lettER TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
MARCH 2018
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION
DECIPHERING THE DATA
PERFORMANCE
HIGHLIGHTS
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PERFORMANCES
Results and outlook
2017 annual results
€425 million
net profit, group share
+36%
€8 billion
revenue
+15%
€641 million
operating margin
+15%
Distribution of revenue
by region
Business was sustained in Europe rose by 19.2%, boosted by the acquisition of Exterior Systems, a business which is mainly European. North America grew by 12.8% outperforming 19.8 points in automotive production. The business benefited from the new capacities that have come on stream over the past 3 years and the expected ramp-up of SCR systems to reduce diesel vehicle emissions in the United States. Finally, activity in Asia, including China, rose by 14.3%. The Group benefited from the strong investments made over the past 3 years to develop its industrial footprint and gain market shares.
Change in economic revenue
in billions of euros
The economic revenue of Compagnie Plastic Omnium amounted to €8,000.6 million, up by 15.4%. This sharp increase is attributable to organic growth of 10.8% in the automotive business, which outperformed global automotive production by 8.6 points and to the exterior systems acquired on July 29, 2016.
Net profit, group share
in millions of euros and as a percentage of consolidated revenue
Net profit - Group share came to €425.2 million (i.e. 6.3% of consolidated sales), growth of 36.2%.
Operating margin
in millions of euros and as
a percentage of consolidated revenue
In 2017, the operating margin posted a hike of 14.9% and rose to €641.0 million (i.e. 9.5% of consolidated sales, versus 9.0% for 2016, proforma). In 2017, the automotive operating margin stood at €619.8 million, representing 9.6% of consolidated sales (versus 9.1% for 2016, proforma) thanks to a high production capacity utilization rate worldwide (85%), a strict cost control, the operational excellence employed during the 126 launches of new programs and the earlier than expected success of the recovery measures to turnaround the Exterior Systems business acquired in July 2016.
€186 million
Free cash-flow
€0.67
Dividend per share
+37%
(proposed to the General Meeting on April 26, 2018)
€933 million
EBITDA
+15%
Outlook
For the 2017-2021 period, Plastic Omnium confirms its financial outlook announced in December 2017:
- its automotive activities should continue to outperform global automotive production by an average of around 5 points per year over the period, reaching revenue of €10 billion in 2021;
- the Group’s operating margin should continue to steadily increase throughout the period;
- the Group will pursue its investment program of €2.5 billion over the 2017-2021 period while generating free cash flow of over €1 billion.
In 2018, with an expected slight rise of around 2% in global automotive production, the Group should see a further improvement in results.
Net debt
in millions of euros
Net debt amounted to €563 million at December 31, 2017, down by €237 million compared with December 31, 2016, after the payment of €73 million in dividends and the buyback of treasury shares for a net amount of €42 million. The Group’s net debt now represents 32% of equity and 0.6x EBITDA.