Earnings Release • Jul 30, 2010
Earnings Release
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First-Half Net Sales up 17% to €8,349 Million
Historically High Operating Margin, at 9.8%
| (€ MILLIONS) | June 30, 2010 | June 30, 2009 |
|---|---|---|
| NET SALES | 8,349 | 7,134 |
| OPERATING INCOME BEFORE NON | ||
| RECURRING INCOME AND EXPENSES | 822 | 282 |
| OPERATING MARGIN BEFORE NON | ||
| RECURRING INCOME AND EXPENSES | 9.8% | 4.0% |
| NET INCOME/(LOSS) | 504 | (122) |
| CAPITAL EXPENDITURE | 251 | 319 |
| GEARING | 53% | 75% |
| FREE CASH FLOW1 | (30) | 575 |
| EMPLOYEES ON PAYROLL at period end |
110,100 | 112,500 |
Cash flow from operating activities less cash flow used in investing activities
1
The clear rebound in the tire markets is expected to continue in the second half of the year, even though the pace of economic recovery will vary from one region to another.
While rising raw materials costs will have a negative impact on second-half consolidated results (and reduce full-year income by €600-650 million), Michelin will benefit from the price increases introduced in the first half. In addition, the Group is announcing around a 3% increase in its passenger car and light truck replacement tire prices in Europe starting in September, thereby confirming its commitment to a responsive pricing policy.
In this environment, Michelin reaffirms its full-year 2010 target of driving 10%-plus growth in sales volumes, maintains its objective of generating positive free cash flow and, despite the expected impact of raw materials costs, intends to deliver an operating margin before non-recurring items of close to 9%.
| First-Half 2010 % change YoY |
EUROPE* | NORTH AMERICA |
ASIA | SOUTH AMERICA |
AFRICA/ MIDDLE EAST |
TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Equipment | + 26% | + 71% | + 47% | + 22% | - 1% | + 41% |
| Replacement | + 11% | + 9% | + 12% | + 21% | + 4% | + 11% |
*Including Russia and Turkey
o Following the historic collapse in the first half of 2009, virtually every original equipment market experienced robust growth in the first half of 2010, lifted by auto industry support programs implemented in most of the leading country markets.
| First-Half 2010 % change YoY |
EUROPE** | NORTH AMERICA |
ASIA | SOUTH AMERICA |
AFRICA/ MIDDLE EAST |
TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original Equipment* | + 29% | + 23% | + 61% | + 53% | + 9% | + 44% |
| Replacement* | + 35% | + 22% | + 14% | + 26% | + 2% | + 19% |
*Radial market only
**Including Russia and Turkey
o The North American market turned sharply upwards, particularly in the trailer tire segment, but remained far below its historic highs.
o In South America, demand rose 53%, impelled by government incentives to purchase trucks in Brazil.
Consolidated net sales amounted to €8,349 million, up 17.0% compared with the prior-year period.
The increase primarily reflected the 15.3% improvement in sales volumes, which tracked the markets' significant rebound. The price-effect, which was a negative 2.1% in the first quarter and a positive 0.1% in the second, ended the first half at a slightly negative 1.0%. The currency effect was a positive 2.4%, mainly reflecting changes in exchange rates between the euro and the Brazilian real, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar and Mexican peso.
Operating margin before non-recurring items stood at a historically high 9.8%, compared with 4.0% in the first half of 2009.
At €822 million, operating income before non-recurring items rose sharply on the significant increase in sales volumes and the excellent operating performance of the Group's manufacturing plants.
Net income for the period came to €504 million, compared with a net loss of €122 million in first-half 2009, which reflected the cost of plans to specialize production and reorganize operations.
NET FINANCIAL POSITION
In the first half of 2010, free cash flow was only a slightly negative €30 million.
The year-on-year decline was primarily attributable to the increase in working capital requirement following the recovery in output. In addition, inventories were further impacted by the increase in raw materials prices and rose by €669 million overall during the period.
