17f86c31-d995-4ca6-b681-578875071edd.pdf

Limoges, May 4, 2016

Solid 2016 first-quarter achievements:

Healthy organic growth in sales: +1.9%, driven by US performance Rise in adjusted operating profit: +3.7%

6 acquisitions since the beginning of the year

2016 targets confirmed R E L E A S E Gilles Schnepp, Chairman and CEO of Legrand, commented:

"Solid 2016 first-quarter achievements

Driven by a particularly good relative performance at the start of the year in the United States, where organic growth stood at +6.9%, Group sales at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates rose

+1.9% in the first quarter of 2016. Over the same period, organic change in sales was flat overall in mature European countries and in new economies.

Taking into account the exchange-rate effect and acquisitions, Group sales were up +2.1% in total.

Adjusted operating profit rose +3.7% and adjusted operating margin before acquisitions (at 2015 scope of consolidation) stood at 19.2% of sales compared with 18.8% in the first quarter of 2015. Taking acquisitions into account, adjusted operating margin came to 19.1% in the first quarter of 2016.

Active external growth

As indicated in February, Legrand has an active acquisitions pipeline and has already announced four transactions since the beginning of the year:

  • Pinnacle Architectural Lighting1, one of the US leaders in architectural lighting solutions for non- residential buildings;

  • Luxul Wireless1, the US leader in audio/video infrastructure products for residential buildings and small- to mid-size commercial buildings;

  • Fluxpower in Germany and Primetech in Italy, both specializing in UPS2.

Legrand today announced two additional transactions that together represent annual sales of around

€10m: the acquisition of Jontek, specialized in solutions for monitoring assisted living platforms in the United Kingdom, and the signature of a joint venture agreement to purchase Trias3, an Indonesian specialist in cable management and distribution cabinets.

Since the beginning of the year, Legrand has acquired annual sales totaling around €130m."

2016 targets confirmed

Based on 2016 first-quarter achievements, Legrand confirms its two 2016 targets4:

  • organic change in sales of between -2% and +2%, and

  • adjusted operating margin before acquisitions (at 2015 scope of consolidation) of between 18.5% and 19.5% of sales.

Legrand will also pursue its strategy of value-creating acquisitions.

P R E S S

1 Subject to standard conditions precedent.

2 UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply.

3 Legrand holds 80% of equity.

4 Readers are invited to refer to the press release of February 11, 2016 announcing full-year 2015 results for the complete phrasing of Legrand's 2016 targets.

R E L E A S E Key figures

Consolidated data (€ millions)(1)

1stquarter 2015

1stquarter 2016

Sales

1,164.7

1,189.6

Adjusted operating profit

218.6

226.7

As % of sales

18.8%

19.1%

Operating profit

208.5

19.2% before acquisitions(2)

216.0

As % of sales

17.9%

18.2%

Net income excluding minorities

127.4(3)

127.4(3)

As % of sales

10.9%

10.7%

Normalized free cash flow

174.0

155.5

As % of sales

14.9%

13.1%

Free cash flow

56.8

37.4

As % of sales

4.9%

3.1%

Net financial debt at March 31

866.9

790.9

  1. See appendices to this press release for definitions and reconciliation tables of indicators presented.

  2. At 2015 scope of consolidation.

  3. Excluding the impact of the foreign-exchange result, net income excluding minorities would come to €130.0m in the first quarter of 2016 compared with €127.7m in the first quarter of 2015, thus showing an increase of close to +2%.

Financial performance at March 31, 2016 Consolidated sales

First-quarter 2016 sales totaled €1,189.6m, up +2.1% from the first quarter of 2015, thanks in particular to the favorable +3.0% impact of the broader scope of consolidation that resulted from acquisitions.

The organic change in Group sales came to +1.9%, reflecting a +2.9% rise in mature countries as a whole, and flat sales (0.0%) in new economies.

