CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA (ETR:CWC) used its annual press and analysts conference to review 2025 performance, highlight product and brand initiatives in its photofinishing business, and outline expectations for 2026. CEO Thomas Mehls and CFO Sirka Hintze said the group met its financial targets for the year, with growth driven primarily by higher volumes rather than pricing.
2025 results: turnover and EBIT increased, with volume-led growth
Management reported that group turnover increased 3.8% year over year, up EUR 31.7 million to EUR 864.5 million, placing the result at “the very upper end” of CEWE’s own target range. Group EBIT rose EUR 2.1 million, or 2.4%, and landed within guidance, though Mehls noted it was not at the upper end of the range.
Photofinishing: record turnover and EBIT, but margin pressure from costs
Photofinishing, CEWE’s largest segment, accounted for about 86% of group turnover, according to Hintze. Segment turnover grew 4.4% in 2025, and management emphasized that the increase was volume-driven. Hintze said revenue per photo rose 0.3% across products, while volumes increased, helping support overall growth without relying heavily on price increases.
While photofinishing increased both its top line and bottom line, Hintze said profitability did not scale as quickly as turnover. She attributed the pressure to several cost categories:
- Personnel costs: EUR 12.5 million higher, driven by wage increases, new hires, and one-time effects related to board changes in 2025.
- Marketing: EUR 7.6 million higher to support the top line.
- IT license fees: Up EUR 1.7 million in photofinishing.
In Q&A, Hintze clarified that photofinishing EBIT did not decline, but that the segment’s EBIT margin fell by 0.6 percentage points, reflecting the higher cost base.
CEWE also highlighted the importance of seasonality. Hintze said fourth-quarter turnover roughly doubles versus other quarters and that the company earns most of its profit in Q4 due to the holiday season. Management pointed to strong delivery performance, noting that only “a couple of hundred” items out of millions did not arrive in time for Christmas, which contributed to customer satisfaction.
Operationally, the company reported that total photo prints exceeded its target by 2%, with prints up 4.1%. The CEWE PHOTOBOOK, described as the company’s core product, increased 3.5% for the year, with Q4 up 1.6%. Mehls also said CEWE delivered its 100 millionth CEWE PHOTOBOOK in the fourth quarter, calling it the most successful photobook brand in Europe.
Product, brand, and customer initiatives: innovation and NPS
Mehls repeatedly framed CEWE as “customer-focused,” emphasizing that consumers must contribute their own photos and memories to create CEWE products. Management highlighted an increase in the company’s Net Promoter Score to 66.7, which it connected to product quality, ease of ordering via software and apps, and reliable holiday delivery.
Management also discussed product and design initiatives introduced during 2025, including the “Memento Pocket” add-on for photo books, expanded premium designs within a freemium model, and new calendar formats such as a detachable-photo “kitchen calendar” and an XXL personalized wall calendar. CEWE also introduced digital greeting cards and said it saw unexpected last-minute usage on December 23 and 24.
On external recognition, Mehls cited multiple TIPA awards across CEWE brands, including recognition tied to features such as a panoramic page for the photo book and a passport photo app, as well as awards for Pixum’s app and WhiteWall products. Mehls said CEWE also won a “Photographers’ Choice” award related to the panoramic page feature.
CEWE emphasized its multi-brand strategy in photofinishing—CEWE, WhiteWall, Pixum, and DeinDesign—arguing that different brands address different customer target groups. The company also highlighted CEWE Photo Award participation, stating that 656,000 pictures were uploaded from 153 countries.
Commercial online print and retail: mixed performance and strategic review
In commercial online print (viaprinto, SAXOPRINT, and Laserline), Hintze said turnover decreased 0.4% amid what she described as an ongoing market-wide trend of digitization and significant reductions in demand. Management said it was “satisfied” with the limited decline and claimed its best price guarantee supported market share gains. However, EBIT in the segment was roughly halved versus the prior year, driven by competitive pricing, investments in international expansion (including the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, and the U.K.), and spending on efficiency initiatives such as “hybrid printing,” combining offset and digital printing.
In Q&A, Mehls said the company was “not entirely satisfied” with the segment’s 2025 result and described 2026 as “more positive,” with benefits from steps taken in 2025. He added that “all options are on the table” regarding the longer-term strategic role of commercial online print and said CEWE’s willingness to invest there is “quite limited” compared with photofinishing.
Retail, which includes more than 100 stores in Scandinavia and Central and Eastern Europe as well as e-commerce shops selling hardware and accessories, posted a 2% increase in turnover. Hintze said the improvement was stronger than expected after years of stagnation, and she highlighted increased customer interest in products such as frames and complementary photo-related items.
Balance sheet, cash flow, dividend, and 2026 outlook
Hintze said CEWE ended 2025 with a higher asset base, up EUR 23.7 million, influenced by inventory build (including more than EUR 4 million of additional photo paper) and renovations. The company also prepared inventory for commercial online print activity tied to elections in Germany. She reported an equity ratio of 61.2%, which she said reflects solid results and provides financial capacity for investment.
Free cash flow at year-end was EUR -43.7 million. Hintze characterized this as a “snapshot” and provided a normalized view that adjusted for one-off items, resulting in normalized free cash flow of EUR 70.8 million. She also reported return on capital employed of 17.6% at the group level, noting that lower-profitability segments dilute the group metric.
For capital allocation, management said it plans to recommend a dividend increase for the 17th consecutive year, raising the dividend by EUR 0.15 to EUR 3.00 per share, subject to approval at the annual general meeting in June.
Looking to 2026, Mehls said the company expects continued demand support from travel and the holiday season. CEWE guided for group turnover of EUR 870 million to EUR 900 million. Management also provided an EBIT growth range of -1% to +6% and said the overarching goal is improved profitability over time, while acknowledging that better operational leverage may take “2–3 years” to have a major impact.
During Q&A, Mehls addressed potential geopolitical headwinds and higher energy or oil prices, saying CEWE does not see immediate supply chain impacts and that exposure would be mainly indirect through logistics, where it typically charges delivery fees and can pass along increases. He also said CEWE has long-term energy contracts and does not expect any electricity contracts to require renegotiation in 2026.
On capital expenditures, management said operating investments for 2026 are expected to be about EUR 47 million, with EUR 30 million allocated to property and plant. Specific items mentioned included investments in WhiteWall’s production facility in Frechen and a facility for the business in the U.K.
About CEWE Stiftung & Co. KGaA (ETR:CWC)
CEWE Stiftung & Co KGaA operates as a photo service and online printing provider in Germany and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Photofinishing, Retail, and Commercial Online Printing. It offers photo prints, photo books, wall art, photo calendars, greeting cards, and other photo gifts. The company also provides online printing services under the SAXOPRINT, viaprinto, and LASERLINE brands; and markets photo products under the CEWE, WhiteWall, Cheerz, and DeinDesign brands, as well as business stationery products and printed advertising media services.
