Full year 20231
Fourth quarter 2023
Dividend
Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced the company’s fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results.
“In Q4, our gross margin was again strong, confirming our improving operational performance. This brought our adjusted EBITA margin into double digits for the full year. While we continued to face adverse market conditions in some geographies and in the consumer and OEM segments, we have gained share with our professional connected systems. We over-delivered against our free cash flow guidance, with close to EUR 600m in cash, representing 8.7% of sales. We are also proud to have surpassed the circular revenues sustainability target two years ahead of schedule. I would like to thank our employees and partners for their continued hard work and dedication to help us achieve these results,” said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Signify.
“While we anticipate challenging conditions will persist through the year ahead, I am confident in our strategy and in our proven ability to adapt. In the past quarter, we introduced a new operating model and measures that will enhance our performance and deliver annualized savings in excess of EUR 200 million. We will continue to protect our gross margin and enhance our focus on costs. We have developed strategic advantages that will help us to gain share and improve profitability while generating a strong free cash flow in 2024.”
Brighter Lives, Better World 2025
Signify completed the third year of its Brighter Lives, Better World 2025 sustainability program, making continued progress towards doubling its positive impact on the environment and society by the end of 2025. Signify is on track to deliver on three of its sustainability program commitments:
Signify is on track to reduce emissions across the entire value chain by 40% against the 2019 baseline - double the pace required by the Paris Agreement. This is driven by Signify's leadership in energy efficient and connected LED lighting solutions, which significantly reduce emissions during the use phase.
Circular revenues increased to 33%, up 1% over the third quarter, surpassing the 2025 target of 32%. The main contribution was from serviceable luminaires, with a strong performance from both consumer and professional.
Brighter lives revenues remained at 31%, on track to reach the 2025 target of 32%. This includes a strong contribution from professional luminaires that support the well-being of wildlife.
The percentage of women in leadership positions remained at 29%, slightly off track versus the 2023 target. Signify continues its actions to increase representation through focused hiring practices for diversity across all levels, and through retention and engagement actions to reduce attrition.
In the fourth quarter, Signify received several external recognitions for its leadership in Sustainability. Signify was included in the DJSI World Index for the 7th consecutive year, was included in the DJSI Europe Index for the 6th time, and achieved the EcoVadis Platinum rating for the 4th consecutive year.
Outlook
For 2024, Signify expects:
Conference call and audio webcast
Eric Rondolat (CEO) and Javier van Engelen (CFO) will host a conference call for analysts and institutional investors at 9:00 a.m. CET to discuss the fourth quarter and full-year 2023 results. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available via the Investor Relations website.
Financial calendar
February 27, 2024: Annual Report 2023
April 26, 2024: First quarter results 2024
May 14, 2024: Annual General Meeting
May 16, 2024: Ex-dividend date
May 17, 2024: Dividend record date
June 3, 2024: Dividend payment date
July 26, 2024: Second quarter and half-year results 2024
October 25, 2024: Third quarter results 2024
Forward-Looking Statements and Risks & Uncertainties
This document and the related oral presentation contain, and responses to questions following the presentation may contain, forward-looking statements that reflect the intentions, beliefs or current expectations and projections of Signify N.V. (the “Company”, and together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”), including statements regarding strategy, estimates of sales growth and future operational results.
By their nature, these statements involve risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its Group companies, and a number of important factors could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement as a result of risks and uncertainties. Such risks, uncertainties and other important factors include but are not limited to: adverse economic and political developments, in particular the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the conflict in the Middle East, the energy crisis in Europe, the expected recovery trajectory of China post COVID, component shortages, cost inflation, rapid technological change, competition in the general lighting market, development of lighting systems and services, successful implementation of business transformation programs, impact of acquisitions and other transactions, reputational and adverse effects on business due to activities in Environment, Health & Safety, compliance risks, ability to attract and retain talented personnel, adverse currency effects, pension liabilities, and exposure to international tax laws.
Additional risks currently not known to the Group or that the Group has not considered material as of the date of this document could also prove to be important and may have a material adverse effect on the business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects of the Group or could cause the forward-looking events discussed in this document not to occur. The Group undertakes no duty to and will not necessarily update any of the forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events, except to the extent required by applicable law.
Market and Industry Information
All references to market share, market data, industry statistics and industry forecasts in this document consist of estimates compiled by industry professionals, competitors, organizations or analysts, of publicly available information or of the Group’s own assessment of its sales and markets. Rankings are based on sales unless otherwise stated.
Non-IFRS Financial Measures
Certain parts of this document contain non-IFRS financial measures and ratios, such as comparable sales growth, adjusted gross margin, EBITA, adjusted EBITA, free cash flow, and other related ratios, which are not recognized measures of financial performance or liquidity under IFRS. The non-IFRS financial measures presented are measures used by management to monitor the underlying performance of the Group’s business and operations and, accordingly, they have not been audited nor reviewed. Not all companies calculate non-IFRS financial measures in the same manner or on a consistent basis and these measures and ratios may not be comparable to measures used by other companies under the same or similar names. A reconciliation of these non-IFRS financial measures to the most directly comparable IFRS financial measures is contained in this document. For further information on non-IFRS financial measures, see “Chapter 18 Reconciliation of non-IFRS measures” in the Annual Report 2022.
Presentation
All amounts are in millions of euros unless otherwise stated. Due to rounding, amounts may not add up to totals provided. All reported data are unaudited. Unless otherwise indicated, financial information has been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies as stated in the Annual Report 2022 and the Semi-Annual Report 2023.
Market Abuse Regulation
This press release contains information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
Signify Investor Relations
Thelke Gerdes
Tel: +31 6 1801 7131
E-mail: thelke.gerdes@signify.com
Signify Corporate Communications
Tom Lodge
Tel: +31 6 5252 5416
E-mail: tom.lodge@signify.com
Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2021 sales of EUR 6.9 billion, we have approximately 37,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for four consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.