Evening. This is the Chorus Call conference operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Amplifon third quarter and nine-month 2026 results conference call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, signal an operator by pressing Star and zero on your telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Francesca Rambaudi, Senior Director, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
Thank you. Good afternoon, and welcome to Amplifon's conference call on third quarter and nine months 2026 results. Before we start, a few logistic comments. Earlier, we issued a press release related to our results, and this presentation is posted on our website in the Investor section. The call can be accessed also via webcast, and dial-in details are on Amplifon website as well as on the press release. I have to bring your attention to the disclaimer on slide two, as some of the statements made during this call may be considered forward-looking statements. With that, I am now pleased to turn the call to Amplifon CEO, Enrico Vita.
Thank you, Francesca. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today, I'm very pleased to share our third quarter results, which confirm the continued momentum in our performance we have seen since the beginning of the year. In fact, we delivered very strong results across all key metrics, from organic growth to profitability and cash generation, with solid performance across all three of our regions. As usual, let me begin with a brief overview of the global market environment. This time, more than ever, it is important to emphasize that the available market data reflects sell-in rather than sell-outs, and were positively impacted by an unusually concentrated wave of new product launches across manufacturers, which took place almost simultaneously this year in quarter three.
As a result, it is definitely not easy to assess the underlying market growth, although we believe that the underlying trend continues to be positive. In fact, in the U.S., according to data reported by the Manufacturers Association, the market grew by approximately 8% in selling terms, driven by a very strong Private-pay segment, up around 12%, which more than offset the continued softness in the insurance channel, down around 5%. A similar effect from new product launches was also observed in Europe, although to a lesser extent. Nevertheless, we believe that the underlying market demand continued to improve in Europe as well, with growth becoming more balanced across countries compared with last year. In Asia Pacific, based on our estimates, market conditions remained broadly flat in both Australia and New Zealand.
Overall, even if it is definitely not easy to assess underlying market growth during the third quarter, we believe it is again showing an improving trend towards the long-awaited return to the structural growth that has historically characterized our industry. Turning to our revenues, we delivered 3.6% organic growth, a particularly good performance considering that we were facing the highest comparison base of the year. Importantly, growth was also well-balanced across all three regions. The impact of our Fit4Growth program on revenues during the quarter was approximately 3.9%, mainly reflecting our portfolio optimization initiatives. M&A contributed 0.5%, primarily driven by the carryover effect on bolt-on acquisitions completed last year. Turning to profitability, we delivered a substantial improvement in all key metrics with adjusted EBITDA margin that increased by 90 basis points versus last year, driven by operating leverage and the impact of our Fit4Growth program.
Importantly, all three regions contributed to this performance, each delivering a good improvement in adjusted EBITDA margin. Even more importantly, I would like to underline our adjusted EBIT margin, where the improvement was even more pronounced with an expansion of 150 basis points versus last year, reflecting the benefits of Fit4Growth on rents as well as on D&As. Finally, let me highlight our excellent free cash flow generation, which improved by an impressive €46 million, more than doubling compared with the first nine months of 2025. As you can imagine, we are very pleased with these results, since they reflect not only the continued positive momentum in global market demand, but even more importantly, the result of all the work our teams have done over the past couple of years.
With that, I will now hand over to Gabriele, who will take you through the financial results in more details.
Thanks, Enrico, and good evening to everybody. Turning to slide number four, we have a look at our financial performance in Q3 2026. Revenues were up 0.2% at constant FX, with a strong organic growth at 3.6%, well-balanced across all regions. The bolt-on M&A, made primarily in 2025, contributed to top line growth by 0.5%. Fit4Growth had an impact of -3.9%, including the divesture of the U.K. and India businesses, the termination of a managed-care agreement in the U.S., and the closure of around 230 clinics globally since the launch of the program, of which 30 in Q3 2026. FX was a tailwind of 1.9%, mainly driven by the U.S. and Australian dollars. Adjusted EBITDA was €150 million, with the margin improving by 90 basis points compared to Q3 2025.
