Solar — Earnings Release 2016

Aug 11, 2016

Revenue and EBITA were on par with our expectations for H1, while revenue and
EBITA for Q2 2016 were slightly below our expectations. Our outlook for 2016
remains unchanged. In addition to this morning’s acquisition, we are pleased
also to announce that we will launch a new buy-back programme on 16 August
2016.

CEO Anders Wilhjelm says:
”We had almost 4% organic growth in Q2, but when adjusted for working days,
growth was -1.8%. However, Q2 2015 was by far the strongest quarter in 2015 so
it was a tall order to meet. In Q2, we continued to improve our digital touch
points to improve the customer experience, and just this morning we announced a
new acquisition, which will strengthen our service offerings of training.
Moreover, we will launch a new DKK 150m share buy-back programme on top of the
current investments in digitalisation and expansion.”

Financial highlights (DKK million)* Q2 2016 Q2 2015 H1 2016 H1 2015

Revenue 2,811 2,674 5,467 5,319

EBITA 57 48 109 108

Earnings before tax 37 30 65 70

Cash flow from operating activities 40 58 -211 -125

Financial ratios (%)

Organic growth adj. for number of working -1.8 10.1 -0.2 7.9
days

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EBITA margin 2.0 1.8 2.0 2.0

Net working capital, period-end/revenue 11.1 12.4 11.1 12.4
(LTM)

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Net working capital, average/revenue (LTM)** 11.2 12.0 11.2 12.0

Gearing (NIBD/EBITDA), no. of times 0.6 0.8 0.6 0.8

Return on invested capital (ROIC) 8.4 0.5 8.4 0.5

• Due to our divestment of the assets of Solar Deutschland GmbH, 2015 and 2016
  figures in this announcement relate to our continuing operations.
  ** Calculated as an average of the past four quarters’ inventories, trade
  receivables and trade payables.

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Q2 2016 revenue

-- Q2 revenue was slightly below our expectations.
-- Actual organic growth was 3.8%, but -1.8% against 10.1% in Q2 2015 when
adjusted for the number of working days.
-- Organic growth was impacted by the downward trend within offshore and the
loss of Conelgro customers due to the integration into Solar Nederland.

Q2 2016 EBITA

-- Q2 EBITA was slightly below our expectations.

2016 outlook

-- Our outlook for 2016 remains unchanged.
-- We expect the impact of the MAG45 acquisition on revenue to be in the range
of DKK 310m but limited on EBITA. The Euro Business School (EBS)
acquisition does not change Solar’s overall outlook.
-- We expect neither market growth nor organic revenue growth in 2016, giving
us a revenue outlook of around DKK 10.9bn.
-- We expect EBITA to remain at 2015 levels less the positive one-off of DKK
9m from a change in pension plans in the Netherlands that we saw in 2015,
giving us an EBITA outlook of around DKK 287m.
-- As previously announced, we plan to invest in our digital platforms to
strengthen the customer experience. This will have a negative impact on
2016 profitability, and our present outlook recognises this.

Capital structure
The Board of Directors has assessed Solar’s capital structure. The result is a
decision to launch a new share buy-back programme of DKK 150m on 16 August
2016, structured as an auction process. More information will be available at
the actual launch.

Audio webcast and teleconference today
The presentation of Quarterly Report Q2 2016 will be made in English on 11
August 2016 at 11:00 CET. The presentation will be transmitted as an audio
webcast and accessible via www.solar.eu. Participation will be possible via a
teleconference.

Teleconference call-in numbers:

DK: tel. +45 354 455 83
UK: tel. +44 203 194 0544
US: tel. +1 855 269 2604

Yours faithfully
Solar A/S

Anders Wilhjelm

Enclosure: Quarterly Report Q2 2016, pages 1-27.

Facts about Solar
Solar Group is a leading European sourcing and services company, operating
primarily within the electrical, heating and plumbing, and ventilation
technology sectors. Our core business centres on product sourcing, value-adding
services and optimisation of our customers’ businesses.

Being a sourcing and services company, we focus on each individual customer. We
always strive to understand our customers’ unique and genuine needs in order to
provide relevant, personal and value-adding services, turning our customers
into winners.

Solar Group is headquartered in Denmark, generated revenue of approximately DKK
10.6bn in 2015 and has some 3,000 employees. Solar has been listed on Nasdaq
Copenhagen since 1953, and operates under the short designation SOLAR B. For
more information, please visit www.solar.eu.

Disclaimer
This announcement was published in English and Danish today via Nasdaq
Copenhagen. In the event of any inconsistency between the two versions, the
English version shall prevail.