Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Zumtobel Group's conference call on our first nine months and the third quarter results of our 2024-2025 financial year. With me on the call 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 webpage. After the call, a playback of this conference call will be available on our webpage as well. With this, I hand over to Alfred.
Yeah, good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you very much for your interest and your participation in today's call on our results for the first nine months. The operating environment was and remains challenging, not only for the Zumtobel Group, but also for the other market participants. Let's begin with a financial overview of our performance during the first nine months, as you can see here on the first slide, where we faced a challenging third quarter. The group revenues reached EUR 828 million, which is a decrease of 1.4% compared to the same period last year. Looking at our segments, the Lighting segment revenues were down 1.7% to EUR 652 million, and the Components segment showed a positive development with a revenue increase of 1.8% to EUR 226 million.
The adjusted gross profit improved slightly by 2.3% to almost EUR 305 million, however, the adjusted EBIT fell by 10.7% to EUR 41 million. Finally, the net profit for the period declined to EUR 13 million. Before I hand over to Thomas, who will explain the figures in more detail, let's take a look at our project highlights from the past quarter. Again, a very good conglomerate of international and national projects. What you see here on the top left is the Landhaus St. Pölten. That's a building complex in the government district of St. Pölten, in the seat of the Lower Austrian State Administration. That was a very good project of refurbishment, where basically we could show the efficiency of our products. Something like 10,000 pieces of our so-called PANOS downlights into this building, and the installation was done and finalized in November 2024.
Another one is the TÜV SÜD in Munich South, also with the brand Zumtobel and products here, with success factors being having a strong network, sustainability, building into the PV power concept here, and the efficiency requirement of the entire building. Another example, which is in Egypt, that's a project driven by our Components startup, Tridonic, with partners who basically have been using all the components, modules for LEDs, as well as the drivers for the application in there. Retail is recovering slowly, but constantly. Here's an example of GIANT in Germany with the key features of really perfect product presentation through light, with a color-coded brand system. Different light colors distinguish then the different spotlights here, optimized workshop Lighting, and really guidance of customers through the light, with the aim, of course, of selling more products.
Again, here our flagship product, Vivo I and II, have been implemented, and this is one of the strategic Lighting solutions, not only a highlight from product, but also to improve the retail experience. Last but not least, maybe you have seen it already in some of our publications, a small highlight I wanted to mention. It's generally known the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, a UNESCO World Heritage reopened past December after the fire, and we are very, very proud that we could play an important part here in this cathedral, together with the light designer, Patrick Rimoux , who basically used our product, in this case, the CONTRAST architectural floodlight, to do it. We are very proud that we have been able to participate in this, yeah, remarkable rebuild of the Notre- Dame project.
With this, I would like to hand over to Thomas, and then he will give then more detailed information about our nine months and especially the third quarter results.
Thank you, Alfred. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to start with the development of the Lighting segment on slide five. Revenues in the Lighting segment amounted to EUR 195.9 million, and were 6.2% below the previous year. The decline in sales was driven mainly by lower volumes in CEE, France, and Nordics. Material cost had a positive effect, but higher personnel expenses and costs for our digitalization efforts had a negative impact on adjusted EBIT. Adjusted EBIT in the Lighting segment decreased from EUR 11.5 million to EUR 1.9 million. Our adjusted EBIT margin declined to 1%. On slide six, there is the development of the Components segment. Here, the revenues declined by 1.8% to EUR 69.2 million in the third quarter. The development of sales was negatively impacted, primarily by price pressure from the market, while volumes were nearly flat.
Adjusted EBIT in the Components segment improved from EUR -1.4 million, sorry, EUR -1.4 million to EUR 2.1 million in the third quarter, mainly due to inventory revaluation and lower material costs. As a consequence, the adjusted EBIT margin increased to 3%. Slide seven shows the overall results for the group. Revenues amounted to EUR 250.5 million. Lower material costs and the said inventory revaluation in the Components segment were unable to offset the negative effects from weak demand and a general increase in personnel expenses. As a result, the adjusted EBIT decreased to minus EUR 0.2 million. The adjusted EBIT margin stood at minus 0.1%. On slide eight, you see the building blocks of our EBIT. Let's start with prior year's adjusted EBIT of EUR 45.9 million. The negative revenue development in the Lighting segment and price pressure in the Components segment had a combined negative effect of EUR -7.5 million.
Looking at our COGS, a positive inventory revaluation effect and lower material costs were slightly offset by higher personnel expenses. We recorded a net positive effect of EUR 14.5 million. SG&A and research costs were impacted by higher personnel expenses due to wage and salary increases as a result of the merit rounds. Based on these factors, our adjusted EBIT decreased to EUR 41 million. Slide nine provides you with information on our income statement. As indicated, our adjusted EBIT stood at EUR 41 million. Special effects were negative at EUR 13.1 million and include provisions connected with the closure of our Les Andelys factory in France, as well as in Lemgo, some restructuring measures, and the assembly plant in Australia. After deduction of these special effects, our EBIT totaled EUR 27.8 million. Our financial results amounted to minus EUR 13.3 million, and net financing costs amounted to EUR -7.8 million.
