BBED Beter Bed Holding NV

• Net revenue rose by 5.9% to € 385.4 million.
• Gross profit increased to 57.7% (2014: 57.3%).
• EBITDA up 31.4% to € 41.1 million (2014: € 31.3 million).
• Operating profit up 33.2% to € 30.7 million (2014: € 23.0 million).
• Net profit amounted to € 22.6 million (2014: € 16.9 million).
• Dividend proposal: € 0.87 per share, pay-out ratio of 85%.

Key figures for the year

Ton Anbeek, Chief Executive Officer:
'The company's organic (like-for-like) growth continued to increase in 2015. The first half of 2015 in Germany and Austria in particular as well as the sharply increasing growth in the Benelux contributed significantly to this. Beter Bed Holding was able to further improve its market position in almost all countries. In 2015, the new strategy 2016-2020 ('From Good to Great') was developed in order to strengthen the attraction power and transaction power of the various formulas in the coming years. The spearheads of this strategy are customer satisfaction, innovation, omnichannel e-commerce, IT systems, logistics, expansion and acquisitions.'

Key figures for the fourth quarter

Fourth quarter 2015
Group revenue at comparable stores rose by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. There was a strong increase in the Netherlands especially, where like-for-like revenue on the basis of order intake increased by 17.7%. In Germany like-for-like revenue decreased 3.6% due to a challenging basis of comparison (like-for-like revenue growth in Q4 2014: 11.5%). In Spain and Austria, like-for-like revenue was also subject to pressure due to a challenging basis of comparison. Like-for-like revenue rose in Belgium and Switzerland.

Total revenue increased by 3.4% to € 102.9 million in the fourth quarter. At 60.6%, gross profit was higher in this quarter than in the same period in 2014. The increase was partly attributable to improved purchasing conditions and higher supplier bonuses.

Expenses rose by 3.5% to € 49.7 million in the fourth quarter. This increase of € 1.7 million was caused on the one hand by expansion, as a result of which the average number of stores increased by 1.8%, and on the other by higher marketing spending in Germany, higher depreciation as a result of the investment programme in particularly the shops, rising logistics costs owing to the revenue growth and higher overhead costs due to expansion of the e-commerce activities.

EBITDA rose to € 14.9 million. Operating profit (EBIT) increased to € 12.7 million in the fourth quarter. Net profit for the fourth quarter of 2015 totalled € 9.3 million (Q4 2014: € 7.5 million).

2015
Revenue for 2015 increased by 5.9% to € 385.4 million. Revenue at comparable stores rose by 5.4% in 2015.

Revenue performance per country in 2015 was as follows:

All countries of the group achieved revenue growth. In Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, this was mainly attributable to like-for-like growth. In Austria, due to the acquisition of BettenMax, and Spain revenue rose as a consequence of expansion in combination with like-for-like revenue growth. Switzerland reported lower revenue on a like-for-like basis, caused by the economic conditions (as a result of the revaluation of the Swiss franc).

Gross profit as a percentage of revenue was 57.7% in 2015, up from the same period in the preceding year (2014: 57.3%). The increase was partly attributable to improved purchasing conditions, year-end bonuses and responsible price increases.

Total expenses rose from € 185.6 million to € 191.5 million. This 3.2% increase was largely attributable to higher depreciation resulting from the investment programme launched in 2014 and higher marketing spending, mainly for preparations for the relaunch of the Matratzen Concord formula. In addition, staff costs rose due to higher staff deployment and the pay-out of higher bonuses as a result of the higher revenue. The higher revenue also led to higher logistics costs. Lastly, overhead costs rose due to expansion of the e-commerce activities in particular.
The average number of stores fell by 1.5%. Owing to this decrease and the cost increases referred to earlier, average costs per store rose by 4.6%.

EBITDA rose by 31.4% to € 41.1 million in this period. EBITDA as a percentage of revenue increased from 8.6% to 10.7%.

Operating profit increased by 33.2% to € 30.7 million in this period. Operating profit as a percentage of revenue rose from 6.3% to 8.0%.

Net profit for 2015 increased by 33.8% from € 16.9 million to € 22.6 million. Earnings per share for 2015 were € 1.03 (2014: € 0.77).

