Datacolor significantly increases sales in fiscal 2013/14

Datacolor is one of the leading international suppliers for digital color communication solutions. The company continued to strengthen its market leadership in the textile industry and consolidated its position in the photography retail market. With innovative software and hardware solutions for color measurement and communication, Datacolor again gained market share in markets as the paint and pigment-manufacturing segment of the specialty chemicals sector as well as in the automotive and plastics industries. The headcount was increased by 39 to 370 full-time equivalents, in particular in the key areas for further growth, R&D, Sales and Marketing.

Strategic future investments already resulting in significant rise in sales

In fiscal 2013/14, Datacolor increased consolidated net sales by 14% to USD 70.0 million (2012/13: USD 61.2 million). The result was impacted by the substantial investments for the implementation of Datacolor's strategy to achieve its growth targets. EBITDA came to USD 6.5 million (USD 6.8 million), EBIT to USD 4.4 million (USD 5.2 million) and net income to USD 4.1 million (USD 4.5 million). Total assets were slightly higher at USD 58.9 million (USD 54.4 million). Accounting for approximately 49% of total assets, cash and cash equivalents together with financial assets came to USD 28.5 million (USD 29.6 million). USD 11.9 million are invested in current financial assets. With a high equity capital ratio of 60.3% (63.5%), Datacolor remains free of debt. Based on the strong balance sheet and the successful strategy implementation in the period under review, the Board of Directors of Datacolor AG is proposing to the general meeting of shareholders that a dividend of CHF 11 be distributed, as in the previous year.

Stable growth in all regions

In the year under review, all regions contributed to the double-digit sales growth. The positive trend was supported by the consistent implementation of the growth strategy and the positive investment climate in Datacolor's strategic markets. The expansion of the direct sales and service organization also accelerated Datacolor's growth, especially in China, Turkey and Brazil. In fiscal 2013/14, the North and South America region accounted for 31.5% of sales (31.0%), the Asia-Pacific region for 33.3% (32.9%), and Europe for 35.2% (36.1%).

Continued high investments in the future

Through the acquisition of the Italian software company Media Logic in July 2014, Datacolor expanded its technological expertise with unique solutions for precise and convenient color formulation and mixing for paint retailers. Datacolor has strengthened its strong position in the global retail paint market, in line with the corporate strategy. During the year under review, the direct sales organization was systematically expanded in key growth regions. The set-up of an own company in São Paulo, Brazil, allows Datacolor to intensify the direct contact with Brazilian customers, offering products and services that are even better aligned to customers' requirements. At the same time, the Brazilian company will manage sales activities in the entire South America region.

Continued launch of product innovations

In the period under review, Datacolor invested again in R&D to maintain and increase the number of customer-orientated product launches. For industrial customers the family of handheld spectrometers was expanded with a new product line that enables measurement of color, appearance and gloss of materials with just one device. The spectrophotometer "45IR" is focused on the needs of central banks, banknote printers and security ink producers and is currently the only device to satisfy the specific quality control requirements for security inks. The new and completely revised version 3.0 of the "MATCH PIGMENT®" formulation software offers color developers in the paint, plastics and pigment industries increased productivity and even greater color matching precision. "ChromaCal™", is a first-ever, easy-to-use color calibration system for scientists for calibrating digital microscope images to a consistent and comparable color standard. "SpyderHD™" offers the familiar photographic applications and can also be used by videographers. It is the most extensive and flexible solution on the market for easy-to-master, precise monitor calibration. Datacolor's recently launched "SpyderCHECKR24" is an affordable color reference target that contains proprietary software, offering photographers fast and accurate in-camera color matching.

Outlook

Thanks to its dynamic, market-led and efficient organization, Datacolor is well positioned for the future. The company has a well-filled development pipeline containing innovative products to continue to meet customers' increasingly sophisticated demands. The enlarged sales, support and service organization as well as the strengthened global marketing organization will support to achieve the company's strategic goals.

The full Annual Report for fiscal 2013/14 is available on: http://www.datacolor.com/en/content/reports

Lucerne, November 14, 2014