Schiphol, the Netherlands - 31 October 2017. GrandVision N.V. publishes the Nine Months and Third Quarter 2017 trading update.

Highlights

9M17 revenue grew by 4.7% (3Q17: 5.3%) at constant exchange rates with comparable growth of 2.6% (3Q17: 3.1%), driven by all categories: spectacles, contact lenses and sunglasses
Adj. EBITDA (i.e. EBITDA before non-recurring items) increased by 4.3% (3Q17: 6.2%) at constant exchange rates to €422 million in 9M17, including a loss of €11 million in the US
The adj. EBITDA margin increased by 23 bps to 17.1% in 3Q17
The total number of stores expanded to 6,709 (6,516 at year-end 2016)
The US business delivered comparable growth during 9M17 and 3Q17. However, due to the delayed improvement of profitability, a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of €38 million was recorded in 3Q17
The 4Q17 relative performance will be impacted by fewer selling days compared to the previous year related to the timing of the 2017 Christmas holidays
GrandVision has published the convocation note and details for the extraordinary shareholders meeting on Thursday, 14 December 2017 related to the appointment of Stephan Borchert as member of the company's Management Board

Key figures
in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) 9M17 9M16
Change versus prior year Change at constant FX Organic growth Growth from acquisitions
Revenue 2,579 2,495 3.3% 4.7% 4.1% 0.6%
Comparable growth (%) 2.6% 1.7%
Adjusted EBITDA 422 411 2.7% 4.3% 4.0% 0.3%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 16.4% 16.5% -11bps
Number of stores (#) 6,709 6,454
System wide sales 2,835 2,747 3.2%

in millions of EUR (unless stated otherwise) 3Q17 3Q16
Change versus prior year Change at constant FX Organic growth Growth from acquisitions
Revenue 858 825 3.9% 5.3% 4.9% 0.4%
Comparable growth (%) 3.1% 0.4%
Adjusted EBITDA 146 139 5.4% 6.2% 5.8% 0.3%
Adjusted EBITDA margin (%) 17.1% 16.8% 23bps
System wide sales 941 908 3.7%

Group financial review
Revenue
Revenue increased by 4.7% at constant exchange rates to €2,579 million in 9M17 (€2,495 million in 9M16) or 3.3% at reported rates. Organic revenue growth of 4.1% was driven by comparable growth of 2.6% (1.7% in 9M16), as well as store openings and smaller acquisitions across all segments.
In 3Q17, revenue grew by 5.3% at constant exchange rates or 3.9% at reported rates. Comparable growth of 3.1% resulted from continued growth in the Other Europe and Americas & Asia segments, as well as an improvement across the G4 segment.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA (i.e. EBITDA before non-recurring items) increased by 4.3% at constant exchange rates to €422 million in 9M17 (€411 million in 9M16) or 2.7% at reported rates.
The adjusted EBITDA margin decreased by 11 bps to 16.4%, as margin improvements in the G4 and Other Europe segments were offset by the impact of the US business on the Americas & Asia segment. Excluding this effect, the adjusted EBITDA would have been €433 million and the adjusted EBITDA margin would have increased to 16.7%.
Non-recurring items of -€11 million in 9M17 (-€6 million in 9M16) relate mainly to restructuring and integration activities across our business.
In 3Q17, adjusted EBITDA grew by 6.2% at constant exchange rates to €146 million or 5.4% at reported rates. The adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 23 bps to 17.1% (16.8% in 3Q16), mainly reflecting an adjusted EBITDA margin improvement in the Americas and Asia segment despite the negative EBITDA contribution from the United States, also in the quarter.
A reconciliation from adjusted EBITDA to operating result for 9M17 is presented in the table below:

in millions of EUR 9M17 9M16
Adjusted EBITDA 422 411
Non-recurring items - 11 - 6
EBITDA 412 406
Depreciation and amortization of software - 99 - 94
EBITA 312 312
Amortization and impairments - 61 - 23
Operating result 252 289
Amortization and impairments of -€61 million (-€23 million in 9M16) includes a goodwill impairment charge of €38 million, in line with IFRS accounting guidelines. This reflects the delayed improvement of the profitability in the United States resulting from the longer than expected organizational rebuild and continued investments in the growth platform.

Financial Position
Capital expenditure not related to acquisitions was €130 million in 9M17, compared to €104 million in 9M16. The increase is mainly related to higher levels of store refurbishments in the growing store network, the ongoing implementation of the global ERP system as well as further investments in omnichannel solutions.

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