Compagnie Plastic Omnium : Business Activity up 5.4% in First 9 Months 2014

Regulatory News :

Compagnie Plastic Omnium (Paris:POM) generated revenue ⁽¹⁾ of €3,933.4 million in the first nine months of 2014, an increase of 3.0% as reported and 5.4% at constant exchange rates.
Scope of consolidation was unchanged from the prior year.

Third quarter revenue ⁽¹⁾ was €1,267.8 million, an increase of 1.2% as reported and 1.6% at constant exchange rates.

Plastic Omnium Automotive

In the first nine months of 2014, the activity of Plastic Omnium's Automotive division grew by 7%, versus an estimated 4% growth for the global automotive production.

The Group maintained its strong growth rate in China (+19%) while Ford's renewal of a key part of its range (the F-150 pick-up truck) held back third-quarter sales in North America.

South America, Russia and Thailand remain profitable despite sharp drops in vehicle production in these countries, which together contribute 6% of Group automotive revenue.

Global activity rose 3% in the third quarter 2014.

High rates of capacity utilization and optimized cost management continue to drive improved performance.

Plastic Omnium Environment

Revenue ⁽¹⁾ in the Environment Division fell by 10% in the third quarter and by 7% over the first nine months of 2014, hit by the pre- and post-election periods in France, which generates 37% of total revenue. Newly won contracts, such as those in Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Prague and Hamburg helped support market share in France and Europe.

The cost saving program was stepped up with the closure of a German plant in August 2014. The Group confirms its forecasts of a strong improvement in earnings for full-year 2014.

2014 profit growth confirmed ; growth set to accelerate from 2016

Plastic Omnium is set to improve all its financial aggregates in 2014. Free cash flow should be positive again in the second half of the year, strengthening the financial position.

The company will continue to run its industrial plants with a high utilization rate and manage costs rigorously during 2015.

To fill its new orders, the Group is expanding its self-financed investment program and building new capacity worldwide. It will be investing €1.7 billion in 2014-2018. The six plants currently under construction (five in China, one in Russia) will come onstream in the course of 2015. Four further new plants will be operational in 2016, two in the United States, one in Mexico and one in the UK. These will fill orders under the newly won contracts with General Motors, Volkswagen and Jaguar Land Rover.

Thanks to the expansion of industrial capacity and the launch of new and innovative products (lightweight plastic tailgates and new generation SCR pollution reduction systems) Plastic Omnium should be able to accelerate growth as from 2016.

Next financial events

Plastic Omnium is the world leader in automotive components and body modules, automotive fuel systems, and waste container solutions for local authorities and companies. The Group has 22,000 employees across 110 plants, 22 R&D centers and 30 countries worldwide. Plastic Omnium is listed on Euronext Paris, compartment A. It is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD) and is part of the SBF 120 and CAC Mid 60 indices (ISIN code: FR0000124570).

APPENDIX:

Revenue reconciliation table

The new IFRS 10/11/12 standards, effective from January 1, 2014, require jointly controlled entities to be reported using the equity method. This affects BPO, HBPO and YFPO in Plastic Omnium Automotive and Signal AG in Plastic Omnium Environment.

To give a fair picture of the Group's operational and management situation, 2014 revenue was also prepared using the methods used for the 2013 audited financial statements, in which these investments are reported in proportion to Plastic Omnium's degree of control.

In compliance with IFRS 8, it is this operational financial information that is used in the Group's external financial communications. The table below shows a reconciliation of this figure with IFRS revenue: