Landis+Gyr Announces First Half FY 2018 Financial Results

In H1 FY 2018, net revenue for the group reached USD 852.9 million compared to USD 865.6 million in H1 FY 2017, a decrease of 1.5% (or 1.9% in constant currency terms). Revenue was negatively impacted by industry wide supply chain constraints, as the company experienced shortages of certain electronic components. As a result, Landis+Gyr deferred shipment of about USD 20 million worth of customer orders on hand.

Net revenue per segment was as follows (in USD millions, except where indicated):

Segment	H1 FY 2018	H1 FY 2017	Percentage change	Percentage change in constant currencies
Americas	497.5	475.2	4.7%	5.6%
EMEA	291.6	320.7	(9.1%)	(11.6%)
Asia Pacific	63.8	69.7	(8.5%)	(6.6%)
Group	852.9	865.6	(1.5%)	(1.9%)

In the Americas region, strong H1 FY 2018 sales growth in North America offset a significant reduction in Japan’s year over year revenues. EMEA experienced lower net revenues compared to last year. In addition to supply chain constraint impacts, the region experienced lower demand in some AMI markets, including a temporary slowdown in the UK as the market prepares for the transition to a new generation of meters, SMETS2, which will start in December 2018, and in Spain, as a project rolled off.

Adjusted Gross Profit

Adjusted Gross Profit for the reporting period was USD 291.9 million, a decrease of USD 12.5 million from USD 304.4 million in the first half of FY 2017. In total during H1 FY 2018 Landis+Gyr booked USD 12.1 million (approximately 140 basis points of gross profit impact) in incremental costs associated with supply chain constraints. A reconciliation between Gross Profit and Adjusted Gross Profit can be found in the Supplemental Reconciliations and Definitions section of the Half Year Report 2018.

The Adjusted Gross Profit by segment was as follows (in USD millions, except where indicated):

Segment	H1 FY 2018	H1 FY 2018 Percentage	H1 FY 2017	H1 FY 2017 Percentage
Americas	198.0	39.8%	208.5	43.9%
EMEA	81.0	27.8%	79.8	24.9%
Asia Pacific	12.8	20.1%	15.0	21.5%
Eliminations	0.1		1.1
Group	291.9	34.2%	304.4	35.2%

Adjusted Operating Expenses

Adjusted Operating Expenses for the reporting period were USD 185.2 million, a decrease of USD 12.6 million year over year due to further positive impacts of Project Phoenix in EMEA and expense control in other regions. In H1 FY 2018 adjusted research and development (R&D) spending was USD 76.4 million or 9.0% of revenue. A reconciliation between Operating Expenses and Adjusted Operating Expenses can be found in the Supplemental Reconciliations and Definitions section of the Half Year Report 2018.

In H1 FY 2018, Landis+Gyr had two major cost reduction programs underway in EMEA. Project Phoenix aimed at reducing the cost base by closing certain offices, unifying various back office functions and improving productivity in all functions. Phoenix is now delivering USD 20 million of annualized savings and the program is complete having reached its target. The second program, Project Lightfoot, is aimed at bundling and in part outsourcing manufacturing activities to enhance production efficiencies, lower supply chain costs and further reduce capital intensity. Lightfoot is on track and by the end of FY 2020 is expected to achieve USD 25 million of annual savings, versus USD 20 million as initially planned, relative to the cost base at the time of the IPO.

Adjusted and Reported EBITDA

First half FY 2018 Adjusted EBITDA was USD 106.8 million, compared to USD 106.5 million in the first half of FY 2017. Asia Pacific and EMEA saw improved results while Americas posted reduced Adjusted EBITDA results compared to the first half of FY 2017.

The Adjusted EBITDA by segment was as follows (in USD millions, except where indicated):

Segment	H1 FY 2018 Adjusted EBITDA	H1 FY 2018 Percentage of net revenue	H1 FY 2017 Adjusted EBITDA	H1 FY 2017 Percentage of net revenue
Americas	102.2	20.5%	105.9	22.3%
EMEA	(0.4)	(0.1%)	(3.9)	(1.2%)
Asia Pacific	(3.6)	(5.6%)	(5.5)	(7.9%)
Corporate	8.5	N/A	10.0	N/A
Group	106.8	12.5%	106.5	12.3%

The adjustments made to bridge between EBITDA as reported in the Group’s financial statements and Adjusted EBITDA are as follows (in USD millions):

	H1 FY 2018	H1 FY 2017
Reported EBITDA*	114.9	40.8
Adjustments
Restructuring Charges	2.6	8.1
Exceptional Warranty Expenses	0.6	2.4
Normalized Warranty Expenses	(11.3)	30.3
Special Items	–	24.8
Adjusted EBITDA*	106.8	106.5

_{*  Following the adoption by the Company of ASU 2017-07 relating to defined benefit pension scheme costs, H1 FY 2017 EBITDA has been revised down by USD 2.3 million as all pension income and expenses other than service costs are now reported under “Other income (expense)”; net income is unchanged.}

H1 FY 2018 restructuring charges mainly relate to measures taken in Brazil. The normalized warranty expense adjustment for the first half of FY 2018 reflects that the level of warranty expense in the Interim Consolidated Statement of Operations was below the three-year average utilization by USD 11.3 million.

Landis+Gyr’s first half FY 2018 Reported EBITDA was USD 114.9 million, compared to USD 40.8 million in the first half of FY 2017.

