Press release Mnday, September 3 rd, 2012 LS travel retail has cntinued t expand its business activity during the first half f 2012. The internatinal grwth strategy undertaken by LS travel retail is prving successful. With a turnver f ver 1.1 billin, sales realized by the Grup in travel retail during the first half f 2012 cnfirm the increases recrded ver the curse f the previus year, i.e. an increase f 8% cmpared with the first half f 2011. This impressive perfrmance in a challenging envirnment (a marked glbal ecnmic slwdwn, sluggish grwth in passenger traffic and particularly adverse weather cnditins in Eurpe), is based n the cntinuing plicy f prfitable grwth (the gain f new air and rail cncessins), a drive t acquire new businesses acrss the fur cntinents where the Grup perates (Asia-Pacific, Eurpe and Nrth America) and n the imprved perfrmance f existing netwrks, with the successful implementatin f a number f business initiatives and cllabratins.
Dag Rasmussen, CEO f Lagardère SERVICES states: Our ambitius plicy f investing in stres and ur n-ging effrts t recruit and train staff enable us t perfrm at a very high level in relatin t ur envirnment. This trend is expected t accelerate further in the cming mnths, thanks t ur latest develpments, ntably in Rme as f Octber and in Xi'an in China''. The perid has been marked by a number f events: Eurpe : In France, the turnver generated n duty free & luxury sales was up by +23% by the end f June, due t the acquisitin f fashin utlets at the Paris Airprts, the mdernisatin f retail utlets and cmmercial initiatives undertaken in French airprts, particularly in Lyn, nt t mentin the pening f the site n Réunin Island and gd in-flight perfrmances. The travel essentials business increased by +3.2%, due t the effects f transfrming and develping the netwrk and especially due t the pening f new cncepts (Hubiz n rail netwrks and TRIB'S in airprts and railway statins) as well as winning new calls fr tenders. In Germany, business was up by +10% ntably thrugh the pening f six new airprt utlets. It shuld be pinted ut that the scheduled pening in June 2012 f Berlin Internatinal Airprt, where there are t be nine new sales utlets, has been pstpned until March 2013.
Business increased by +19% in Pland, thanks t the favrable effects f Eur 2012 with a marked rise in traffic and the sale f suvenirs and a weakening in cmpetitin at Warsaw Airprt and the expansin f the netwrk with the takever f 3 sales utlets. Perfrmances recrded in the Czech Republic are especially wrthy f nte with an increase in sales f +34%: There was a rise f 90% in duty free & luxury sales with the purchasing f 16 sales utlets frm UG-AIR (n a like-fr-like basis, the increase is ver 10%), The travel essentials turnver has increased by +4% despite the decline in press sales, With the acquisitin f the 24 FEE utlets n 1 st January 2012 and the develpment f sales utlets in the Paul franchise, the Fd Service turnver has increased by +6%. Rmania and Bulgaria, where sales rse by +20% as a result f the expansin f the netwrk, are gruped tgether under the respnsibility f a jint General Manager. Duty free & luxury business activity shwed a grwth f +10% in Spain, largely due t sales in fashin utlets in Malaga and Alicante. In Switzerland the Grup acquired Airprt Fashin n 1st March, i.e. tw fashin butiques at Geneva Airprt.
Asia-Pacific Despite being affected by a very high Australian dllar and declining bk sales (the fall in prices and the transfer f sales t digital and e-cmmerce), business activity in the Pacific regin increased by +4.5%, largely thanks t the effect f mdernising the shps at La Tntuta Airprt - New Calednia (+40%) and the revenue generated by the New Zealand retail utlets taken in the first half f 2011. Business activity cntinued t develp in Asia in the first half f 2012 due t the favurable grwth in traffic and the gaining f new cncessins, namely 57 extra sales utlets in China, Singapre and Hng Kng. Turnver has thus increased by +43%. Nrth America Retail trade in Nrth America has increased by +2%, particularly with the gain f cncessins fr travel essentials in Bstn, Edmntn, and Mnteg Bay and the success f the istre cncept, despite the shutdwn f peratins in Winnipeg. Outlk fr 2012 : Against this backdrp, the driving frce behind the Grup's prjects remains strng: the first half f the year was marked by the cmpletin f a number f acquisitins, including DFS WL in the Pacific, Geneva Airprt Fashin and Duty Free businesses at Rme Airprt and by the cntinuatin f rganic grwth and effrts t mdernise netwrks (the pening f Terminal S4 and the link cnnecting terminals 2A and 2C at Paris CDG, gain f the fashin cncessin in Xi an (China), winning fd utlet calls fr tenders at Frankfurt railway statin and travel essentials in Dallas, as well as the call fr tenders fr the butiques du qutidien n the French rail netwrk).
LS travel retail, a divisin f Lagardère Services, perates an internatinal netwrk f 2,000 retail utlets in mre than 130 airprts and 700 railway statins in ver 20 cuntries. Its annual retail turnver is 2.9 billin eurs. With its leading brand Relay, LS travel retail perates a netwrk f 1,200 Press & Cnvenience retail utlets. The grup additinally perates nearly 200 duty free shps selling perfumes, csmetics, alchl, tbacc, fine fds, cnfectinery, fashin items, electrnic gds and accessries. The grup is a wrld leaders in duty free & luxury gds trading. Press Cntact Frédéric Renault Executive Vice President Cmmunicatin Lagardère Services + 33 1 40 87 26 62 renault@lsnet.fr www.lstravelretail.cm