This result was driven by the excellent improvement seen across all regions, thanks to operating leverage together with the strong results of the Fit4Growth program, and after ongoing investment to further strengthen the company distinctive assets. Moving to slide five, we have a look at our financial performance in the nine months. Revenues were up 0.9% at constant FX, with a strong organic growth at 3.5%, significantly accelerating since Q2 and well-balanced across regions. The bolt-on M&A made primarily in 2025 contributed by 4.7%, and Fit4Growth had an impact of -3.3%. FX was neutral in the nine months, reversing to positive in Q3. Adjusted EBITDA was €413 million, with an 80 basis point margin improvement compared to nine months 2025, thanks to a strong performance across all region driven by operating leverage and Fit4Growth, even after ongoing investment in our assets.
Turning to slide six, we have a look at EMEA performance. In the quarter, revenue growth was 1% at constant FX, thanks to a strong organic growth which came in at 3.5%, also thanks to the positive market development and the excellent performance in Southern Europe. The bolt-on M&A made primarily in 2025 contributed 0.2% to top line growth, while Fit4Growth had an impact of -2.7% following the closure of around 100 clinics since the launch of the program and the divesture of the U.K. business. FX was a slight tailwind of +0.2%. Adjusted EBITDA was €88 million, with margin at 24.7%, 140 basis point above Q3 2025, thanks to operating leverage and the strong result of Fit4Growth.
In the nine months, revenue growth was 1% at constant FX, with organic performance at +2.7%, Fit4Growth at -2.1%, and M&A at +0.4%, primarily for the carryover from 2025 bolt-ons. Adjusted EBITDA was €324 million, with margin at 28.7%, 140 basis point above last year. Moving to slide seven, we have a look at the performance in Americas. Revenue performance in the quarter was -3.8 at constant FX, while FX was a tailwind for 2.8%. Organic growth was a solid 3.3% over the highest comparison base of the year. The bolt-on M&A, which reflected the 2025 M&A carryover and the acquisition closed in August of a franchisee in Louisiana comprising 40 clinics, contributed +1.5% to top line growth.
Fit4Growth had an impact of -8.6% following the termination of a managed-care agreement in the U.S. from January the 1st, and the closure of around 40 clinics since the launch of the program. Adjusted EBITDA was €26 million, with margin up 70 basis point to 21.4%, thanks to operating leverage and the strong contribution of Fit4Growth. In the nine months, revenue were flattish at constant FX, with organic performance at +5.3%. Fit4Growth at -8.2% and M&A at +1.5%. Adjusted EBITDA was €83 million, with margin at 23.6%, 110 basis point above last year. Moving to chart 8, we have a look at the Asia-Pac performance. In the quarter, revenue performance was +1.9% at constant FX, driven by a strong organic growth of 4.2%, thanks to the excellent performance of Australia and China.
Bolt-on M&A made primarily in 2025 contributed 0.2% to top-line growth. Fit4Growth had an impact of -2.5%, following the closure of over 90 clinics since the launch of the program and the divestiture of the dilutive business in India on August 12. Adjusted EBITDA reached circa EUR 24 million, with margin at 24.8%, 50 basis points higher than Q3 2025, thanks to operating leverage and the strong results from Fit4Growth, even after the fast growth of China and the ongoing investment in our assets. In the nine months, revenue grew 3.6% at constant FX, with organic performance at 4.4%, Fit4Growth at -1.3%, and M&A at +0.5%. Adjusted EBITDA was circa EUR 72 million, with margin at 25.8%, 70 basis points above last year. Moving to chart nine, we appreciate the Q3 income statement.
In Q3 2026, total revenue came in at EUR 575 million, with an increase of 2.1% or 0.2% at constant FX versus prior year. Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 115 million, with the margin at 20%, 90 basis points above 2025. Also, thanks to the strong results of Fit4Growth. Fit4Growth had also a significant positive impact on D&A, excluding PPA, both in terms of capex and rent rights of use depreciation, which posted a reduction of around EUR 2 million versus Q3 2025. The reduction of D&A gave a further boost to adjusted EBIT, which posted an outstanding 22% improvement in absolute value, increasing from EUR 43 million to EUR 52 million, with an even more significant improvement in terms of the percentage ratio to revenues, which increased by 150 basis points, also thanks to the positive operating leverage. Net financial expenses amounted to circa EUR 16 million, below the EUR 17 million in Q3 last year.