Capital expenditure amounted to €251 million in the first half and is expected to end the year at around €1 billion following start-up of construction on the new plants in fast-growing countries.
Gearing improved to 53%, compared with 75% at June 30, 2009 and 55% at December 31, 2009.
The dividend reinvestment plan, which was renewed in 2010, attracted more than half of all shareholders, enabling the Group to save €82 million in cash.
| IN € MILLIONS | NET SALES | OPERATING INCOME BEFORE NON RECURRING ITEMS |
OPERATING MARGIN BEFORE NON-RECURRING ITEMS |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIRST HALF 2010 |
FIRST HALF 2009 |
FIRST HALF 2010 |
FIRST HALF 2009 |
FIRST-HALF 2010 |
FIRST-HALF 2009 |
|
| PASSENGER CAR AND LIGHT TRUCK TIRES AND RELATED DISTRIBUTION |
4,621 | 3,949 | 497 | 247 | 10.8% | 6.3% |
| TRUCK TIRES AND RELATED DISTRIBUTION |
2,566 | 2,071 | 126 | (163) | 4.9% | (7.9%) |
| SPECIALTY BUSINESSES |
1,162 | 1,114 | 199 | 198 | 17.1% | 17.8% |
| CONSOLIDATED TOTAL |
8,349 | 7,134 | 822 | 282 | 9.8% | 4.0% |
Nets sales rose 17.0% in the first half, to €4,621 million, while operating margin stood at 10.8%, versus 6.3% in first-half 2009.
The high operating margin mainly resulted from the steep upsurge in sales volumes, supported by the across-the-board recovery in demand and the MICHELIN brand's firm resilience, with early-year price increases offsetting the adverse impact of the OE/replacement market mix.
Net sales rose 23.9% year-on-year to €2,566 million in the first half.
Operating income stood at €126 million, or 4.9% of net sales, compared with an operating loss of €163 million in first-half 2009. The performance rebound was fueled by the sharp increase in sales volumes.
Net sales from the Specialty Businesses amounted to €1,162 million for the first six months of the year. At 17.1%, operating margin remained at a structurally high level, despite price adjustments resulting from the application of contractual clauses indexing prices to raw materials costs, particularly in Earthmover tires.
A full description of first-half 2010 highlights may be found on the Michelin website: www.michelin.com/corporate
First-half 2010 results will be reviewed in a conference call in English today, Friday July 30, at 11:00 am CEST (10:00 am UT). If you wish to participate, please dial one of the following numbers from 10:50 am CEST:
Please refer to the www.michelin.com/corporate website for practical information concerning the conference call.
The interim financial report for the period ending June 30, 2010 may be downloaded from the www.michelin.com/corporate website, in the Finance/Regulated Information section.
It has also been filed with the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).
The report contains:
| Investor Relations | Media Relations |
|---|---|
| Valérie Magloire | Fabienne de Brébisson |
| +33 (0) 1 45 66 16 15 | +33 (0) 1 45 66 10 72 |
| +33 (0) 6 76 21 88 12 (cell) | +33 (0) 6 08 86 18 15 (cell) |
| [email protected] | [email protected] |
| Alban de Saint-Martin | Individual Shareholders |
| +33 (0) 4 73 32 18 02 | Jacques Engasser |
| +33 (0) 6 07 15 39 71 (cell) | +33 (0) 4 73 98 59 08 |
| [email protected] | [email protected] |
This press release is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation to recommend the purchase of Michelin shares. To obtain more detailed information on Michelin, please consult the documents filed in France with Autorité des Marchés Financiers, which are also available from the www.michelin.com website.
This press release may contain a number of forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that these statements are based on reasonable assumptions as at the time of publishing this document, they are by nature subject to risks and contingencies liable to translate into a difference between actual data and the forecasts made or induced by these statements.
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