PRESS RELEASE | 17 SEPTEMBER 2015
Weng Fine Art AG with early Turnaround: Group Sales increase by 40 % in 1st half of 2015
- WFA AG's half-year EBIT has more than doubled to 780,000 EUR
- Newly structured B2B business has benefited from good market sentiment and international positioning
- Net profit in 2015 will exceed last year's level by a multiple
Weng Fine Art AG (WFA) has significantly exceeded its growth targets, which were already revised upwards in July. In the first six months of the financial year which began on 1 Feb. 2015, the art dealer traded on Frankfurt Stock Exchange has made consolidated sales of EUR 3.65 million, based on unaudited figures. Compared to the same period last year, this is a jump of around 40 %, after the company had previously announced additional revenues of 30 %.
The improved market sentiment was amongst other factors decisive for the positive trend. "While the high-end segment was booming in recent years, demand is now increasing in the medium price range - where we had positioned ourselves with good timing," says WFA CEO Rüdiger K. Weng, not only pointing to the successful start-up of the e-commerce platform "Weng Contemporary" launched in May, but also to the WFA Trading GmbH subsidiary with its restructured B2B trading: "Since the end of 2014 we focus on organic growth, means that resources which were bound in potential M&A deals are now available again for developing the core business."
In WFA AG - consolidated with WFA Trading GmbH (but without the Swiss daughter companies) - the revenue could be increased by 27.5% to EUR 3.34 million during the first half of the year. This had proved that the internationalization of the trade was worthwhile: Gross profit margin of 58 % has risen to 64 %, mainly due to the appreciation of the US Dollar and Pound Sterling. In contrast, costs have even declined compared to the first half of 2014.
Weng Fine Art AG half-year's EBIT of around EUR 780,000 increased by 111% on the previous year. Pre-tax profit amounted to EUR 650,000, surpassing the first half of 2014 by almost 140%. In consolidated financial statements, which will be published in October, the remaining start-up losses of WFA Online AG are to be added. CEO Rüdiger K. Weng has no doubt that the turnaround is finished one year earlier than expected: "Actually, we had assumed that revenue and earnings won't rise again before 2016," states the company founder, reminiscing on the original plan for a three-year transformation phase: "But thanks to the strategic decisions of the past year, we can take advantage of market opportunities faster and more consistently now."
Evidence of this is the recently reported portfolio deal of WFA Online AG. Negotiations for other block buster deals of the WFA group are currently under way, which is why the CEO cannot currently give valid sales and earnings predictions for 2015 and 2016. However, it seems assured that the profit of the previous year will be exceeded many times over in this reporting year.
ABOUT WENG FINE ART AG
Weng Fine Art AG (www.wengfineart.com), with subsidiaries in Germany and Switzerland, is a leading internationally operating art dealing and art service company. The founder-led company combines a long-term expertise in the art market with economic know-how. Other factors of success are the large inventory of artworks of the 20 and 21st century as well as the access to attractive funding. In addition to the traditional art dealing activities the company targets a leading role in the art e-commerce. Market know-how, the lack of competition and the comprehensive company-owned stock of high quality artworks will be the key to success of WFA Online AG in this segment. The shares of Weng Fine Art AG are listed in the Entry Standard of the Frankfurt stock exchange.
CONTACT
Weng Fine Art AG
Rüdiger K. Weng, CEO
Kimplerstrasse 294 | 47807 Krefeld | Germany
Phone +49 (0)2151 93713-0 | Fax +49 (0)2151 93713-29
E-mail rkweng@wengfineart.com
