12/06-19   -   Pressemeddelelse

CEWE: dividend increases for the tenth time in succession

• Annual General Meeting decides to raise dividends to EUR 1.95 per share
• Shareholders earn a dividend yield of 3.1 % on the basis of the price at the end of 2018
• Sales and earnings to continue to increase in 2019: Q1 confirms annual targets

The regular Annual General Meeting of CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA (SDAX, ISIN: DE 0005403901), with attendance at 65.9 %, approved all the agenda items proposed in Oldenburg today. At 1.95 euros per share, the dividend increases by 10-euro cents over that of the previous year – the Group's tenth consecutive dividend increase. The dividend yield is thus 3.1 % based on the 2018 year-end share price. "Our consistent growth and the fact that our financial position is sound in every respect mean that our shareholders have been able to rely on increasing dividends for a whole decade," explains CEWE CEO Dr. Christian Friege.

Strong first quarter – growth also expected to continue throughout the year
With an increase of 7.5 % in turnover, to 140.4 million euros (Q1 2018: 130.6 million euros), CEWE was successful in getting the year off to a good start. The company also intends to continue to increase sales and earnings over those of the previous year for the year as a whole. CEWE expects to see an added impulse from the latest takeover of wall art specialist WhiteWall - an ideal addition to the company's high-quality product portfolio. CEWE raised its sales forecast from 675 to 710 million euros following the already closed WhiteWall acquisition (2018: 653.3 million euros). Since the contribution to EBIT made by WhiteWall in 2019 is expected to still be slightly negative, due, among other things, to transaction costs, the Board of Management has adjusted its lower target limit for EBIT from 52 million to 51 million euros. Following the success achieved in the first quarter, the ceiling for the planned EBIT target range remains unchanged at 58 million euros.
Dividend to continue to increase in future too: strong employee participation
CEWE employees also show considerable identification with the company: more than 80 % of them hold company shares. "We are staying true to our course, even after ten consecutive increases in our dividend. We intend to continue increasing our dividend in future too, from a position of economic strength. Our rising earnings and our consistently sound financial position with a high capital ratio make this possible," Dr. Christian Friege emphasises.

CEWE 2019 Photo Award is the largest photo competition in the world
The CEWE Photo Award set new standards as the phase for sending in entries ended. Over a period of one year 448,152 photos with "Our world is beautiful" as their motto were sent in – more entries than in any other photo competition worldwide. Dr. Christian Friege points out: "The large number and the quality of the photos entered is overwhelming."
A jury headed by world-famous photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand is already looking forward to the exciting, challenging task of choosing the best entries. The decision will be announced at a major award ceremony to be held in Vienna on 26 September. The CEWE Photo Award has its origins in the first international photo competition launched by CEWE, "Europe is beautiful" in 2010. In the years that followed, the competition continued to develop, bringing together a steadily increasing number of photo enthusiasts from all over the world. Entries and current monthly winners can all be seen on the CEWE Photo Award website: www.cewephotoaward.com