zooplus AG: Sales increase 28% to EUR 908 million in 2016

• Company significantly exceeds original full-year sales target of at least EUR 875 million
• All 30 regional markets achieve double-digit sales growth
• Sales exceed EUR 250 million in a single quarter for the first time in Q4 2016
• Sales of at least EUR 1,125 million forecasted for 2017

Munich, January 26, 2017 – According to the company’s preliminary figures, zooplus AG (WKN 511170, ISIN DE0005111702, ticker symbol ZO1), Europe’s leading online retailer of pet supplies, continued its path of strong growth achieving sales of EUR 908 million in the 2016 financial year and clearly exceeding its original full-year forecast of at least EUR 875 million. Sales grew 28% year-on-year (2015: EUR 711 million) with currency-adjusted growth almost 2 percentage points higher. All 30 regional markets once again achieved double-digit growth rates, whereby growth in Great Britain was below expectations due to the depreciation in the British pound versus the euro.

Sales in the pet food segment, an area particularly important for sustainable growth, increased 31% year-on-year, bringing the percentage share of pet food sales up to a total of 82% (2015: 80%). With an acceleration in the year-on-year growth rate in new customer business to 26% (2015: 16%) and a high growth rate of 29% in existing customer business, both customer groups contributed to the company’s sustainable growth. The solid quality of new customers and the high loyalty of existing customers in 2016 are also reflected by the rise in the sales retention rate which, at 92%, again reached a very high level and was below the prior year (2015: 94%) solely due to exchange rates.

Dr. Cornelius Patt, CEO of zooplus AG, commented on the company’s successful business performance in 2016: “Since the previous year, we have expanded our active customer base from 4.0 million customers to over 4.8 million and increased sales by nearly EUR 200 million to a total of EUR 908 million. A growing number of customers are recognizing the advantages of online shopping and a saturation in this market is currently nowhere in sight. This is also reflected by the year-on-year rise in the growth rate in business with new customers. We continued to systematically implement our growth strategy throughout Europe in 2016 and, in the fourth quarter alone, we were able to generate record sales of more than EUR 250 million in a single quarter for the first time. We also successfully started operations at our new logistics center in Antwerp. Together, these factors provide us a solid basis for the year 2017. Our goal is to continue to grow steadily in 2017 and exceed the EUR 1 billion threshold in sales for the first time. This will allow us to significantly enhance the strong market position we have already achieved.”

The zooplus AG Management Board is forecasting sales of at least EUR 1,125 million in the 2017 financial year. zooplus will report its final results for the 2016 financial year and complete forecast for the 2017 financial year when it publishes its consolidated financial statements on March 23, 2017. The annual report will be made available on the company’s website at http://investors.zooplus.com.

Company profile:
zooplus AG was founded in 1999 and today is Europe’s leading online retailer for pet supplies measured by sales. Based on preliminary figures, sales totaled EUR 908 million in the 2016 financial year, of which roughly 70% was generated internationally. The company’s business model has been launched successfully in 30 European countries. zooplus sells products for all major pet breeds. The product range includes pet food (dry and wet food and food supplements) and accessories such as scratching posts, dog baskets, and toys in all price categories. In addition to a selection of over 8,000 products, zooplus customers benefit from a
variety of interactive content and community offerings. The pet supplies market is an important market segment in the European retail landscape. Sales of pet food and accessories within the European Union amount to around EUR 25 billion. Based on the further vigorous growth anticipated in the European e-commerce market, zooplus expects its dynamic performance to continue.

Online at: www.zooplus.de

Investor relations/media contact:
cometis AG
Maximilian Breuer
Unter den Eichen 7
65195 Wiesbaden
Phone: +49 (0)611-205855-22
Fax: +49 (0)611-205855-66
Email: breuer@cometis.de
Website: www.www.cometis.de