PRESS RELEASE
Q4 and year-end results for the financial year 2017/18
LEM reports double digit sales growth and robust margins –increased dividend of CHF 40 per share proposed
Fribourg, 23 May 2018 – LEM (SIX: LEHN), the market leader in providing
innovative and high quality solutions for measuring electrical parameters,announces financial year 2017/18 results (compared with financial year2016/17):• Bookings increased by 17.9% from CHF 271.2 million to CHF 319.7
million, with the book-to-bill ratio increasing to 1.06 (1.03)• Sales increased by 13.9% to CHF 301.2 million (CHF 264.5 million); at
constant exchange rates sales increased by 13.2%• Gross margin reached 45.9% (46.7%)• R&D expenses increased by 35.2% to CHF 21.7 million, reflecting LEM's
strategy to strengthen its technology leadership• EBIT increased by 10.7% to CHF 61.7 million (CHF 55.8 million); the EBIT
margin decreased to 20.5% (21.1%)• Net profit for the period rose by 19.6% to CHF 53.3 million(CHF 44.6 million)• Cash flow from operating activities was CHF 54.1 million (+2.5%)• CAPEX increased from CHF 13.2 million to CHF 15.1 million due toongoing production capacity increases• Shareholders’ equity reached CHF 109.0 million, representing an equity
ratio of 59.2% (60.7% as of 31 March 2017)• Dividend to be increased from CHF 35 to CHF 40
Q4 of 2017/18 compared with Q4 of 2016/17:• Bookings amounted to CHF 84.2 million, an increase of 18.3%(CHF 71.2 million); the book-to-bill ratio improved to 1.10 (1.07)• Sales increased by 14.2% to CHF 76.2 million (CHF 66.8 million)• EBIT increased by 8.1% to CHF 15.3 million (CHF 14.1 million); the EBIT
margin decreased to 20.0% (21.1%)• Net profit for the period rose by 28.3% to CHF 15.3 million(CHF 11.9 million)“We consolidated our leading market position and achieved the strongest sales
growth since 2010/11, thus exceeding the CHF 300 million mark for the first time.
Business conditions remained favorable throughout the year and resulted in record
orders. The trends to automation, environmentally friendly energy and electromobility were LEM’s most important growth drivers. Again, we achieved robust
operating margins while at the same time strengthening R&D and our global footprint.
Innovation is of critical importance in view of the fast-developing power electronics
industry, so we planted new seeds for future growth. At the same time, we keep acareful watch on the efficiency of our operations”, said Frank Rehfeld, CEO of LEM.

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com

Industry segment: positive economic environment boosts all businesses
Sales in the Industry segment increased by 13.0% to CHF 242.2 million in thefinancial year 2017/18; at constant exchange rates the sales increase was 11.9%.
The positive economic environment provided a boost for all businesses in mostregions. Orders rose by 16.6% to CHF 256.1 million, resulting in a full-year book-tobill ratio of 1.06.
Sales in China grew by 18% and as a result China has expanded its position as
LEM’s most important single country, representing 31% of Industry sales. Sales grewin the rest of Asia by 7% and by 16% in Europe. Sales in North America werenegatively affected by exchange rate development and decreased by 2%.
EBIT increased from CHF 43.9 million in the previous year to CHF 51.2 million in thereporting year. The EBIT margin improved from 20.5% to 21.1%.
----

Sales in the drives & welding business increased by 8% over the previousyear. LEM achieved robust growth in all regions with the strongest sales
performance in Europe and Asia. Automation and energy savings applications
were the main growth drivers. The Company recorded strong interest in its
new product family with integrated primaries for small drives and maintained
its market share.
Solar equipment production continued to move from North America to Europeand China. Thus, the renewable energies & power supplies business is driven
by the Chinese and European solar industry producing for the world market.
Wind activity was weak in most regions. LEM started to build a pipeline ofsmart-grid projects. Overall sales increased by 15% and LEM defended its
market share well above 50%.
A global catch-up of infrastructure investments and some individual projectssupported the traction business, which grew by 24%. LEM achieved strong
sales with light rail and locomotive projects in India and China as well asenergy-metering and track-side (security and maintenance) projects inEurope. On the downside, there was hardly any activity in the US market.
LEM’s global market share remained stable.
In the project-driven high-precision business, sales were up by 7%. Sales in
China slowed with no repeat of last year’s HVDC sales. Activity in the global
Medical market was stable, but the Test & Measurement market boomed inthe US and Europe. Growth was driven from green cars test benchapplications. Overall, LEM’s market share was unchanged and well above
50%.

