2017

• Consolidated revenues rise by 3.7 % to EUR 40.7 million
• Consolidated EBIT rises 21.9 % to EUR 1.6 million
• Full-year outlook for 2017 reaffirmed: ongoing profitable growth anticipated

Haselünne, May 10, 2017 – Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft, which is traded on the regulated market (General Standard) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN: DE0005201602), continued its growth trajectory in the first quarter of 2017. Over the first three months of the current financial year, consolidated revenues rose by 3.7% on the equivalent period of the previous year to EUR 40.7 million (Q1/2016: EUR 39.3 million). Consolidated earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) improved over the period from January to March 2017 to EUR 1.6 million (Q1/2016: EUR 1.3 million).

“The Berentzen Group is seeing continued growth thanks to its diversified product portfolio. The successes achieved in the Non-alcoholic Beverages and Fresh Juice Systems segments are particularly pleasing. We see this growth as confirmation of our strategy aimed at moving our company towards segments involving natural and fresh products”, explains Frank Schübel, Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft’s Executive Board Spokesman. All in all, only the contributions to revenues from the Spirits segment saw a fall in comparison to the same quarter of the previous year. In this context, the Group succeeded in expanding the business with branded spirits outside of Germany, while the fact that the Easter business started at a later date than in the previous year caused a decline in the Spirits business in Germany in a quarter-on-quarter comparison. These developments give Frank Schübel every reason to be particularly satisfied with the improvement in the value added in those segments of special strategic importance to the corporate group: “In particular, a higher level of contribution margins in the Non-alcoholic Beverages and Fresh Juice Systems segments allowed us to generate a high gross profit unchanged on the level seen in the first quarter of 2016. At the same time, management of marketing activities to take account of seasonal market conditions in the domestic Spirits business enabled us to improve the consolidated operating result”, comments the Executive Board Spokesman.

Outlook

With regard to the 2017 financial year, Berentzen-Gruppe Aktiengesellschaft affirms its earnings forecasts and maintains its expectations of a rise in revenues and results in comparison to the previous year. The plans are for consolidated revenues to reach a level of between EUR 170.4 million and EUR 179.2 million and for consolidated EBIT to range between EUR 11.2 million and EUR 12.4 million. “We will make good use of the fast pace of growth in the Fresh Juice Systems and Non-alcoholic Beverages segments and drive them forward with expanding sales markets and product innovations. At the same time, we are intensifying our strategy aligned to generating a high level of value added in the Spirits business on generally declining markets”, explains Frank Schübel.