Schiphol, the Netherlands - 1 August 2017. GrandVision N.V. publishes Half Year and Second Quarter 2017 results.

Half Year 2017 highlights
Revenue grew by 4.4% at constant exchange rates with all segments contributing to this growth
Comparable growth of 2.4% driven by all categories: spectacles, contact lenses and sunglasses
Continued network expansion with more than 400 stores added over the last 12 months
Adj. EBITDA (i.e. EBITDA before non-recurring items) increased by 3.4% at constant exchange rates
Adj. EBITDA margin decline of 27 bps to 16.0%, as EBITDA margin expansion in the G4 and Other
Europe segments was offset by the increasing exposure to faster growing markets as well as additional
costs to build the platform in the United States
Ongoing digital transformation with continued investments in global ERP and omnichannel systems
2Q17 revenue, comparable growth and adj. EBITDA impacted by timing of Easter, as anticipated
GrandVision expects an improved revenue, adj. EBITDA and comparable growth performance in 3Q17

Key figures
in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) HY17 HY16
Change versus prior year Change at constant FX Organic growth Growth from acquisitions
Revenue 1,721 1,670 3.1% 4.4% 3.7% 0.7%
Comparable growth (%) 2.4% 2.3%
Adjusted EBITDA 276 272 1.3% 3.4% 3.1% 0.3%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 16.0% 16.3% -27bps
Net result 124 127 -2.3%
Net result attributable to equity holders 114 117 -3.0%
Adjusted earnings per share, basic (in €) 0.47 0.48 -2.0%
Earnings per share, basic (in €) 0.45 0.46 -3.2%
Number of stores (#) 6,631 6,211
System wide sales 1,894 1,840 3.0%

in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) 2Q17 2Q16
Change versus prior year Change at constant FX Organic growth
Growth from acquisitions
Revenue 876 867 1.1% 2.8% 2.1% 0.6%
Comparable growth (%) 0.7% 3.6%
Adjusted EBITDA 140 150 -6.4% -4.2% -4.6% 0.4%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 16.0% 17.3% -127bps
System wide sales 963 954 0.9%

Group financial review
Consolidated Income Statement
in millions of EUR HY17 HY16
Revenue 1,721 1,670
Cost of sales and direct related expenses - 459 - 457
Gross profit 1,262 1,213
Selling and marketing costs - 874 - 839
General and administrative costs - 201 - 187
Share of result of associates 2 2
Operating result 189 189
Financial income 2 3
Financial costs - 9 - 9
Net financial result - 7 - 6
Result before tax 182 182
Income tax - 58 - 56
Result for the period 124 127
Attributable to:
Equity holders 114 117
Non-controlling interests 10 10 124 127

Revenue
Revenue increased by 4.4% at constant exchange rates to €1,721 million in HY17 (€1,670 million in HY16) or 3.1% at reported rates. Organic revenue growth of 3.7% was primarily driven by comparable growth of 2.4% (2.3% in HY16), which was in line with the previous year. Revenue growth came from all regions, with an increasing weight of the Other Europe and Americas & Asia segments, in line with the GrandVision strategy. All product categories contributed positively to revenue and comparable growth with the highest performance in contact lenses and sunglasses, also following our strategic intent.
In 2Q17, revenue grew by 2.8% at constant exchange rates or 1.1% at reported rates. As anticipated, comparable growth of 0.7% was impacted by the timing of Easter, primarily in the G4 and Other Europe segments. In France, the expected change in regulation led to an overall market decline, and while impacting G4 comparable growth, allowed our French business to gain further market share.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA (i.e. EBITDA before non-recurring items) increased by 3.4% at constant exchange rates to €276 million in HY17 (€272 million in HY16) or 1.3% at reported rates.
The adjusted EBITDA margin decreased by 27 bps to 16.0% in HY17 (16.3% in HY16) as margin improvements in the G4 and Other Europe segments were offset by the increasing relevance of faster growing emerging markets in our revenue and profit mix, as well as additional costs to build our presence and platform in the United States, which were mainly incurred in 2Q17. On a constant geographic basis, i.e.
excluding the margin dilutive effect of the faster growing Americas & Asia segment, the EBITDA margin would have improved by 8 bps to 16.4%.
Non-recurring items of -€6 million in HY17 (-€6 million in HY16) are mainly related to restructuring, employee related provisions and costs related to prior years. A reconciliation from adjusted EBITDA to earnings before taxes is presented in table below.

in millions of EUR HY17 HY16
Adjusted EBITDA 276 272
Non-recurring items - 6 - 6
EBITDA 270 267
Depreciation and amortization of software - 65 - 63
EBITA 204 204
Amortization and impairments - 15 - 15
Operating result 189 189

In 2Q17, adjusted EBITDA decreased by 4.2% at constant exchange rates or 6.4% at reported rates. The adjusted EBITDA margin decreased to 16.0% against a high comparable of 17.3% in 2Q16 as comparable growth and therefore operating leverage were impacted by the timing of the Easter, particularly the G4 segment. Adjusted EBITDA was also impacted by the aforementioned additional costs related to building our presence and platform in the United States.

