SES-imagotag: 2016 results

• Annual sales: €177 million (+59%)


• EBITDA: +76% to €16.6 million - EBITDA margin +0.9 points to 9.4%


• Net income to €4.6 million (x3.5), or 2.6% +1.4 points

SES-imagotag (Euronext: SESL, FR0010282822), a specialist in digital solutions for physical retail and global leader in connected digital price tags, today announced its results for 2016.

Results in €m
 2016
2015
N / N-1


Sales
176.9
111.2
+59%


Variable cost margin
44.1
33.0
+34%


% of sales
24.9%
29.7%
-4.8pts


EBITDA
16.6
9.5
+76%


% of sales
9.4%
8.5%
+0.9pt


Current EBIT
9.6
4.5
+112%


% of sales
5.4%
4.1%
+1.3pt


Operating income (EBIT)
8.6
2.7
+219%


% of sales
4.9%
2.4%
+2.5pts


Net income
4.6
1.3
+256%


of sales
2.6%
1.2%
+1.4pt

SES-imagotag achieved sales of €177 million with strong organic growth (+59%) both in France (+58%) and internationally (+60%). The company achieved a current EBITDA of €16.6 million, up by +76% compared with 2015 (€9.5 million), thanks to strong operational leverage and despite the negative impact of the change in the €/$ exchange rate.



Excluding changes in the scope of consolidation and for acquisition-related expenses, operational cash flow stood at -€3.8 million for the year, which is explained by the strong growth in sales (+59%) despite the improvement in the WCR/Sales ratio. The variation in net cash stood at -€10.8 million, after adjusting for changes in the scope of consolidation and acquisition-related expenses.



For 2017, SES-imagotag confirms its objective of surpassing sales figures of €200 million. This objective is in line with the trajectory of the Leapfrog plan, which aims for average annual growth of 30% over the period 2015-2020, to reach sales of €400-500 million and an EBITDA of 15%-20% by 2020.

1. Sales reached a record €177 million, with international sales representing 62%

For 2016, SES-imagotag posted sales of €177 million, with organic growth of +59%, its highest annual growth rate for 10 years. France achieved its best performance ever with sales of €68 million, up by 58% in comparison with the previous year. This performance is explained by the development of new verticals in non-food retail (Sephora, Darty, Boulanger), the increase in SES-imagotag's market share in food retail (first Casino deployment contract), the positive dynamic of sales to independent retail chains, and finally a sustained policy of innovation that drives the installed base to renew its technology. International sales also set a new record with a total of €109 million, up by 60%, and accounting for 62% of SES-imagotag's total business. This performance was achieved mainly through the acceleration of deployments in Europe,
particularly in Germany (Media-Saturn), Scandinavia (Jysk, Spar), Italy and Spain.

2. A marked improvement in profitability

Variable cost margin affected by the €/$ exchange rate

The variable cost margin reflects significant gains in industrial productivity achieved by the Group, which partly compensated for the unfavorable impact of the €/$ exchange rate.. The variable cost margin thus stood at €44.1 million, up by 34% in comparison with 2015 (€33 million), a margin of 24.9% that remained stable throughout the year, compared with 29.7% in 2015.

Strong operational leverage

The current operating expenditure stood at €27.5 million for the year, an increase of €3.9 million (+17%) that is essentially due to the planned development of the Group's international structures and of its R&D teams. The ratio of current operating expenditure to sales thus stood at 15.5%, registering a strong improvement compared with the 21.2% posted in 2015 and the 29.9% posted in 2014. EBITDA for 2016 stood at €16.6 million, an increase of 76% in comparison with 2015, representing an EBITDA margin of 9.4%, up nearly a percentage point with regard to the previous financial year.

Doubling of the operating income

After taking into account €7.1 million of depreciation and provision expenses, current operating profit stood at €9.6 million, representing an increase of +112% with regard to the previous year.

Given the non-recurring items, operating income (EBIT) also registers strong growth of +219% at €8.6 million, representing an operating income that has doubled to 4.9% compared with 2.4% in 2015.

