First-quarter 2012 results (unaudited)
CONTINUED SALES GROWTH
IMPROVED PROFITABILITY AND FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
FULL-YEAR TARGETS CONFIRMED
CONTINUED SALES GROWTH
• Reported sales: €3.227bn, up 7.4%
• Organic same-day growth: +1.7% (+2.8% excl. negative copper impact)
IMPROVED PROFITABILITY
• EBITA up 14.2%, to €182m
• Adj. EBITA1 margin up 60bps, to 5.5% of sales
SOLID FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
• Free cash-flow before interest & tax was positive in the quarter, despite seasonality
• Indebtedness ratio of 2.48x EBITDA at March 31, 2012 (vs. 3.21x at March 31, 2011)
• Successful issuance of USD500m notes due 2019
FULL-YEAR TARGETS CONFIRMED
• Organic growth (excl. copper impact) above weighted average GDP growth
• Adj. EBITA1 margin of at least 5.7%
• Free cash-flow before interest & tax of around €600m
Rudy PROVOOST, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, said:
“Rexel posted a strong performance in the first quarter, in a globally challenging context. Sales continued to grow, driven by the Americas, Northern Europe and China, and we further improved our profitability through gross margin enhancement and cost control. Since the start of the year, we expanded our footprint in fast-growing markets and strengthened our presence in mature markets with eight acquisitions, which will fuel growth in the coming quarters. Furthermore, we enhanced our financial structure through bond issues totaling USD500m. Rexel is poised to continue its profitable growth by providing its clients with value-added services and further developing its energy efficiency-related business, while continuing to focus on operational excellence. We are fully on track to achieve our financial targets for the full-year.”