Zumtobel Group AG (ZAG) Q3 FY2026 Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Zumtobel Group's Conference Call on our First 9 Months and Third Quarter Results for our 2025, '26 Financial Year. With me on the call today are Alfred Felder, our CEO; and Thomas Erath, our CFO. Alfred will walk you through the highlights of the quarter, while Thomas will discuss the financial performance. After the presentation, both gentlemen will be available to answer your questions. In case you have not a copy of the report and the presentation, you may find both documents for download on our web page. After the call, a playback of this conference call will be available on our web page as well. And with this, I hand over to Alfred.

Thank you, Eric. Good morning, and welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us today for our Q3 call. The third quarter was once again a challenging period for our business as market condition and the broader economic environment remained difficult, impacted by the geopolitical tensions and particularly now since last week also the latest developments in the Middle East. However, in Europe, we begin to see signs of demand in new construction, but the recovery remains rather modest. The market climate continues to be shaped by the global uncertainty. And therefore, still, we are having, as we discussed also last time, longer decision-making cycles and reduced investment appetite. Before we move into the details of the financial side, as always, I would like to give you an update on a couple of key projects what we did in the last quarter. Starting from the left side, that's the European Patent Office in Munich, where we also completed next to the first phase, the second phase in close collaboration with our strong network and lighting designers. Below that, an example of the office here in Barcelona, where we once again have demonstrated our expertise in creating high-quality and contemporary work environments. So if you look at the right side, and you see here the Festhalle in Bern, Switzerland. That's the new Festhalle venue that have been created for the BERNEXPO site that moves people culturally, economically and socially. And here, Zumtobel will deliver the complete lighting solutions as the overall lighting partner for Bern covering all areas from the concert hall and the foyer to the conference rooms. Data center remains a key growth driver for us, and you see it here on the example of Amazon, where we did again a tailor-made facility for Amazon with our tailor-made products. And finally, to conclude, an example of a store here, the Levi's store in Paris. This project, again, demonstrates the competence in our retail, creating really this brand-enhancing retail environment that combines visual comfort, efficiency and architectural integration. Before we go into the numbers, just as we have passed now the Olympics in Italy, I would like to highlight what we did over there because this is really something where technology, sustainability and the brand come together. And I can proudly say out of the 7 events or the 7 places and venues we, as the Zumtobel Group have been involved in 4. You see it here on the picture. One is the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium. The other one is the sliding center in Cortina. And then in Südtirol Anterselva, the arena for the biathlon and then in the fourth one, the arena of Santa Giulia. For the Zumtobel Group, these games are more than a project. They are the opportunity to showcase how advanced lighting can enhance performance and improve the spectator and broadcast experience and set new benchmarks in efficiency and sustainability. And the strategic impact extends well beyond the event itself. Visibility on such a global stage strengthen us in the brand positioning and open door for new projects around the globe in the years to come. On Slide 5 now, let me give you an overview before Thomas goes into the details on the financial performance of the first 9 months, a period that was characterized by, as I said, already the uncertainty in the economy and a weak market environment across the board. And you see this reflected also in the performance. The revenue for the group declined by 6.4% to EUR 828 million -- from EUR 828 million to EUR 775 million. On the segment level, the picture is as follows: Lighting segment generated EUR 618 million, while the revenue of the Components segment remains weak at amount EUR 200 million. And the adjusted EBIT at EUR 32.2 million, which corresponds now to an EBIT margin of 4. 2%. The figures clearly show that we are still facing the variety of challenges, which makes it particularly important to focus on the resilience and sustainability within Zumtobel Group. And that, of course, also includes what we reported, the ongoing review of our cost structures. This picture, you know we are continuing to work on these 3 pillars, the lean organization, the streamlined processes in the shared service center for the next year budget. We have also a quite substantial increase of functions in the shared service. You know that are both in Portugal and also in Serbia in 2 locations, Belgrade and in Niš. And we do target to save EUR 40 million to EUR 50 million by '28, '29 with a portion coming in within this fiscal year and then basically the next 2 years to come. But the issue is that we are now building up the structure in the shared service center before we can transfer all this. But I also wanted to emphasize, this is not just a cost-cutting exercise. It's about optimization and improving of our setup in the future to get leaner, more customer focused, so in our overall commercial organization. We are convinced, ladies and gentlemen, that these measures that we have introduced will strengthen our company in the future, especially hopefully, within the next quarters, the better market environment so that we are positioned here for the future. And with that, I would like to hand over to Thomas, who will then go through the Q3 results in detail.

