Media

Media information 2019

November 21, 2019

Carlo Gavazzi half year results affected by exceptional effects

 

  • Operating revenue in local currency increases by 3.0%, reaching CHF 75.8 million (-0.3% in Swiss Francs vs. 1st half 2018/19)
  • 5.6% sales growth in Europe
  • EBIT decreases to CHF 5.3 million due to exceptional effects (previous year: CHF 6.5 million; -18.5%)
  • Group net income of CHF 3.3 million (previous year: CHF 4.6 million; -28.3%)
  • Cash flow remains stable at CHF 6.5 million

 

Steinhausen, November 21, 2019 – During the first half of the 2019/20 financial year, the overall business performance of Carlo Gavazzi was solid. However, as announced on October 29, exceptional effects such as the new IFRS 16 rules, investments in IT systems and the strengthening of the Swiss Franc had an impact on revenues and net income when comparing the period of April to September 2019 to the same period in 2018. Cash flow remained at the same level as last year.

The Group’s operating revenue in local currency grew by 3.0% and bookings were at par with sales. In Swiss Francs, operating revenue decreased slightly by 0.3% to CHF 75.8 million (CHF 76.0 million in the first semester of the 2018/19 business year). Sales grew by 5.6% in Europe, decreased by 1.8% in the Americas and by 2.5% in Asia-Pacific.

Bookings in local currency were stable and in Swiss Francs decreased by 3.7% to CHF 75.8 million (CHF 78.7 million in 2018/19), resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.0 at September 30, 2019.

Gross profit decreased by CHF 0.4 million to CHF 40.4 million (CHF 40.8 million in 2018/19) resulting in a gross margin of 53.3% (53.7% in 2018/19).

Operating expenses went up by CHF 0.9 million from CHF 34.2 million in the previous first half year to CHF 35.1 million owing to continuing increased investments in Marketing and Sales and in IT systems. Nonetheless, EBITDA was stable at CHF 8.5 million due to the first-time adoption of the new IFRS 16 Standard which resulted in a replacement of rental expense with depreciation and interest expense.

Operating profit (EBIT) decreased by CHF 1.2 million to CHF 5.3 million, compared to CHF 6.5 million (-18.5%) in the first half of last year.

Group net income decreased by CHF 1.3 million (-28.3%) to CHF 3.3 million (CHF 4.6 million in 2018/19).

At September 30, 2019, shareholders' equity amounted to CHF 90.2 million, giving an equity ratio of 68.6%.

 

Solid growth in Europe, Americas and Asia-Pacific slightly lower

In Europe, sales were 5.6% above the same period of last year. Business development was successful across Nordic, Central and Southern European countries, thanks to several activities and initiatives within building automation markets.

Sales in the Americas decreased by 1.8% mainly due to manufacturing contraction in the US market, which was impacted also by the general situation of increasing trade barriers.

In Asia-Pacific, sales decreased by 2.5%, due to slowdown in industrial automation and postponement of project-based business in building automation.

The geographical share of revenue outside Europe was 34.5%, with sales in the Americas and Asia-Pacific accounting for 19.8% and 14.7%, respectively.

 

Priority markets above average

Sales in priority markets increased 9.0% versus the same period of last year. Among the selected priority markets, Energy, Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) and Smart building grew by 29.8%, 10.4% and 27.5%, respectively.

Sensors sales were 2.4% above the same period of last year mainly due to solid growth in capacitive and level sensor sales, also thanks to new products used in harsh environments and solid growth in HVAC applications.

Controls product sales were up 14.5% mainly due to a robust 20.7% increase in energy products, particularly driven by increased demand for energy management and energy efficiency solutions. Sales of Fieldbuses increased by 16.8% versus the same period of last year thanks to business development in both the Smart building market and the Distributors channel.

Sales of Switches products decreased by 6.7% compared to the previous year. Solid state relays sales decreased by 13.2% due to slow-down in industrial automation markets affected by weakening manufacturing activities globally. Motor controls sales were 10.2% above the previous year also due to further business development in the HVAC applications for OEMs.

 

Outlook

The current economic environment is characterized by weakened manufacturing activity and generally increasing trade barriers. In addition, geopolitical tensions are adding to the growing economic uncertainty. Nevertheless, Carlo Gavazzi Group continues to see growth opportunities in key countries and priority markets, and will continue to invest in IT systems, R&D and Marketing and Sales.

