-
A decrease in turnover in the United States, caused by a series of
temporary events, stalled the group’s sales growth at €313 million -
Fluidra benefits from its global presence with the European market
continuing to show strong momentum with some examples of double-digit
growth -
Fluidra expects to meet cost savings goal set as a result of the
merger with Zodiac, after successfully completing the integration
process in Spain, Portugal and Italy -
United States’ recovery beginning well in April and Europe
maintaining its positive tendency, allow the Company to reaffirm its
guidance for 2019
BARCELONA, Spain–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Fluidra reports first quarter results, with a net loss of €2.8 million,
which reconciles to pro forma profit of €5.9 million by adding back all
non-recurring expenses related to the integration, along with IFRS-16
accounting adjustment.
Sales at Fluidra fell by 1.1% to €313.1 million in the first three
months of the year, caused by a weak quarter in the United States. A
series of temporary events were behind the decline, including weather,
change of distribution ordering patterns and the transfer of a
manufacturing plant from San Diego to Tijuana. Nevertheless, North
America’s fundamentals remain solid and the tide has begun to turn in
April with double-digit growth in local turnover.
The performance in Europe was positive, with a 9.7% rise (at constant
perimeter) for southern European operations and an increase of
approximately 13% (at constant exchange rate and perimeter) in the rest
of the region. Meanwhile, the company’s business in the Rest of the
World continued with its stable growth, when removing the currency and
perimeter effect, at 6.2%.
Consequently, the global leader in the pool and wellness equipment
business has been able to reaffirm its forecasts for 2019. In this
regard, Fluidra expects to end 2019 with a turnover of between €1.35
billion and €1.4 billion, EBITDA1 of between €240 million and
€260 million, and a net debt1 to EBITDA ratio of less than
2.6, compared with the 2018 figure of 3.2.
“Despite the late start in North America, on the back of abnormally poor
weather and other temporary events, we remain positive about the full
year 2019. The strength of the other markets in our global platform
—especially Europe—, the improved sales margin, and the good progress on
integration keep us on track with 2019 guidance and our 2022 Strategic
Plan” explained Eloi Planes, Executive Chairman of Fluidra. He also
noted that this is a seasonal business in which isolated year on year
quarterly comparisons are less applicable.
Residential Pools: key business unit
The listed company’s Residential Pool division continued to show the
highest turnover, coming mainly from the recurrent business with the
large number of installed swimming pools. Revenues in Residential Pool
came to €215 million, in line with the figure registered the previous
year. In fact, this business unit grew 1.1% when adjusting for change in
perimeter, following Aquatron’s divestiture.
Turnover in the Commercial Pool division was €23.2 million for the
period, a 3.2% increase compared to last year’s first quarter sales.
This marks the end of the challenging comparison to the previous year
for this more predictable business unit, and the team is encouraged with
a strong pipeline of new projects. Pool Fluid Handling had a very strong
performance whereas Pool Water Treatment was in line with the figure
registered the previous year.
Successful integration processes in Spain, Italy and Portugal
The quarter also witnessed some significant milestones following
Fluidra’s merger with US company Zodiac, with the conclusion of
successful integration processes in Spain, Italy and Portugal. The run
rate synergies of ~17m Euros have the company well poised to deliver the
19m savings committed by the end of 2019 and the team well on track to
deliver the committed 35m Euros in savings from the Strategic Plan.
About Fluidra
Spanish-listed company Fluidra is a world leader in the pool and
wellness equipment business, offering innovative products and services
and IoT solutions. The company operates in more than 45 countries and
its portfolio includes some of the industry’s best known brands,
including Jandy®, AstralPool®, Polaris®, Cepex®, Zodiac®, CTX
Professional®, and Gre®.
For further information about Fluidra, please visit www.fluidra.com
1 Pre IFRS 16.
Contacts
Media contacts:
Sarah Estébanez, [email protected],
+34 636 62 80 41
Paula Lacruz, [email protected],
+34 674 73 47 82
