RS Group PLC

Earnings Release • Apr 4, 2019

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RNS Number : 0481V

Electrocomponents PLC

04 April 2019

Electrocomponents plc today issues a trading update for the year ended 31 March 2019, ahead of publishing full-year results on 21 May 2019

	Like-for-like revenue growth(1)
Region	Q4 to Mar 2019	Year to Mar 2019
Northern Europe	10%	10%
Southern Europe	7%	6%
Central Europe	13%	10%
Emerging markets	9%	5%
Total EMEA	10%	9%
Americas	6%	9%
Asia Pacific	3%	6%
Group	8%	8%

We have made good progress in Q4 and remain on track to deliver strong growth in adjusted(2) profit before tax for the year in line with expectations.

·      We have continued the strong execution of our strategy with Q4 revenue growth of 8%. This has resulted in revenue growth of 8% for the full year.

o  The Group continues to outperform underlying market growth.

o  All regions delivered like-for-like revenue growth in Q4.

o  EMEA significantly outperformed delivering 10% like-for-like growth, while Americas grew closer in line with the market.

o  Digital like-for-like revenue growth was 9% in Q4 and 9% for the full year.

o  RS Pro grew like-for-like revenue at 12% in Q4 and 12% for the full year.

·      We continue to expect stable gross margin in our base business(3) in the year.

·      We have delivered £4 million of savings from the second phase of the Performance Improvement Plan in 2019 and remain on track to deliver cumulative annualised savings of £12 million by March 2021.

·      We continue to take opportunities to invest to differentiate customer experience and to build a lean and more scalable business capable of generating sustainable growth and superior returns.

·      As announced with our interim results, we have acted to protect our service levels around the UK's exit from the European Union, including investing an additional £26 million in inventory in faster moving product lines. This will be a short-term investment, over time we expect inventory levels to return to a normalised level.

LEI: 549300KVXDURRKVW7R37

Enquiries:

David Egan	Chief Financial Officer	020 7239 8400
Polly Elvin	Investor Relations and Corporate PR	020 7239 8427
Martin Robinson/ David Allchurch	Tulchan Communications	020 7353 4200

Notes:

1.        Like-for-like change excludes the impact of acquisitions and the effects of changes in exchange rates on translation of overseas operating results, with 2018 converted at 2019 average exchange rates for the period. Revenue is also adjusted to eliminate the impact of trading days year on year.

2.        Adjusted excludes amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisition of businesses, substantial reorganisation costs, asset write-downs, one-off pension credits or costs, significant tax rate changes and associated income tax.

3.        Base excludes the post-acquisition results of IESA and Monition.

4.        Our profit remains sensitive to movements in exchange rates on translation of overseas profits. Average exchange rates for the year ended 31 March 2019 for euro and US$ respectively were €1.13 and $1.31 respectively. Every 1 cent movement in the euro has a circa £1.4 million impact on annual profit. Every 1 cent movement in the US $ has a circa £0.5 million impact on annual profit.

5.        In the year ending 31 March 2020 we expect to see a positive impact of around £10 million on revenue from additional trading days compared with the year ended 31 March 2019.

Electrocomponents plc - Conference Call Dial-in Instructions
Date:	Thursday 4 April
UK Time:	08:00
Telephone number:	+44 (0) 20 7192 8000
PIN:	2661878
Chairman:	Lindsley Ruth
Electrocomponents plc - Replay Dial-in Instructions (available until Thursday 18 April)
Telephone number:	+44 (0) 3333 009785
PIN:	2661878

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