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Landis+Gyr Announces First Half FY 2022 Financial Results

Cham, Switzerland – October 27th, 2022 – Landis+Gyr (SIX: LAND) today announced unaudited financial results for the first half of financial year 2022 (April 1st – September 30th, 2022). Key highlights included:

  • Sustained solid order intake of USD 773.2 million corresponding to a book-to-bill ratio of 1.06
  • Committed backlog at record-high level of USD 3,479.7 million, up 7.5% year-over-year
  • Net revenues increased in H1 FY 2022 by 10.3% in constant currency to USD 728.7 million driven by the Americas region and despite supply chain headwinds
  • Adjusted EBITDA[1] declined 31.2% to USD 48.7 million equivalent to a margin of 6.7% due to higher supply chain cost, and USD strength
  • Net income was USD 186.5 million in H1 FY 2022 including a one-off gain related to divestment of minority stake in Intellihub; Diluted EPS of USD 6.57
  • Significant inventory build-up in anticipation of strong shipments in H2 results in negative Free Cash Flow (excl. M&A) of USD (38.9) million in H1 FY 2022
  • Strong balance sheet with low net debt of USD 79.3 million and net debt / trailing twelve months adjusted EBITDA ratio of 0.63x
  • Confirmation of FY 2022 guidance with expected significant volume ramp up in H2 as supply chain situation is expected to start easing
  • Well positioned to support utilities and end customers through energy crisis with solutions enabling grid intelligence, driving energy efficiency and grid stability
[1] For a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures, see chapter “Supplemental Reconciliations and Definitions (unaudited)” in this ad hoc announcement.

“We see a favorable environment for energy efficiency technologies and solutions, which is reflected in our continued solid order intake, and further amplified by the current energy crisis. While the first half of FY 2022 continues to be impacted by ongoing supply chain challenges, we expect to see improvements in the second half. Due to the volatile availability of components needed to convert our high order backlog, we have temporarily higher inventories. While this impacts our cash position in the short-term, we are well positioned for a production ramp up in the second half of the current fiscal year”, said Werner Lieberherr, Chief Executive Officer of Landis+Gyr. “Due to the continuation of deployments of critical infrastructure even during economic cooldowns, Landis+Gyr is recession-resilient, and paired with our strategic transformation, we feel confident about the future”, Lieberherr concluded. 

Order Intake, Committed Backlog and Net Revenue

Group order intake for the first half of FY 2022 was USD 773.2 million, a book-to-bill ratio of 1.06 and a decrease of 56.7% when compared to the extraordinarily strong H1 FY 2021. The solid order intake development was driven by contract wins across all three regions. Committed backlog was up 7.5% year-over-year reaching a new record level of USD 3,479.7 million.

The Americas region recorded an order intake of USD 409.3 million (book-to-bill of 1.04) and the committed backlog rose by 12.2% to USD 2,604.2 million. In EMEA, orders of USD 264.4 million (book-to-bill of 1.07) were booked leading to a 12.7% lower committed backlog of USD 702.1 million due to FX rate movements. At constant currencies, the EMEA committed backlog increased by 3.5% year-over-year. In Asia Pacific, order intake amounted to USD 99.5 million (book-to-bill of 1.12) leading to a year-over-year 56.4% higher committed backlog of USD 173.3 million.

In the first six months of FY 2022, net revenue rose 10.3% in constant currency to USD 728.7 million (4.0% reported) despite the ongoing supply chain challenges from USD 700.9 million in H1 FY 2021.The difficult supply chain situation led to an estimated USD 80 million of net revenues being pushed out during the period. The businesses acquired during FY 2021 contributed approximately USD 23 million incrementally to net revenues year-over-year.

Net revenue per segment was as follows (in USD million, except where indicated):

Segment H1 FY 2022
Net revenue
H1 FY 2021
Net revenue
Percentage change Percentage change in constant
currencies
Americas 391.7 325.4 20.4% 20.4%
EMEA 248.0 300.1 (17.4%) (6.0%)
Asia Pacific 89.0 75.4 18.0% 23.8%
Group 728.7 700.9 4.0% 10.3%

The Americas region delivered higher net revenue, up 20.4% in constant currency, of USD 391.7 million. Growth was driven by the conversion of the strong backlog and the performance in North America and Japan and despite the continued challenging component availability situation.

Net revenue in the EMEA region was down compared to the prior year’s period by 6.0% in constant currency to USD 248.0 million. The decline was mainly driven by the non-availability of critical components with the French and UK markets being most affected.

Net revenue in the Asia Pacific region was up 23.8% in constant currency to USD 89.0 million with Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) being the main driver.

