Very strong membership development after period of COVID-19 lockdown related club closures
H1 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS[1]
Financial results severely impacted by COVID-19 related club closures
Revenue decreased by 24% to €183 million (H1 2019: €240 million)
Underlying EBITDA of €62.2 million (H1 2019: €68.3 million)
€100 million additional bank financing and a successful €133 million equity raise
€189 million cash at hand at end of period and €30 million of bank facility still available for drawdown
H1 OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
47 net clubs opened in the period and 149 clubs year on year, growing the network to 831 clubs (FY 2019: 784 clubs; H1 2019: 682 clubs)
Higher membership growth in June compared to last year despite continued COVID-19 lockdown related club closures in the Netherlands
Total number of memberships increased by 9% year on year to 2.17 million (H1 2019: 2.00 million)
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Growth of membership base in July to 2.20 million
Number of joiners in July is around 70% higher than in same month last year whilst the number of leavers is comparable
22 clubs in Antwerp, Belgium, temporarily closed on 29 July due to local government measures
Construction processes of the clubs that were put on hold at the time of the COVID-19 lockdown related club closures have been restarted
OUTLOOK
We expect to open around 100 clubs in 2020
Target of 1,250 clubs in 2022 maintained

Rene Moos, CEO Basic-Fit:
The past half year was the toughest period in the history of the industry. The COVID-19 related club closures impacted our members, employees, partners, landlords and banks. The last decade we have been building the largest and fastest growing fitness chain in Europe together and I am proud how we, together, have been handling this crisis.

During the closure of the clubs, we have experienced great loyalty from our members. Overall only 9% of our members left, which is even less than the percentage of leavers in prior years in the same period.

Since the reopening of the clubs we have seen encouraging developments regarding the recovery of our membership base. The number of visits is approaching pre-COVID-19 levels with 2.2 million visits per week. The number of joiners in June and July has been significantly above the level of joiners in the same months last year. The number of leavers in these two months has been similar to the level of last year. With these positive developments, we expect our membership base to have recovered from the club closures by September.

We believe that the fitness industry can have a positive contribution in battling COVID-19. By offering a safe workout environment we enable people to work on their fitness and strengthen their immune system. We introduced a number of measures to make sure our members can work out and our employees can work in a safe environment. Amongst others we increased the already high standard cleaning protocols and offer ample availability of cleaning stations in the club so people can clean their equipment before and after their workout. In addition, we have optimised the ventilation in the clubs to make sure that there is no recirculation of air and ample inflow of fresh air. With an online reservation system, we are able to manage the flow of people to our clubs and the number of people in our clubs at any given time. This in combination with clear signage in the club assures that social distancing can be maintained. Because of the large size of our clubs, nearly all of our members have been able to come to our clubs at their desired time slots despite capacity restrictions.

Our employees have been eagerly anticipating the reopening of our clubs. We have seen great support from them in the reopening preparation phase. Now that all clubs are open again, 98% of employees have returned to the clubs.

We have seen great support from our building partners, suppliers, banks and landlords during the difficult period of club closures. Together we have sailed through the storm and we are looking forward to returning to our growth path together.

We successfully executed a heavily oversubscribed accelerated book offer of new shares grossing €133 million. With the €100 million additional bank financing, of which €30 million still has to be drawn, we ended the period with close to €190 million in cash. This provides us with the liquidity to cope with the impact of potential future COVID-19 related lockdowns and at the same time reignite the execution of our growth plans.

We have restarted the rollout of new clubs. If the current positive membership development trends continue and if there are no further large-scale lockdowns, we expect to open around 100 clubs in 2020.

We continue to closely monitor the developments regarding COVID-19 and will be adjusting our plans accordingly. Longer term, the market fundamentals, our strategy and targets have not changed and we continue to expect to reach the 1,250 clubs mark in 2022.

[1] Full IFRS reporting is provided in the condensed consolidated interim financial statements and notes to these statements

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