The results for the first three quarters of 2019 are in line with our expectations. With its customer-friendly philosophy, Fielmann has once again increased the number of units sold, sales revenue and profits.
Fielmann increased its units sold in the first three quarters to 6.13 million (previous year: 6.06 million). External sales grew to €1.35 billion (previous year: €1.25 billion) and consolidated sales rose to €1.16 billion (previous year: €1.08 billion). Pre-tax profits rose to €206.1 million (previous year: €196.1 million) and the net income increased to €143.0 million (previous year: €135.7 million). In total, Fielmann invested €74.4 million in the first three quarters of the year.
Fielmann increased its units sold in the third quarter to 2.06 million (previous year: 2.01 million). Over the same period, external sales grew to €463.2 million (previous year: €430.6 million) and consolidated sales rose to €400.1 million (previous year: €366.4 million). The pre-tax profit amounted to €78.5 million (previous year: €80.0 million) and the net income stood at €54.7 million (previous year: €55.4 million). The profit has been impacted by an increase in the number of employees as well as non-recurring effects in the previous year.
We are driving our expansion forward. With effect of 1 September in 2019, Fielmann AG has acquired 70% of shares in the Slovenian market leader Optika Clarus, thereby entering the 14th European market. As of 30 September, Fielmann operated a total of 770 stores (previous year: 729).
The foundation of our success is our skilled employees. At the end of the third quarter, Fielmann employed more than 20,000 members of staff for the first time (20,519, previous year: 19,488). In the current year, Fielmann has recruited over 1,700 apprentices - our skilled staff of the future.
Fielmann has used its available liquidity to strengthen its position in the market, to invest in digitization and to accelerate its expansion. For the year as a whole, we expect profits at the same level as the previous year.
Hamburg, 7 November 2019
Fielmann Aktiengesellschaft
The Management Board