 

Consolidated key figures
(CHF million)

Income statement1. HY 2019/201. HY 2018/19%
Bookings 75.8 78.7 -3.7
Operating revenue 75.8 76.0 -0.3
EBITDA 8.5 8.4 +1.2
EBIT 5.3 6.5 -18.5
Net income 3.3
4.6 -28.3
Cash flow 6.5
6.5 -
 
Balance sheet30.9.201931.3.2019 
Net working capital 35.8
35.7 0.3
Net cash position 37.9 47.8 -20.7

Interim Report

The complete interim report can be downloaded from
http://www.carlogavazzi.com/en/investors/interim-report.html.

About Carlo Gavazzi:

Carlo Gavazzi is a publicly quoted international electronics group (SIX: GAV) with activities in the design and marketing of electronic control components for factory and building automation.

For further information please contact:

Rolf Schläpfer
Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten
Phone +41 43 344 42 42
E-Mail rolf.schlaepfer@konsulenten.ch

November 19, 2019

Carlo Gavazzi appoints new CFO

Steinhausen, November 19, 2019 – Carlo Gavazzi Holding AG announced today that the Board of Directors has appointed Lorenzo Trezzini as new Group CFO. He will assume his position on March 1, 2020 and will replace Anthony Goldstein who will retire after 37 years of services with the Group. Anthony Goldstein will remain with the Group for a transition period until July 31st, 2020 in order to assure a smooth handover to his successor.


Dr. Lorenzo Trezzini, 1968, Swiss Citizen, has more than 20 years finance leadership experience in Europe and US, 9 of them as Group CFO for SIX Swiss Exchange listed companies. During his professional career he was Manager with Deloitte in New York and Zurich and worked at Ernst & Young in corporate finance. He was CFO and member of the executive committees of Valartis Group and Valartis Bank before joining Valora Holding AG as CFO. Lorenzo Trezzini holds an MBA and PhD from the University of Zurich and is a Swiss CPA.


Anthony Goldstein joined Carlo Gavazzi in 1982 as head of Group Reporting. He later became Group Controller and Secretary of the Board of Directors before being appointed Group CFO in 2007.


The Board of Directors of Carlo Gavazzi warmly thanks Anthony Goldstein for his many years of loyal and highly professional service and wishes all the best to his successor Lorenzo Trezzini.

 

About Carlo Gavazzi:
Carlo Gavazzi is a publicly listed international electronics group (SIX: GAV) with activities in the design and marketing of electronic control components for factory and building automation.

 

For further information please contact:
Rolf Schläpfer 
Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten 
Phone +41 43 344 42 42 
E-Mail rolf.schlaepfer@konsulenten.ch

October 29, 2019

Carlo Gavazzi informs about preliminary 2019/20 half year results

Steinhausen, October 29, 2019 – Carlo Gavazzi Holding AG informs today about the preliminary interim results for the first half of the 2019/20 business year. In the period between April 1 and September 30, 2019, the Group achieved total revenue of around CHF 75.8 million (-0.3% compared to the same period of last year, even though in local currency revenue increased by 3%). Due to exceptional effects such as the strengthening of the CHF exchange rate, the new IFRS 16 rules regarding capitalization of leases and investments in IT systems, EBIT and net income are expected to be lower than the same period of last year at around CHF 5.3 million (-18.5%) and CHF 3.3 million (-28.3%), respectively. Carlo Gavazzi will announce detailed half year figures on November 21, 2019.


About Carlo Gavazzi: 
Carlo Gavazzi is a publicly listed international electronics group (SIX: GAV) with activities in the design and marketing of electronic control components for factory and building automation. 

Please visit our website: www.carlogavazzi.com 

For further information please contact: 
Rolf Schläpfer 
Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten 
Phone +41 43 344 42 42 
E-Mail rolf.schlaepfer@konsulenten.ch

July 30, 2019

Carlo Gavazzi shareholders’ meeting – All agenda points approved

Steinhausen, July 30, 2019 – At today’s annual shareholders’ meeting of Carlo Gavazzi Holding AG the Directors Valeria Gavazzi, Federico Foglia and Stefano Premoli Trovati were re-elected as members of the Board of Directors for another period of one year. Daniel Hirschi was confirmed as a member of the Board of Directors as representative of the holders of bearer shares. As proposed, Valeria Gavazzi was confirmed as Chairman.