Tax rate increased slightly year-on-year from 26.2% to 26.8%, leading to a very strong increase of 39% in adjusted net profit from EUR 19.2 million in 2025 to EUR 26.6 million this year. Moving to chart 10, we see the nine months P&L evolution. Total revenues increased by 1% at constant exchange rate. Adjusted EBITDA was EUR 413 million, with margin at 23.4%, 80 basis points above nine months 2025. D&A, excluding PPA, decreased by around EUR 5 million, leading the adjusted EBIT to EUR 222 million, posting a strong increase of 12% versus last year, with even a more significant improvement in terms of margin, which increased by 120 basis points versus last year, thanks to both operating leverage and the Fit4Growth initiatives. Net financial expenses decreased by EUR 2.6 million to EUR 45 million, leading profit before tax to around EUR 176 million.
Tax rate ended at 27.3%, leading to a strong 17% increase in adjusted net profit versus last year, from circa EUR 110 million in 2025 to EUR 128 million this year. Moving to chart 11, we appreciate the cash flow evolution. Adjusted operating cash flow after lease liability was in the period equal to EUR 143 million versus EUR 123 million of last year. Net capex decreased by EUR 26 million to EUR 64 million in the nine months, also following the initiatives implemented within the Fit4Growth program. This led adjusted free cash flow to EUR 79 million versus EUR 33 million last year, with an outstanding increase of around 140%, perfectly in line with the path of deleverage that Amplifon undertook after the signing of the potential GN acquisition.
In the nine months 2026, we had net proceeds from divestiture, including the U.K. and Indian businesses, for around EUR 5 million, versus a net cash out for acquisition for EUR 59 million last year. This led the pro forma net cash flow for the period, excluding the net proceeds from the ABB completed in May, to negative EUR 10 million, with an improvement of around EUR 200 million versus a negative EUR 205 million in nine months of 2025. When we also add over EUR 100 million cash out for share buyback. Pro forma NFP came to EUR 1 billion and EUR 50 million, in line with the end of 2025, despite the negative business seasonality. Including the EUR 448 million net proceed from the ABB, the net cash flow for the period was positive for EUR 438 million, and the NFP was around EUR 600 million. Moving to slide 12.
We have a look at the debt profile trend and key financial ratios. As mentioned, the net financial debt ended slightly above EUR 1 billion, with the liquidity accounting for EUR 260 million, short-term debt accounting for around EUR 670 million, and the medium long-term debt accounting for around EUR 640 million. Following the IFRS 16 application, lease liability were around EUR 480 million, leading the sum of net financial debt and lease liability to EUR 1.53 billion. Equity ended at around EUR 1.5 billion. Looking at financial ratios, pro forma net debt over EBITDA improved despite the business seasonality to 1.85x versus 1.92x in December 2025, in line with our target to deleverage the company in light of the prospective acquisition of GN Hearing. Including the proceed from ABB, the net debt over EBITDA ratio was 1.6x . With that, I am glad to hand over to Enrico for the outlook and final remarks.
Thank you, Gabriele. We have come to the end of today's presentation. As I mentioned earlier, we are very pleased with the improving trend in the market dynamics, but even more so with our own performance, which has allowed us to gain market share in many of our key markets, particularly in Italy, Spain, Australia, and also China. In light of this, and as we are now approaching November, we are in a position to confirm our full year outlook. I am particularly pleased with our performance on two key other dimensions that matter more than ever as we navigate in a period of significant transformation. Profitability, particularly at adjusted EBIT level, and cash generation. Last but not least, I am pleased to provide a brief update on the proposed acquisition of GN Hearing.