Automotive segment: LEM’s green cars exceeds conventional cars business
Sales in the Automotive segment reached CHF 59.0 million in the financial year
2017/18, representing an increase of 17.5% on the financial year 2016/17. At
constant exchange rates, sales grew by 19.0%. For the first time, sales in LEM’sgreen cars business exceeded sales in its conventional cars business.
LEM recorded the strongest growth in China (+53%), South Korea (+91%) and Japan(+17%). China is the Group’s largest market with 38% of Automotive sales, followedby the US (28%), South Korea (14%) and Japan (11%).

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com

EBIT reached CHF 10.5 million, down 11.0% on the financial year 2016/17. The EBIT
margin was 17.8%, compared with 23.5% one year ago. The margin decrease
resulted from increased competitive pressure in the green cars market on the one
hand, and higher operating expense due to the development of new R&D and sales
resources on the other hand. LEM offset part of these effects with volume growth andefficiency gains in production and administration.
--Sales in LEM’s green cars business jumped by 75%. The Company achieved
strong growth across all important markets. Business in Asia, especially in
China, South Korea and Japan is growing fast. LEM benefits from its leading
market position in China. LEM sees increasing commitment from large
European and US car manufacturers to launch new electric or hybrid-electric
car platforms.
Year-on-year sales in the conventional cars business decreased by 17%. The
decline was caused by the ongoing technological shift and the weak US carmarket.

New CEO and changes in the Board of Directors
With the appointment of Frank Rehfeld as Chief Executive Officer starting 1 April
2018, the Board of Directors is confident LEM is well placed to begin a new phase ofgrowth and strengthen its global market position.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management, we would like toexpress our gratitude to our outgoing CEO, François Gabella, who has successfully
led LEM for eight years through a challenging period and laid the foundation for astrong future”, said Andreas Hürlimann, Chairman of the Board of Directors of LEM.
LEM’s Board of Directors will propose Mr. Gabella for election as a new Board
member at the next Annual General Meeting on 28 June 2018 to benefit from his
know-how and industry insights.
Norbert Hess, member of the Board of Directors since 2013, has announced his
resignation on the date of the next Annual General Meeting. During his tenure, Dr.
Hess strongly contributed to the successful development of LEM Group. Board andManagement thank Norbert Hess for his highly valuable work and wish him all thebest for his future.
Dividend proposal
For the financial year 2017/18, the Board of Directors is pleased to propose at thenext Annual General Meeting a dividend of CHF 40 per share (CHF 35 for 2016/17),
which represents a dividend payout ratio of 85.5%. This dividend proposal is a sign ofconfidence in the future success of LEM. It is in line with LEM’s dividend policy of
distributing significantly more than 50% of its consolidated net profit to shareholders.

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 1
1700 FribourgSwitzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com

Outlook
Management believes that the positive economic momentum will accompany theIndustry businesses. LEM’s growth in the green cars business is forecast to continue
and to outgrow the slow conventional cars business. However, government policies
remain an important factor that may result in a volatile trend. In addition, increasing
competition in green cars will put additional pressure on prices. Geopolitical tensions
or new trade barriers may pose a risk to global growth and LEM’s businesses.
Executing LEM’s innovation strategy, the Company plans to further increase
investment in R&D. The R&D teams are to grow and to add new know-how aroundcurrent industry trends. Again in 2018/19, LEM expects a high number of productlaunches.
Taking all internal and external factors into account, Management expects a robust
financial year for LEM.
Media and analyst conference and webcast
Andreas Hürlimann, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Frank Rehfeld, CEO since
1 April 2018, François Gabella, CEO until 31 March 2018, and Andrea Borla, CFO,
will provide a detailed presentation of Q4 and financial year 2017/18 results today at10:30 CEST at a media and analyst conference in Zurich.
Watch the media and analyst conference via a live video webcast. The link to thewebcast and the presentation slides are also available in the Investor Relations
section of the LEM website (www.lem.com), where the webcast will later also bearchived.
Detailed information on the financial year 2017/18 results and annual report
The full financial report is available from today, 23 May 2018, on
www.lem.com/en/investors > Financial Reports.

