Melexis Q4 and FY 2018 results – Full year sales growth of 11%

Intermediate declaration by the Board of Directors
Ieper, Belgium – February 6th, 2019, 07.00 hrs CET

For the full year 2018, sales were 569.4 million EUR, an increase of 11% compared to the previous year.
The EUR/USD exchange rate evolution had a negative impact on sales of 3% compared to 2017.
The gross result was 261.1 million EUR or 45.9% of sales, an increase of 11% compared to 2017.
R&D expenses were 13.7% of sales, G&A was at 5.3% of sales and Selling was at 2.6% of sales.
The operating result was 138.5 million EUR or 24.3% of sales, an increase of 4% compared to 132.6 million EUR last year.
The net result was 115.5 million EUR or 2.86 EUR per share, an increase of 4% compared to 111.0 million EUR or 2.75 EUR per share in 2017.

Sales for the fourth quarter of 2018 were 141.6 million EUR, an increase of 7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year and a decrease of 3% compared to the previous quarter.
The EUR/USD exchange rate evolution had a positive impact on sales of 2% compared to the same quarter of last year and a positive impact of 1% compared to the previous quarter.
The gross result was 64.2 million EUR or 45.3% of sales, an increase of 5% compared to the same quarter of last year and a decrease of 6% compared to the previous quarter.
R&D expenses were 14.7% of sales, G&A was at 5.6% of sales and Selling was at 2.5% of sales.
The operating result was 31.9 million EUR or 22.5% of sales, a decrease of 11% compared to the same quarter of last year and a decrease of 14% compared to the previous quarter.
The net result was 28.5 million EUR or 0.70 EUR per share, an increase of 7% compared to 26.6 million EUR or 0.66 EUR per share in the fourth quarter of 2017 and a decrease of 5% compared to the previous quarter.

The Board of Directors approved on February 1st, 2019 to propose to the Annual Shareholders meeting to pay out over the result of 2018 a total dividend of 2.20 EUR gross per share. This amount contains an interim dividend of 1.30 EUR per share which was paid in October 2018 and a final dividend of 0.90 EUR per share which will be payable after approval of the Annual Shareholders meeting.
The Melexis shares will start trading ex coupon on April 24, 2019 (opening of the market). The record date is April 25, 2019 (closing of the market) and the dividend will be payable as from April 26, 2019.

Melexis expects sales in the first quarter of 2019 to be in the range of 112-118 million euro, with a gross profit margin around 41% and an operating margin around 13% at the midpoint of the sales guidance.
Melexis expects its full year 2019 sales level to remain below the previous year. Gross profit margin is expected to be around 43% taking into account a EUR/USD exchange rate of 1.15.

“Melexis is proud to announce again double digit sales growth in 2018. At constant currency rates, sales over the full year increased with more than 14%. The main growth drivers in 2018 were the magnetic sensor family, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, embedded motor drivers and embedded lighting. Today, on average every new car worldwide produced carries 11 Melexis chips inside.
The short term business environment changed significantly over the course of 2018. While customer sentiment and order behavior till the end of the summer were optimistic and strong, dynamics were different for the remainder of the year. In October, we announced a reduced short term visibility and signs of upcoming inventory corrections at our customers, mainly triggered by a more uncertain economic and geopolitical situation caused by global trade tensions. This market behavior has not changed so far. We are in the midst of these inventory corrections now, visibility remains low. Unless geopolitical tensions intensify, a renewed positive order trend is likely to occur in the second half of 2019. Having said that, based on the current order book, Melexis expects 2019 sales to remain below the level of last year.
Amidst all these uncertainties, Melexis stands strong. All next generation and innovation programs at Melexis customers continue as before. The secular trends which drive our future growth, being more electrification, assisted drive and personalization further gain traction. Sales to automotive customers represented 93% of total sales in the fourth quarter and 91% of sales in the full year 2018. The portion of standard product (ASSPs) sales represented 67% of total sales in the fourth quarter and 66% in the full year 2018.”

“Melexis is well resourced to further develop its fundamentals. During 2018, Melexis invested significantly in additional capacity to ensure future growth. With lower sales, this weighs short term on our profit margins. Mid-term, as business normalizes, Melexis expects to return to profit margin levels similar to 2018.”

The statutory auditor has confirmed that the audit, which is substantially complete, has not to date revealed any material misstatement in the draft consolidated accounts, and that the accounting data reported in the press release is consistent, in all material respects, with the draft accounts from which it has been derived.

• Annual Shareholders Meeting: April 23, 2019
• Publication Q1 2019 Results: April 23, 2019
• Dividend pay date: April 26th, 2019 (ex coupon on April 24, 2019)
• Publication Q2/HY1 2019 Results: July 31, 2019
• Publication Q3 2019 Results: October 23, 2019
• Publication FY 2019 Results: February 5, 2020 

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