Tripling of net profit

After taking into account the financial result and corporate tax, net profit for 2016 stood at €4.6 million, tripling the figure of €1.3 million for 2015, representing a net margin of 2.6% of sales.

3. Cash consumption linked to growth and investments

After allowing for the effect of acquisitions, net cash flow stood at -€3.8 million, mainly linked to strong growth and despite the improvement in the WCR/Sales ratio.

• EBITDA improved by €7 million between 2015 and 2016; over the same period CAPEX increased by €1 million, mainly due to investments in assembly lines in central Europe.


• WCR continued to improve at just under 24% of sales, compared with 32% last year. Nevertheless, taking into account the strong growth registered over the financial year, the value of the WCR increased from €35 million at the end of 2015 to €42 million at the end of 2016, representing a cash flow of €7 million.

Financial investments and expenses linked to acquisitions stood at €4.2 million, mainly consisting of the supplement paid on the acquisition of Imagotag, with amounts being paid in cash for the shareholdings in Findbox and for the audit and legal consultancy fees arising from the different operations conducted during the year (Findbox and PDi). 

It should be noted that the acquisition of PDi was concluded on February 16, 2017 and thus had no impact on the Group's consolidated accounts. For its part, Findbox was included in the Group's consolidated accounts for the year's end, and therefore did not contribute to flows for the period in terms of either profits or cash, although it had a negative impact on the Group's net cash position by adding a net debt position of €2.8 million for the end of 2016.

Overall, the variation in net cash, excluding financial debts, will have resulted in a cash flow consumption of €10.8 million in 2016 (including the Findbox debt incorporated into Group accounts as of December 31, 2016).

Cash available at year's end stood at €33.3 million, with debt at €27 million including the obligatory issuing of €10 million completed in December, giving a net cash position of €6.3 million at year end 2016.

Outlook

In 2017, SES-imagotag intends to pursue its international development and a strong policy of innovation. Given the portfolio of business opportunities, SES-imagotag confirmed its 2017 target to beat the milestone of €200 million in sales, while focusing more on growth in the second semester, and improving operating profit. These objectives are in line with the Leapfrog 2015-2020 plan path.

Thierry Gadou, Chairman and CEO of the SES-imagotag Group, commented as follows on the results for the 2016 financial year: “We have reached our targets for growth in 2016, both in our domestic market and in international sales, which account for over 60% of our activity. This growth was driven by innovation, which specifically enabled us to explore new market segments and new uses for our digital solutions. Our profitability improved in 2016 due to good growth, operational leverage and industrial cost optimization achieved by our staff, and despite the strong negative effect of the 2015 dollar increase on this financial year. I would like to thank our clients for their trust in us, in over 50 countries on all 5 continents. The digital transformation of physical commerce is a must for retailers all over the world and is still only in its infancy.
Technological innovation will enable physical stores to become ultra-efficient, ultra-connected, and to offer shoppers the best of both worlds, both digital and human, brought together in a seamless omnichannel service that will soon relegate the ‘pure players' without physical stores to the footnotes of retail history. At SES-imagotag, these technological challenges are a source of constant drive and motivation.”

Next release:

• Complete financial statements available after the Board meeting of mid-March


• Q1 Sales 2017, on May 3, 2017 after the Stock Exchange closure.

About SES-imagotag

SES-imagotag is a specialist in digital solutions for physical commerce and a global leader in electronic labeling systems. The Group designs and markets all the components of its solutions (software, radio-frequency infrastructure, labels and mountings), thus providing its clients with a turnkey solution. The range of products and services offered by SES-imagotag allows retailers to manage pricing dynamically, to improve in-store productivity and develop new contactless applications for shoppers.

SES-imagotag is listed on compartment B of Euronext™ Paris

Mnemo code: SESL - ISIN code: FR0010282822 - Reuters: SESL.PA - Bloomberg: SESL

www.ses-imagotag.com

Contact

NewCap - Investor Relations & Financial Communication

Marc Willaume/Tristan Roquet Montégon: Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 00 13 / [email protected]

Source: Actusnews