PRESS RELEASELEM announces good sales performance and strong margins for first nine months
Fribourg, Switzerland, 1 February 2019 – LEM (SIX: LEHN), the market leader in providing
innovative and high-quality solutions for measuring electrical parameters, announces nine months
results for 2018/19 (April-December) compared to 2017/18:•

Bookings increased by 1.3% to CHF 238.6 million from CHF 235.5 million; the book-to-billratio decreased to 0.97 (1.05)•Sales increased by 8.9% to CHF 245.1 million (CHF 225.0 million); at constant exchangerates, sales increased by 7.4%•

The global spread of sales remains steady across different regions:- China CHF 84.7m (34.6% of total)- Europe CHF 79.2m (32.3% of total)- North America CHF 32.6m (13.3% of total)- Rest of World CHF 48.6m (19.8% of total)•

R&D up by 31.6% to CHF 20.3 million (CHF 15.4 million) to capture new opportunities•

EBIT increased by 9.3% to CHF 50.8 million (CHF 46.5 million); the EBIT margin was steadyat 20.7% (20.6%)•Net profit for the period rose by 2.4% to CHF 39.0 million (CHF 38.1 million)

Frank Rehfeld, CEO, said: “We are pleased with our good sales performance of +8.9%, achieved
despite the economic uncertainties. LEM continues to benefit from its broad geographic spread, its
strong heritage in industry applications, and the growth potential of automobile applications. China is
our largest market, and provides the biggest strategic opportunity for LEM to grow in the mediumterm. In the short-term our business is impacted slightly by China, due to the economic slowdown.
Our global strategy is reflected by the significant long-term investment in R&D and infrastructure tocapture new growth opportunities across our target markets.”Andrea Borla, CFO, remarked: “Due to global economic uncertainties impacting customer demand,
we are slightly reducing our full year sales outlook to CHF 315-320 million. We are pleased tomaintain our guidance for the EBIT margin which remains on track for around 20%, even while we
increased R&D investment by 31.6% in the first nine months.”

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 11700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com
1/5

Industry segment: performance as expected
Nine months sales in the Industry segment totalled CHF 189.9 million, up 5.1%. At constantexchange rates, sales increased by 3.6%. Sales decreased by 4.3% in China. Sales in Asia excluding
China grew by 9.5%, in Europe by 10.5%, and in North America by 10.4%.
CHFm
9M 2017/18

CHFm
9M 2018/19

Drives

84.6

86.4

+2.2%

Renewable
Energy

57.0

58.2

+2.2%

Traction

31.9

36.5

+14.1%High precision

7.1

8.7

+23.0%

Total Industry

180.6

189.9

+5.1%

Businesses

ChangeComments- China & Japan investments subdued- Other markets steady growth across portfolio- China lower due to solar policy changes- Gained market share in Europe and India- Growth in China and India- Higher investments in Eastern Europe- Continued demand for EV car test benches- New products launched

Automotive segment: shift to green cars accelerates
Nine months sales in the Automotive segment totalled CHF 55.2 million, an increase of 24.5%. At
constant exchange rates, sales increased by 23.0%. Although China remains the largest market, its
economy has shown signs of slowing and the green car business has been impacted by the unwindingof stock built up by customers earlier in the year. Both the US and Europe have seen announcements
of factory closures, although the uptake of green cars has been quicker than most commentators wereexpecting. Sales increased by 53.2% in China. Sales in Asia excluding China grew by 23.0%, inEurope they were up by 23.9%, while in North America they declined by 11.2%.
CHFm
9M 2017/18

CHFm
9M 2018/19

Green

24.8

37.7

+52.1%

Conventional

19.6

17.5

-10.5%

Total Automotive

44.4

55.2

+24.5%

Businesses

ChangeComments- All markets continue to grow
- China influenced by policies- US overall passenger car usage is down
- Old sensor technology being replaced asanticipated

Nine months profitability on track
The strength of our business is demonstrated by our ability to significantly increase R&D investmentsby 31.6% to CHF 20.3 million (CHF 15.4 million), and still grow EBIT by 9.3% to CHF 50.8 million(CHF 46.5 million). Thanks to ongoing efficiency improvements, the EBIT margin remained steady inline with expectations at 20.7% (20.6%).
Outlook
For the full financial year 2018/19, we are slightly reducing our sales outlook from around CHF 320
million to CHF 315-320 million compared with CHF 301.2 million for 2017/18. Since our last reporting
period, global economic uncertainty has increased, which will impact our customers in the months
ahead. 4th quarter performance will also be affected by the Chinese New Year holidays.
However in the medium-term the outlook for LEM remains strong, driven by the mega trends ofenergy efficiency, mobility and automation. We reiterate the EBIT margin outlook for the full financial
year at around 20% compared with 20.5% last year.

