Vacon Plc Interim report 1 January - 31 March 2015

Vacon Plc, Stock Exchange Release, 28 April 2015 at 9.30 a.m. (EET)

In this stock exchange release Vacon is publishing information included in the interim report that has a significant impact on the value of securities. The full interim report is in the appendix to this release and can be downloaded from the company's website in Finnish at www.vacon.fi and in English at www.vacon.com.

January-March highlights: 

• Order intake totalled MEUR 106.4 (MEUR 104.8), an increase of 1.4% from the corresponding period in the previous year.
• Revenues totalled MEUR 100.1 (MEUR 89.3), an increase of 12.2% from the corresponding period in the previous year. 
• Operating profit was MEUR 9.1 or 9.0% of revenues (MEUR 6.7 and 7.5%), an increase of 34.9% from the corresponding period in the previous year.
• Net cash flow from operating activities was MEUR 10.5 (MEUR -0.6).
• Earnings per share were EUR 0.21 (EUR 0.16).
• The Board of Directors of Vacon Plc has decided to apply for the termination of trading in Vacon shares and for the delisting of the shares from Nasdaq OMX Helsinki Ltd. In the application submitted to NASDAQ OMX Helsinki on 2 April 2015, Vacon requested that the delisting take effect as soon as possible after Oy Danfoss Ab has acquired the entire share capital of Vacon.

January-March key indicators:

President and CEO Vesa Laisi: All key financial indicators improved in the first quarter of 2015

"The first quarter of 2015 went very well for Vacon. All key financial indicators improved in the first quarter of 2015 when compared with the first quarter of 2014.

The volume of our orders increased reasonably well in the first quarter, taking into account seasonal fluctuations at a few of our major customers.

Revenues increased in the first quarter from the period for comparison. Geographically the region with strongest growth was Asia and Pacific (APAC), where revenues increased 29.4% in January-March 2015 from the same period in the previous year. In North and South America revenues rose 2.6%, and in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region 9.1%.

The Company's operating profit also improved from the previous year. Efficient material sourcing and the cost benefits from transferring material sourcing to lower cost countries have been key factors in improving the company's profitability. Changes in currency exchange rates contributed to the growth in revenues and the improvement in the operating profit in the review period.

Vacon has been part of the Danfoss Group since 1 December 2014. Our responsible task is now to merge two successful AC drive business operations to create one of the leading players in the market. Combining two large organisations requires thorough planning and it is necessary to take many different details into account. We have started the work and the merger process is making progress according to plan. I am pleased with the way our personnel have managed to focus on meeting customer needs despite the changes taking place in our company."

Prospects for 2015

Global megatrends, such as urbanisation, increasing industrial automation, energy efficiency, developing markets and renewable energy, all support growth in the AC drive market in the long term.

In the assessment of market research institutions, the AC drive market has hardly grown at all during the past three years. A major factor in this has been the overall economic uncertainty, which has caused industrial investment to slow down.

During 2015 Vacon and Danfoss will merge their AC drive business operations. Combining Vacon and Danfoss creates one of the leading players in the global AC drive sector, which can take advantage of the best features of both companies.

Market guidelines for 2015

Vacon estimates that its revenues will increase and its operating profit percentage excluding one-time items will improve from 2014.

Vacon's revenues in 2014 totalled EUR 409.4 million and the operating profit percentage excluding one-time items was 11.5%.

Vacon's financial targets until 2020

Vacon published new long-term financial targets and a revised strategy for the period 2014-2020 in November 2013.

Growth: The target is to achieve an average annual revenue growth of over 10%. The growth target is based on growing the business organically in a market environment where the AC drives market grows clearly faster than the average Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Selective acquisitions can be used to further accelerate the growth.

Profitability: The long-term profitability target is to achieve a sustainable EBIT margin level of 14%. Vacon focuses on growth and on measures that improve the company's efficiency in the long term and thus deliver a higher absolute EBIT and shareholder value.

Vacon does not consider the long term financial targets as market guidance for any given year during the period 2014-2020. It will issue separate market guidance annually.

Formal statement

This release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views of the company's management. Due to the nature of these statements, they contain risks and uncertainties and are subject to changes in the general economic situation and in the company's business sector.

Vacon in brief

Vacon is driven by a passion to develop, manufacture and sell the best AC drives and inverters in the world - and provide customers with efficient product lifecycle services. Our AC drives offer optimum process control and energy efficiency for electric motors. Vacon inverters play a key role when energy is produced from renewable sources. Vacon has production and R&D facilities in Europe, Asia and North America, and sales offices in 32 countries. Further, Vacon has sales representatives and service partners in nearly 90 countries. In 2014, Vacon's revenues amounted to EUR 409.4 million, and the company employed globally approximately 1,600 people. The shares of Vacon Plc (VAC1V) are quoted on the main list of the Helsinki stock exchange (NASDAQ OMX Helsinki). Vacon is part of Danfoss Group.

Driven by Drives, www.vacon.com

Vantaa, 28 March 2015

VACON PLC

Board of Directors

For more information please contact:

• Vesa Laisi, President and CEO, Vacon Plc, phone +358 (0)40 8371 510, vesa.laisi(at)vacon.com
• Ann-Louise Brännback, CFO, Vacon Plc, phone +358 40 8371 376, ann-louise.brannback(at)vacon.com
• Sebastian Linko, Director, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Vacon Plc, phone +358 (0)40 8371 634, sebastian.linko(at)vacon.com

Distribution:

NASDAQ OMX Helsinki
Financial Supervisory Authority
Main media

ATTACHMENTS