Other financial income and expenses totaled minus EUR 5.6 million and included the interest expense for pension obligations, FX, and hedging valuations. After the deduction of income taxes, our net profit for the first nine months amounted to EUR 13 million. As a consequence, earnings per share equaled EUR 0.31. Let me now move to slide 10, our cash flow statement. Cash flow from operating results fell year on year from EUR 17.5 million to EUR 69.2 million. The cash outflow from changes in other operating items amounted to minus EUR 16.2 million, mainly due to the settlement of bonus payments, holiday entitlements, and guarantees provisions. These effects were offset by the increase in restructuring provisions. Cash flow from operating activities fell to EUR 48.8 million in the first nine months.
Cash flow from investing activities amounted to minus EUR 33.1 million in the reporting period and consisted of additions in property, plant, and equipment and capitalized development cost of EUR 9.7 million. As a result, free cash flow was at EUR 15.6 million. Cash flow from financing activities amounted to minus EUR 36.3 million in the first nine months. The change compared to the previous year is primarily due to the repayment of a EUR 30 million loan from the European Investment Bank. Let me finish with slide 11 and some comments on our balance sheet. Our balance sheet structure remains stable and strong. The equity ratio is almost flat at 42.8%. Net debt increased to EUR 115 million, mainly due to the extension of our Spennymoor lease agreement by another 10 years. Our debt coverage ratio is still healthy at 1.2. With this, I hand back to Alfred.
If you have a look at slide 12, before discussing the outlook, let me share the insights on our sector. You saw this forecast for 2024 already last time, and it's basically again reflecting the weak demand in a challenging market environment. Looking ahead into 2025, we expect the growth across all the sectors, although office and industrial construction may remain limited. Given our late cycle business, we do expect the recovery earliest in the second half of 2025, because if you look into the especially new build from 2023 and 2024, that was negative, and obviously that will come now into our orbit in the first half of 2025. In summary, while 2024 was difficult, the outlook for 2025 is a bit more promising, with anticipated growth in most of our operating sectors.
Our strategic focus will be on leveraging the opportunities in renovation and maintenance, as well as positioning ourselves with the new products that are coming into the market to capitalize on the recovery in the non-residential construction. With this in mind, on page 13, let me finish with our outlook for 2024-2025 financial year. Ladies and gentlemen, the current market environment remains challenging for us and the other market participants, as it is currently impossible to predict how the economy will develop in our key markets. In addition, the again intensifying geopolitical situation is not really helping us as well. In the new build segment, in particular, we are experiencing persistently weak demand, shift of projects, and lower investment activities. Longer than usual customer decision cycles and the project delays are responsible for the additional negative impact on our activity.
Significant external factors such as energy, the raw materials, and the transport prices, as well as high personnel cost and inflation developments, have had a considerable impact on our global economy, on our customers, and consequently on the development of our company. Against this background, we have adjusted the revenue forecast in view of the difficult market conditions and sustained customer demand. While at least slight revenue growth compared to the previous year was previously expected, we now expect sales slightly below the prior year. Despite these challenges, the focus remains on operational efficiency, long-term strategic initiatives in order to navigate the company successfully through this current difficult market environment. We therefore confirm the outlook for the adjusted EBIT margin, which is expected to be between 3% and 6%, and our CapEx spending is expected to be around EUR 50 million, where we previously expected around EUR 60 million.
Thank you so much for your attention, and now Thomas and myself will be more than happy to take your questions. Thank you for listening.
We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on their telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered a queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Questioners on the phone are requested to disable the loudspeaker mode and eventually turn off the volume from the webcast while asking a question. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time. The first question comes from the line of Michael Marschallinger from Erste Group. Please go ahead.
Yes, good morning, everybody. Thanks for taking my questions. I have two. First one will be on your new revenue guidance of slight yearly decline. This could also mean for the fourth quarter that you have some slight growth in the best case. Could that be possible in the current environment, and could you maybe go through your geographies and what do you expect after this week, first quarter, and the fourth quarter?
Yeah, so basically, let me just recap a little bit on quarter three. Partly, of course, quarter three was also weak due to the holiday season was falling ideally for, let me say, more from an unemployed perspective, and so therefore we have less shipping days. In Q4, we do expect a rather flat development versus the previous quarter four. However, in some of the countries, the DACH territory in the U.K., we still plan to grow comparable to previously. We have also weaker countries like the Nordics or some of the Eastern European countries that will not reach the previous year level. All in all, we are slightly positive that we are flat, maybe slightly above previous year.