Net income and EPS

Net income for first half of FY 2018 was USD 59.2 million, or USD 2.01 per share. Net income included a non-cash gain of USD 15.5 million related to the sale of intelliHUB to the joint venture which was established together with Pacific Equity Partners in Australia in order to acquire Acumen. Net income increased by USD 54.1 million compared to the first half of FY 2017.

Capital Expenditure

In the first half of FY 2018, capital expenditure was USD 16.9 million, slightly below the first half of FY 2017 level.

Cash flow and net debt

Free Cash Flow, defined as cash flow provided by operating activities (including changes in net working capital) minus cash flow used in investing activities (capital expenditure on tangible and intangible assets) excluding merger and acquisition activities (M&A) was USD 14.1 million in the first half of FY 2018, a decrease of USD 6.5 million from the first half of FY 2017. The main driver for the decrease was higher legacy warranty cash-outs.

“Landis+Gyr has a strong record of cash generation with free cash flow excluding M&A activities over the four fiscal years FY 2014 to FY 2017 averaging around USD 84 million per year. It’s also the case that our cash generation tends to be skewed to the second half, given the timing of certain cash-outs. We expect another strong cash flow year in FY 2018,” added Jonathan Elmer, Landis+Gyr’s Chief Financial Officer.

Net debt was USD 110.4 million and USD 107.3 million at September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, an increase of USD 3.1 million (net of the dividend payment of USD 68.4 million in July 2018, and the equity contribution of USD 18.9 million to the joint venture in Australia which acquired Acumen). The ratio of net debt to trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA was 0.5 at the end of September 2018.

FY 2018 Outlook

Landis+Gyr expects the second half of FY 2018 to be stronger than the first half; however, the supply chain situation remains challenging and leads to greater uncertainty than usual. Landis+Gyr’s outlook for FY 2018 net revenues is 1-3% growth year over year. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range between USD 217 million and USD 237 million, as EMEA and Asia Pacific further improve their performance over the course of the second half and the Americas remains resilient. FY 2018 Free Cash Flow (excluding M&A activities) is expected to be between USD 90 million and USD 110 million. The FY 2018 dividend is expected to be the Swiss franc equivalent of at least 75% of Free Cash Flow (excluding M&A activities) and is expected to be not less than the FY 2017 dividend amount of CHF 2.30 per share

Regional Leadership

Susanne Seitz will join Landis+Gyr as the new Executive Vice President for EMEA on November 19, 2018. In Asia Pacific, Steve Jeston has been named as the Interim Head of the region. The Company has set January 29, 2019 as the date for Landis+Gyr’s first Capital Markets Day and the opportunity to meet the extended Executive Team.

Sustainability Report

Landis+Gyr’s FY 2017 Sustainability Report was issued today. In FY 2017: water consumption within the Group decreased by 10.0%; total use of chemicals decreased by 2.4%; total waste produced increased by 5.3%, primarily due to the transfer of manufacturing capacities internally and to external partners; and total CO2 emissions fell by 11.1%. Since measurement began of Landis+Gyr’s carbon footprint in 2007, CO2 emissions have been reduced on a per-turnover basis by 31%.

For more information please see: Link

Recent Corporate Developments

• In North America, Public Power customers across the US signed new Landis+Gyr technology solution agreements totaling over 270,000 additional AMI endpoints planned for deployment along with a refresh of software and technology. Key customer names include Kissimmee Utility Authority, South Plains and Sulphur Springs.
• In the UK, the transition to the next generation smart meters (SMETS2) is now confirmed by government for December 2018. As the UK market leader, Landis+Gyr added orders to committed backlog of GBP 161 million with 18 million meters now deployed or under contract.
• In France, Enedis awarded Landis+Gyr a contract to supply approx. 20% of their future volumes (with potential for further expansion) in the planned rollout of the next thirteen million Linky meters by 2023; in line with the previous tenders and contracts to supply Linky meters and data concentrators.
• Landis+Gyr launched a comprehensive managed services solution to operate all of Caruna Oy's 660,000 smart metering points in Finland with more than 17 million validated metering values provided to Caruna and its customers every day. The service includes full smart metering operations responsibility for a duration of six years and an optional extension for an additional three years.
• Landis+Gyr and Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) established a joint venture which acquired Acumen from Origin Energy Limited, Australia’s largest energy retailer. The Acumen business includes the existing management of an already deployed 170,000 smart meters and a material long-term contract with Origin for the deployment and management of additional smart meters across Australia.

Landis+Gyr Group's Half Year Report 2018, the Sustainability Report 2017/2018 and the Half Year 2018 investor presentation were published today and can be downloaded at www.landisgyr.com/investors.

Investor/Analyst Audio Webcast and Telephone Conference

The management of Landis+Gyr will host an investor/analyst call to discuss the company's results.

Date and time: October 26, 2018 at 09:00 am CET

Speakers: Richard Mora (CEO) and Jonathan Elmer (CFO)

Audio webcast: www.landisgyr.com/investors

Telephone:

• Europe: +41 (0)58 310 5000
• UK: +44 (0)207 107 0613
• US: +1 (1)631 570 5613

Please dial in 10–15 minutes before the start of the presentation and ask for “Landis+Gyr's half year 2018 results”.

Contact

Stan March
Phone +1 678 258 1321
Stan.March@landisgyr.com

Christian Waelti
Phone +41 41 935 6331
Christian.Waelti@landisgyr.com

Key dates

Capital Markets Day	January 29, 2019
Release of Results for Financial Year 2018	May 29, 2019
Annual General Meeting 2019	June 25, 2019
Release of H1 FY 2019 Results	October 25, 2019