Second quarter 20231
Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced the company’s second quarter 2023 results.
“In the second quarter, we saw continued softness in the consumer, indoor professional and OEM channels and a slower than anticipated recovery of the Chinese market. Against this backdrop, our actions to improve gross margin are paying off, although fixed costs reduction plans are not yet fully compensating for the volume decline. While our Digital Solutions and Conventional Products divisions demonstrated resilience in their bottom line, our Digital Products division was more exposed to these challenges,” said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify.
“The continued economic softness has led us to apply caution in our outlook for the full year and adjust our Adjusted EBITA margin guidance to 9.5-10.5%. On the other hand, our free cash flow generation has and will continue to benefit from supply chain lead time improvements and effective working capital measures. We therefore expect our free cash flow generation to be at the higher end of the 6-8% range. To optimize our global operations, we have begun implementing structural measures to adapt our cost structure to the market environment. These measures will enable enhanced performance and a stronger focus on growth opportunities.”
Brighter Lives, Better World 2025
In the second quarter of the year, Signify remained on track to deliver on its Brighter Lives, Better World 2025 sustainability program commitments.
Signify is on track to reduce emissions across the entire value chain by 40% against the 2019 baseline - double the pace required by the Paris Agreement. This is driven by Signify’s leadership in energy efficient and connected LED lighting solutions, which significantly reduce emissions during the use phase.
Circular revenues remained stable at 29%, on track to reach the 2025 target of 32%. The main contribution is from serviceable and upgradeable luminaires, including the first serviceable Horticulture product family.
Brighter lives revenues increased to 28%, on track to reach the 2025 target of 32%. This was driven by the performance of Cooper’s tunable products supporting the consumer well-being portfolio and continued strength of the safety & security portfolio.
The percentage of women in leadership positions continued to improve to 30%, on track to reach the 2025 target of 34%. This was mainly due to the acceleration of hiring practices for diversity across all levels.
Outlook
The continued economic softness has led us to apply caution in our outlook for the full year and adjust our Adjusted EBITA margin guidance to 9.5-10.5%. On the other hand, our free cash flow generation has and will continue to benefit from supply chain lead time improvements and effective working capital measures. We therefore expect our free cash flow generation to be at the higher end of the 6-8% range.
Conference call and audio webcast
Eric Rondolat (CEO) and Javier van Engelen (CFO) will host a conference call for analysts and institutional investors at 9:00 a.m. CET to discuss the second quarter 2023 results. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available via the Investor Relations website.
Financial calendar
October 27, 2023: Third quarter results 2023
January 26, 2024: Fourth quarter and full-year results 2023
Forward-Looking Statements and Risks & Uncertainties
This document and the related oral presentation contain, and responses to questions following the presentation may contain, forward-looking statements that reflect the intentions, beliefs or current expectations and projections of Signify N.V. (the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), including statements regarding strategy, estimates of sales growth and future operational results.
By their nature, these statements involve risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its Group companies, and a number of important factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement as a result of risks and uncertainties. Such risks, uncertainties and other important factors include but are not limited to: adverse economic and political developments, in particular the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the energy crisis in Europe, the expected recovery trajectory of China post COVID, component shortages, cost inflation, rapid technological change, competition in the general lighting market, development of lighting systems and services, successful implementation of business transformation programs, impact of acquisitions and other transactions, reputational and adverse effects on business due to activities in Environment, Health & Safety, compliance risks, ability to attract and retain talented personnel, adverse currency effects, pension liabilities, and exposure to international tax laws.
Additional risks currently not known to the Group or that the Group has not considered material as of the date of this document could also prove to be important and may have a material adverse effect on the business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects of the Group or could cause the forward-looking events discussed in this document not to occur. The Group undertakes no duty to and will not necessarily update any of the forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events, except to the extent required by applicable law.
Market and Industry Information
All references to market share, market data, industry statistics and industry forecasts in this document consist of estimates compiled by industry professionals, competitors, organizations or analysts, of publicly available information or of the Group’s own assessment of its sales and markets. Rankings are based on sales unless otherwise stated.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
Certain parts of this document contain non-IFRS financial measures and ratios, such as comparable sales growth, adjusted gross margin, EBITA, adjusted EBITA, free cash flow, and other related ratios, which are not recognized measures of financial performance or liquidity under IFRS. The non-IFRS financial measures presented are measures used by management to monitor the underlying performance of the Group’s business and operations and, accordingly, they have not been audited nor reviewed. Not all companies calculate non-IFRS financial measures in the same manner or on a consistent basis and these measures and ratios may not be comparable to measures used by other companies under the same or similar names. A reconciliation of these non-IFRS financial measures to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures is contained in this document. For further information on non-IFRS financial measures, see “Chapter 18 Reconciliation of non-IFRS measures” in the Annual Report 2022.
Presentation
All amounts are in millions of euros unless otherwise stated. Due to rounding, amounts may not add up to totals provided. All reported data are unaudited. Unless otherwise indicated, financial information has been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies as stated in the Annual Report 2022.
Market Abuse Regulation
This press release contains information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
Signify Investor Relations
Thelke Gerdes
Tel: + 31 6 1801 7131
E-mail: thelke.gerdes@signify.com
Signify Corporate Communications
Leanne Carmody
Tel: +31 6 3928 0201
E-mail: leanne.carmody@signify.com
Tom Lodge
Tel: +31 6 5252 5416
E-mail: tom.lodge@signify.com
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals, consumers and the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. In 2023, we had sales of EUR 6.7 billion, approximately 32,000 employees and a presence in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for seven consecutive years and have achieved the EcoVadis Platinum rating for four consecutive years, placing Signify in the top one percent of companies assessed. News from Signify can be found in the Newsroom, on X, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors is located on the Investor Relations page.