First of all, as you might have already seen, in early October, we formally filed the transaction with the European competition authorities following the clearances already obtained in other relevant countries. We expect now to receive the related outcome within the standard review time frame. In parallel, our integration planning continues to progress very well. Our team is fully mobilized to ensure day one readiness in full compliance with all the regulatory requirements, while focusing on positioning the combined business to unlock the substantial value creation opportunities we see ahead. The farther we progress with our planning and preparations, the more convinced and excited we become about the compelling strategic rationale of this transaction and its potential to create a significant long-term value for our customers, employees, and shareholders.
We therefore look forward with great confidence and enthusiasm to completing the transaction and embarking on the next chapter of our growth journey, which we will be pleased to share with you in greater detail at our Capital Markets Day next spring. Thank you all for your attention. We are now happy to take your questions. With this, Francesca, over to you.
Thanks, Enrico. I kindly ask operator to open today's Q&A session. I kindly ask everyone to limit their participation to a maximum of two questions to ensure that all participants have the opportunity to engage. In the interest of time, please keep to a single question format so that all analysts have a fair chance to ask their questions. Thanks a lot. I leave it to Andjela.
Excuse me, this is the conference call conference operator. We will now begin the question- and- answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the touch-tone telephone. To remove yourself from the question queue, please press star two. Please pick up the receiver when asking questions. The first question is from Hassan Al-Wakeel from Barclays. Please go ahead.
Good evening. Thank you for taking my question.
Good evening.
Hey. Firstly, if you could please talk through your assessment of market growth in Q3 by region and how you reconcile your growth with peer commentary of 6%-7% market growth in the third quarter. I think, Enrico, you highlighted share gains in Italy, Spain, China, Australia. Where do you think you could be losing share, or do you think this is distorted by product launches, and if so, do you think this could be a pull forward of demand? Secondly, looking into 2027, particularly around margins and the progress you've seen this year, how should we be thinking about the balance between pricing, operating leverage, productivity, and cost inflation as it relates to your confidence of this margin progression continuing? Thank you.
Thank you, Hassan, for your questions. With regards to Q3 market growth, as I said at the beginning, it is not easy at all at this time, actually, to understand what is the real underlying market growth because of the several product launches that we have seen in the market in Q3. You know that this year we had a very peculiar situation where many of the leading manufacturers have launched their new product platforms in Q3, and definitely these had a significant impact in terms of reported numbers. I would mention, first of all, of course, the U.S. The U.S., the reported numbers from HIA, the Manufacturers Association, is a growth of the market of about 8%, with +12% in the Private-pay segment and then -5% in the Insurance segment.
There is clearly an effect driven by the product launch on the Private-pay segment, which is not really realistic to think that it grew by 12% coming from an average of growth, which was much below than that. I think that in order to have a proper assessment of the market growth of the U.S. and partly also regarding other markets in Europe, for example, I think that we need to see at least the data related to six months, and in particular, I would say to the second half of the year. It is very difficult really to reconcile these numbers. That's why we are very cautious to say a precise number of the estimated underlying market growth.
On a qualitative basis, what we feel is that the positive momentum that we have experienced since the beginning of the year is continuing also in Q3. With regards to market share, we feel like we have grown share in some of the key countries for our business. I mentioned Italy, I mentioned Spain, I mentioned Australia, because in Australia and New Zealand, we had quite a strong performance in a market that still was flattish in the quarter. We feel, and I say feel because again, we are not 100% sure about the underlying markets, we feel like we had most probably a performance in line in France.
Most probably we did not perform in line with the market in Germany, although in Germany, there is not only the distortion related in terms of market growth related to the product launches, but there is also a reconciliation because of the acquisition of the month of September last year. So it is really very difficult to understand what is the underlying market. In the U.S., I would say it's a question mark. We'll see. We'll see the numbers on a 6-month basis. Again, for me, one thing that I would like to highlight is the fact that in some of the countries in particular we mentioned in the past, Spain, Italy, et cetera, which are very important for us, we performed very strongly. With regards to 2027 margins, of course, today we cannot guide you on that.
As I mentioned, we are planning to have our Capital Markets Day next year during spring. What I can tell you is that in terms of inflation, we don't see major headwinds so far, and we do not expect major headwinds.
Perfect. Thank you very much.
The next question is from Veronika Dubajova from Citi. Please go ahead.
