Signify announces full-year 2020 financial results
Signify has recently announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2020.
Q4 2020 · Sales of €1.878 billion, nominal sales growth of 7.4%, comparable sales growth rate of -5.9% · Net revenue grew by 39.4%, reaching €137 million · 调整后的EBITA利润率提高20个基点至13.4％ · Adjusted indirect costs decreased by €18 million, or -3.9%, excluding foreign exchange impacts, changes in Scope 2, and repayment reserves for paid employee contributions · Free cash flow €332 million (Q4 2019: €308 million) Full Year 2020 · Sales amounted to €6.502 billion (approximately RMB 50.661 billion), with a nominal sales growth of 4.1%, comparable sales growth rate of -12.7% · LED sales account for 80% of total sales · Net revenue grew by 25.4% to €335 million (FY19: €267 million) · 调整后的间接成本减少1.66亿欧元，或-9.1％，不包括外汇影响和范围2的变化 · 调整后的EBITA增长7.2％，达到6.95亿欧元 · 调整后的EBITA利润率提高了30个基点至10.7％ · Signify's installed base of connected lighting points increases to 77 million · Free cash flow was €817 million (FY19: €529 million), representing 12.6% of sales · The integration and synergies between Cooper Lighting and Klite are ahead of schedule · successfully completed the "Shining Life, Beautiful World 2020" sustainability plan and achieved carbon neutrality across all global operations
In terms of digital solutions, due to the merger with Cooper Lighting, Q4 sales reached €917 million, a nominal increase of 27.3%, while comparable sales declined by 10.2%, reflecting continued market weakness, particularly in the Americas, parts of Europe, and Southeast Asia. For the full year 2020, driven by the merger with Cooper Lighting, Signify's annual sales reached €3.252 billion, a nominal increase of 22.8%; however, comparable sales decreased by 14.4% due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the digital products segment, Signify's Q4 sales reached €711 million, a nominal decrease of 2.8%, with comparable growth of 2.5%, driven by strong performance in the Connected Lighting category . For the full year 2020, sales amounted to €2.288 billion, a comparable decline of 8.3%. Overall, online sales channels demonstrated strong performance amid a weak market environment.
In the area of traditional products, Signify achieved sales of €242 million in the fourth quarter, a comparable decrease of 11.6%. Despite the impact of the pandemic, performance in traditional products remained stable, primarily driven by strong demand for UV-C and horticultural lighting. For the full year 2020, the company achieved sales of €943 million, a comparable decrease of 16.5%. Adjusted EBITA margin decreased by 120 basis points to 18.0%, mainly due to lower transaction volume.
"Despite our industry being severely impacted by the pandemic, we worked hard to strengthen our financial performance. Thanks to strict price and cost management, our gross margin improved, leading to an increase in our adjusted EBITA margin for the seventh consecutive year. From the very beginning of the crisis, we were very rigorous in working capital management, enabling us to generate a record €817 million in free cash flow," said CEO Eric Rondolat.
He stated that, in line with the company's strategy, the digital division's contribution would increase significantly by 2020."In accordance with our governance principles, we decided to reward the employees and shareholders who have supported us since the onset of the crisis.At the same time, we reaffirmed our commitment to continued deleveraging.Also during this year, we increased the installed base of connected lighting points to 77 million, demonstrating the growing interest in connected lighting.Finally, we achieved our 2020 sustainability targets, including carbon neutrality,"Eric Rondolatsaid.
"The ongoing pandemic means we must remain cautious about market development in 2021, but we are confident in our ability to adapt further. We are optimizing costs in various ways to enhance our competitiveness in the ever-changing lighting industry. 2021 is also the first year of our new sustainability initiative, marking an opportunity to embark on an exciting journey to double our positive environmental and social impact over the next five years," said Eric Rondolat.