Successful 2019 financial year lays foundation for further growth at the Schörghuber Corporate Group
Munich, 28 July 2020. "Thanks to an outstanding team performance, we have created a solid foundation that will enable us to hold our own in the current difficult economic environment and continue to pursue our ambitious growth plans," says Nico Nusmeier, who has been at the helm of the Group as CEO since 1 July 2019. While the revenues generated by the three divisions Construction & Real Estate, Hotels and Seafood fell slightly to EUR 743.8 million (previous year: EUR 771.3 million), the result, which had doubled in the previous year, increased to EUR 329.2 million (previous year: EUR 304.7 million). The equity ratio stands at 47.7 percent (previous year: 45.1 percent). It should be noted in this context that the Beverages division has been consolidated at equity. In 2019, slightly higher revenues of EUR 701.7 million (previous year: EUR 690.7 million) enabled it to increase its earnings substantially to EUR 31.1 million (previous year: EUR 27.5 million).
Overview of the key figures for the Group:
• Consolidated revenue: EUR 743.8 million (previous year: EUR 771.3 million)
• Consolidated EBITDA (including fair-value measurement): EUR 288.5 million (previous year: EUR 295.1 million)
• Consolidated EBIT (including fair-value measurement): EUR 442.4 million (previous year: EUR 442.9 million)
• Consolidated result after minority interests: EUR 329.2 million (previous year: EUR 304.7 million)
• Equity ratio: 47.7 percent (previous year: 45.1 percent)
• Number of employees: 2,805 (previous year: 2,766)
Bayerische Hausbau: Substantial investments in existing properties and in new apartments in Munich
Bayerische Hausbau GmbH & Co. KG is the management company for the Construction & Real Estate division. It operates in the business segments real estate and development. The real estate segment comprises primarily asset and property management of the real estate portfolio, which focuses for the most part on Munich and has a value of approximately EUR 3.1 billion. The development segment on the other hand covers a broad range of services, ranging from the acquisition of land and procurement of building permission to the planning and realization of residential complexes, commercial real estate and multifunctional urban developments.
Of the development projects in the real estate portfolio, which comprise a total of 491.9 thousand square meters of usable rental space, the old Bayerische Staatsbank on Munich's Salvatorplatz deserves special mention. The year 2019 marked the launch of the laborious work involved in gutting the building ensemble. The Rosewood Munich, a five-star ultra-luxury hotel, is schedule to open in 2023 in Kardinal-Faulhaber-Straße; at the same time, high-end offices are being built in Prannerstraße. The dismantling of the property in Gollierstrasse, on the other hand, has already been completed. This is where construction of DAVANTO, the Schörghuber Corporate Group's new state-of-the-art headquarters, will be completed by mid-2022.
In the year under review, Bayerische Hausbau once again made a significant contribution to increasing the amount of living space in Munich. For example, it handed over 137 state subsidized apartments, which were part of the joint venture project Am Oberwiesenfeld, to an institutional investor. Excavation work began on the Am Nockherberg Süd project, which is part of a large urban development being created on what were previously the business premises of the Paulaner brewery. The shell of the building in another subproject, Am Alten Eiswerk, which has now been sold in its entirety, was also completed in 2019. A total of 116 residential units (previous year: 84 residential units) with a volume of EUR 119.1 million (previous year: EUR 69.3 million) were notarized in the past year.
Overview of key figures for the Construction & Real Estate division:
• Subgroup consolidated revenue: EUR 379.1 million (previous year: EUR 383.0 million)
• Subgroup EBITDA: EUR 190.2 million (previous year: EUR 185.5 million)
• Subgroup EBIT (including fair-value measurement): EUR 376.7 million (previous year: EUR 362.2 million)
• Subgroup consolidated result after taxes: EUR 296.1 million (previous year: EUR 259.9 million)
• Equity ratio: 50.2 percent (previous year: 45.9 percent)
• Number of employees: 179 (previous year: 182)
Paulaner Brewery Group: Increase in sales thanks to Mönchshof and Chiemseer
Paulaner Brauerei Gruppe GmbH & Co. KGaA, a joint venture with Heineken International B.V., serves as the parent company of the Beverages division. It holds a 100-percent stake in Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Brauerei GmbH & Co. KG, Privatbrauerei Hoepfner GmbH and Privat-Brauerei Schmucker GmbH, as well as 63.8 percent of the listed Kulmbacher Brauerei AG, and is market leader in its core markets Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
The Paulaner Brewery Group brought the year under review to a close with an increase in sales and earnings. In 2019, it was able to increase its sales volume by 1.2 percent to 8.164 million hl (including alcohol-free soft drinks, contract production and off-the-shelf sales), which was significantly higher than the average for the market as a whole (Germany: -1.9 percent, Bavaria: -3.3 percent).
