No. 8 2012 Quarterly report Q1 2012

In Q1 2012, the Solar Group’s revenue grew, and group EBITA matched expectations. Overall 2012 expectations for revenue and EBITA are unchanged. Solar 8000 (SAP) will be implemented in Solar Nederland in mid-June 2012.

Group CEO Flemming H. Tomdrup says:
”We are pleased with the positive direction of our cash flow from operating activities and the improved Q1 results. Moreover, we will be promoting our Blue Energy concept of energy-efficient solutions even more from Q2 onwards. Already, we have sent a Blue Energy truck on tour to showcase the latest products and technologies. This truck will visit 100 destinations in five countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands over a six-month period.”

 *   Adjusted for acquired enterprises and calculated as an average of the inventories, trade receivables and trade payables of the past four quarters.

Revenue in Q1 2012:

• Revenue for the group met expectations.
• Revenue growth was 19.2% against 9.3% in Q1 2011.
• Organic growth was 5.7%, up from 5.6% in Q1 2011.

EBITA in Q1 2012:

• EBITA for the group met expectations.
• As expected, EBITA was negatively impacted by Solar 8000 costs of € 2.0m against € 0.5m in Q1 2011.

Net working capital (NWC):

• NWC was reduced by a focused effort. Adjusted for the impact of enterprises acquired and calculated as an average of the past four quarters’ inventories, trade receivables and trade payables, NWC was reduced to 14.1% of the past 12 months’ revenue, down from 15.4% in Q1 2011.
• Work aimed at reducing NWC will continue in 2012. Determined as an average of four quarters, our NWC target for 2012 is approx. 14% of revenue while the actual 2011 level was 14.8%. 

Expectations for 2012:

• Expectations for 2012 are maintained at revenue of € 1,660-1,720m and EBITA of € 44-55m. Normalised EBITA is expected at € 53-64m when adjusted for restructuring and Solar 8000 roll-out costs. Once more, April proved a weak month. Thus, Q2 2012 will most likely be a low-earning quarter as well.
• We have chosen not to adjust our 2012 expectations to match the present high exchange rates on SEK, NOK and PLN. Should these exchange rates remain at their present levels throughout 2012, we expect the translation of our enterprises’ results from SEK, NOK and PLN into euro to impact revenue and EBITA positively by approx. € 20m and less than € 1m, respectively.
• The lower expectation level equals negative organic growth of approx. 1%, while the upper expectation level equals positive organic growth of approx. 3%.
• 2012 EBITA expectations include expected Solar 8000 implementation costs of € 8m and expected restructuring costs of € 0.7m.
• The overall Solar 8000 (SAP) investment in 2012 is still expected to total approx. € 10m, of which € 2m will be capitalised.

Solar 8000 (SAP):

• We expect to roll out Solar 8000 in Solar Nederland by mid-June 2012. Right now, employees are working intensely to update master data, while training activity levels are also high. Through these measures, we are looking to secure as smooth a roll-out as possible.
• Preparations for future roll-outs in Solar Danmark and Solar Sverige are also underway. Final roll-out dates await the Dutch roll-out.
• Solar Deutschland will be the last sizeable Solar enterprise to move to Solar 8000, sometime next year.
• We still expect the overall investment to total € 55m.

Q1 presentation and webcast today
The presentation of Quarterly Report Q1 2012 will be transmitted online from NASDAQ OMX Copenhagen today at 11.00 CET. A live webcast of the presentation, held in English, will be available at www.solar.eu.

Yours faithfully
Solar A/S

Flemming H. Tomdrup

Solar facts
Solar A/S was established in 1919 and listed on the Copenhagen Stock Exchange in 1953. Solar is one of Northern Europe’s leading technical wholesalers within electrical, heating, plumbing and ventilation products. The group, based in Kolding, Denmark, has subsidiaries in Denmark incl. the Faroe Islands, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and Austria. Furthermore, Solar owns Aurora Group, a leading Scandinavian distributor of accessories for consumer electronics that operates in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. In 2011, Solar Group revenue totalled € 1,532.4m, equating DKK 11.4bn. The group has approximately 3,600 employees.

For further information, please visit: www.solar.eu.

Enclosure: Quarterly Report Q1 2012 pages 1-24