New software licenses & CAD/CAM equipment orders up at Lectra

02 May '11

5 min read

Lectra's Board of Directors, chaired by André Harari, reviewed the unaudited consolidated financial statements for the first quarter of 2011.

(Detailed comparisons between 2011 and 2010 are like-for-like.)

First-quarter 2011 orders and earnings confirm that the sales dynamics are ongoing and that the operating and financial ratios-which had already significantly strengthened in 2010-are continuing to improve.

Continuation of the Strong Sales Dynamics Recorded in 2010

At a total of EUR 21.9 million, orders for new software licenses and CAD/CAM equipment were up 25% compared to Q1 2010.

Despite their strong rebounds recorded in 2010 and again in 2011, orders were still down 11% compared to Q1 2007, as activity in many industrialized countries remains yet to recover pre-crisis levels.

Geographically, the situation reveals certain contrasts. Orders rose 48% in Europe (led by Germany and Eastern Europe) and 33% in Asia-Pacific, but they dropped 5% in the Americas and 18% in the rest of the world (North and South Africa, Turkey, the Middle East, etc.). Orders in emerging countries (45% of total orders) advanced 17%, while in developed countries (55% of total orders), which had grown more moderately in 2010, they were up 32%. Compared to 2007, they still lag behind by 8% and 14%, respectively.

The market sectors revealed the same contrast. Fashion remained essentially stable (-2%), whereas the automotive sector continued to show its vigor (+115%). Furniture advanced 43%, and the other industries were down 17%. Sales of spare parts and consumables, up 14% at EUR 10.4 million, registered new, strong gains, resulting from the combined effect of the increasing number of installed CAD/CAM systems and the continuing recovery in customers' production volumes.

These variations over a single quarter cannot, of course, allow for an extrapolation of trends for the coming quarters.

Strong Growth in Operating Margin

Revenues totaled EUR 49.8 million, up 14% relative to Q1 2010-up 16% at actual exchange rates. Revenues from new systems sales (EUR 23.5 million) were up 30%. Recurring revenues (EUR 26.3 million) rose by 3%.

At March 31, 2011, the order backlog (EUR 19.2 million) increased by EUR 0.7 million relative to December 31, 2010, and by EUR 4 million relative to March 31, 2010.

Fixed overheads costs (EUR 26.5 million) were up 2%. Variable costs (EUR 3.4 million) increased 51%, reflecting the growth in sales activity and earnings.

Income from operations was EUR 5.5 million. Like-for-like, it amounted to EUR 5.3 million, an increase of EUR 2.3 million (+77%) relative to Q1 2010. There were no non-recurring items in the first quarters of 2011 or 2010.

The operating margin was 11%. Like-for-like, it worked out to 10.8% and increased by 3.9 percentage points compared to Q1 2010 (6.9%).

After an income tax charge of EUR 1.6 million, net income was EUR 3.7 million (EUR 1.6 million in Q1 2010).

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