Philips Lighting fourth quarter and full year results 2016

Press release January 23, 2017

Philips Lighting reports full year operating profit margin increase of 180 basis points to 9.1% and free cash flow of EUR 418 million

Full year 2016 highlights

  • Sales of EUR 7,115 million, with comparable sales of -2.4% (2015: -3.5%)

  • Continued year-on-year improvement in operational profitability

    • Adjusted EBITA of EUR 645 million (2015:EUR 547 million)

    • Adjusted EBITA margin improvement of 180 basis points to 9.1% (2015: 7.3%)

  • Net income of EUR 185 million (2015:EUR 240 million), including EUR 143 million charges not applicable in 2015 for brand license, separation costs and financial expenses

  • Free cash flow of EUR 418 million (2015:EUR 632 million) or 5.9% of sales

Fourth quarter 2016 highlights

  • Sales amounted to EUR 1,934 million, with comparable sales of -3.2% (Q4 2015: -2.7%)

  • Total LED-based sales growth of 16%, now representing 59% of total sales

  • Continued year-on-year improvement in operational profitability

    • Adjusted EBITA of EUR 188 million (Q4 2015: EUR 159 million)

    • Adjusted EBITA margin improvement of 190 basis points to 9.7% (Q4 2015: 7.8%)

  • Net income of EUR 63 million, including EUR 41 million charges not applicable in 2015 for brand license, separation costs and financial expenses

  • Free cash flow of EUR 272 million

Shareholder return

  • Proposed cash dividend of EUR 1,10 per share, a pay-out ratio of 52%

  • Additional capital up to EUR 300 million to be returned to shareholders over the period 2017-2018 by participating in share disposals by our main shareholder.

Eindhoven, the Netherlands - Philips Lighting (Euronext Amsterdam: LIGHT) today announced the company`s fourth quarter and full year results 2016. "In 2016, our businesses performed in accordance with their strategic objectives, despite challenging conditions in some markets. We are pleased with the significant increase in profitability and solid free cash flow in our first year as a standalone company. These results mark a continued progression to achieve our strategic goals and medium term financial objectives," said CEO Eric Rondolat. "Our team remains focused on the opportunities ahead and is committed to meeting the needs of our customers through innovation, while executing concrete actions to continue improving our growth profile."

Key figures

Fourth quarter

Twelve months

2015

2016

Change

in € million, unless otherwise indicated

2015

2016

change

2,045

1,934

-5.4%

Sales

7,465

7,115

-4.7%

-3.2%

Comparable sales growth

-2.4%

753

744

-1.2%

Adjusted gross margin

2,731

2,763

1.2%

159

188

18.2%

Adjusted EBITA

547

645

17.9%

105

136

29.5%

EBITA

438

479

9.4%

79

109

38.0%

Income from operations (EBIT)

331

369

11.5%

42

63

50.0%

Net income

240

185

-22.9%

% of sales

36.8%

38.5%

Adjusted gross margin

36.6%

38.8%

7.8%

9.7%

Adjusted EBITA margin

7.3%

9.1%

478

272

Free cash flow

632

418

0.43

Basic EPS (€)

1.26

37,399

34,256

Employees (FTE)

37,399

34,256

Outlook

In 2017, we expect further improvement in our Adjusted EBITA margin by approximately 50-100 basis points, in line with our medium term outlook to gradually improve the Adjusted EBITA margin to 11-13%. We also remain committed to delivering solid free cash flow. While we are cautious given global economic uncertainty, we remain committed to our ambition to return to positive comparable sales growth in the course of this year.