BORNHEIM (dpa-AFX) - The Hornbach DIY group expects only slight growth in the current financial year despite a strong spring season. Consumer sentiment is unlikely to recover significantly, the company announced on Wednesday in Bornheim, Palatinate. In addition, Group CEO Albrecht Hornbach is preparing for rising operating costs - primarily due to higher salaries for employees. On the stock market, the final business figures for 2023/24 and the forecasts for the new financial year caused only a slight price reaction.

Hornbach Holding's share price was little moved in early trading, falling by 0.1 percent. Since the turn of the year, the share has gained around 18 percent.

The fact that Hornbach's management is expecting higher earnings at all is reportedly due to a good start to the spring season. This should have a positive impact on sales in the first quarter up to the end of May, it said. For the remainder of the financial year until the end of February 2025, however, the sales trend is likely to weaken, it added.

For the 2024/25 financial year as a whole, Hornbach now expects sales to slightly exceed the previous year's figure of EUR 6.16 billion. Operating earnings adjusted for one-off items (adjusted EBIT) will roughly match or at best slightly exceed the EUR 254 million reported in 2023/24.

Hornbach's management assumes that the gross margin will settle at the higher level it reached towards the end of the past financial year. However, further cost increases are "unavoidable". The Group referred to salary increases for the workforce - a consequence of the high inflation rates from the previous year. In addition, investments in computer systems, for example, are likely to push up central costs slightly.

In the past financial year to the end of February, Hornbach's sales fell by 1.6 percent, as the Group had already announced at the end of March. Adjusted operating profit even fell by a good twelve percent.

The bottom line for shareholders was a profit of just over 125 million euros, 20 percent less than in the previous year. Nevertheless, Hornbach intends to keep the dividend stable at Euro 2.40 per share./stw/mne/tih