EVS Broadcast Equipment : record revenue for 2012

New strategy, with an eye on Rio2016

>      Record FY12, driven by sporting events and even more by strong market share gains in EVS' other segments
o  Revenue: +29.0% (+18.0% excl. event rentals and at constant currency), in line with guidance
o  EBIT before one-off costs (EUR 1.4 million): +42.0% (45.4% margin), in line with guidance
>     4Q12 revenue of EUR 25.6 million following expected slowdown post big events
>     2013: strong winter order book of EUR 37.4 million at February 15, 2013
o  -12.4% vs early 2012, excl. big events
o  As usual, low visibility at the start of a non-big sporting event year
>     New strategy: more focus on key markets to accelerate long-term growth

Key figures

(unaudited)			EUR millions, except earnings per share expressed in EUR	Audited
4Q12	4Q11	4Q12/4Q11		FY12	FY11	FY12/FY11
25.6	31.0	-17.5%	Revenue	137.9	106.9	+29.0%
5.2	13.0	-60.1%	Operating profit - EBIT	61.2	44.1	+38.8%
20.3%	41.9%	-	Operating margin - EBIT %	44.4%	41.3%	-
0.4	-0.7	N/A	Contribution from dcinex	0.4	2.3	-82.0%
4.4	7.5	-42.0%	Net profit - Group share	41.7	32.1	+30.2%
5.8	8.7	-34.2%	Net profit from operations, excl. dcinex - Group share (1)	44.6	31.7	+40.8%
0.32	0.56	-42.0%	Basic earnings per share	3.10	2.38	+30.3%
0.43	0.65	-34.3%	Basic earnings per share from operations, excl. dcinex (1)	3.31	2.35	+40.9%

(1)     The net profit from operations, excl. dcinex, is the net profit (share of the group) excluding non operating items (net of tax) and the dcinex contribution. Refer to Annex 5.3: use of non-gaap financial measures.

Comments

"These results mark a new milestone in the already very rich and successful history of EVS," said Joop Janssen, Managing Director & CEO of EVS. "In 2012, we generated record sales and I want to thank our teams for their energy and extraordinary efforts they put in delivering on our promises. In partnership with our customers, we set a new standard in the live coverage of sporting events and even more encouraging is our growth in non-sport markets. Our team outperformed competition in these businesses, and served the fast growing demand for EVS technologies and services from entertainment, news and media customers. In these areas, past investments in innovation are starting to pay off."

On the new strategy, Mr. Janssen added: "In the last few months we reviewed in detail our strategic options and I'm glad to launch today our new four-market strategy plan. We listened to our growing number of customers and repositioned our activities, organization and brand accordingly. Key was to focus even more our resources and investments in the most attractive markets and to strengthen our leadership team in order to deliver our renewed growth ambition."

Commenting on the results and prospects, Jacques Galloy, Director and CFO, said: "After some years of sales stagnating at EUR 110 million, we closed 2012 with a record level, with sales growing by 29.0% and topping EUR 137.9 million. As said; we benefited from big sporting events rentals this year for about EUR 10 million but our overall business grew strongly, especially in studios (+30.9%) and in the Americas (+32.7% at constant currency). The operating result (EBIT) grew by 39.0% compared to last year, which includes a EUR 1.4 million one-off provision for the strategic repositioning of the group. Adjusted for these non-recurring items, the EBIT margin would have been 45.4% in FY12 and the EBIT growth would have reached 42.0%, which is in line with our previous guidance. As anticipated, 4Q12 delivered a weaker performance following a very strong sporting summer. The order book as of February 15, even though lower than at the beginning of 2001, is record for starting an uneven year, highlighting our strong competitive position and the successful investments in the past. We remain optimistic about the long term growth drivers of EVS while our short to medium term visibility remains limited as usual. 2013 shall not benefit from such big sporting events but our continued investments in innovation and expansion pave the way for positioning the company for the future".

Corporate Calendar:
Thursday May 16, 2013                                 1Q13 earnings
Tuesday May 21, 2013                                  Ordinary General Meeting
Tuesday May 28, 2013                                  Final dividend: ex-date
Thursday August 29, 2013                            2Q13 earnings
Thursday November 14, 2013                     3Q13 earnings

For more information, please contact: Joop JANSSEN, Managing Director & CEO Jacques GALLOY, Director & CFO Geoffroy d'OULTREMONT, Vice President  Investor Relations & Corporate Communication EVS Broadcast Equipment S.A., Liege Science Park, 16 rue du Bois Saint-Jean, B-4102 Seraing, Belgium Tel: [phone].  E-mail: [e-mail]; www.evs.com

Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to the business, financial condition, and results of operations of EVS and its affiliates. These statements are based on the current expectations or beliefs of EVS's management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or performance of the Company to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties relate to changes in technology and market requirements, the company's concentration on one industry, decline in demand for the company's products and those of its affiliates, inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications, and loss of market share and pressure on pricing resulting from competition which could cause the actual results or performance of the company to differ materially from those contemplated in such forward-looking statements. EVS undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

About EVS EVS provides its customers with reliable and innovative technology to enable the production of live, enriched video programming, allowing them to work more efficiently and boost their revenue streams. Its industry-leading broadcast and media production systems are used by broadcasters, production companies, post-production facilities, film studios, content owners and archive libraries around the globe. It spans four key markets - Sports, Entertainment, News and Media. Founded in 1994, its innovative Live Slow Motion system revolutionised live broadcasting. Its reliable and integrated tapeless solutions, based around its market-leading XT server range, are now widely used to deliver live productions worldwide. Today, it continues to develop practical innovations, such as its C-Cast second-screen delivery platform, to help customers maximise the value of their media content. The company is headquartered in Belgium and has offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Approximately 465 EVS professionals from 20 offices are selling its branded products in over 100 countries, and provide customer support globally. EVS is a public company traded on Euronext Brussels: EVS, ISIN: BE0003820371. For more information, please visit www.evs.com. dcinex, of which EVS owns 41.3%, is the European leader for Digital Cinema technology and services in Europe with more than 5,500 committed digital screens in Europe, out of which 3,700 have already been deployed. www.dcinex.com.

Press release in pdf format

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Source: EVS Broadcast Equipment via Thomson Reuters ONE

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