In addition to the price increases successfully implemented in Germany, the main contributors to this good performance were increases in the volume of sales for the brands Mönchshof, Chiemseer, Fürstenberg and Paulaner Spezi. Mönchshof continued to grow unchecked and increased its sales in 2019 by 8.1 percent to 938,000 hl. The undisputed market leader in the swing-top bottle segment thus gained a market share of 25.0 percent. The pale ale brand Chiemseer was also able to maintain the strong growth enjoyed in previous years: sales rose by 11.8 percent to 160,000 hl compared to 2018.
Domestic beer sales amounted to 4.709 million hl (previous year: 4.712 million hl) – including alcohol-free beer and beer-based mixed beverages – and foreign sales reached 1.333 million hl (previous year: 1.325 million hl). This corresponds to an increase of 0.7 percent. This growth was primarily generated by an increase in exports to Russia, Spain and China, with the Paulaner brand accounting for 1.048 million hl of the beer exported.
Overview of key figures for the Beverages division:
• Subgroup consolidated revenue: EUR 701.7 million (previous year: EUR 690.7 million)
• Subgroup EBITDA: EUR 142.4 million (previous year: EUR 115.2 million)
• Subgroup EBIT: EUR 55.7 million (previous year: EUR 50.7 million)
• Subgroup consolidated result (before minority interests): EUR 31.1 million (previous year: EUR 27.5 million)
• Equity ratio: 31.0 percent (35.8 percent adjusted for the effects of the first-time application of IFRS 16; previous year: 36.8 percent)
• Number of employees: 2,544 (previous year: 2,555)
Arabella Hospitality: The individual hotels present a mixed picture
As the central holding company for the Hotels division, Arabella Hospitality SE operates14 hotels in Germany, Switzerland and on Mallorca, eight of which are owned by the Schörghuber Corporate Group. Management agreements with Marriott International, Inc. exist for all the hotels, which are operated under the renowned brand names St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton and Aloft.
The Hotels division reported largely stable revenues of EUR 213.9 million (previous year: EUR 218.9 million) but was unable to maintain the growth in earnings enjoyed in previous years. Although Arabella Hospitality generated earnings of EUR 16.4 million in 2018, with the sale of the Fürstenhof hotel in Leipzig having a significant impact on the result, earnings in the year under review fell to EUR -2.8 million . This is in part due to a decrease in business involving groups and events at the hotel complex in Munich's Arabellapark, a significant increase in the number of hotel rooms in Frankfurt at the expense of The Westin Grand Frankfurt, and the deferral of revenue due to delays in construction work on the Son Vida Residences project development on Mallorca.
On a positive note, special mention should be made of The Westin Hamburg in the Elbphilharmonie complex, which delivered a stellar performance with a 12.3-percent increase in occupancy rate to 85.2 percent. Although performance in Switzerland, where Arabella Hospitality operates two hotels in Zurich, was good, it fell short of expectations.
The first-time application of the IFRS 16 standard, which resulted in a balance sheet extension, had a significant negative impact on Arabella Hospitality's equity ratio, with it falling from 68.7 percent to 27.1 percent.
Overview of key figures for the Hotels division:
• Subgroup consolidated revenue: EUR 213.9 million (previous year: EUR 218.9 million)
• Subgroup EBITDA: EUR 53.4 million (previous year: EUR 33.7 million)
• Subgroup EBIT: EUR 8.3 million (previous year: EUR 20.0 million)
• Subgroup consolidated result (before minority interests): EUR -2.8 million (previous year: EUR 16.4 million)
• Equity ratio: 27.1 percent (previous year: 68.7 percent)
• Number of employees: 1,591 (previous year: 1,643)
Ventisqueros: Ongoing investment in sustainability and quality
The Seafood division covers the production, processing and sale of Atlantic (Salar) and Pacific (Coho) salmon. It serves customers in the USA, Russia, China, Japan and Brazil, among others. Operations in this business segment are managed by Productos del Mar Ventisqueros S.A.
Like 2018, the year under review was also characterized by large investments. USD 26.5 million was invested in ensuring the company's sustainability: first and foremost in two new feed barges, in the switch to new net cages that measure 40 by 40 meters and in the optimization of the work flows in the production plant. Although the division was unable to achieve the EUR 166.3 million in sales revenue (previous year: EUR 183.4 million) forecast for 2019, its earnings before taxes of EUR 31.5 million (previous year: EUR 30.3 million) were higher than in the previous year.
