a
Press Release
www.ravensburger.de
Postfach 18 60
D-88188 Ravensburg
Robert-Bosch-Strasse 1
D-88214 Ravensburg
Annual Financial Statements 2007 / 125-year Jubilee
Ravensburger demonstrates strong earning power
9.0 % Post-tax yield / Growth in sales in all product groups / “Game of the
Year” award for children’s game “Wer war’s?”
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Ravensburg – For its 125-year jubilee the Ravensburger Group is downloading:
demonstrating its strong earning powers. With a post-tax annual
http://www.ravensburger.de/web/
surplus of 25.8 million euros and a profit-to-sales ratio of 9.0 % in the
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business year 2007, the group further outstripped its good operative
result of the preceding year as Board Chairman Karsten Schmidt
For more information on
announced today at the balance sheet press conference in Stuttgart.
Ravensburger go to
The group boosted its turnover too. In the past business year it www.ravensburger.de/presse
achieved consolidated sales of 285.8 million euros, showing an
increase of 1.5 % (exchange-rate-adjusted 2.1 %) over the preceding
year. The growth occurred across the board in all business divisions.
Ravensburger learning games, products for infants and novels for
adolescents were particularly popular, and the leisure park
Ravensburger Spieleland attracted more visitors than ever before.
Ravensburger views the current business year with muted expecta-
tions. One of the products promising an impetus is the game “Wer
war´s?” that the “Game of the Year” jury voted “Children’s Game of
the Year 2008” a week ago.
The group’s positive business development is reflected in sound financial
figures. Operatively speaking, the annual surplus of the past business year
of 25.8 million euros and a profit-to-sales ratio of 9.0 % exceeded the
figure for the year before. This had been 30.9 million euros, but adjusted
for special effects became 25.6 million euros. Thanks to the net income for
the year the equity capital increased in 2007 from 121.2 million euros to
131.7 million euros. The capital ratio is 51.1 %.
“At its 125-year jubilee the Ravensburger Group is in good form. We are
going to need this strength – dwindling purchasing power and the rise in
prices of raw materials will become genuine challenges for us in the near
future”, stressed Board Chairman Karsten Schmidt at the balance sheet
press conference.
Ravensburger AG Press and Public Relations work We would be glad to receive a
Heinrich Hüntelmann voucher copy!
Telephone+49(0)751.86 19 42
Telefax +49(0)751.86 16 57
Heinrich.huentelmann@ravensburger.de 1/3
Press Release
B u s i n e s s D i v i s i o n G a m e s, P u z z l e s, C r a f t s
Trend towards games and crafts
The largest Ravensburger Business Division, Games, Puzzles, Crafts,
accounting for about 80 % of sales, grew slightly by 0.6 % (exchange-rate-
adjusted 1.4 %) to 230.9 million euros. On the home market, where the Division
achieves some 40 % of its turnover, Ravensburger manage to increase business
by 2.6 %. Games especially led the sales here. Outside Germany games,
puzzles and craft products almost reached the preceding year’s figures, being
down by -0.6 % (exchange-rate-adjusted 0.9 %). Here the strong euro led to an
exchange-rate-related loss of turnover of 1.7 million euros.
With games, Ravensburger boosted sales by 3.9 % over the preceding year. It
was above all the young learning game series “spielend NEUES LERNEN®”
developed with the aid of neurologists and the family games, as well as
classics like “memory®” that achieved high growth rates. These games enjoyed
strong demand especially in Germany.
The company boosted sales of its craft products by 8.7 % and consolidated its
market leadership in Europe. Established product brands such as “Malen nach
Zahlen®” (painting by numbers) were able to increase their high sales figures
from the year before, while the market launch of the paper web system “Paper
Creation®” contributed additional sales. However puzzle sales declined by 5 %
– after Ravensburger had achieved 10 % of its puzzle turnover the year before
through the extraordinary business fuelled by the football world cup.
Latest news: “Game of the Year” jury votes for Ravensburger children’s
game
So far six Ravensburger games have won the “Game of the Year” award. Last
week the company received a further prize The jury voted the game “Wer
war’s?”as “Children’s Game of the Year 2008”. Cleverly applied electronics
enrich author Dr. Reiner Knizia’s board game on several levels. Animal voices
speak from a small chest and give the children hints on how to find the thief
who stole a magic ring. A computer chip manages the logic of the game and
makes certain that no two games proceed alike. The principle of the game
leads the children to play together as a team and not against each other. A
member of the jury enthused, “Children are magnetised by this detective
adventure. It is fascinating that parents become completely engaged in it too
and enjoy searching for the culprit.”
Business Division Books for Children and Adolescents
Leap in sales of books for children and adolescents
despite competition from bestsellers
Ravensburger AG Press and Public Relations work We would be glad to receive a
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Press Release
The Business Division Books for Children and Adolescents has increased its
sales figures for the seventh year in succession. Turnover rose by 5.7 % in 2007
to 50.3 million euros. Ravensburger achieved this amidst competition from a
field of bestsellers. Despite these rivals, the Ravensburger Narrative
Programme grew by 5.8 % – especially thanks to novels for young people such
as “Die Welle”, “Scorpia” and “Ark Angel”. Other book segments also showed
increases. The programme for infants “ministeps®” boosted sales by double-
digit figures, and Germany's most popular children's non-fiction series “Wieso?
Weshalb? Warum?®” continued its growth of recent years with a rise of 8.0 %.
Ravensburger Spieleland
Record number of visitors to Spieleland
The tenth season of Ravensburger’s leisure park Spieleland closed with a
record number of visitors. Some 355.000 visited the site, 25,000 more than
the year before. Spieleland thus attained a growth in sales of 13.8 % over
the preceding year, taking it up to 6.3 million euros. This was attributable on
the one hand to the long stretches of good weather, and on the other to the
many attractive events celebrating ten years of Spieleland that attracted
additional guests. Season tickets and annual tickets proved particularly
popular. Moreover the marketing campaigns in Switzerland and the Stuttgart
region motivated many day trippers to accept a relatively long drive to
Spieleland. This underscores the supra-regional attractiveness of the
Ravensburger leisure park.
***
8 July 2008 – for further information on Ravensburger AG go to:
www.ravensburger.de/presse
Contact person: Heinrich Hüntelmann, Tel. +49/751/86-1942, Fax +49/751/86-1657
***
Ravensburger at a glance:
Consolidated turnover 2007 (Ravensburger Group): 285.8 million euros
Annual surplus/return on sales after tax 25.8 million euros / 9 %
Total staff: 1,491
Staff at Ravensburg site 892
Ravensburger is leading supplier of puzzles and craft products in Europe, the leading publisher of books
for children and adolescents in the German-speaking world, and the third largest supplier to the West
European games market. The blue triangle is one of the most renowned trademarks in Germany. The
programme comprises almost 8000 different products (including all country-specific editions) that are
sold worldwide and 85% of which are produced internally. The workforce of about 1,500 achieved
consolidated sales of 285.8 million euros in 2007.
Ravensburger AG Press and Public Relations work We would be glad to receive a
Heinrich Hüntelmann voucher copy!
Telephone+49(0)751.86 19 42
Telefax +49(0)751.86 16 57
Heinrich.huentelmann@ravensburger.de 3/3