Delticom Revenues 14.5% Improved in First Half 2009

Despite an increase in revenues during the first half of 2009, Delticom CFO Frank Schuhardt retains a cautious outlook towards the company’s full-year performance. "Consumers across Europe are going to feel the effects of the crisis over the coming months,” he commented. “This is bound to have an impact on the tyre trade. Consequently, we should not assume that Delticom will be as profitable in the second half of the year as it was in the first half."

During the six month to June 30 the company took in revenues of 139.2 million euros, a 14.5 per cent year-on-year increase. Of this, E-Commerce revenues totalled 121.5 million euros, a rise of 15.8 per cent, while earnings in the company’s Wholesale division fell slightly to 8.4 million euros. EBIT improved in the reporting period by 82.9 per cent to 10.2 million euros, with a margin of 7.3 per cent. Consolidated net income was 7.0 million euros, 70.9 per cent higher that in the first half of 2008.

Growth in Delticom’s E-Commerce division is linked to a significant increase in the customer base, which surged from 2.3 million to more than 3 million in the preceding twelve months. Since the start of 2009 the online tyre retailer has acquired more than 377,000 new customers. In addition, almost 173,000 repeat customers have bought Delticom’s products in one of the more than 100 online shops in 35 countries, although the company did note “weak local currencies made it increasingly difficult for Delticom to grow its business.” This, however, did not detract from a largely positive half-year: “Delticom benefited from the relative strength of the high-growth e-commerce business this year and has been left comparatively unscathed by the economic downturn so far,” the company stated in its semi-annual report.

Despite Schuhardt’s second-half prediction, key company figures remain on track: “The expansion of our warehousing capacity in the first half-year gives rise to further medium- and long-term growth opportunities,” stated Philip von Grolman, Management Board member responsible for logistics. Delticom’s Management Board continues planning for a 10 per cent year-on-year revenue increase and an EBIT margin of seven per cent.”