Thank you, Alfred. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Let me start with the Lighting segment. Q3 revenues in the Lighting segment amounted to EUR 190 million and were 3% below the previous year. Germany, Austria, France and U.K. recorded lower volumes, coupled with price pressure. However, positive volume contributions were recorded in the Southern and Eastern Europe region, highlighted by Italy and Hungary, along with positive growth in Switzerland. Adjusted EBIT in the Lighting segment increased from EUR 1.9 million to EUR 7.2 million. Our adjusted EBIT margin increased to 3.8% Lower material costs and the decline in personnel expenses more than offset the decline in revenues. Please keep in mind for comparative purposes that this year's research subsidy of EUR 1.7 million was recorded in Q2, whereas last year, this was recorded in Q3. Let me move to the Components segment. Revenues in the Components segment declined by 10.4% to EUR 62 million in the third quarter. The difficult economic and geopolitical environment led to declining sales and also increasing pressure on prices. Adjusted EBIT in the Components segment totaled minus EUR 2 million. The adjusted EBIT margin stood at minus 3.2%. Lower material and transportation costs as well as lower personnel expenses were unable to offset the decline in revenues. Again, please keep in mind for comparative purposes that this year's research subsidy of EUR 1.8 million was recorded in Q2, whereas last year's Q3 figures included this research subsidy of the same amount. Slide 9 show the Q3 results for the group. Revenues in the third quarter declined by 5.2% to EUR 237.4 million, mainly as a result of declining volumes and price pressure. Adjusted EBIT stood at EUR 0.6 million compared with minus EUR 0.2 million in the third quarter last year. Adjusted EBIT amounted to 0.3%. Overall, lower material costs, lower personnel expenses more than offset the negative impact from declining volumes. As already mentioned for the segments, this year's research subsidy of EUR 3.5 million at group level was recorded in Q2, whereas last year's figures included the research subsidy in Q3. Let's move to the EBIT bridge. Looking at the adjusted EBIT bridge, we start with the prior year adjusted EBIT of EUR 41 million. The negative revenue impact totaled EUR 38.5 million with the decline primarily caused by volume reductions, which is about 2/3 and to a lesser extent, by price pressure around about 1/3. Looking at our COGS, lower material costs and lower personnel expenses had positive impact of EUR 22.3 million. SG&A and research costs made a positive contribution to results, mainly due to lower personnel expenses. As a result, adjusted EBIT decreased to EUR 32.2 million. Slide 11 provides you with the information on our income statement. As I mentioned before, our adjusted EBIT stood at EUR 32.2 million. Special effects were negative at EUR 12.7 million. They include restructuring costs mainly in connection with the closure of our U.S. production sites and efficiency -- our efficiency program. In addition, the special effects recognized in Components segment reported in the second quarter include the impairment of goodwill, which was about EUR 2 million, impairment losses of capitalized development projects, EUR 2.7 million and on the other side, an investment premium of positive EUR 1.4 million in Portugal. After deduction of these special effects, our EBIT totaled EUR 19.5 million. Our financial results amounted to minus EUR 9.5 million and net financing costs amounted to minus EUR 6.9 million. Other financial income and expenses totaled minus EUR 2.6 million and included the interest expense for pension obligations, FX and hedging valuation. After the deduction of income taxes, our net profit for the first 9 months amounted to EUR 9 million. As a consequence, earnings per share equaled EUR 0.22. Let's now move to the next slide, the cash flow statement. Cash flow from operating results fell year-on-year from EUR 69.2 million to EUR 64.6 million, mainly due to a decline in sales. The change in other operating items amounted to minus EUR 36.4 million and resulted mainly from lower provisions for variable salary components and restructuring. Cash flow from operating activities stood at EUR 36.8 million in the first 9 months versus EUR 48.8 million last year. Cash flow from investing activities amounted to minus EUR 31.4 million in the reporting period. In addition to investments in property, plant and equipment, capitalized development costs of EUR 11.5 million are also included here. And as a result, free cash flow equaled EUR 5.4 million versus EUR 15.6 million last year. Cash flow from financing activities amounted to EUR 10 million for the first 9 months versus minus EUR 36.3 million last year. The change compared to the prior year is primarily related to 2 factors. First, the increased utilization of the syndicated loan agreement; and second, the loan from the European Investment Bank. A reduced dividend distribution also contributed to this effect. Let me finish with Slide 13 and some comments on our balance sheet. The balance sheet structure remains stable. The equity ratio increased to 43.4%. Net debt rose in comparison with the year-end close to EUR 131 million. Our debt coverage ratio is at 1.59. And with this, I hand back to Alfred.

Before turning to our outlook, let me again show you the picture on the latest developments on the Euro construct data. The overall picture remains consistent with that what we have outlined in the last quarter. And really after several very challenging years, Europe's nonresidential construction sector is stabilizing. with 2026 still expected to mark the beginning of the gradual recovery. You see it here on the picture with new build of 2% growth and the renovation of 1.5%. And looking ahead, we will anticipate improving the momentum, particularly in the field of education and health care, while the segments like office and logistics remain comparatively weaker. The expected recovery continues to support by the rebound of new build activities following the prolonged period of construction completed by the structural resilient renovation demand. But on the same time, regional disparities persist growth dynamic vary across the different countries where we are operating and the subsectors and the visibility in some segments remains limited. Renovation, however, continues to benefit from the energy-efficient initiatives, the ESG-related requirements and ongoing modernization needs. In summary, the market environment has not changed since our last update, but the direction is gradually improving even if the pace of recovery remains moderate and uneven across the different countries. Against this backdrop, our strategic priorities remain unchanged. We are focusing on capturing renovation opportunities with our products and the positioning of the Zumtobel Group to benefit from the anticipating upturn in nonresidential construction. As you know, and we say this every time, the lighting industry typically lags in the construction cycle. So we expect any sustained market recovery will translate into an increased demand by our solution within a certain time delay. This brings me now to the outlook. The overall market environment remains challenging and the geopolitical instability continues to create uncertainty, especially after last weekend in a market where we are quite intense. We are seeing customers adopt a more cautious approach with longer decision cycles and more frequent project delays. With the measures what we have taken and the efficiency program now in place, we have set a clear course to position the company for sustainable growth and continued innovation. And with a focused strategy and decision execution, we are responding to the ongoing shifts in the markets and creating the foundation for a resilient performance in the years ahead. With reference to these uncertainties, we are maintaining our guidance for the revenue development. We continue to expect a revenue decline in a single-digit percentage for the entire financial year. Previously, we expected the adjusted EBIT margin to range between 1% and 4%, and we are now providing more precise guidance from 2.5% to 4%. We outlined in the quarter 2 that the current performance trends suggest they're tracking more towards the upper third. But obviously, with the now arising crisis in the Middle East, where typically the months February, March and April. So the last -- our last fiscal year quarter are the strongest one and creates additional uncertainty. The planned CapEx for the year amounts to approximately the EUR 50 million as indicated already in the last quarter. Before we conclude the presentation and listening to your questions, I would like to once again extend the invitation to our investor event, what we have planned during the Light & Building Fair on March 12 in Frankfurt. We will provide an update on the current market situation, outlined how we are operating with this environment and share our outlook for the market going forward. And furthermore, you will then have the opportunity to visit all 3 our stands from the 3 brands, so Tridonic, Thorn and Zumtobel, where we showcase our latest solutions, products and innovations. And afterwards, you will be able to discuss key topics directly with Thomas and myself on the stands. So if you have time and are interested in the event and haven't signed up yet, please feel free to do so by clicking the link or scanning the QR code. So with that, I would like to thank you for your attention. And now Thomas and myself are happy to take your questions. Thank you for listening.

