Bang & Olufsen Reports Earnings Results for the Second Quarter and Six Months ended November 30, 2018; Provides Earnings Guidance for the Fiscal 2018
January 11, 2018 at 07:03 am
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Bang & Olufsen reported earnings results for the second quarter and six months ended November 30, 2018. For the quarter, the group realized a revenue growth of 15%. The revenue of the B&O PLAY business unit increased by 30%, and the revenue of the Bang & Olufsen business unit increased by 4%. The growth was driven by a combination of strong sales of both existing and new products with good development across all markets. Free cash flow was positive DKK 44 million against DKK 131 million last year. Last year, free cash flow included the escrow payment from HARMAN of DKK 93 million, and excluding this impact free cash flow improved by DKK 6 million.
For the six months the group reported, total revenue of DKK 1,591 million, corresponding to an increase of 15%, which was driven by 25% growth in the B&O PLAY business unit and 8% growth in the Bang & Olufsen business unit compared to last year. EBITDAC in the underlying business was DKK 93 million, which was an improvement of DKK 90 million compared to last year, while EBIT in the underlying business was DKK 5 million compared to negative DKK 52 million last year. Free cash flow was negative DKK 114 million against DKK 99 million last year. The development was mainly due to an increase in net working
capital of DKK 144 million compared to 31 May 2017.
The company provided earnings guidance for the fiscal 2018. For the period, the company expects to continue the growth momentum and increase revenue by around 10% compared to fiscal 2017, and to increase the underlying EBITDAC margin to 8% to 10%. The group's free cash flow is expected to be positive in 2018. The EBIT margin for the underlying business is expected to be around 3% (previously 1% to 3%) for fiscal 2018.
Bang & Olufsen A/S is a Denmark-based company engaged in the design, development and marketing of audio and video equipment. The Company supplies primarily music systems, loudspeakers, television sets and multimedia products. Its activities are divided into two business areas: Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B). The B2C area includes two segments: audiovisual (AV), offering audio and video products sold under the Bang & Olufsen brand; and B&O PLAY, which delivers stand-alone, portable products. The B2B business area also consists of Automotive segment, which comprises development, production and sale of sound systems for a range of cars, such as Aston Martin, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Furthermore, the Company is parent of Bang & Olufsen Group, which operates worldwide.