Also, on the Components business, we do see the business back to the normal behavior with very short-term visibilities, orders coming in with 10-day shipment days, and that's basically also very difficult to predict how the demand on the customer base is for the Tridonic customers.
Okay, thank you. My second question will be on, as you already mentioned, the rate of recovery for 2025, H2, because of your late cyclical business. How do you see the recent news out of Germany and also out of Ukraine? Do you believe this could in any way benefit you beyond 2025 than these recent developments?
Absolutely. I think the good news is with now an existing government in Austria and also with the hope of a new government in Germany with the latest announcements, that will help, especially if this investment goes into the infrastructure where we have the right solutions and we are on top of here of the customer base. Ukraine might be a little bit of a different game. If really, let me say, the war comes to an end, then the investment activity will start. We are engaged already on many angles in being ready for that one. Germany, already now, we do see a slight recovery, and obviously, if this investment is coming, we are positive that maybe in the second half of 2025 or at least the first half of 2026, we see quite a significant recovery.
Okay, understood. You said you're already engaged and would be ready. Which of your products could benefit the most here?
Yeah, you mean in the Ukraine?
Yes.
Yeah, I think obviously this is going across the board. We have, as you know, the full scope of products from outdoor to indoor. Most likely, the build-up is on infrastructure, be it industry building, be it office building, be it bridges, be it roads. Here we have the right products from both brands, Thorn, more in the value tier, and soon to be more on the performance tier.
Okay, thank you.
As a reminder, if you wish to register for a question, please press star and one on your telephone. The next question is from Patrick Steiner from ODDO BHF. Please go ahead.
Good morning, it's Patrick Steiner from ODDO BHF. I'm jumping in for Marcus today. Thank you very much for the presentation. I would have, I think, three questions remaining. First of all, could you give us more color , on your visibility that you have on the current pipeline, so to say, the expected recovery in H2 2025 and also in 2026? I mean, are these projects for 2026, are they already in the building phase, or do long-term interest rate increases still play a role in the materialization of these? That would be the first one. Let's take it one by one, I guess, yeah.
Okay, maybe just to elaborate a little bit the nature of our business. We do have roughly 20%-25% of our projects where we have long-term contracts, typically between one and maximum three years. Here, we have already a clear visibility because we have the agreements with these key customers. Basically, a lot of them are in the retail food and non-food retail. We have key account customers, be it, for example, the data center customers, or be it in the logistic sector, where we have a pipeline of projects that basically show a visibility for the next 12 months. The rest, let me say, roughly 60% is project business. I think I mentioned it in some of the previous calls. On the luminaire side, we need about 50,000-55,000 projects to basically reach the revenue of EUR 900 million.
On the Tridonic side, the OEM business is completely different. Here, due to the availability of the products on short notice, the customers are ordering on short notice. Typically, on the Tridonic months, 50% of the revenue is generated as projects starting with the months, and the other 50% is daily business, what we call. If the order comes in at the beginning of the month, the shipment goes out of the month. In the Tridonic business, the visibility is extremely short and more or less not so easy to predict. Much better on the luminaire side. If you look at the pipeline, I think we do have a pipeline for the second half of 2025, and then into 2026, obviously outside of the global contracts, the long-term contracts, we have little visibility.
That makes it also so difficult for us to predict how the business develops.
Perfect, very helpful. Thank you very much. Second question, also on this large investment plan communicated by Germany with regards to infrastructure and defense. Give me your time lag you have in the project business with the building phase of the customers' buildings, and then you equip the buildings with Lighting and so on. When do you expect positive revenue contribution from this investment plan to hit your P&L? Is this something we should think about in plus two to five years, or how should you think about that?
Yeah, we have to distinguish between two things. One is most of it will be refurbishment, where obviously infrastructure is refurbished, not new build. That is typically something between, let me say, 12 and 15 months, where we have over the last years developed very smart products that basically can replace not the entire luminaire, but parts of the luminaire, what can be quite fast. Obviously, if large infrastructure projects are planned and built, that is a time horizon between two and three years. We are expecting if the infrastructure budget is released, what will come quite active from the beginning is the refurbishment. That can have an impact on our P&L between 6 and 15 months.
Okay, perfect. Thank you very much. Last question would be, I think you mentioned the revenue decline in Lighting in Q3 was driven by lower volumes in CEE, in France, and in the Nordics. Did I understand this correctly?
Yes, that's correct.
Okay, perfect. Thank you very much. I'll get back in line. Have a good day.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Once again, to ask a question, please press star and one on your telephone, s tar and one. 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.
Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for listening to our Q3 result. Thank you for the questions. With this, I then would like to close our session. Wish you a good day.