAKKT achieved organic growth of 6.0 percent in first nine months of 2016, reported sales up by 6.7 percent
• Gross profit margin at 42.8 (42.6) percent
• EBITDA margin improved to 16.3 (15.0) percent
• Company created digital agenda

Stuttgart, Germany, October 31, 2016. TAKKT has good growth to show for the first nine months of 2016. Compared to the previous year’s period, sales increased by 6.7 percent to EUR 841.8 (788.6) million. As expected, growth slowed down in the third quarter after excellent performance in the first half-year. Consumers proved reticent to buy following the Brexit decision at the end of June – especially in nearly all of Europe. “The current market uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote and the upcoming elections in the US is impacting people’s willingness to invest. This affects our business,” explains Felix Zimmermann, CEO of TAKKT AG. However, Scandinavia, as well as some parts of Southern Europe, have remained comparatively resilient. While most activities in North America recorded growth that was slightly weaker than in previous quarters, the office equipment business managed to maintain its strong growth from earlier in the year. Group sales adjusted for currency and portfolio effects grew organically by 6.0 percent in the nine-month period of 2016 and 2.8 percent in the third quarter.

The gross profit margin in the first nine months was slightly higher than in the corresponding previous year’s period. EBITDA increased to EUR 137.4 (118.6) million and the EBITDA margin to 16.3 (15.0) percent. Positive one-time effects also contributed to earnings in both periods. Adjusted for these effects, profitability came in at 15.3 (14.6) percent.

As announced in the beginning of the year, TAKKT put together a digital agenda and formulated a Vision 2020 in the reporting period. This includes doubling the e-commerce business, sustainably changing the organization, investing up to EUR 50 million in employees and new technologies, and increasing sales growth organically over the medium term. Concrete measures in six focus areas were developed in order to realize these goals. More information can be found in the publication released today, “Digital Transformation,” which is available at 4www.takkt.com/digital.

For the remaining fourth quarter, TAKKT is expecting the current performance, which is rather subdued, to continue. This is also due to fewer working days in the fourth quarter which will have a negative impact of about two percentage points on growth. Overall, the Group is confirming its forecast. “The performance of the first nine months has been in line with our expectations,” says TAKKT CFO Claude Tomaszewski. “We therefore expect continued organic sales growth of three to five percent for 2016. The EBITDA margin is expected to be in the upper third of the target corridor of 12 to 15 percent.”

Conference call: October 31, 2016, at 3:00 pm (CET).
The login details to participate in the earnings call can be found at the following link:
4http://www.takkt.com/event

About TAKKT AG
TAKKT is the leading B2B direct marketing specialist for business equipment in Europe and North America. The Group is represented with its brands in more than 25 countries. The product range of the subsidiaries comprises more than 300,000 products for the areas of plant and warehouse equipment, office furniture, transport packaging, display articles and equipment for the food service industry, hotel market and retailers. The TAKKT Group has over 2,000 employees and just under three million customers worldwide. The company is listed on the SDAX and Deutsche Börse Prime Standard.

Contacts:
Dr. Christian Warns Tel. +49 711 3465-8222
Giuseppe Palmieri Tel. +49 711 3465-8250

Email: investor@takkt.de