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MQ Holding AB – Interim report

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Sharp increase in earnings during the quarter

MQ’s action programme to harness the potential that exists in the company is starting to generate effects. The actions, which entail both accelerating and applying the brakes, shaped activities during the first quarter, in which earnings were significantly higher than in the year-earlier period.

First quarter (September 2013-November 2013)

  • Net sales totalled SEK 372 million (364), up 2.2 percent. Sales in comparable stores increased 0.1 percent (according to the Swedish Retail Institute Index, the market shrank 1.6 percent.)
  • The gross margin was 60.1 percent (60.5).
  • Operating profit was SEK 35 million (21), equal to an operating margin of 9.4 percent (5.8).
  • Profit after tax amounted to SEK 25 million (13), corresponding to SEK 0.72 (0.38) per share after dilution.
  • Cash flow from operating activities was SEK 6 million (negative: 5).

Events during the first quarter

  • A comprehensive seven-stage action programme – which entails both accelerating and applying the brakes – has been formulated with a focus on sales-promotion and cost-saving measures, including measures to cut costs by SEK 50 million during the 2013/2014 financial year.
  • The Helsingborg City store was reopened. Reduced retail space and improved accessibility on the ground floor have boosted sales and resulted in sharply increased sales per square metre.
  • “Shop online in the store” – whereby customers are given an opportunity to shop comfortably via MQ’s Shop Online – was introduced.

Events after the end of the reporting period

  • MQ has been nominated as Sweden’s best e-shopping website by Internet World.

Contact

For further information, please contact:

Christina Ståhl, President and CEO: telephone: +46 (0)31 388 80 10

Tony Siberg, Deputy CEO and CFO: telephone: +46 (0)31 388 84 01

MQ is one of Sweden’s leading retailers of fashion brands. Through a select mix of proprietary and external brands, MQ offers men’s and women’s clothes with a high fashion content in attractive stores. The store chain currently comprises 122 stores and the aim is to establish MQ as the leading retailer of fashion brands in the Nordic region. The MQ share is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm since June 18th, 2010. For more information, please visit our website at www.mq.se.

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