EVS Broadcast Equipment reports 2017 results

Publication on February 22, 2018, before market opening
Regulated information - Press release quarterly results
EVS Broadcast Equipment S.A.: Euronext Brussels (EVS.BR), Bloomberg (EVS BB), Reuters (EVSB.BR)

• 4Q17 highlights
  • Revenue of EUR 39.7 million, +49.0% compared to 4Q16 (excl. event rentals and at constant currency)
  • Opex increase by 12.9% compared to a low 4Q16
  • EBIT margin of 41.6%
  • Net profit of EUR 11.0 million, EPS of EUR 0.82

• FY17 highlights
  • Revenue of EUR 118.8 million, -1.3% compared to FY16 (excl. event rentals and at constant currency)
  • Operating expenses under control (+3.6% compared with FY16)
  • EBIT margin of 29.4%
  • Net profit of EUR 23.9 million, EPS of EUR 1.77
     
• Total gross dividend of EUR 1.00 per share (final gross dividend of EUR 0.50)
   
• Outlook
  • Order book of EUR 37.5 million on February 15, 2018 (to be invoiced in 2018), including EUR 10.6 million of big event rentals
    • +3.3% compared to 2017 (-23.5% excl. big event rentals)
  • Additional order book of EUR 4.7 million for 2019 and beyond
  • As usual, it is too early for us to give a guidance on the revenue level given the volatility of the order book and the typical short lead-time of our business
  • Opex are expected to grow in a moderated way due to investments in R&D for new product development, in addition to the structural salary increases in Belgium (±2%)

KEY FIGURES

Unaudited			EUR millions, except earnings per share expressed in EUR	Audited
4Q17	4Q16	4Q17/4Q16		FY17	FY16	FY17/FY16
39.7	27.0	+47.0%	Revenue	118.8	130.8	-9.2%
30.8	19.1	+60.7%	Gross margin	87.6	97.2	-9.9%
77.4%	70.8%	-	Gross margin %	73.7%	74.3%	-
16.5	6.5	+154.9%	Operating profit - EBIT	34.9	46.2	-24.3%
41.6%	24.0%	-	Operating margin - EBIT %	29.4%	35.3%	-
11.0	4.9	+127.2%	Net profit (Group share)	23.9	32.8	-27.2%
0.82	0.36	+126.9%	Basic earnings per share (Group share)	1.77	2.43	-27.3%

COMMENTS

"In 2017, we clearly maintained our leadership in our core business, in a changing industry. Building upon our know how in live video production, we also introduced new products lines to enter in new markets or seize new opportunities", said Muriel De Lathouwer, Managing Director and CEO of EVS. "In 2018, we will pursue our plans: execute and deliver what is in progress. And aside of that, we also continue to bring innovation on the market, with a particular focus on applications based on our pioneering work in artificial intelligence."

Commenting on the results and prospects, Yvan Absil, CFO, said: "Our last quarter was again very strong with close to EUR 40 million revenue. This results in FY17 revenue of EUR 118.8 million. Taking into account a solid gross margin level and the 3.6% opex increase, we recorded an EBIT margin of 29.4%, and EPS amounted to EUR 1.77. For 2018, as usual, it is too early for us to give a guidance on the revenue level. We expect opex to grow moderately compared to 2017, on top of the structural salary increases in Belgium."

2018 outlook

The order book (to be invoiced in 2018) on February 15, 2018 amounts to EUR 37.5 million (including EUR 10.6 million of big event rentals), which is +3.3% compared to EUR 36.3 million last year, but -23.5% excluding big event rentals. In addition to this order book to be invoiced in 2018, EVS already has EUR 4.7 million of orders to be invoiced in 2019 and beyond.

For 2018, as usual, it is too early for us to give a guidance on the revenue level given the volatility of the order book and the typical short lead-time of our business.

We expect opex to grow moderately compared to 2017, on top of the structural salary increases in Belgium.

Following the tax reforms in Belgium and the US, the management of the company expects (all other things staying equal) a decrease of the consolidated effective tax rate by approximately 2 percentage points, to be fine-tuned depending on the actual level of the revenue and the effective geographical mix.

Conference call
EVS will hold a conference call in English today at 3:00 pm CET for financial analysts and institutional investors. Other interested parties may join the call in a listen-only mode. The presentation used during the conference call will be available shortly before the call on the EVS website.

Dial-in numbers: [phone] (United Kingdom), [phone] (Belgium), [phone] (United States)
Conference call ID: 6978817

Corporate Calendar:
Tuesday May 15, 2018: Ordinary General Meeting
Thursday May 17, 2018: 1Q18 results
Thursday August 30, 2018: 2Q18 results
Thursday November 15, 2018: 3Q18 results

For more information, please contact:   Yvan ABSIL, CFO Geoffroy d'OULTREMONT, Vice President  Investor Relations & Corporate Communication EVS Broadcast Equipment S.A., Liege Science Park, 13 rue du Bois Saint-Jean, B-4102 Seraing, Belgium Tel: [phone].  E-mail:[e-mail]; www.evs.comwww.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 revolutionized 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 maximize the value of their media content. The company is headquartered in Belgium and has 20 offices in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America. Around 500 EVS professionals sell 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.

Press release in pdf format

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Source: EVS Broadcast Equipment via Globenewswire