No. 10 2016 Annual Report 2015

Solar Group revenue and EBITA for 2015 were in line with our expectations. The Board of Directors will propose 2015 dividend distribution of DKK 10.00 per share at the annual general meeting.

CEO Anders Wilhjelm says:
”The 2015 operating profit is the best that Solar has generated in the last five years, and we are pleased with this improvement. We generated organic growth of some 5% within our installation segment, while the industry segment came to around 4%. But growth declined steadily over the year, so we are taking a cautious approach to our outlook for 2016.”

2015 revenue

• Revenue matched our expectations.
• Organic growth came to 5.2%, up from 0.4% in 2014. Adjusted for number of working days, organic growth was still 5.2% in 2015, up from 0.1% in 2014.

2015 EBITA

• EBITA was in line with our expectations.
• EBITA was up by DKK 9m due to a change in pension plans in the Netherlands and further DKK 2m owing to an adjustment to the variable part of the selling price of Aurora Group.
• In comparison, 2014 EBITA saw negative effects from restructuring costs of DKK 86m, write-down of buildings of DKK 31m and Solar 8000 costs of DKK 13m but a positive effect from the adjustment of the variable part of the selling price of Aurora Group of DKK 3m.

Dividends distribution

• The Board of Directors will submit a proposal to the annual general meeting, asking for dividend distribution in 2015 of DKK 10.00 per share.

2016 outlook

• We expect neither market nor organic revenue growth in 2016. We expect EBITA at 2015 levels, excluding the positive one-off seen in 2015.
• The MAG45 acquisition’s impact on revenue is expected to be in the range of DKK 310m but limited on EBITA.
• 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.

Q4 presentation - audio webcast and teleconference today
The presentation of Annual Report 2015 will be made in English on 24 February 2016 at 11:00 CET. The presentation will be transmitted as an audio webcast and will be 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

Enclosures: Annual Report 2015, pages 1-112 + Q4 2015 Quarterly information, pages 1-10. Please see Annual Report 2015 for comments on Q4 2015.

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 Danish and English today via Nasdaq Copenhagen. In the event of any inconsistency between the two versions, the Danish version shall prevail.

Vedhæftede filer:

fb201610 Annual Report 2015.pdf

SOLAR quarterly information Q4 2015.pdf