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from the line of Michael Marschallinger from Erste Group.

I have 2 questions, please. Firstly, on the components first quarter development. Could you please provide us a breakdown of volumes pricing and also in terms of price pressure, what you are seeing currently on the market? And how does it compare to the previous quarters? And what are your expectations for fourth quarter? And this already brings me to my second question to your new revised adjusted EBIT guidance. This guidance still is a wide range for the fourth quarter from minus to positive fourth quarter. Could you maybe walk us through your assumptions for the last quarter? And did I understand correctly that the lower end assumes a longer Middle East conflict?

Let me start with the second question. You are absolutely right. Obviously, from the development, the 2.5% would be on the lower end of the quarter 4 results. We have a couple of special effects in there. As you know, we are in the middle of the fair time. We have participated now in 2 fairs. This one -- where we extended again the invitation the Light & Building is coming, what is basically having the cost in quarter 4. But the main reason is really the situation what we are having in Middle East, Michael, as you know, that's quite a significant market for us, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia, especially. And the March and April typically calls for something like 60% of the turnover, what we do. And obviously, here, we have the huge uncertainty what happens to that because currently, the products what are on the chip, we do not know when they will be accepted and more is to come. And that basically led us to this guidance. Maybe the first one, Thomas can answer. Yes on the pricing.

The revenues in the Components segment declined by 10.4%. 4 percentage points out of this 10.4% are price pressure. The rest comes from volume mix and FX. And the price pressure in the Components segment was over the year, nearly the same. Nevertheless, we see that the price pressure goes down a little bit as competitors are starting to raise prices. They had lowered their prices more than Tridonic before and now they are raising prices again. So we expect that the price pressure declines.

[Operator Instructions] The next question comes from the line of Emanuele Sartori from Kepler Cheuvreux.

Congrats for the results. I have just one question for now from my side. Just interested on the verticals here. Obviously, you mentioned education and health care, which might be a positive for you. I'm just wondering if you're seeing any other verticals holding up. I'm just thinking that you are now at the London fair, of course, focused on data centers. So I'm just interested to see the pipeline into Q4. But also in the next fiscal year?

No, Emanuele, you're absolutely right. Obviously, education and health care is one of the verticals where we expect growth because I maybe was not 100% clear. But when it comes to investments where we see it, a lot of it is coming currently from the push programs from the government in the, let me say, government sector. And obviously, that's then something where we are very well positioned to do so. But of course, we have other verticals. One, I think we mentioned it in one of the previous calls, is the whole sports illumination. We are now FIFA qualified as one of the few suppliers. I mean that's why I intentionally mentioned that what we have done in Italy because that's, of course, a lot of reference projects for stadium, and that's a very, very global business. So we are not so dependent only on the trends what we are seeing from most of other businesses in Europe. Data center, that's still booming where we are -- where we -- especially in Middle East, for example, we are also going in this whole tunnel illumination what goes in. I forgot to mention, I think last time we had it on the picture, we have now all launched on our portfolio for our trunking system, which is the most successful product for Zumtobel going into retail and into industry, so like warehouses with the best price performance ratio. And we expect that this will have quite a significant impact in '26, '27. So a couple of products. And obviously, Emanuele, I think if you're coming to visit us at the show, you see first time how we are launching this and positioning in this and there are a couple of promising growth drivers moving forward.

[Operator Instructions] Ladies and gentlemen, that was the last question. I would now like to turn the conference back over to Alfred Felder for any closing remarks.

Yes. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for listening. I'm looking forward for those of you to meet you personally in Frankfurt together with Thomas and with Eric. I think we have a couple of extremely interesting things to show where you will learn that we have driven our innovations, and we are ready for the, let me say, ramp up again if the economy starts to pickup. With that, thank you for listening. Thank you for joining the call and have a nice day.