Half Year Report. KappAhl Goes against the Trend:Increased Sales and Gross Margin on a Weak Market

STOCKHOLM, Sweden--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News:

	Q2 (Dec-Feb)			Half year (Sep-Feb)
	2012/2013	2011/2012	Change	2012/2013	2011/2012	Change
Net sales, SEK million	1 148	1 119	29	2 393	2 312	81
Operating profit excluding non-recurring items, SEK million	-35	-55	20	69	-39	108
Operating profit, SEK million	-36	-138	102	145	-122	267
Gross profit margin, %	55,1	51,9	3,2	59,3	55,3	4,0
Operating margin excluding non-recurring items, %	-3,1	-4,9	1,8	2,9	-1,7	4,6
Profit after tax, SEK million	-64	-163	99	51	-174	225
Earnings per share, SEK	-0.85	-7,14	6,29	0,82	-3,55	4,37
Cash flow from operating activities, SEK million	-51	68	-119	24	63	-39

• Net sales increased by 2.6 per cent for the quarter. Of this, the increase in comparable stores was 0.3 per cent.
• The gross margin improved by 3.2 percentage points.
• The equity /assets ratio increased to 45.6 per cent.

“It is gratifying that KappAhl is reporting positive sales in comparable stores and a substantially improved gross margin. I see this as a confirmation of continued improvements of our assortment and customer offer…” Johan Åberg, President and CEO. Read the full CEO statement in the attached report.

A presentation and telephone conference will be held for analysts, media and investors today at 9.30 at Operaterrassen in Stockholm. Please go to www.kappahl.com/presentations to register attendance. At the website a webcast will also be shown in real time and saved for later viewing. To participate by telephone please call about 5 minutes before start [phone].

The information in this interim report is disclosed by KappAhl AB (publ) pursuant to the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication on 12 April 2013 at 07.30 am.

KappAhl was established in 1953 and is a leading fashion chain soon with 400 stores and 4,500 employees in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic. KappAhl sells value-for-money fashion with a wide appeal – to women, men and children – and focuses in particular on women aged 30-50 with families. All clothes are from our own designers. KappAhl was the first fashion chain to achieve environmental certification in 1999. In the 2011/2012 financial year KappAhl's net sales were SEK 4.6 billion. KappAhl is listed on NASDAQ OMX Stockholm.  More information can be found at www.kappahl.com.

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