According to the preliminary figures now available for the 1st half of 2021, ArtXX AG, the Swiss e-commerce subsidiary of Weng Fine Art AG, can report a 35% year-on-year revenue increase (EUR 2,841 thousand compared to EUR 2,102 thousand in 2020). Sales margins also increased strongly in the same period, from 63% to 81%. Gross profit increased by 58% from EUR 809 thousand (2020) to EUR 1,275 thousand (2021), thereby more significantly than sales.

Due to the enlargement of the office structure, personnel, space, storage and sales expenses in particular increased. According to the preliminary figures, costs in the 1st half of 2021, at around EUR 385 thousand, are approximately 49% higher than in the same period of the previous year (EUR 258 thousand).

The company has increasingly invested in inventory this year, which is reflected in increased borrowing. Interest expense (net) has therefore increased from EUR 1 thousand (2020) to approximately EUR 40 thousand (2021).

The half-year profit (before taxes) increased by 55% from EUR 550 thousand (2020) to approximately EUR 850 thousand (2021).

Management expects that the momentum in art e-commerce will further strengthen during the year and that both revenue and profit will increase significantly in H2 compared to H1.

Managing Director Giorgia Zardetto: "We continue to benefit from the increasing digitalization of the art business. In particular, orders from private buyers in the USA and Asia are increasing, while our stationary commercial customers still seem to be recovering from the pandemic-related restrictions. We will invest more in the further enlargement of our structure and innovative marketing campaigns in order to continuously expand our customer base. We expect sales to increase significantly again with new edition projects and further cooperation in the fall and stand by our estimate that we will be able to increase annual sales to more than EUR 10 million in 2022."