Hi, good afternoon, and thank you for taking my question.
Hello.
I will keep it to two, though. The first one is just kind of clicking on the Americas margin in particular. I am a little bit surprised by the magnitude of the sequential step down there and also pretty limited year-on-year improvement, which stands in stark contrast to what we saw in Q2. Just wondering if you can comment on, are there any moving parts related to the acquisition that are maybe depressing the margin, or is there anything you would call out on the Americas margin? Then sticking to the margin theme, if that is all right. If I look at the guidance for the full year, at this point in time, it implies a margin improvement in excess of 150 basis points in the fourth quarter on my math. Maybe I did it incorrectly, but that is where I get to.
Enrico and Gabriele, can you maybe talk to your degree of confidence in that margin improvement in the fourth quarter? What is going to drive it? How much visibility you have on it to give us some comfort around the full year margin progression as well? Thank you so much.
Absolutely. With regards to Americas margin, first of all, we increased our profitability by 70 basis points, which is not too bad, I would say. Then, of course, there is a correlation between organic growth that this quarter was lower than the past quarter and profitability. I would also add the fact that in this quarter, we also completed an acquisition, 40 stores, that for sure did not help to improve the profitability. But in general terms, let me say that the main point about Americas is related to the correlation between organic growth and profitability. With regards instead, the second question, and therefore our full year guidance, today we confirm our outlook in terms of profitability to be in the region of 100 basis points. Q4, as you know, is the biggest core quarter of the year.
But the goal is to be in the region of 100% as for our outlook already published.
Enrico, is there anything specific that the fourth quarter depends on? Is it just execution on the top line or any particular region where you need to see inflection?
Yeah. No. Well, I think that it will, of course, depend from the organic growth. It will also depend from the continuation of the effect of our Fit4Growth program, which is going across, down to the P&L. What I mean is that if you look at our improvement in terms of EBIT margin, we delivered a very strong improvement already in Q3. In Q3, the improvement in EBIT margin was 150 basis point, which in my opinion is a very strong performance because we have to take into account that the Fit4Growth also had an impact on rent, which now, according to the new IFRS, are below the EBITDA margin. But of course, they are profitability at EBIT level. As well, also, we are, as you know, on a path of D&A reduction. Thanks to two things.
One, we have completed some of the very capital intensive investments in IT, et cetera, that now have been completed. We have also reduced our capex, so we are also enjoying a reduction in terms of D&A, which at the end of the day, is delivering a very strong EBIT margin improvement of 150 basis points in Q3, which is very important. As well as, of course, now we are focusing a lot on this. As well as you can see, we are focusing also a lot on cash generation, which was particularly strong in the quarter. Of course, we are focusing a lot, even more than ever, even more than ever because, of course, we want to continue our deleverage path in consideration of the potential acquisition of GN.
Thank you.
Thank you.
The next question is from Andjela Bozinovic from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good evening. It is Andjela from BNP, and thank you for taking my question.
Good evening.
First one, maybe to push a bit more on the market growth. I appreciate it is difficult to distinguish between the sell-in and sell-out because of the launches, but you are still guiding on the market growth of 3%, and other manufacturers are more or less guiding for around 4%-5%, so low end of the structural growth. That is coming after a very strong nine months so far. I was just wondering if you could give us the building blocks to your 3% and also to your assumption of outgrowing this reference market for the guide. That would be the first question. The second question is, I just wanted to confirm, because in your press release you just say that you have grown above the reference market in Americas.
Is that only for nine months or you cannot comment on your performance versus the market in Americas for Q3? Thank you.
Yeah. With regards to the second question, I can answer immediately that, of course, we were making reference to the nine months. With regards to Q3, I must admit that is really very difficult to say which was the underlying market growth. Of course, we think that the trend of the market was positive. To say if it was the underlying 3, 4, 5, or 2, it's really impossible this time because, as I said, if you look at the private-pay market, which was up 12%, I hardly believe that this was not driven significantly by the sell-in activities from the manufacturers in relation with the launches. As you know, WSA, GN, Demant, everyone basically launched their new product platforms in Q3.