Financial calendar
The financial year runs from 1 April to 31 March

28 June 2018
3 July 2018
5 July 2018
31 July 2018
6 November 2018
1 February 201922 May 201927 June 2019
2 July 2019
4 July 2019

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 11700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for the year
2017/18
Dividend ex-date
Dividend payment date
First-quarter results 2018/19
Half-year results 2018/19
Third-quarter results 2018/19
Year-end results 2018/19
Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for the year
2018/19
Dividend ex-date
Dividend payment dateTel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39www.lem.com

LEM – At the heart of power electronics
LEM is the market leader in providing innovative and high quality solutions formeasuring electrical parameters. Its core products - current and voltage transducers are used in a broad range of applications in drives & welding, renewable energies &power supplies, traction, high precision, conventional and green cars businesses.
LEM’s strategy is to exploit the intrinsic strengths of its core business, and to develop
opportunities in existing and new markets with new applications. LEM is a mid-size,
global company with approximately 1’530 employees worldwide. It has production
plants in Beijing (China), Sofia (Bulgaria), Geneva (Switzerland) and Tokyo (Japan),and a dedicated R&D Center in Lyon (France). With regional sales offices near its
customers’ locations, the Company is able to offer a seamless service around theglobe. LEM has been listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange since 1986; the company’s
ticker symbol is LEHN.
www.lem.com
For further information please contact
Andrea Borla (CFO)
Phone: +41 22 706 1250
Email: investor@lem.com

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 11700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com

Appendix:Key figures
In CHF millions

2016/172017/18

ChangeOrders received
Industry segment
Automotive segment
Total LEM

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
52.7 53.5 55.4 58.1 63.9 58.7 63.1 70.4
12.5 13.6 12.3 13.0 14.8 19.4 15.6 13.8
65.2 67.1 67.7 71.2 78.8 78.0 78.7 84.2

Q4 to Q4
+21.2%+5.7%+18.3%

Q4 to Q3
+11.6%-11.4%+7.0%

Book-to-bill ratio
Industry segment
Automotive segment
Total LEM

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q40.96 1.03 1.06 1.06 1.02 0.96 1.11 1.14
1.05 1.00 0.97 1.09 1.11 1.27 0.98 0.94
0.97 1.02 1.04 1.07 1.04 1.02 1.08 1.10

Q4 to Q4
+7.7%
-13.1%+3.6%

Q4 to Q3
+3.1%
-3.9%
+2.2%

Sales
Industry segment
Automotive segment
Total LEM

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
54.9 52.1 52.5 54.8 62.6 61.1 56.9 61.6
12.0 13.6 12.6 12.0 13.3 15.2 15.9 14.6
66.9 65.7 65.1 66.8 75.9 76.3 72.8 76.2

Q4 to Q4+12.6%+21.7%+14.2%

Q4 to Q3+8.2%
-7.8%
+4.7%

EBIT
Industry segment
Automotive segment
Total LEM

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
10.6 10.4 11.4 11.5 13.3 12.6 11.3 13.9
2.8 3.7 2.7 2.6 2.7 3.3 3.3 1.3
13.4 14.1 14.1 14.1 16.0 15.9 14.6 15.3

Q4 to Q4+21.0%-49.0%+8.1%

Q4 to Q3
+23.1%-59.7%+4.6%

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39www.lem.com

Consolidated income statement
April to March
In CHF thousands

Sales
Cost of goods sold
Gross margin
Gross margin (in %)2017/18

2016/17

Change301 243 264 519(162 826) (140 959)
138 416 123 560+13.9%+12.0%

45.9%

46.7%

(30 540)(24 892)(21 679)412
61 719(26 700)(25 246)(16 039)182
55 758EBIT margin (in %)

20.5%

21.1%

Financial expense
Financial income
Foreign exchange effect(298)127
1 345(228)80(642)

Profit before taxes
Income taxes

62 893(9 587)54 968(10 403)+14.4%Net profit

53 30644 566+19.6%

17.7%

16.8%

Sales expense
Administration expense
Research & development expense
Other income
EBIT

Net profit margin (in %)LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland+10.7%

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com