Second-quarter & half-year 2010 results
2nd quarter 2010: return to organic sales growth – Significant improvement in profitability – Full-year targets revises upwards
Sales up 2.3% in Q2 (on a constant and same-day basis) after six consecutive quarters of decline:
• Europe: growth throughout the quarter (+3.6%)
• North-America: slight drop in the quarter (-1.7%) but growth in June
• Asia-Pacific: solid growth (+9.9%) driven by China and Australia
EBITA up 39% and EBITA margin1 up 110bps in Q2
• Gross margin1 improvement
• Continued focus on cost control
Full-year targets revised upwards:
• Slight increase in sales on a constant and same-day basis
• Adjusted EBITA margin above 4.5%
• Free cash flow before interest & tax above €400m
Jean-Charles Pauze, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, said:
“In an environment that remains challenging, Rexel reached a turning point in the past quarter with a return to organic growth, after six consecutive quarters of decline. We also significantly improved our profitability and our indebtedness ratio fell below 4.0x at the end of June.
Our better-than-expected Q2 performance and improved prospects for the second half lead us to revise upwards our full-year targets. Rexel remains focused on implementing its strategy aimed at seizing business opportunities in key growth segments such as energy efficiency – notably lighting -, renewable energies and major projects while reinforcing its market leadership.”