And also, if you dig even more on that +12%, you see also that there was a significant, even higher growth in the big chains, big retailers. There is clear, a very significant effect. I don't want really to say something that I'm not 100% sure in terms of underlying growth. But also, if you take these numbers and if you take the nine months in Americas, for example, we have performed better than the market. With regards then to the comments from the peers, I can't really comment because they are commenting sell-in and, of course, there are all these effects which are affecting the sell-in market.
The next question is from Julien Ouaddour from Bank of America. Please go ahead.
Perfect. Thank you. Good evening, and thanks for taking my questions. I will also limit myself to two. The first one is just from what I'm hearing, it appears that you may have already started adjusting the procurement arrangements in favor of GN. Could you just comment on whether if that's the case and whether you're already seeing any associated margin benefits? That would be the first one. The second one, I mean, sorry for-
Sorry. I'm not sure that I got your question. Can you please say again?
Yeah, sure. I'm going to just ask if you've already started to move your procurement towards GN, even more, and if you had any margin tailwind from that.
Oh, right.
The second question, and again, sorry for pushing on this kind of market and growth, but it seems that, at least to me, the industry growth appears increasingly concentrated among a handful of manufacturers with strong innovation. Based on the recent momentum, it doesn't seem GN to be fully participated in it. Is that a fair assessment for you? I'm just wondering if it can have an impact on the growth from your own white label brand performance today and maybe next year. What specifically can you change following the integration to fix that? Thank you very much.
Okay. Thank you for the questions. I hope that I have got all of them. With regards to GN, let's say insourcing of products, we have not changed anything yet, because as you know, until the closing, GN and Amplifon are two separate companies, and we are still waiting for the approval from antitrust authorities. So far, we have not changed anything in our procurement, let's say, arrangements and the policies. Of course, we have started to plan for it for starting from next year. What I mean is that we are now working on the planning of the integration for after the closing, but this is something that has not occurred yet. Then, with regards to the performance of GN, I wouldn't comment at all because, of course, this is not in our, let's say, possibility to make any comment on this.
Then, I don't know if you had some other points that you wanted to ask?
Yeah. No, just on the second question. We see that some specific products or from some specific manufacturers seems to perform a little bit better, and I'm just wondering if when you will have GN fully integrated and having their products on your white label brand, et cetera, do you expect this trend to continue, or do you have any short-term solution to fix that?
No. Well, of course, as you know, in terms of plans, our intention is to enhance the performance not only of GN but of the group, including Amplifon, of course. So we are working on the planning of all the initiatives in order to boost the performance of what will be, once completed the closing, the new group. But at the moment, I cannot comment on this.
Perfect. Thank you.
Next question is from Anchal Verma from JP Morgan. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good afternoon. I'll limit myself to two questions as well. The first one is just on your organic growth guidance of 3%. You've done 3.5% year to date. Would that suggest a slowdown in Q4 and easy comps, or shall we view this as a rather conservative guidance? Along the same lines, I know it's still early in the quarter, but are you able to share any comments on current trading and what you've seen in terms of the market going in Q4 versus Q3? The second question is, in terms of Fit4Growth, you are tracking ahead of expectations. Can you provide any color on how much contribution you would be baking in from a margin perspective for 2027?
Well, thank you. Unfortunately, I can't really answer either on the current trading and also for 2027. Again, about 2027 onwards, we will be very happy, actually, to answer to your questions during our Capital Markets Day that we will hold next spring. With regards to the question around the organic growth, it is true that, of course, year to date, we are tracking ahead of the 3%. We are at 3.5%, so we feel very confident about the fact that we can deliver a good organic growth also in Q4, which might lead to a higher number than 3%. But so far, in general terms, we wanted really to stick to our outlook already shared with you since the beginning of the year. But of course, we see the opportunity also to have a very good performance in terms of organic growth also in Q4.
Perfect. Thank you.
The next question is from Jack Reynolds-Clark from Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
Hi there. Good evening. Thank you for taking the questions. I have two as well, please. The first, coming back to Americas. Just to push you a bit more, could you talk through how much of segment growth was driven by U.S. versus non-U.S. and how you're performing in that private segment? Then just on a high level on share dynamics, what do you think it is that Amplifon does well in Italy, Spain, and Australia, that is harder to translate to markets like France and the U.S.?
