Schiphol, the Netherlands - 18 March 2015. GrandVision N.V. publishes Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2014 results.
2014 Highlights
Revenue grew by 8.5% at constant exchange rates to of €2,817 million with comparable growth of 4.3%
Adjusted EBITDA (i.e. EBITDA before non-recurring items) increased by 12.2% to €449 million
Adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 68 bps to 16.0%
Net result rose by 12.0% to €175 million
Pro forma EPS reached €0.64, with growth of 13.8%
Add-on acquisitions in Colombia, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom
New markets entered through acquisitions in China, Peru and Turkey
Total number of stores grew by 821 to 5,814.

CEO, Theo Kiesselbach said "We are pleased with our 2014 financial results as well as the execution of our strategic priorities and the deployment of GrandVision's global capabilities".

Full Year and Fourth Quarter key figures
in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) 2014 2013
Change versus prior year Growth at constant currency Organic growth Growth from
acquisitions
Revenue 2,817 2,620 7.5% 8.5% 5.7% 2.8%
Comparable growth (%) 4.3% 1.6% 270bps
Adjusted EBITDA 449 400 12.2% 12.3% 12.7% -0.4%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 16.0% 15.3% 68bps
Net result 175 156 12.0%
Net result attributable to equity holders 161 141 13.9%
Pro forma earnings per share (in €) 0.64 0.56 13.8%
Number of stores (#) 5,814 4,993

in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise)
Fourth Quarter 2014 Fourth Quarter 2013 Change versus prior year Growth at
constant currency Organic growth Growth from acquisitions
Revenue 722 645 12.0% 12.8% 7.5% 5.3%
Comparable growth (%) 6.1% 1.0% 510bps
Adjusted EBITDA 106 99 7.5% 8.2% 11.7% -3.5%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 14.7% 15.4% -62bps

Dividend
As communicated during the Initial Public Offering earlier this year, GrandVision proposes not to pay a dividend for the financial year 2014.
For the financial year 2015, GrandVision intends to pay an interim dividend of €35 million to the Shareholders in September 2015, subject to the prior approval of the Supervisory Board.
The remainder of the dividend over the financial year 2015, if any, will be determined at the General Meeting in 2016 and paid in May 2016. In the future years, 2016 and beyond, the Company intends to pay an ordinary dividend annually.

Group financial review
Consolidated Income Statement
in millions of EUR 2014 2013
Revenue 2,817 2,620
Cost of sales and direct related expenses - 744 - 672
Gross profit 2,073 1,948
Selling and marketing costs - 1,446 - 1,377
General and administrative costs - 342 - 303
Share of result of associates 3 1
Operating result 289 270
Financial income 4 7
Financial costs - 39 - 48
Financial result - 34 - 41
Result before tax 254 229
Income tax - 80 - 73
Result for the year 175 156
Attributable to:
Equity holders 161 141
Non-controlling interests 13 14
175 156

Revenue
Revenue increased by 7.5% to €2,817 million in 2014. At constant exchange rates revenue grew by 8.5% as foreign currency fluctuations affected revenue by -1.0%. Revenue growth resulted primarily from the comparable growth of 4.3% (1.6% in 2013). Acquisitions had a positive impact on revenue of 2.8%.
Sales volumes in 2014 benefited from improvements in commercial execution. Global initiatives in purchasing and the supply chain resulted in savings, which were largely reinvested into the competitiveness of the product and services offering. Thereby GrandVision’s promise of providing highquality products at affordable prices was reinforced.
Fourth Quarter revenue increased by 12.0%, or 12.8% at constant exchange rates. The comparable growth rate of 6.1% during the Fourth Quarter was accomplished by good growth in all three segments.

Impact of acquisitions
The total revenue contribution of acquisitions amounted to €72 million, or 2.8% of revenue growth.

The following acquisitions were completed during 2014:
• In February, 65 Rayner stores in the United Kingdom and 71 MultiOpticas stores in Colombia
• In April, 20 Robin Look stores in Germany
• In August, 62% of the shares of Topsa which operates 176 stores in Peru
• In September, 96 Atasun stores from an acquisition in Turkey as well as 52 stores in China through the acquisition of GrandVision Shanghai and 78% of the shares in Red Star Optical
• In December, 19 Conlons stores in the United Kingdom and 190 stores in Italy through the acquisition of Angelo Randazzo.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA, which is EBITDA excluding exceptional and non-recurring items, grew by 12.2% to €449 million. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 68 bps to 16.0% (15.3% in 2013).
The 2014 increase in adjusted EBITDA is the result of higher comparable growth combined with increased operational efficiency at store level. While revenue and gross profit grew, the increase of operating costs was well contained. This was achieved by efficient operational execution of the commercial processes, product assortment, marketing as well as store network optimization.
The full-year impact of currency fluctuations on the total adjusted EBITDA was not material while acquisitions had a small negative impact of -€2 million or -0.4%. This was caused by the newly acquired companies in emerging markets in the second half of 2014.
The non-recurring items in 2014 are mainly related to the costs of the listing preparation including adjustments to the long-term incentive plans. A reconciliation from adjusted EBITDA to Operating result is
presented in the table below.
in millions of EUR 2014 2013
Adjusted EBITDA 449 400
Non-recurring items - 24 -
EBITDA 426 400
Depreciation and amortization of software - 108 - 103
EBITA 317 297
Amortization and impairments - 29 - 27
Operating result 289 270

Fourth Quarter adjusted EBITDA increased by 7.5%, or 8.2% at constant exchange rates. Organic growth of the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was 11.7%. However, the total adjusted EBITDA margin decreased by 62 bps as the strong organic growth was partially offset by the negative EBITDA contribution from acquisitions made in the later part of the year. These had an adverse impact of 3.5% on EBITDA growth in the quarter.

Financial result
The financial result improved by 16.2% to -€34 million in 2014 (-€41 million in 2013). These lower financial costs resulted from lower borrowings and also the lower interest rates following the 2014 refinancing.
The average interest rates decreased due to the full settlement of the outstanding shareholder loans as well as lower interest bank borrowings under the newly arranged credit facility.

Income tax
Income tax increased to €80 million in 2014 (€73 million in 2013), primarily as a result of the increase in operating profit. The effective tax rate decreased to 31.3% in 2014 (31.9% in 2013).

Net result for the period
The result for the period increased by 12.0% to €175 million (€156 million in 2013). Net result attributable to equity holders increased by 13.9% to €161 million (€141 million in 2013).

Pro forma earnings per share
Pro forma earnings per share (basic and diluted) increased to €0.64 per issued and outstanding share (€0.56 in 2013). The pro forma average number of shares attributable to equity holders was 250,748,330 in 2014 (250,513,760 in 2013).

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