Amplifon — Investor Presentation 2016

Mar 17, 2016

Informazione Regolamentata n. 0525-39-2016		Data/Ora Ricezione 17 Marzo 2016 08:15:54	MTA - Star
Societa'	:	AMPLIFON
Identificativo Informazione Regolamentata	:	70941
Nome utilizzatore	:	AMPLIFONNSS02 - Giorcelli
Tipologia	:	IRAG 06
Data/Ora Ricezione	:	17 Marzo 2016 08:15:54
Data/Ora Inizio Diffusione presunta	:	17 Marzo 2016 08:30:55
Oggetto	:	AMPLIFON PRESENTS ITS STRATEGIC PILLARS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE 2016-2018 PERIOD TO THE FINANCIAL COMMUNITY
Testo del comunicato

Vedi allegato.

AMPLIFON PRESENTS ITS STRATEGIC PILLARS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE 2016-2018 PERIOD TO THE FINANCIAL COMMUNITY

FURTHER STRENGTHEN GLOBAL LEADERSHIP POSITION, DELIVER SUSTAINABLE REVENUE GROWTH AND MARGIN EXPANSION LEVERAGING ITS UNIQUE AND DISTINCTIVE BUSINESS MODEL

Milan, March 17th, 2016 – Amplifon (MTA; Bloomberg ticker: AMP:IM), the global leader in hearing solutions and services, announces today its strategic pillars and main expectations for the 2016-2018 period during the "Analyst & Investor Day" to be hosted at the Company's headquarters.

Background

The global retail hearing care market is highly attractive, driven by demographic factors and growing penetration, which is still relatively low. In this market Amplifon is well-positioned with a strong competitive advantage thanks to its consolidated global leadership, unrivalled brand portfolio, unique business model and robust financial profile thanks to consistent healthy results recorded over the last years.

In 2015, the Company reported a record performance, exceeding one billion euros in sales and posting strong growth in profitability thanks to the contribution of all Regions. Over the last few months the Company also strengthened its management team with the addition of Giulio Pizzini as Chief Strategic Development Officer, Iacopo Pazzi as Executive Vice President EMEA and Cristian Finotti as Chief Procurement Officer.

Strategic pillars

Over the next three years, Amplifon aims to strengthen its global leadership position and deliver sustainable revenue growth and margin expansion through the following strategic pillars:

• Clear and differentiated growth strategy, focused on core worldwide countries: increase market share in the United States, consolidate leadership position in Italy and Australia and expand network in Germany, France and Spain;
• Further strengthening of customer engagement through a new approach to communication, the launch of a new brand identity, leadership in digital marketing and development of advanced CRM, supported by increased marketing investments;
• Innovation of the service model thanks to unique proprietary knowledge, superior in-store experience and innovative digital tools in a multi-channel approach and new state-of-the-art proprietary service technology and counseling tool, leveraging Amplifon's unrivalled network of hearing care providers worldwide;
• Investments to support effective execution capability through a new, distinct people proposition and integrated global IT platform.

Expectations for 2016-2018¹

For the three-year period 2016-2018, Amplifon expects consolidated revenues to grow, faster than market, at a mid to high single digit² compound annual growth rate (CAGR). All Regions will contribute to top-line growth, which will be driven by an increase in productivity in the current network and by a network expansion with more than 600 new stores³ by 2018.

The Company will focus on increasing EBITDA margin⁴ at 2018 by over 150 basis points compared to 2015, thanks to improved operating leverage despite higher investments, primarily in marketing, aimed at increasing the current relatively low level of market penetration.

The solid capital structure and the strong cash flow generation will fully support the investments expected in the period (approximately 300 million euros for capital expenditure and cash-out for piecemeal acquisitions 5 ) and further reduce the Company's financial leverage.

*****

The strategic pillars and expectations for the three-year period will be presented today to the financial community during the Analyst & Investor Day hosted at the Company's headquarters (Via Ripamonti 133, Milan) beginning at 11.00 a.m.. A live webcast of the event will be also available. The webcast information and a detailed agenda are available in the Investors section of the Company's website: www.amplifon.com/corporate. The slides of the presentation will be available on the Company's website prior to the beginning of the event.

*****

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the Company's current expectations and projections about future events and, by their nature, are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. They relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur or exist in the future, and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on them. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed in such statements as a result of a variety of factors, including: continued volatility and further deterioration of capital and financial markets, changes in general macro-economic conditions, economic growth and other changes in business conditions, changes in laws and regulations (both in Italy and abroad), and many other factors, most of which are outside of the Company's control.

***** In compliance with paragraph 2 of Article 154 bis of the "Uniform Financial Services Act" (Legislative Decree 58/1998), the Manager charged with preparing the Company's financial reports, Ugo Giorcelli, declares that the accounting information reported in the present press release corresponds to the underlying documentary reports, books of account and accounting entries.

*****

About Amplifon

Amplifon, listed on the STAR segment of the Italian Stock Exchange, is the global leader in hearing solutions and services for retail expertise, customization and consumer care. Through a network of approximately 3,500 points of sale, 3,400 service centers and 1,700 affiliates, Amplifon is active in 22 countries across EMEA (Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Hungary, Egypt, Turkey, Poland and Israel), Americas (U.S.A., Canada and Brazil) and APAC (Australia, New Zealand and India). With approximately 5,500 hearing care professionals, the Company is committed to delivering the highest quality of service and care, in order to achieve the best hearing experience for customers worldwide. More information available at: www.amplifon.com/corporate

Contacts:

Investor Relations Amplifon S.p.A. Francesca Rambaudi Tel +39 02 5747 2261 Fax +39 02 5740 9427 francesca.rambaudi@amplifon.com Media Relations: Edelman Italia Luciano Luffarelli Tel +39 02 631161 Mob +39 335 1320467 luciano.luffarelli@edelman.com

¹ Financial and operational expectations are based on the comparison with 2015 results and do not include major acquisitions 2

At constant exchange rates

³ Includes corporate shops and shop-in-shops

⁴ Recurring

⁵Primarily related to acquisitions in Germany and France