RUEIL, France, October 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
- Stable Q3 sales, with steady growth in the main business
areas (France, MEA) offsetting the
European impact of withdrawal from white-label trading
- Consolidated revenue as at 30
September 2014 of €17.8m, an increase of 21% (+40% when
excluding the contribution of the white-label trading
business)
- Citéclaire, Lucibel's subsidiary dedicated to public
authorities, has won a €1.2m tender to provide LEDs for the town of
Istres
- Other large projects are expected to materialise before the
end of the year
Lucibel, a specialist in LED (light-emitting diode) lighting
solutions, has posted its operating highlights for the third
quarter of 2014.
in EURm Q3 9 months
(unaudited consolidated IFRS-compliant data) 2014 2013 Change 2014 2013 Change
France 4.6 4.2 +9.4% 15.2 10.6 +43.5%
as a % of revenue 79.7% 73.2% 85.4% 72.0%
International 1.2 1.5 -23.9% 2.6 4.1 -37.0%
as a % of revenue 20.3% 26.8% 14.6% 28.0%
Group revenue 5.8 5.7 +0.4% 17.8 14.7 +21.0%
Lucibel generated Group revenue of €5.8m in the third quarter of
2014, more or less unchanged (+0.4%) vs the same period of the
previous year. Sales growth in France was offset by a decline in
international sales as a result of the decision taken by Lucibel in
2013 to withdraw from the white-label product trading business.
Cumulative Group revenue over the first nine months was €17.8m, up
21.0% vs the corresponding period of 2013.
Lucibel's sales in France
totalled €4.6m in the third quarter of 2014, which was an increase
of 9.4% in the traditionally quieter summer period. As a result,
cumulative sales in France in the
first nine months of 2014 were €15.2m, a sharp rise of 43.5%
compared with the same period of the previous year.
As already noticed in the first half of the year, the results of
the international business were more mixed. In 2013, the Group
began gradual withdrawal from its white-label product trading
business, in which it engaged mainly with European clients, in
order to focus on Lucibel-branded products. This logical
development resulted in a sharp decline in European business
outside France, with nine-month
revenues dropping from €3.0m in 2013 to €1.3m in 2014.
However, the impact of this withdrawal is being gradually offset
by higher sales of Lucibel products. Excluding sales of white-label
products, cumulative Group revenue over the first nine months would
have increased by 40% and international revenue by 3%. This
refocusing helped improve the Group's gross margin from 34.4% in
the first half of 2013 to 46.3% in the same period of 2014 (please
refer to the press release of 15 September
2014 for more information).
The recently created MEA (Middle
East and Africa) zone
continues to develop well, with its nine-month revenues up by 10%
year on year to €1.1m. The building of relationships with local
distributors (in North Africa and
Saudi Arabia) has already led to
orders of increasing size and to an ever expanding project
portfolio.
Citéclaire wins its first tender to provide LED lighting
solutions for a large town
Citéclaire is Lucibel's subsidiary dedicated to addressing the
particular needs of public authorities. It has used a lighting
operator model to create an innovative range of solutions
specifically for these clients. In October, Citéclaire won the
tender for the relamping of a selection of buildings in Istres
(Bouche-du-Rhône), and will take part in this 40 000 people
towns energy transition program. In 2014, municipal leaders in
Istres launched a plan to replace all lighting systems with LED
solutions. Following replacement of public lighting, the scheme
will move on to address public buildings such as schools,
nurseries, administrative offices and community halls.
Citéclaire won this first public tender because its offer best
addressed strict specifications and stringent lighting
requirements. Before the end of August
2015, 29 buildings will be equipped with Lucibel
lighting solutions. The value of this 10-year contract amounts to
1.2 million €, half of which would be recognised as revenues on
2015.
Eric Anselmet, CEO of Citéclaire, made the following comment:
"The lighting operator model is straightforward: in exchange for a
rental charge, we install the equipment at premises of public
authorities and maintain it for the duration of the contract. LED
technology significantly reduces energy consumption, and since
Citéclaire takes care of maintenance, rental costs are compensated
by the savings made. This allows public authorities to reduce their
operating budgets without any investment cost."
Year-end business outlook: several large projects in the
pipeline in France and
abroad
There were plenty of international trade fairs in the autumn,
which helped Lucibel to establish many new contacts and highlight
the technology Lucibel uses in its range of products and solutions.
The LiFi offer, which Lucibel has designed for museums and art
galleries, has been chosen as one of the 10 must-see
innovations at LuxLive, which takes place in London on 19-20
November 2014.
Lucibel operations at the Barentin site (Haute-Normandie)
started over the last few weeks, as agreed with Schneider Electric
and in line with project calendar, with production of Lucibel's
first "made in France"
products. This emblematic relocation was highlighted in a long
segment on France 2's new economic TV show "L'angle eco"
broadcasted on 27 October 2014.
The Group also expects to firm up several large projects in
France and abroad before the end
of the year, demonstrating the validity of its segmented approach
with a technically and commercially innovative range of products
and solutions. Although things are moving more slowly than
anticipated in light of the economic environment, particularly in
France, the Group has noticed a
growing number of large tenders, and every month it expands its
portfolio of potential sales that will form the basis of its future
growth.
Frédéric Granotier, Chairman and CEO of Lucibel, made the
following comment: "In the quarter that just ended, we
focused mainly on preparing for the end of the year, which is a key
commercial period in the lighting sector. The launch of operations
at the Barentin site will help us better meet the demand for
customized products and differentiate us from our
competitors.
We are particularly delighted and proud that Citéclaire was
chosen by the town of Istres to equip some of its buildings. The
lighting operator model shows how we can offer our clients
high-value-added services, with financing made easier by the
extremely quick return on investment LED technology provides. The
success of this first tender validates the model of Citéclaire,
which is already working on four similar projects.
All the Group's teams are focused to ensure commercial
success at the end of this year and to lay the foundations for
another year of growth in 2015."
Next financial publication
28 January
2015, after the market closes: 2014 annual
revenue
Lucibel will be meeting investors on 12-13 November at the Clean
Green Event (Paris, Espace Pierre
Cardin) and will also be attending the Actionaria trade fair
(Paris, Palais des Congrès) on
21-22 November.
About Lucibel:
Lucibel is an innovative French company which designs
next-generation lighting products and solutions based on LED
technology in France and markets
them in almost 30 countries. For further information, please visit
the company's website http://www.lucibel.com
Lucibel is listed on Alternext
Paris / Ticker: ALUCI / ISIN: FR0011884378
Lucibel is eligible for French equity savings
plans (PEA), SME equity savings plans (PEA-PME) and innovation
investment funds (FCPI)
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Press contacts
Cinquième Pouvoir
Marietou Diakho
+33-(0)1-40-03-96-03
marietou.diakho@cinquiemepouvoir.com
Calyptus
Mathieu Calleux
+33-(0)1-53-65-68-68
mathieu.calleux@calyptus.net
Lucibel
Perrine Simon
perrine.simon@lucibel.com
Investor contact
Watchowah Consulting
Patrick Massoni
+33-(0)6-74-21-46-83
patrick.massoni@watchowah.com
Liquidity provider
Louis Capital Markets
Maxime Aboujdid
+33-(0)1-53-45-10-71
maboujdid@louiscapital.com