The investment in a hatchery, i.e. a land-based freshwater breeding and rearing center for young fish, planned for 2019 on the other hand, has been postponed, as a new approval process for the use of innovative, resource-efficient technologies had to be initiated. Productos del Mar Ventisqueros is unwavering in its efforts to ensure sustainable salmon production. Since 2015, the company has increased its feed conversion ratio by 10 percent and significantly reduced the use of antibiotics. It also ranks among the top runners in the relevant AquaBench comparisons with other companies in the industry.
Overview of key figures for the Seafood division:
• Subgroup consolidated revenue: EUR 166.3 million (previous year: EUR 183.4 million)
• Subgroup EBITDA (including fair-value measurement): EUR 41.5 million (previous year: EUR 40.6 million)
• Subgroup EBIT (including fair-value measurement): EUR 33.6 million (previous year: EUR 33.0 million)
• Subgroup consolidated result (before minority interests): EUR 23.5 million (previous year: EUR 19.9 million)
• Equity ratio: 75.1 percent (previous year: 67.8 percent)
• Number of employees: 917 (previous year: 823)
Outlook: Optimism despite COVID-19
The Schörghuber Corporate Group responded quickly and decisively to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing comprehensive hygiene and safety measures to ensure the health of its employees and customers.
Thanks to strict cost and liquidity management implemented at the very beginning of the crisis and the sustained support of partners and customers, the holding company's executive board and the management teams at the companies in the Group have also succeeded in protecting the Group's core business. And it did so despite the painful economic losses suffered as a result of defaults and deferrals of rent payments at Bayerische Hausbau, declining sales to bars and restaurants and a fall in exports at the Paulaner Brewery Group, as well as the temporary closure of 12 of Arabella Hospitality's 14 hotels for example. According to Dr. Hermann Brandstetter, this success is also due to the Group's level of digitalization: "Our IT infrastructure passed its stress test with flying colors," says the CFO of the Schörghuber Corporate Group.
As far as Nico Nusmeier is concerned, systematic further investment in digital infrastructure and business models, the formulation and implementation of the Group's approach to ensuring the sustainability of its entrepreneurial activity, and continued focus on its 5,300 employees are therefore key levers for the ensuring the Group's future growth. The chairman of the executive board assumes that COVID-19 will lead to a significant drop in revenues and, more importantly, earnings in the 2020 financial year compared with the record year 2019. This forecast does not however diminish his underlying feeling of confidence: "I take hope from the team spirit demonstrated during the pandemic by our employees, the management teams, the executive board and the family that owns the company, as well from our successful management of the crisis to date. I hope that we will be able to acquire new strengths and implement our plans for growth by the time the crisis comes to an end. I can already feel the energy.”
About the Schörghuber Corporate Group
The family-run Schörghuber Corporate Group, which was founded in 1954 and has its headquarters in Munich, is successfully involved in the four business sectors construction and real estate, beverages, hotels and seafood, in both the national and international arenas. Bayerische Hausbau, which bundles all the real estate and property development activities of the Schörghuber Corporate Group, is one of the largest real estate companies in Germany. With a real estate portfolio valued at approximately 3.1 billion euros, it holds a leading position in its core market, Munich, in particular. The Paulaner Brewery Group, a joint venture with Heineken, is one of the largest regional brewery groups in Germany and boasts brands like Paulaner, Hacker-Pschorr, Mönchshof and Fürstenberg. As the central holding company for the Hotels division, Arabella Hospitality operates, directly or indirectly, 14 hotels in Germany, Switzerland and on the Balearic island of Mallorca. The hotels are managed by Marriott International. The salmon farming and processing activities in Chile bundled under the roof of Productos del Mar Ventisqueros neatly round off the Group’s portfolio of business activities as the fourth business division, Seafood. Common values – diversity, quality and growth – forge a bond between the four business divisions. The Group’s approximately 5,300 employees ensure that customers enjoy the benefits provided by these shared values every single day. www.sug-munich.com.
PRESS CONTACT
Schörghuber Corporate Group
Bernhard Taubenberger, Head of Communications & Marketing
Denninger Straße 165, D-81925 München, Telephone +49 89 9238-258, Telefax +49 89 9238-114258
be.taubenberger@sug-munich.com, www.sug-munich.com