Investments and cash flow
Investments amounted to € 16.0 million in 2015 (2014: € 13.2 million). Investments in stores were € 8.9 million in 2015 (2014: € 10.8 million). Beter Bed also acquired a logistics centre that had previously been rented for € 2.5 million. The remaining amount was invested primarily in IT and to a lesser extent in other operating assets.

Solvency
Solvency amounted to 57.5% on 31 December 2015, compared to 58.6% on 31 December 2014.

Operational
In 2015, 95 stores were opened and 63 stores were closed. The growth in the number of stores was mainly attributable to the acquisition of BettenMax at the end of 2015. At year-end 2015, the group had a total of 1,159 stores.

Matratzen Concord

Matratzen Concord
Revenue of the cash & carry formula Matratzen Concord for 2015 totalled € 262.2 million (68.0% of total group revenue). This is an increase of 5.2% compared to 2014. Revenue at comparable stores grew by 3.1%. Within revenue of this formula, 85.0% was achieved in Germany and 15.0% in Austria and Switzerland.

Beter Bed
This formula operates in the Netherlands and Belgium. The number of Beter Bed stores increased by three. Revenue grew from € 91.3 million to € 101.3 million in 2015, up 10.9%. Order intake in comparable stores rose by 11.6% in 2015. Beter Bed contributed 26.3% to the total group revenue.

Other formulas
The revenue of the other formulas amounted to € 22.0 million for 2015, contributing 5.7% to the total group revenue. This includes the revenue of the store formulas Beddenreus (Netherlands), El Gigante del Colchón (Spain) and the wholesaler DBC. The revenue of the other formulas is lower than in the preceding year as a result of the closure of Slaapgenoten during 2014.

Outlook 2016
The outlook for 2016 is positive. The economic outlook and the development of the housing market (at low mortgage interest rates) continue to appear to be favourable, despite a number of uncertainties. Building on the results of the measures put in place in the past few years, steps will be taken to continue like-for-like growth and to ensure that the formulas remain contemporary. To achieve this, a new strategic plan was formulated in 2015 for the period 2016-2020, named 'From good to great'. The primary focus in that plan will be on innovation and maximum customer satisfaction in an omnichannel environment. Expansion will also be a priority, in order to further strengthen the position of our formulas in the various countries.

Dividend
Beter Bed Holding N.V.'s dividend policy is aimed at maximising shareholder return while maintaining a solid capital position. The company aims to distribute at least 50% of its net profit to the shareholders provided that its solvency is not less than 30% and the net interest-bearing debt/EBITDA ratio does not exceed two.

In November 2015 the company paid an interim cash dividend of € 0.39 per share.
A proposal will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, scheduled for 19 May 2016, to distribute a final cash dividend of € 0.48. This brings the dividend for 2015 to € 0.87 per share (2014: € 0.65 per share) and 85% of net profit will be distributed to shareholders.

Auditor's report
The financial information in the appendices is taken from the consolidated financial statements of Beter Bed Holding N.V., which will be submitted for adoption to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders on 19 May 2016, and for which an unqualified auditor's report has been issued by the independent auditor.

Profile
Beter Bed Holding is a European retail organisation that strives to offer its customers a comfortable and healthy night's sleep every night at an affordable price. The company does
this through its retail formulas:

• Matratzen Concord, located in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
• Beter Bed, located in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Beddenreus, located in the Netherlands.
• El Gigante del Colchón, located in Spain.
• Literie Concorde, located in France.

The retail formulas ensure products of good quality, offer better advice to customers than their competitors and always offer the best possible deal.
               
Beter Bed Holding is also active as a wholesaler of branded products in the bedroom furnishing sector via its subsidiary DBC International. The international brand M Line is sold in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Spain and France.

In 2015, the company achieved net revenue of € 385.4 million with a total of 1,159 stores. 70.1% of this figure was realised outside the Netherlands.

Beter Bed Holding N.V. is a listed company and its shares have been included in the AScX Index of Euronext Amsterdam since December 1996.

For further information:

Please click on the link below for the PDF version of the press release.

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