Fourth-Quarter & Full-Year 2017 results
CONTINUED ACCELERATION IN SAME-DAY SALES IN Q4 2017, UP 5.4%
IMPROVED OPERATING LEVERAGE IN Q4, WHILE INVESTING IN THE US
ADJUSTED EBITA UP +6.1% IN FY 2017, FULLY IN LINE WITH GUIDANCE
→ SALES OF €3.405bn IN Q4, UP IN EVERY GEOGRAPHY
- On a constant and same-day basis, sales up 5.4% of which:
- Europe: +5.5%, benefiting from accelerating sales across most European countries
- North America: +3.2%, supported by Canada and proximity business in the US
- Asia-Pacific: +12.7%, mainly driven by China and Australia
- Organic actual-day growth of 2.7% including -2.7% from calendar and +1.6% from copper
- Reported growth down 1.5%, including unfavorable currency (-3.6%) and scope (-0.5%) effects
→ ADJUSTED EBITA UP 8.7% IN Q4, WITH A MARGIN OF 4.7% DESPITE AN UNFAVORABLE CALENDAR EFFECT
- Solid gross margin, up 39 bps at 24.5%, driven by Europe and North America
- EBITA margin up 26 bps, while accelerating investments in the US
→ STRONG INCREASE IN RECURRING NET INCOME OF +32.2% IN Q4
→ INCREASE IN PROPOSED DIVIDEND TO €0.42 PER SHARE, PAYABLE IN CASH
Patrick BERARD, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Our Q4 and full-year performance demonstrate that the strategy we presented at our Capital Markets Day last February has started to show positive results, thanks to the quality and mobilization of our teams, which allowed us to gain new customers. In France, our business strengthened throughout the year. In the US, we saw much better momentum in our Proximity business. In the UK, we protected our margin, thanks to the merger of our banners. We have also completed the first step of our disposal plan, exiting South East Asia in order to be more focused on our key countries.
In 2018, we expect the market environment to remain favorable in most geographies. We will continue to invest in our digital strategy and operations in the US, while benefiting from previously-launched US initiatives. Consistent with our medium-term ambition, we target further organic sales growth in the low single digits in 2018 and expect a mid- to high-single-digit increase in adjusted EBITA.
We will propose a dividend of €0.42 per share payable in cash, in line with our pay-out policy.”