Pressemeldungen

Delticom defies economic slowdown and continues to grow

Online tyre dealer reports revenue of 15.4 Million Euro in the first half of 2002 - increase by 80 percent

Hanover, 30.07.2002 In the first six months of the financial year 2002, the Hanover-based tyre company Delticom AG earned 15.4 million Euro. This is an increase of 80 percent compared with the same time period last year (first half year 2001: 8.5 million Euro). Again, the summer tyre business developed very positively. "We're continuing to grow in the middle of an economically difficult situation", explained Andreas Prüfer (39), Delticom Managing Director for E-Commerce and added: "Especially our German online tyre shop has registered a high increase in the current economic downturn - probably due to our lower prices. Tyres are always needed." Up until now, the ratio of total earnings gained on year average, per business unit was two thirds Wholesale to one third E-Commerce. In the second quarter of 2002, the total revenue (Q2 2002: 9.2 million Euro) was distributed evenly between the two business units with a revenue of 4.8 million Euro in international Wholesale and 4.4 million Euro in E-Commerce. For the business year 2002, the tyre dealers are planning to earn a total revenue of 35 million Euro. The major revenue in the German tyre replacing business is earned in the last quarter of the year, amounting to approximately 50 percent of total revenue.

Switzerland strongest foreign online market

The success of the tyre company's recent expansion activities is clearly visible. In the first half of last year, revenue gained in foreign E-Commerce markets amounted to four percent compared with this year's 20 percent. Ten percent were earned in Switzerland alone. Switzerland has developed to being the largest foreign market for Delticom's online business. From January until June over 1 million Swiss Francs were gained. Not included is the revenue of the newly opened B2B shop www.autoreifenonline.ch, which was opened in April. In the UK and Netherlands, where Delticom opened B2C tyre shops in the second half of 2001, the share in online revenue earned outside Germany amounted to four percent in the UK and two percent in the Netherlands. In total, five new shops were added to Delticom's seven existing online tyre shops. In the B2C business, a tyre shop was opened in Sweden, as well as a motorbike tyre shop in Austria. B2B shops in the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland complete the list of new shops. There are plans to launch further shops this year for both consumers and dealers.

The share of foreign revenue earned in the international Wholesale business is relatively high. "In Wholesale, we are successfully selling our private brands in 55 countries worldwide", explained Rainer Binder (44), Managing Director responsible for Wholesale.

In the first half of 2002 the foreign revenue earned in Wholesale was 3.2 million Euro and represents a share of approximately 36 percent of the total Wholesale revenue (first half year 2002: 9 million Euro).