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Investing.com -- Hornbach Group’s (ETR:HBH) second-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell 7.2% to €110.5 million, as higher personnel costs weighed on profit despite a rise in sales.
The Germany-based home improvement retailer on Tuesday reported that consolidated net sales for the quarter ended Aug. 31 rose 3% year over year to €1.69 billion. The company said the period had two fewer business days than the prior-year quarter
For the first half of the 2025-26 financial year, net sales rose 4.4% to €3.60 billion, compared with €3.45 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Adjusted EBIT for the half increased 2.5% to €272.2 million, in line with the company’s forecast. Reported EBIT rose 2.4% to €272.7 million.
Hornbach Baumarkt AG, the group’s largest operating unit, recorded a 4.7% rise in half-year sales to €3.40 billion.
Like-for-like sales, adjusted for exchange rates, were up 3.6%. In Germany, sales increased 2.9% to €1.61 billion, while international sales grew 6.4% to €1.79 billion.
The unit operated 172 DIY megastores with garden centers and online shops across nine countries at the end of August.
Online sales, including Click & Collect, advanced 10.2% in the half year to €447.3 million, accounting for 13.1% of subgroup revenue compared with 12.5% a year earlier.
The group reported gains in market share across several European countries between January and July 2025. In Germany, share increased to 15.5% from 14.9% in the prior year.
In Austria, share rose to 17.7% from 17.3%, in Czechia to 38.5% from 37.4%, in the Netherlands to 28.8% from 27.5%, and in Switzerland to 14.8% from 14.3%.
Gross profit rose 3.9% in the second quarter to €584.5 million and 4.6% in the first half to €1.26 billion. The company said inflation-related salary adjustments and a higher headcount from upcoming store openings offset some of the profit gains.
The Hornbach Baustoff Union GmbH subgroup reported broadly stable half-year sales of €195.8 million, down from €197.3 million a year earlier. Adjusted EBIT at the unit declined to €3.6 million from €5.5 million. Hornbach Immobilien AG posted €32.5 million in adjusted EBIT, nearly unchanged from the prior year.
Earnings per Hornbach Holding share came to €4.12 in the second quarter, down 14.5% from €4.82 a year earlier. For the half year, earnings per share were €10.74, compared with €10.78 in the prior-year period.
Hornbach confirmed its full-year guidance, saying it expects net sales to be at or slightly above the previous year’s €6.20 billion and adjusted EBIT to remain at the 2024/25 level of €269.5 million.
In the second half, the company opened new DIY and garden stores in Bucharest-Colentina, Romania, and Eisenstadt, Austria.
A third store in Timișoara, Romania, is scheduled to open Oct. 1, while a remodeled store in Mainz-Kastel, Germany, is set to reopen in November under the BODENHAUS brand.