Adjusted Gross Profit and Adjusted and Reported EBITDA*

The Adjusted EBITDA by segment was as follows (in USD million, except where indicated):

Segment H1 FY 2022
Adjusted EBITDA
H1 FY 2022
Percentage of
net revenue
H1 FY 2021
Adjusted EBITDA
H1 FY 2021
Percentage of
net revenue
Americas 47.7 12.2% 50.2 15.4%
EMEA (9.4) (3.8%) 13.1 4.4%
Asia Pacific 6.8 7.6% 3.3 4.4%
Corporate unallocated 3.6 N/A 4.2 N/A
Group 48.7 6.7% 70.8 10.1%

Adjusted gross profit decreased by 6.7% to USD 226.9 million or by 358 basis points to a margin of 31.1%. Favorability due to higher volume was more than offset by increased supply chain costs. Transactional FX pressure due to the strong US Dollar was partially mitigated through hedging.

Adjusted operating expenses in H1 FY 2022 increased by USD 5.6 million or 3.2% versus the previous year period to USD 178.2 million. This increase is mainly attributable to ramp-up investments to support current and future backlog conversion in Americas, acquisitions in EMEA and strategic initiatives. Adjusted R&D expenses increased to 11.4% of net revenues in H1 FY 2022.

Overall, the Adjusted EBITDA in H1 FY 2022 was USD 48.7 million (down 31.2% YoY) and the Adjusted EBITDA margin was 6.7% compared to 10.1% in H1 FY 2021. Adjusted EBITDA decreased due to significantly higher supply chain costs of approximately USD 29 million year-over-year and higher adjusted operating expenses.

In H1 FY 2022, operating income was USD 10.5 million, a decrease of 77.3% compared to USD 46.3 million in H1 FY 2021. Reported EBITDA for the first six months of FY 2022 was USD 51.0 million versus USD 86.2 million in the same period in FY 2021, a decline of 40.8%.

The adjustments to bridge between reported EBITDA in the Group’s financial statements and Adjusted EBITDA are as follows (in USD million):

  H1 FY 2022 H1 FY 2021
Reported EBITDA 51.0 86.2
Adjustments
Restructuring charges 6.5 0.2
Warranty normalization adjustments (2.5) (7.2)
Timing difference on FX derivatives (6.3) (8.5)
 Adjusted EBITDA 48.7 70.8

In H1 FY 2022, adjustments were made in three categories. First, with respect to restructuring charges, the USD 6.5 million related mostly to the discontinuation of manufacturing activities in India. Secondly, the warranty normalization adjustments of USD (2.5) million represents the amount of warranty provisions made relative to the average actual warranty utilization for the last three years. This means warranty provisions in H1 FY 2022 were again below historical levels. Thirdly, the timing difference on FX derivatives adjustment was USD (6.3) million in H1 FY 2022, which relates to mark to market differences on hedges, primarily as a result of the stronger US Dollar versus the British Pound and the Euro.

Net Income and EPS

Net income attributable to Landis+Gyr Group shareholders for H1 FY 2022 was USD 186.5 million compared to USD 35.0 million in the prior year period. Diluted EPS was USD 6.57 compared to USD 1.21 in H1 FY 2021. Net income includes a gain on the sale of the minority stake in Intellihub, which closed on April 1st, 2022, of USD 229.7 million pre-tax and approximately USD 161 million after current and deferred taxes.

Cash Flow and Net Debt

Cash provided by operating activities was USD (82.9) million in H1 FY 2022, including a USD (52.8m) tax payment related to the Intellihub divestment, compared to USD 50.4 million in the prior year period. Free Cash Flow (excl. M&A) was USD (38.9) million, a decrease of USD 80.5 million compared to the prior year. The decrease is mainly due to the significant build-up of inventories, up USD 76.3 million in H1 FY 2022, in anticipation of a production ramp-up in H2. In H1 FY 2022, capital expenditure amounted to USD 8.9 million and remained unchanged versus the previous year period.

As of September 30th, 2022, the ratio of net debt to trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA was 0.63 times, with net debt of USD 79.3 million, after the dividend payment in June 2022 and the sale of the Intellihub minority stake.

