Osram Continues to Show Good Profit Performance

Osram continued to show a good profit performance in the third quarter of fiscal 2015. EBITA excluding special items rose 24% from a year earlier to €129 million, translating into a margin of 9.5%. The development was particularly driven by cost savings as well as positive currency effects. The reported EBITA margin reached 7.4%.
 
Revenue increased 12% to almost €1.4 billion due to the weakness of the euro against key currencies and the acquisition of Clay Paky. On a comparable basis, i.e. adjusted for portfolio and currency effects, revenue remained almost stable with a decline of around 1%. The revenue share of LED-based products and solutions was 44% in the third quarter. Net income rose to €64 million.
 
Osram confirms the outlook for fiscal 2015 as updated in April. After the supervisory board of OSRAM Licht AG recently unanimously approved the carve-out of the general lighting lamps business, the managing board confirms the goal to complete the carve-out by the spring of 2016.
 
“Overall, we can look back on a good quarter,” said Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG. “Our current priority is the realignment of the company, which we are pursuing at full speed. The carve-out of our lamps business is in this respect just the beginning of the path toward a new Osram, which will focus on connected and smart lighting.”
 
In the third quarter, comparable revenue in the Opto Semiconductors (OS) reporting segment rose 4% from a year earlier, supported by all reporting regions. Main drivers of this development were the automotive and industrial businesses. At 18.5%, the EBITA margin continued to be on a high level.
 
Specialty Lighting (SP), with its Automotive Lighting and Display/Optics units, also recorded a comparable revenue increase of 4% in the third quarter despite weakening automotive markets, particularly in Asia. Growth was driven by rising demand for LED-based products. Excluding special items, the adjusted EBITA margin reached 14.1% and benefited from positive currency effects.
 
The LED Lamps Systems (LLS) reporting segment covers Osram’s business with LED lamps, light engines, as well as LED drivers. The segment recorded comparable revenue growth of 36% from a year earlier in the third quarter. The adjusted EBITA margin improved by almost 14 percentage points to minus 6.6%.
 
As expected, revenue in the Classic Lamps Ballasts (CLB) reporting segment declined 13% on a comparable basis in the third quarter. In contrast, the adjusted EBITA margin improved to 8.3% thanks to cost savings.
 
The Luminaires & Solutions (LS) reporting segment comprises luminaires for professional customers as well as the service and solutions business. In the third quarter, the segment’s revenue fell 14% on a comparable basis. The adjusted EBITA margin was minus 11.5%.
 
Osram confirms the outlook for fiscal 2015 as updated in April. The managing board thus expects revenue to be on the level of fiscal 2014 on a comparable basis. The adjusted EBITA margin is expected to be above 9.0%. Free cash flow is expected with a positive triple-digit million euro figure in fiscal 2015 but to stay below the prior-year level.