P R E S S

Excluding the exchange-rate effect, sales rose +5% in the first quarter of 2016.

The exchange-rate impact was -2.8%. Taking into account exchange rates at April 30, the full-year exchange-rate effect would be close to -3%.

Changes in sales by destination at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates broke down as follows by region:

1stquarter 2016 / 1stquarter 2015

France

-4.0%i.e. around -2%excluding the announced effect1

Italy

+4.7%

Rest of Europe

+5.4%

North and Central America

+7.6%

Rest of the World

-2.4%

Total

+1.9%

1 Readers are reminded that the press release presenting full-year 2015 results specified, concerning sales in France in the fourth quarter of 2015, that "in the fourth quarter of 2015, sales benefited from strong demand from distributors, which was more marked than in the fourth quarter of 2014." The net impact on the change in sales in France in the first quarter of 2016 has been estimated at around -2 points.

These changes at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates are analyzed below by geographical region:

R E L E A S E
  • France (18.1% of Group sales): leading indicators for new residential construction market are improving-a trend that should be reflected in this segment of Legrand's activity (15% to 20% of its sales in France) with a few quarters' lag-and other sectors of the construction market are improving slowly. For Legrand's own business, the organic change in sales in the first quarter of 2016 was -4.0%, and excluding the announced effect1was around -2%, in line with the estimated trend in Legrand's market. Readers are reminded that the second quarter of 2015 will be a demanding basis for comparison due to new-product launches then.

  • Italy (11.7% of Group sales): sales were up +4.7% from the first quarter of 2015 at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates. 2016 first-quarter performance was driven by commercial successes in energy distribution at the beginning of the year, and benefited from a favorable basis for comparison (reminder: the organic change in sales in the first quarter of 2015 was -1.2%, with 2015 full-year organic growth of +0.8%).
  • Rest of Europe (17.7% of Group sales): sales were up +5.4% from the first quarter of 2015 at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates. Several mature countries reported healthy growth, including Germany, Austria and Southern Europe (Spain, Greece and Portugal), as did many new economies- Turkey, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Sales in Russia showed a moderate decline.
  • North and Central America2(27.6% of Group sales): sales in the region rose +7.6% from the first quarter of 2015 at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates. In the United States alone, Legrand recorded organic growth of +6.9%, outperforming trends in market indicators, and driven in particular by one-off effects linked to the ongoing success of the Digital Lighting Management offering in highly energy-efficient lighting control, plus good showings in the non-residential segment. Excluding these one-off effects, sales in the United States showed an organic rise in the neighborhood of +3%, in line with the estimated trend in Legrand's market.

    Sales in Mexico, Canada and other countries in the region as a whole were also well-oriented in the first quarter of 2016.

    P R E S S
  • Rest of the World (24.9% of Group sales): sales declined -2.4% from the first quarter of 2015 at constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates. Sales continued to rise in many countries including India, Chile, Colombia and South Africa. Some other countries-including Brazil and most Middle Eastern countries-saw a decline in sales due to unfavorable economic conditions. In China, while the change in sales was positive in the first quarter of 2016 as a result of one-off effects linked to both government measures aimed at supporting housing sales and a favorable basis for comparison, the Chinese market trend is still downward.
Adjusted operating profit and margin

Adjusted operating profit was up +3.7% in the first quarter of 2016, reaching €226.7m and thus reflecting the Group's capacity to create value over the long term.

Adjusted operating margin before acquisitions (at 2015 scope of consolidation) came to 19.2% of sales. Compared with the figure for the first quarter of 2015 (18.8%), the 0.4-point improvement was mainly due to a good operating performance. Mix effect linked to strong growth in the USA/Canada region and inventory build-up of manufactured goods that both impacted margin in 2015 had no material impact on adjusted operating margin in the first quarter of 2016.

Taking acquisitions into account, the Group's adjusted operating margin stood at 19.1% of sales in the first quarter of 2016.