Outlook for FY 2022

While customer demand for Landis+Gyr’s products and solutions remains high, the sustained supply chain constraints combined with an unstable geopolitical and economic situation result in considerable uncertainties. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Landis+Gyr confirms its guidance for FY 2022 provided in May 2022 with net revenue growth in FY 2022 of between 6% and 10% including FY 2021 acquisitions. As announced earlier, Landis+Gyr will continue to make significant additional strategic transformation investments of approximately 2% of net revenues in FY 2022. Together with higher expected cost from supply chain and cost inflation, the Adjusted EBITDA margin for FY 2022 is expected to be between 5% and 8% of net revenues. Due to higher operating working capital needs, the Free Cash Flow (excluding M&A) for FY 2022 is expected to come in towards the lower end of the guided range of between USD 30 million and USD 60 million.

The H1 FY 2022 earnings presentation, which forms part of this ad hoc announcement, as well as the Half Year Report 2022 are available on the Company’s website at www.landisgyr.com/investors/results-center/.

Investor Webcast and Telephone Conference

The management of Landis+Gyr will host an investor/analyst call to discuss the Company's results.

Date and Time: October 27th, 2022, at 10:00 am CET
Speakers: Werner Lieberherr (Chief Executive Officer)
Elodie Cingari (Chief Financial Officer)
Audio-Webcast: www.landisgyr.com/investors/results-center/
Telephone: Europe: +41 (0)58 310 5000
UK: +44 (0)207 107 0613
US: +1 (1)631 570 5613

Please dial in 10 minutes before the start of the presentation and ask for “Landis+Gyrʼs first half year results 2022”.

Media Contact

Melissa van Anraad
Head of PR
Phone +41 41 935 6398
Melissa.vanAnraad@landisgyr.com

Eva Borowski
SVP Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Phone +41 41 935 6396
Eva.Borowski@landisgyr.com

Investor Contact

Christian Waelti
Head of Investor Relations
Phone +41 41 935 6331
Christian.Waelti@landisgyr.com

Key Dates

Capital Markets Day January 31st, 2023
Release of Results for Financial Year 2022 May 2nd, 2023
Publication of Annual Report 2022 and Invitation to AGM 2023 May 26th, 2023
Annual General Meeting 2023 June 22nd, 2023
Publication of Half Year Results 2023 October 25th, 2023

About Landis+Gyr

Landis+Gyr is a leading global provider of integrated energy management solutions. We measure and analyze energy utilization to generate empowering analytics for smart grid and infrastructure management, enabling utilities and consumers to reduce energy consumption. Our innovative and proven portfolio of software, services and intelligent sensor technology is a key driver to decarbonize the grid. Having avoided more than 9 million tons of CO2 in FY 2021, Landis+Gyr manages energy better – since 1896. With sales of USD 1.5 billion in FY 2021, Landis+Gyr employs around 6,800 talented people across five continents. For more information, please visit our website www.landisgyr.com.

Disclaimer

This ad hoc announcement and information referred to herein contains (a) preliminary, unaudited numbers that may be subject to change and (b) information regarding alternative performance measures or non USGAAP measures, such as “Reported EBITDA”, “Adjusted EBITDA”, “Adjusted Gross Profit”, “Adjusted Research and Development”, “Adjusted Sales, General and Administrative”, and “Adjusted Operating Expenses”. Definitions of these measures and reconciliations between such measures and their USGAAP counterparts if not defined in this announcement may be found on pages 28 to 30 of the Landis+Gyr Half Year Financial Report Fiscal Year 2022 on our website at www.landisgyr.com/investors.

Forward-looking Information

This ad hoc announcement includes forward-looking information and statements, including statements concerning the outlook for Landis+Gyr Group AGʼs businesses. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the factors that may affect the Companyʼs future performance, including global economic conditions, and the economic conditions of the regions and industries that are major markets for Landis+Gyr. These expectations, estimates and projections are generally identifiable by statements containing words such as “expects”, “believes”, “estimates”, “targets”, “plans”, “outlook”, “guidance” or similar expressions. There are numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond Landis+Gyrʼs control, that could cause the Companyʼs actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information and statements made in this announcement and which could affect the Companyʼs ability to achieve its stated targets. The important factors that could cause such differences include, among others: the duration, severity, geographic spread and potential after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, government actions to address or mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the potential negative impacts of COVID-19 on the global economy, any of the Company’s operations and those of its customers and suppliers; global shortage of energy or supplied components as well as increased freight rates, business risks associated with the volatile global economic environment and political conditions, unrests and/or wars; costs associated with compliance activities; market acceptance of new products and services; changes in governmental regulations and currency exchange rates; estimates of future warranty claims and expenses and sufficiency of accruals; and other such factors as may be discussed from time to time in Landis+Gyr Group AG filings with the SIX Swiss Exchange. Although Landis+Gyr Group AG believes that its expectations reflected in any such forward-looking statement are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that those expectations will be achieved.