Financial result
The financial result of -€7 million in HY17 remained in line with the previous year (-€6 million in HY16).

Income tax
Income tax increased by €2 million to €58 million in HY17 (€56 million in HY16). The effective tax rate in
HY17 was 32.1% (30.5% in HY16). The change in the effective tax rate mainly relates to further unrecognized tax losses.
Net result for the period
Net result for the period decreased by 2.3% to €124 million in HY17 (€127 million in HY16) and the net
result attributable to equity holders by 3.0% to €114 million (€117 million in HY16).

(Adjusted) Earnings per share
Adjusted earnings per share, which excludes non-recurring items, was €0.47 per outstanding share in
HY17 (€0.48 in HY16). Earnings per share was €0.45 per outstanding share in HY17 (€0.46 in HY16).
The weighted average number of shares outstanding was 252,983,208 in HY17. On a fully diluted basis,
EPS was €0.45 in HY17 (€0.46 in HY16).

Segment review
G4
in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) HY17 HY16
Change versus
prior year
Change at
constant FX
Organic
growth
Growth from
acquisitions
Revenue 1,004 1,013 -0.9% 1.3% 0.8% 0.4%
Comparable growth (%) -0.2% 1.8%
Adjusted EBITDA 222 220 1.2% 2.7% 2.2% 0.5%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 22.1% 21.7% 46bps
Number of stores 3,081 2,997

in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) 2Q17 2Q16
Change versus prior year Change at constant FX Organic growth Growth from
acquisitions
Revenue 506 519 -2.4% -0.4% -0.8% 0.4%
Comparable growth (%) -1.7% 3.2%
Adjusted EBITDA 110 119 -7.6% -6.2% -6.7% 0.5%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 21.8% 23.0% -121bps
Germany continued its positive trend by achieving the segment’s highest revenue and comparable growth performance during the half year, while 2Q17 was impacted by the expected Easter effect.
In France, we maintained our revenue level during the first half year, while the market declined by 2.3% (January-May 2017, source: GfK) following recently implemented regulatory changes leading to reduced subsidies. GrandVision gained market share through its strategic positioning of providing high quality eye care at affordable prices. In addition, the accelerating pressure on the market has allowed us to further consolidate through acquisitions and store openings.
As a consequence, revenue in the G4 segment increased by 1.3% at constant exchange rates to €1,004 million in HY17, excluding the devaluation of the British Pound. Organic revenue growth and comparable growth were 0.8% and -0.2%, respectively.
As expected, comparable growth of -1.7% in 2Q17 was affected by the timing of Easter and commercial campaigns between the first and second quarter. Revenue in the G4 decreased by 0.4% at constant exchange rates.
In HY17, further operational and supply chain efficiency gains led to an adjusted EBITDA growth in the G4 segment of 2.7% at constant exchange rates. The adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 46bps to 22.1% (21.7% in HY16).

Adjusted EBITDA generation during 2Q17 followed the lower revenue growth in the segment leading to lower operating leverage, and decreased by 6.2% at constant exchange rates. The adjusted EBITDA margin decreased by 121 bps to 21.8%.
In the UK , the acquisition of 209 Tesco optical stores is on track to close during 4Q17.

Liquidity and debt
in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) HY17 HY16
Free cash flow 84 92
Capital expenditure 83 63
- Store capital expenditure 59 48
- Non-store capital expenditure 25 15
Acquisitions 4 10
Net debt 755 911
Net debt leverage (times) 1.4 1.7

In HY17, free cash flow (defined as cash flow from operating activities minus capital expenditure) decreased to €84 million (€92 million in HY16) as improvements in working capital were offset by a higher level of capital expenditure and cash outflows compared to the previous year. These cash outflows include an earlier phasing of tax payments.
In line with our digital strategy, non-store capital expenditure increased by €10 million in HY17 to €25 million in HY17 (€15 million in HY16). This includes the final phase of the global ERP roll-out in the G4, the ERP project launch in Latin America, as well as increasing investments in omnichannel and ecommerce functionalities throughout GrandVision.
The increasing number of store openings as well as the rebranding process in Italy and Mexico led to store capital expenditure of €59 million in HY17 (€48 million in HY16). Consequently, total capital expenditure grew to €83 million in HY17 (€63 million in HY16).
Net debt was €755 million at the end of June 2017, compared to €750 million at year-end 2016. During the first half year, the net debt position was impacted by the higher dividend payment, a higher level of capital expenditure as well as higher taxes paid. The 12-month rolling net debt/EBITDA ratio remained stable at 1.4x.

Conference call and webcast details
GrandVision will hold a conference call and webcast for analysts and investors on 1 August 2017 at 9:00
am CET (8:00 am GMT)

read more on
http://hugin.info/167729/R/2124563/810713.pdf

tijd 09.24
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