1 Readers are reminded that the press release presenting full-year 2015 results specified, concerning sales in France in the fourth quarter of 2015, that "in the fourth quarter of 2015, sales benefited from strong demand from distributors, which was more marked than in the fourth quarter of 2014." The net impact on the change in sales in France in the first quarter of 2016 has been estimated at around -2 points.

2 As announced, "Starting January 1, 2016, the United States/Canada region will become the North and Central America region and will comprise the United States, Canada, Mexico and the other countries in Central America. This change reflects the new

organization of Legrand's operations in North America, with all of these countries now headed by the same management which is in keeping with the region's market structure." Historical restated data is available on Legrand's website. http://www.legrand.com/files/fck/File/News/Finance/2016/autres/Legrand_Historical_Restated_data_NCA_RoW .pdf

Net income excluding minorities

Legrand's net income excluding minorities for the first quarter of 2016 was steady at €127.4m or 10.7% of sales and reflects:

  • a good operating performance, with a €7.5m rise in operating profit, offset by:

    R E L E A S E
  • a mechanical €3.1m decline in exchange result, a €2.8m rise in net financial expense (that remains under control at less than 2% of sales), and a €1.4m rise in income tax expense (with the income tax rate at 32.6%).

Cash generation

Cash flow from operations for the first quarter of 2016 was robust at €180.8m or 15.2% of sales.

Investments and working capital requirement are under control at respectively 2.0% and 8.9% of sales in the first quarter of 2016. More specifically, working capital requirement at the end of the first quarter of 2016 includes favorable non-recurring impacts linked to non-operating items in particular.

Normalized free cash flow-which is a good measure of free cash flow generation, in particular on a quarterly basis-was 13.1% of sales, in keeping with the Group's ambition of generating normalized free cash flow of between 12% and 13% of sales.

Active external growth

As announced, Legrand has an active acquisitions pipeline in markets offering favorable economic conditions. Within this framework, Legrand has already announced 4 new targeted and self-financed acquisitions since the beginning of the year:

  • Pinnacle Architectural Lighting1, one of the US leaders in architectural lighting solutions for non- residential buildings. Legrand already has a strong presence in lighting control for non- residential buildings in the US. This move thus reinforces its presence in the field in North America with a complementary offering that will allow it to develop customized solutions that can combine the three main technologies used for lighting control (wall, lighting control panels, lighting fixtures)-solutions that are adaptable to all needs and applications. The Group is thus strengthening its positions in a market driven by the regular adoption of new energy codes and, more broadly, by increased demand for energy-efficient solutions. Pinnacle Architectural Lighting has 230 employees and reports annual sales of around $105m;

    P R E S S
  • Luxul Wireless1, the US leader in audio/video infrastructure products (wireless routers, access points and switches) for residential buildings and small- to mid-size commercial buildings. Luxul Wireless solutions are in particular an ideal complement to Legrand's generalist US offering of structured cabling for housing (On-Q). Luxul Wireless employs around 30 people and reports annual sales of over $20m;

  • Fluxpower in Germany and Primetech in Italy, both specialized in UPS2, which together employ nearly 60 people and report combined annual sales of nearly €9 million.

    Legrand today announced two new transactions:

  • the acquisition of Jontek, a UK specialist in solutions for monitoring assisted living platforms.

    Jontek complements Tynetec's offering and has annual sales of around €4m;

  • the signature of a joint venture agreement to purchase Trias3, an Indonesian specialist in cable management and distribution cabinets. Trias, which strengthens Legrand's positions in Indonesia, has around 200 employees and annual sales of approximately €6m.

Based on acquisitions already announced and their likely date of consolidation, changes in the scope of consolidation should boost Group sales by over +3.5% in 2016.

1 Subject to standard conditions precedent.

2 UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply.

3 Legrand holds 80% of equity.

Legrand SA published this content on 04 May 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 27 May 2016 14:50:12 UTC.

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