Sorry, Jack. Can you repeat the second question, please?
Yeah. I said, so what is it that you think Amplifon does particularly well in Italy, Spain, and Australia that is harder to translate to other markets like France, the U.S., and Germany?
Yeah. Clear. First of all, with regards to the performance of the Americas, I would say that in the U.S., clearly, you know that we operate through three different business units. One is Miracle-Ear Retail, one is Miracle-Ear Franchise, one is Amplifon Hearing Health Care. What I can tell you is that definitely there was a good performance from retail, maybe a bit less from franchise. Amplifon Hearing Health Care was negative, but less negative than the reported numbers from the Manufacturers Association. Then with regards to the second question, in particular, the performance of some of our key markets, Australia, Italy, Spain, but also others. I would also mention U.S., so far. I would say that, of course, there is a lot which is related to the team that we have built there.
In addition to the fact that we enjoy very strong brands, GAES in Spain, Amplifon in Italy, Amplifon in Australia, are brands which are very strong. This does not also mean that I am not happy with the performance in other markets, and in particular, you mentioned France. I think that in France, we are doing extremely well. We have a very good team. We are doing very well. Last year, we have gained a significant share. This year, of course, for them, the comparison base is more difficult. I must also say that we have to correct certain things in the way that we operate in Germany, but on this regard, we have already taken action that I am sure will give results in the short and medium term.
That's great. Thank you very much.
The next question is from Giorgio Tavolini of Intermonte. Please go ahead.
Hi. Good evening. Thanks for taking my two questions, please. The first one is on India. You delivered a very strong performance despite the heat wave, particularly in Italy, Spain. You talk about an excellent performance in the press release, but I guess also in Germany and France. Is it fair to say that the impact on the footfall and sales was relatively limited, or did you see any meaningful impact on the store footfall that was more than offset by, I don't know, other stuff? The second question is on the customer mix. How much of the sales growth was driven by new customers compared to the existing customers? Thanks.
Thank you for the question. With regards to the first question, the impact of the heat wave in South Europe, it is true that, of course, particularly July was affected by quite a significant heat wave in many countries, and in particular, I would say more in the north rather than in Southern Europe, where we were already experiencing very hot weather last year. I would say that the impact of the heat wave this year was definitely less than in 2025, which was something that we did not experience instead in 2024. The impact was definitely much less than in 2025. With regards instead to the second question and for the mix of new and returning customer, I would say that we have not observed anything special.
What I mean is that we have seen a growth in both the two different customer segments, so nothing really particular to mention.
Many thanks.
Thank you.
Thank you. Next question, please. The next question is from Oliver Metzger from ODDO BHF. Please go ahead.
Good evening. Thanks for taking my questions. First one is also about modeling for the next quarter or quarters. It is about the Fit4Growth magnitude. In Q3, you had a -3.9% impact that was technically a notch higher than initially expected. So where do you stand right now? Will even a higher number come going forward, or do you think that we now have seen the peak? Second question is also, let us say, a deeper dive on your preparations of the GN takeover. In my view, economically, it does not make sense to wait until the closing before starting some initiatives. Can you comment on potential reductions of inventory levels of non-GN manufacturers right now? Also about how do you think about you doing the white labeling the orders for that.
That all has some lead times, and if you wait until the closing, technically, you lose some of the benefits. It would be great to have your views on that. Also in this context, do we have any form of contractual obligations which would prevent you to increase the share of GN within your mix towards the 80%, 90% level within a year? Thank you.
Thank you for the questions. With regards to the first one, and therefore the Fit4Growth impact on the year, we mentioned last time that we expect an impact of 3.5 percentage points, which we can today confirm. We will be around there, so we will be slightly higher in Q4. But on the year, we confirm what we shared the last time about the fact that it will be in the region of 3.5%. With regards to the potential acquisition of GN, of course, we are planning on all the different initiatives. What I can tell you is that we are doing a lot of work in terms of preparation. I also wanted to emphasize once again that we expect the closing by the end of the year, and I can definitely confirm that. There are now only eventually few weeks to wait for.