The shareholders also approved the distribution of an ordinary dividend of CHF 12.00 per bearer share and CHF 2.40 per registered share.

In addition, they approved the board compensation for the preceding term of office, the fixed compensation for the next business year for executive management and their variable compensation for the 2018/19 business year.

All other items of the agenda were also approved by the shareholders.

Carlo Gavazzi shares will be traded ex dividend from August 2, 2019. The dividend will be paid out with value August 6, 2019.


About Carlo Gavazzi:
Carlo Gavazzi is a publicly listed international electronics group (SIX: GAV) with activities in the design and marketing of electronic control components for factory and building automation.

Please visit our website: www.carlogavazzi.com

For further information please contact:
Rolf Schläpfer
Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten
Phone +41 43 344 42 42
E-Mail rolf.schlaepfer@konsulenten.ch

 

July 5, 2019

Carlo Gavazzi issues Invitation to the Annual General Meeting

Steinhausen, July 5, 2019 – The electronic group Carlo Gavazzi Holding AG has issued the invitation and the agenda for the Annual General Meeting 2019, to take place on Tuesday, July 30, 2019, 10:30 a.m., at the Parkhotel in Zug.

The invitation and agenda are available at:
http://www.carlogavazzi.com/en/investors/financial-calendar.html

The annual report 2018/19 has already been published on the occasion of the full year results communication on June 27, 2019. It is available at:
http://www.carlogavazzi.com/en/investors/annual-report.html

Documents can also be ordered at the following address:
Carlo Gavazzi Holding AG 
rolf.schlaepfer@konsulenten.ch
Phone: +41 43 344 42 42

 

June 27, 2019

Carlo Gavazzi in 2018/19: Marked growth of sales and net income



  • Operating revenue increases to CHF 155.0 million (previous year: CHF 146.9 million); 5.0% in local currency (+5.5% in CHF) 
  • Bookings increase to CHF 155.2 (CHF 153.6 million in 2017/18; +1.0% in CHF) 
  • EBIT grows to CHF 15.2 million (CHF 13.9 million in 2017/18; +9.4%) 
  • Increase of net income to CHF 10.7 million (CHF 8.4 million in 2017/18; +27.4%) 
  • Consistently high equity ratio of 71.8% (2017: 72.5%) 
  • Dividend of CHF 12.00 per bearer share proposed to AGM 

 


Steinhausen, June 27, 2019 -
In the 2018/19 business year, Carlo Gavazzi recorded a sound growth in revenue, EBIT and net income, driven by sales improvements in Europe and the Americas and main product lines.

Operating revenue increased by 5.0% and bookings by 0.5% in local currency, on the back of solid sales in key markets and ongoing launches of new products. The Group continued to implement its strategy of investing in its product portfolio and strengthening the sales network in markets outside Europe. Operating revenue in Swiss Francs increased by 5.5% to CHF 155.0 million (CHF 146.9 million in 2017/18). Bookings grew by 1.0% to CHF 155.2 million (CHF 153.6 million in 2017/18), resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 1 at March 31, 2019.

Gross profit increased by CHF 3.4 million to CHF 82.8 million (CHF 79.4 million in 2017/18) while the gross margin decreased by 0.7 percentage points to 53.4% due to more aggressive sales efforts in key markets. Operating expenses were up by CHF 2.5 million from CHF 65.6 million in the previous year to CHF 68.1 million due to continuing investments in R&D and expanded sales and marketing expenditure. Operating profit (EBIT) grew by 9.4% to CHF 15.2 million, compared to CHF 13.9 million in the previous year. The EBIT margin increased to 9.8% compared to 9.5% in the previous year.

Group net income amounted to CHF 10.7 million (CHF 8.4 million in 2017/18), an increase of 27.4%. This resulted from (i) net operational improvements of CHF 1.5 million plus (ii) a swing in the exchange difference of CHF 0.8 million with an exchange loss of CHF 0.2 million this year compared to an exchange loss of CHF 1.0 million in the previous year.

At March 31, 2019, shareholders’ equity stood at CHF 97.5 million (CHF 99.3 million in 2017/18), giving an equity ratio of 71.8% (2018: 72.5%) with a net cash position of CHF 47.8 million. Having assessed the results, the Board of Directors will propose to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting that the Company pays a dividend of CHF 12.00 per bearer share and CHF 2.40 per registered share for the reporting period, corresponding to a pay-out ratio of 79.6%.

