Stockmann - Financial Statement Release

Stockmann Group’s Financial Statement Bulletin 2011

All-time high revenue; Q4 operating profit up 22.1 per cent on 2010

Helsinki, Finland, 2012-02-09 07:00 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STOCKMANN plc,
Financial Statement Release 9.2.2012 at 8.00 EET 

October - December 2011:
Consolidated revenue grew by 8.5 per cent to EUR 626.1 million (EUR 576.9
million). 
Operating profit was EUR 59.3 million (EUR 48.5 million).

January - December 2011:
Consolidated revenue grew by 10.1 per cent to EUR 2 005.3 million (EUR 1 821.9
million). 
Operating profit was EUR 70.1 million (EUR 88.8 million).
Profit for the year was EUR 30.8 million (EUR 78.3 million)
Earnings per share came to EUR 0.43 (EUR 1.10).
The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting that a
dividend of EUR 0.50 per share be paid. 

CEO Hannu Penttilä:
For the Stockmann Group 2011 was a year of strong revenue growth. A significant
share of the growth came from the Russian market as a result of the new
department store and shopping centre in St Petersburg in particular, but also
thanks to the new department store in Ekaterinburg and the favourable
performance of the Moscow department stores. The expansion and success of the
Lindex fashion chain, increased sales at the enlarged Helsinki flagship
department store, and the good performance of all divisions in the Baltic
countries also contributed to the year's revenue growth. 

During 2011, and in particular during its first quarter, revenue growth was
unable to cover the higher costs and depreciation resulting from the expansion.
The situation improved after the summer and fourth-quarter operating profit was
clearly higher than the previous year. In 2011, earnings per share were down by
more than the operating profit due to positive one-off items in financial
expenses and taxes in 2010. Our ambition level goes significantly beyond that
what we achieved in 2011, and our aim is to significantly improve earnings in
the long run. 

Christmas sales developed as we had expected but the retail market conditions
are continuously difficult to forecast. The European debt crisis is still
unresolved and could cause uncertainty and unexpected volatility in the market.
Provided that market sentiment does not worsen and the economic situation stays
in balance, we are well positioned for sales growth and positive earnings
performance. Stockmann expects to increase both its revenue and operating
profit in 2012. 

Outlook for 2012
The unstable state of the world economy and the unsolved European debt crisis
create a challenging basis for assessing the future outlook. The retail market
conditions are continuously difficult to forecast. The Russian market is likely
to continue to perform better than the Nordic countries, provided that the
price of oil does not significantly drop from its current level. The growth of
the consumer markets in the Baltic countries is expected to continue. However,
high uncertainty and low consumer confidence may continue to affect consumers'
willingness to purchase in all markets. 

The market for affordable fashion developed poorly in 2011, in particular in
Sweden. The development is expected to improve in 2012 compared with 2011. The
production capacity problems in the Far East procurement market have eased. Raw
material and purchasing prices have also stabilised. 

Stockmann's decision to discontinue the loss-making Bestseller franchising
operation during 2012 will slightly affect the revenue in Russia but improve
the operating profit in the future. Stockmann is targeting to achieve a
positive operating result excluding Bestseller operations in Russia in 2012. 

During 2012, Stockmann will concentrate on gaining the full benefit of its
recently completed capital expenditure projects and the efficient use of
capital. Additionally, attention will be given to improving cost efficiency in
all units. The Group's capital expenditure is estimated to remain clearly below
depreciation and to total approximately EUR 50 million in 2012. 

Stockmann expects the Group's revenue and operating profit to be above the
figures for 2011, provided that market sentiment does not significantly worsen.
The first-quarter operating result will be negative due to normal seasonal
variation. 


Key figures

                                            10-12/20  10-12/20  1-12/20  1-12/20
                                                  11        10       11       10
Revenue, EUR mill.                             626.1     576.9  2 005.3  1 821.9
Revenue growth, %                                8.5       9.6     10.1      7.3
Relative gross margin, %                        48.6      49.4     48.7     49.9
Operating profit, EUR mill.                     59.3      48.5     70.1     88.8
Net financial costs, EUR mill.                   8.1       4.2     34.4     14.6
Profit before tax, EUR mill.                    51.1      44.3     35.7     74.2
Profit for the period, EUR mill.                45.2      37.1     30.8     78.3
Earnings per share, undiluted, EUR              0.63      0.52     0.43     1.10
Equity per share, EUR                                             12.11    12.45
Cash flow from operating activities, EUR       179.8     108.2     66.2     91.8
 mill.                                                                          
Capital expenditure, EUR mill.                  15.7      58.2     66.0    165.4
Net gearing, %                                                     95.3     87.7
Equity ratio, %                                                    42.2     43.1
Number of shares, undiluted, weighted                            71 496   71 120
 average, 1 000 pc                                                              
Return on capital employed,                                         4.1      5.8
rolling 12 months                                                               
Personnel, average                            16 183    16 220   15 964   15 165



This company announcement is a summary of the Stockmann Financial Statements
Bulletin 2011 and includes the most relevant information of the bulletin. The
complete bulletin is attached to this release as a pdf file and is also
available on the company's website at www.stockmanngroup.fi. 

Press and analyst briefing and conference call
A press and analyst briefing in Finnish will be held today, on 9 February 2012
at 9.15 a.m. at the F8 Tema restaurant on the 8th floor of Stockmann's Helsinki
city centre department store, Aleksanterinkatu 52. 

A conference call in English will be held today, on 9 February 2012 at 11.15
a.m. EET. To participate the conference call, please dial +358 9 8864 8511 and,
when requested, key in the meeting room number *657899* including the
asterisks. The presentation material will be available for downloading on the
company's website from 9.15 a.m. EET onwards. 

Further information:
Hannu Penttilä, CEO, tel. +358 9 121 5801
Pekka Vähähyyppä, CFO, tel. +358 9 121 3351

www.stockmanngroup.fi


STOCKMANN plc

Hannu Penttilä
CEO


Distribution:
NASDAQ OMX
Principal media

Attachments:

Financial Statements 2011.pdf