Newsroom
Finance |
11.04.2010Results for the first nine months of 2010
Vigorous rise in sales in new economies
Firm growth on new business segments
Target for 2010 adjusted operating margin raised again, to 20%
Gilles Schnepp, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Legrand, comments:
“Legrand's consolidated sales for the first nine months of 2010 came to €2.9 billion, showing a rise of 7.5%. The rise at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates was 3.7%. Adjusted operating income for the period was up 39% to €603 million.
This rise in sales reflects positive trends in Legrand's growth profile with:
- over 1/3 of sales now in new economies, where the group saw a 20.5% rise over the first nine months of 2010.
- nearly 20% of revenues now in new business segments (digital infrastructures, energy performance, residential systems, etc.), where group sales from the beginning of the year were up 8.5%.
Legrand is actively pursuing its innovation strategy, with &D spending equaling 4.5% of sales and two-thirds of investments dedicated to new products in the first nine months. It thus accelerated its business development, with highlights including the successful launches of LCS2, Arteor and ereya. The group is also positioning itself to benefit from new sources of growth in areas including protection devices for solar-power applications, solutions for assisted living and
electric vehicle charging stations such as the "Green Up" presented at the Paris Motor Show.
The operational leverage resulting from sales growth and the full impact of reorganization already in place led to a steep rise in adjusted operating margin, which reached 21.0% of sales in the first nine months of 2010.
Despite the seasonality of fourth-quarter margin and gradual rises in raw-material prices, Legrand has again raised its target for full-year adjusted operating margin, to 20% up from over 19% previously."