Growth driven by sales in Europe and the Americas
Sales in local currency grew in Europe and the Americas but decreased slightly in Asia-Pacific.

In Europe, sales were 5.4% above the previous year due to good performance in building automation markets in the whole area and increasing penetration of OEMs in industrial automation markets, particularly in the Central and Southern European countries.

Sales in the Americas increased by 8.3% compared to the previous year also by exploiting favorable market conditions with dedicated programs towards distributors in industrial and building automation markets.

Sales in Asia-Pacific decreased by 1.1% compared to the previous year mainly due to weakness in business conditions, particularly with distributors. In addition, project-based business experienced a slow-down in building automation markets.

Sales outside Europe reached 34.8% of total revenue, with Americas and Asia-Pacific accounting for 20.5% and 14.3%, respectively.

Positive contribution of energy management products
Controls profited from the very positive contribution of energy management products, which grew versus the previous year by 14.5% driven by the steady sales in products such as EM340 and EM330 energy analyzers and the promising development in the UWP 3.0 gateway and controller. In particular, the UWP 3.0 provides users with a wide range of monitoring and automation functions for deploying energy efficiency policies in the building automation and car parking guidance markets. Fieldbuses grew by 4.7% compared to the previous year mainly due to sales development in heating, ventilation & air conditioning (HVAC) markets and through our distribution channels.

Sensors benefited from the positive contribution of both inductive and capacitive sensors. Sales of inductive sensors increased versus the previous year by 4.5% also thanks to the growth of ICB family which fits general position and presence-sensing applications in almost any industrial applications. Capacitive sensors grew by 3% versus the previous year, driven also by the development of the CD34 family, which meets customers’ requirements for challenging applications, such as the reliable detection of liquids in harsh environments, in industrial automation markets.

Switches were driven by strong sales in both solid-state relays and motor controllers. The growth in solid-state relays profited from the development in the RG platform in industrial automation markets and in the RK series which is designed to minimize space requirements without compromising performance in industrial automation and HVAC markets. The sales increase in motor controllers was mainly driven by the RSGD series which provides customers with a compact self-learning solution designed for pumps and compressors in the building automation markets.

Sales of products in priority markets performed better than overall sales growth, with an increase of more than 15% and 10% in the HVAC and Food & Beverage markets and around 9% in Energy.

Strategy
The Group growth strategy is based on developing new and enhanced products and improving market penetration and development across different geographies. Furthermore, the Company is focused on continuous improvement of its business model, particularly the manufacturing and the R&D footprint, which impacts overall efficiency and sales effectiveness. The main initiatives concern the reallocation of production and R&D activities to improve delivery and time-to-market, and the focus on enhancing the manufacturing site and R&D team in Asia-Pacific to better fulfill local market requirements in terms of specifications and prices.

Outlook
The Group will as usual benefit from the development of opportunities in the different geographies and further strengthen penetration of its product portfolio also by deploying dedicated sales and marketing programs. Carlo Gavazzi keeps focusing on geographical coverage by improving the effectiveness of the direct sales organization and by further developing the network of distributors and agents. In order to remain a state-of-the-art company from a technology and efficiency point of view, the Group will increase investments in the coming years.

 

Consolidated key figures (CHF million)

Income statement2018/192017/18%
Bookings 155.2 153.6 +1.0
Operating revenue 155.0 146.9 +5.5
EBITDA 18.7 17.4 +7.5
EBIT 15.2 13.9 +9.4
EBIT margin 9.8% 9.5%  
Net income 10.7 8.4 +27.4
Cash flow 14.2 11.9 +19.3
Balance sheet (as at 31 March)20192018 
Net working capital 35.7 33.3 +7.2
Shareholders' equity 97.5 99.3 -1.8
Total assets 135.8 136.9 -0.8
Equity as % of assets 71.8% 72.5%  


The complete annual report 2018/19 can be downloaded from the website at: Carlo Gavazzi Annual Report 2018/19.

 

About Carlo Gavazzi:
Carlo Gavazzi is a publicly listed international electronics group (SIX: GAV) with activities in the design and marketing of electronic control components for factory and building automation.
Please visit our website: www.carlogavazzi.com.


For further information please contact:
Rolf Schläpfer
Hirzel.Neef.Schmid.Konsulenten
Phone +41 43 344 42 42
E-Mail rolf.schlaepfer@konsulenten.ch