Interim Management report
This Interim Financial Report should be read in conjunction with our Annual Report 2019, which includes a detailed analysis of our operations and activities as well as explanations of financial measures used.
Statement by the Executive Board
In accordance with the Luxembourg Transparency Law, i.e. the law of January 11, 2008 on transparency requirements in relation to information about issuers whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market, as amended, we confirm that, to the best of our knowledge:
• the interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the six-month period ended June 30, 2020 have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 as adopted by the European Union and give a true and fair view of, assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of B&S Group S.A.; and
• the interim report for the six-month period ended June 30, 2020 gives a fair review of the information required pursuant the Luxembourg Transparency Law.
Luxembourg, August 24, 2020

Message from the CEO
While the impact of Covid-19 intensified on a global scale in the second quarter of 2020, our diversified business portfolio showed relative resilience during this pandemic. After an overall turnover decline of 1.3% over Q1, the second quarter saw turnover decline by 12.1% (15.3% organically), therewith outperforming our expectations at the time of our Q1 trading update publication on May 18, 2020. This was the result of swift recovery of our value retail business after the re-opening of shops starting in April, the continuance of sales recovery in our Asian markets that started late Q1 albeit at substantially lower margins due to destocking in the market and – above all – our enhanced focus on our online sales channels.
We continued our strict cost control measures to reduce operating expenses, which mainly comprise of staff costs, by bringing temporary staff in line with the lower sales volumes and utilising government support in the countries we are present, therewith mitigating the effect on our EBITDA levels where possible. Nevertheless, our EBITDA margin decreased due to the fixed part of our cost base combined with the 7.0% overall turnover decline.
Despite the lower EBITDA margins, our cash flow in the first half of 2020 was strong and amounted to over € 70 million. This was driven by our focus on matching purchases with sales levels and as such re-balancing our inventory positions in line with market developments as fast as possible, supported by the turnaround times of our inventories.
At the same time, we accelerated our digital transformation (which we refer to as our Digital First approach) by enhancing operational efficiency and sharpening our business to leverage the opportunities we foresee in specific niche markets and online channels. For example, we accelerated the further roll out of our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in (sub)segments and implemented our Project Management Office (PMO) to streamline the internal organisation and intensify segmental collaboration.
In the latter part of Q2 we prepared our operations for our employees to come back to work at our offices. From July onwards, the majority of our workforce gradually returned to the office in an adjusted physical setting and with adherence to strict protocols. We are proud of the mentality and the flexibility that our colleagues are demonstrating, as well as their adaptiveness and eagerness to explore and seize new business opportunities in a changed business environment. On a personal note, I am impressed by the expertise and passion of our people and convinced that, post-Covid-19, we will continue to grow our business.
Looking towards the second half of 2020 – all provided the absence of a second wave of Covid-19 - we anticipate further market recovery for our distribution to physical retailers and our Asian and European markets, with the exception of the cruise and travel retail markets. Continued growth is foreseen in e-commerce activities to platforms and end-consumers. In this light, we anticipate to return to pre-Covid-19 turnover levels in 2021, albeit a business mix that emphasizes our positions in current growth markets.
Besides our enhanced focus on optimising internal processes and digitising our operations driven by our Digital First approach, we will continue to sharpen the strategic focus areas and business priorities as initiated in 2019.
Tako de Haan, CEO

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