Due to the increasing importance of high-margin value-added picture products including the CeWe Photo Books, the operating result (EBIT) increased 1.1 percent to Euro 15.8 million, resulting in a net result of Euro 12.2 million, 2.8 percent more than in the same period last year.
CeWe Color prcessed a total of 789 million pictures during the third quarter, a minus of 4.8 percent compared with the same period last year due to the shift of the peak season from the 3rd to the 4th quarter. Sales through the Internet grew 27 percent in terms of value and 19.1 percent in terms of volume. The number of pictures ordered online reached 308 million pieces, compared with 293 million pictures ordered in the brick-and-mortar shops of CeWe Color’s retailing partners.
For the full year 2009, CeWe Color expects a volume of 1.9 billion digital pictures, 500 million prints from film and 3.5 million CeWe Photo Books. Nominal sales are expected to reach Euro 405 to 410 million, equivalent with Euro 420 to 425 million without currency effects. The Management upheld its profit targets expecting a result of Euro 20 to 25 million before restructuring costs and a net result in the range of Euro 10 to 15 million.