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com
2/5

Media, investors and analyst conference call and webcast
Frank Rehfeld, CEO, and Andrea Borla, CFO, will provide a detailed presentation of the nine months
results today at 10:00 CET at a media, investors and analyst conference call.
Dial in details are:+41 (0) 58 310 50 00+44 (0) 207 107 0613
+1 (1) 631 570 56 13

Switzerland & EuropeUKUSA

The conference call will simultaneously be webcast. Please follow the instructions in the following
link: https://78449.choruscall.com/dataconf/productusers/lem/mediaframe/28427/indexl.html
The link to the webcast and the presentation slides are available on the LEM website(www.lem.com/en/investors), where the webcast will later be archived.

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

22 May 201927 June 2019
2 July 2019
4 July 201930 July 20195 November 2019Year-end results 2018/19
Annual General Meeting of Shareholders for the financial year 2018/19
Dividend ex-date
Dividend payment date
First quarter results 2019/20
Half-year results 2019/20

LEM – At the heart of power electronics
LEM is the market leader in providing innovative and high-quality solutions for measuring electricalparameters. Its core products - current and voltage transducers - are used in a broad range ofapplications 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 corebusiness, and to develop opportunities in existing and new markets with new applications. LEM is a
mid-size, global company with approximately 1,490 employees worldwide. It has production plantsin Beijing (China), Sofia (Bulgaria), Geneva (Switzerland) and Tokyo (Japan), and a dedicated R&D
Centre in Lyon (France). With regional sales offices near its customers’ locations, the Company isable to offer a seamless service around the globe. 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 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com
3/5

Appendix:
Consolidated income statement (April to December)
In CHF thousands

2017/18

2018/19

ChangeSales
Cost of goods sold224'998(122'075)

245'094(131'352)+8.9%

Gross margin
Gross margin (in %)102'92245.7%

113'74246.4%+10.5%

Sales expense
Administration expense
Research & development expense
Other expense
Other income(22'534)(18'705)(15'448)0226(22'414)(20'426)(20'324)
0194

EBIT
EBIT margin (in %)46'461
20.6%

50'771
20.7%

Financial expense
Financial income
Foreign exchange effect

(205)
85
1'714

(168)
98(1'411)

Profit before taxes
Income taxes

48'055(10'002)

49'290(10'319)+2.6%

Net profit of the period
Net profit margin (in %)38'053
16.9%

38'971
15.9%

+2.4%

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 11700 Fribourg
Switzerland+9.3%

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com
4/5

Key Figures
In CHF millions

2017/18

2018/19

ChangeOrders received

Q1

Q2

Q39M

Q1

Q2

Q3

9M

Q3 - Q3

9M - 9M

Industry
Automotive

63.9
14.8

58.7
19.4

63.1
15.6

185.7
49.8

68.0
17.9

56.6
23.5

57.5
15.1

182.1
56.5

-8.9%
-2.8%

-1.9%
+13.5%

Total LEM

78.8

78.0

78.7

235.5

86.0

80.0

72.6

238.6

-7.7%

+1.3%

Book-to-bill ratio

Q1Q2

Q39M

Q1

Q2

Q39MQ3 - Q3

9M - 9M

Industry
Automotive

1.02
1.110.96
1.27

1.110.98

1.03
1.120.96
1.04

0.93
1.16

0.99
0.85

0.96
1.02

-11.0%-13.5%

-6.7%
-8.8%

Total LEM

1.04

1.02

1.08

1.05

0.98

0.99

0.95

0.97

-11.7%

-7.0%

Sales

Q1Q2

Q3

9M

Q1Q2

Q3

9M

Q3 - Q3

9M - 9M

Industry
Automotive

62.6
13.3

61.1
15.2

56.9
15.9

180.6
44.4

70.8
17.3

60.8
20.1

58.3
17.8

189.9
55.2

+2.4%
+12.4%+5.1%+24.5%

Total LEM

75.9

76.372.8

225.0

88.0

80.9

76.1

245.1

+4.5%

+8.9%

EBIT

Q1

Q2Q3

9M

Q1

Q2Q39M

Q3 - Q3

9M - 9M

Industry
Automotive

13.3
2.7

12.6
3.3

11.3
3.3

37.3
9.2

15.8
2.8

13.0
4.0

12.1
3.2

40.9
9.9+6.5%
-3.3%

+9.7%
+7.6%

Total LEM

16.0

15.9

14.6

46.5

18.5

17.0

15.2

50.8

+4.3%

+9.3%

Net Profit

Q1

Q2

Q3

9M

Q1

Q2

Q3

9M

Q3 - Q3

9M - 9M

Total LEM

13.3

13.2

11.6

38.1

13.5

13.8

11.6

39.0+0.5%+2.4%

LEM Holding SA
Avenue Beauregard 1
1700 Fribourg
Switzerland

Tel. : +41 26 460 10 30
Fax.: +41 26 460 10 39
www.lem.com
5/5