Until the closing, I want also to reiterate the fact that we are operating as two separate companies, so no real measures have been taken so far which are different from our normal way of operating as separate companies. Of course, we are looking at our plan to increase the share of wallet of GN for next year. We are planning for that. No real measures have been taken so far, but we feel very confident that once the closing will be completed, we will be very fast, actually, to reach our targets in terms of in-sourcing of GN products. In terms of contractual obligations, I would say that, of course, we will respect our contractual obligation with all the different manufacturers.
But what I can tell you is that these contractual obligations will not prevent us to achieve the synergies in line with our assumptions that we have already shared with you.
Okay, that's
The next question is from Davide Marchesin from Equita. Please go ahead.
Hello. Good evening, everybody. I have two quick questions. First of all, we saw in August the launch of several new platforms.
Yes.
Based on your experience, this should translate into positive, let's say, product momentum over the next quarters benefiting all the players, so creating a sort of tailwind also to your business. The second question, you mentioned that in the third quarter, you faced the most difficult year-on-year comparison of the year. Is it reasonable to assume that in the last quarter of the year, the organic growth will be up sequentially because the year-on-year comparison becomes easier? Thank you.
Thank you. With regards to the first question, yes, of course. It is always very good when there are product innovations, which can definitely stimulate the market. Clearly, we have been working also with all the different manufacturers in order to leverage on these innovations in order to deliver a better offer. Definitely there is a positive effect either on the market, but also on our performance when there are product launches with meaningful innovations. With regards to the second question, I cannot guide you on Q4 organic growth. But what I can tell you is that, of course, we are very positive about our guidance that it is for an organic growth in the year above 3%. We feel very confident about this. We feel also extremely confident about our organic growth in Q4.
What I would like to underline is that we are pleased with the trend that we see either in terms of underlying market growth, but also in terms of our performance that we see also continuing going forward up until the end of the year.
Next, please. The next question is a follow-up of Andjela Bozinovic from BNP Paribas. Please go ahead.
Hi, and thank you for taking my follow-up. I just wanted to ask one on the product innovation. I assume that you have attended the EUHA conference this year.
Yes.
I am curious to hear your thoughts on the new products from all manufacturers and more specifically, obviously, on ReSound Sensia. How does it compare to what competitors
Yes
have introduced this summer, and what are the key benefits of this product that you would like to highlight? Thank you.
Yes, of course. We had the opportunity not only, I mean, at the fair, but also, as you know, as we work closely with all the manufacturers, we had the opportunity to test the products and to see the performances and so on and so forth. I think that this wave of new product introduction was a good one. What I mean is that I personally can tell that I see all the different manufacturers delivering good products into the market. Do not ask me, of course, which, in my opinion, is the best launch for obvious reasons. But of course, we feel extremely confident, and we feel extremely positive about the new Sensia, which is, in my opinion, a very strong product.
Thank you. The next question is from Martinien Rula from Jefferies. Please go ahead.
Good evening, everyone. This is Martin from Jefferies.
Good evening.
Thank you very much for taking my question. Most of them have been answered, so I will keep it to one. Actually, I was wondering whether you could comment at least qualitatively on the current trends that you are seeing for Q4, and whether you would expect the strikes that we are experiencing across several European countries to be a headwind into this quarter. Thank you.
I got the first part of the question about the Q4 trend that we see. As I said, we cannot guide you on Q4, but on a qualitative basis, I would say that we feel very good about what we see also in Q4 in terms of organic growth. As I said, we have now the look of an organic growth above 3%, and we are extremely confident about that. Clearly, this also is related, first of all, to the fact that as of today, year to date, we are at 3.5, but it is also related to the momentum that we see in terms of organic growth in this moment, which we see continuing also up to the end of the year.
Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This concludes today's call. Thank you all for your interest and attendance, and I kindly ask operator to disconnect.
Thank you, everyone. Thank you. Bye.
Thank you. Bye.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining. The conference is now over. You may disconnect your telephone.