Outstanding Quarter Makes Osram Confident About the Future

“The second quarter was outstanding. We have achieved the best result in more than twenty quarters. And for the first time in ten quarters, revenue showed a noticeable increase nominally as well as on a comparable basis. This shows that our innovation and growth strategy is taking us in the right direction. Osram will successfully continue along this path. The foundation couldn’t be stronger,” said Olaf Berlien, Chief Executive Officer of Osram Licht AG.

Osram continued its very good performance in the second quarter of fiscal 2016. On a comparable basis, i.e. adjusted for portfolio and currency effects, revenue in the three months ending March 31 rose three percent compared with the prior-year period and reached almost €1.43 billion. EBITA1 excluding special items increased 15 percent to €174 million, translating into a margin of 12.2 percent. The earnings development was, among other things, supported by a favorable product mix in the LED components business (Opto Semiconductors) and the Specialty Lighting segment. The reason for this was in particular a sound automotive business. The improved revenue trend can especially be attributed to the general lighting lamps business (Lamps) and the Lighting Solutions & Systems business. Net income was affected by extraordinary expenses related to the carve-out of the lamps business and rose moderately to €80 million. Osram confirms its recently updated outlook for fiscal 2016.

Osram reporting segments in the second quarter

In the second quarter, Specialty Lighting (SP), with its Automotive Lighting and Professional Industrial Applications units, posted a comparable revenue increase of seven percent from the year-earlier period. At 14.2 percent, the EBITA margin excluding special items reached a good level despite an increasing revenue share of LED-based products and higher research expenses for innovative products. The reporting segment benefited from a strong automotive aftermarket business in the U.S. as well as government incentives for vehicle purchases in China. Osram will give an impressive demonstration of its entertainment lighting expertise in May at the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm.

The Lighting Solutions & Systems (LSS) reporting segment comprises the business with luminaires and systems and recorded a revenue increase of ten percent on a comparable basis in the second quarter, driven by demand for LED-based products. The adjusted EBITA margin improved by two percentage points to minus 1.9 percent. The second quarter saw the ground-breaking of new electronic components production facilities in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and Monterrey, Mexico, which are being established in response to rising demand for intelligent lighting controls for the respective local markets, among other things.  

Opto Semiconductors (OS) increased its second-quarter revenue on a comparable basis by five percent, especially due to continuing high growth in the automotive business. At 24.5 percent, OS recorded an outstanding EBITA margin, benefiting in particular from strong demand for high-margin products for special applications as well as currency effects. In the past quarter, the reporting segment again generated income from patent licensing, albeit to a much lesser extent than in the first quarter. This underlines the company’s sound global patent position, which provides customers who integrate LED components into their products with a high level of security. In March, the ground-breaking for the new LED chip factory in Kulim took place.

The Lamps reporting segment comprises the general lighting lamps business. In view of the continuing decline in demand for traditional lamps, the segment recorded a comparable revenue decrease of two percent. This decline was clearly lower than the company had originally expected, among other things due to a substantial rise in revenue in the LED lamp business and a still good demand for halogen lamps. The adjusted EBITA margin amounted to 7.5 percent. At the Light + Building trade show in Frankfurt in March, the segment presented itself for the first time under its new name Ledvance.

Outlook for fiscal 2016

For fiscal 2016, the managing board expects revenue on a comparable basis to be above the prior-year level. The EBITA margin, excluding special items, is anticipated to reach more than 10 percent. In addition, the managing board expects net income and return on capital employed (ROCE) to rise sharply due to the book gain from the sale of the Felco shares. Due to a strong increase in capital expenditure as well as special items such as the intended special funding of pension plans, free cash flow is expected to amount to a low to medium negative triple-digit million-euro figure. The managing board is confident about Osram’s positive midterm prospects and therefore intends to keep the dividend at least stable with €0.90 per share for fiscal 2016.

(Preliminary, unaudited figures. Figures in millions of euros, margins in percent, employees as of March 31. Negative values in brackets.)

(Preliminary, unaudited figures in millions of euros. Negative values in brackets.)

1Earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization
2Fiscal year 2015 figures are reconciled to reflect the new OSRAM cost allocation and segment structure.