Datacolor in fiscal 2017/18

In fiscal 2017/18, Datacolor continued its growth and increased sales by 11% to USD 81.1 million (fiscal 2016/17: USD 72.8 million), in local currency the increase was 8%. Datacolor achieved a high gross profit margin of 65.3% (67.1%). Operating income EBITDA decreased slightly to USD 8.4 million (USD 8.9 million) and EBITDA margin to 10.3% (12.2%) due to numerous product launches and two large orders with lower margins. EBIT of USD 6.2 million (USD 6.4 million) and an EBIT margin of 7.6% (8.8%) also slightly declined. Influenced by the lower financial result, net income of USD 4.1 million (USD 6.8 million) was lower than in the previous year. Earnings per share amounted to USD 25.29 (USD 42.78) in the year under review. Datacolor had high net liquidity, including financial assets, of USD 40.6 million (September 30^th, 2017: USD 38.2 million) and a solid equity ratio of 62.6% (62.0%).

Single largest order in company history and strong growth in all regions

Datacolor is an international leader in user-friendly digital color management solutions. In the year under review, Datacolor further expanded its strong market position with the launch of new, innovative products and its customer-focused, global sales and service organization. Just over a third (2016/17: 38%) of Datacolor's sales came from the Asia-Pacific region. Another third (35%) came from Europe, and sales to customers in North and South America increased from 27% to 32% due to two major orders in North America. Datacolor installed complete systems for accurate color matching, with the largest single order in the company's history to date, in all stores of the leading US retailer and received an exceptionally large order for color measurement instruments from one of the major North American paint manufacturers.

Leading-edge technology with innovative solutions

In fiscal 2017/18, Datacolor again launched several innovative and technologically leading solutions for an efficient and accurate color management:

The latest release of Match Pigment 4.0 color formulation software uses the innovative SmartMatch technology to enable color professionals in paint, coatings and plastics production to efficiently, quickly and precisely determine any desired color. With the intelligent color formulation of Match Pigment 4.0, the number of physical matches can be reduced and the success rate of initial recipes can be increased by up to 80%. The optimized workflow and user-friendly control interfaces allow productivity to be enhanced by up to 50%.

ColorReader, a high-precision, cost-effective pocket colorimeter, complements the professional ColorReaderPRO color matching device. ColorReader is an extremely compact instrument that can be paired via Bluetooth with a smartphone app for color evaluation. With ColorReader, color can be measured professionally on any material in a matter of seconds and accurately defined with the ColorReader app.

With SpectraVision, Datacolor offers an innovative color measurement system enabling businesses to objectively measure and digitally communicate the color of previously unmeasurable materials, including multi-color prints, trim, yarn, zippers and lace. SpectraVision shortens the time from the first concept sketch to the final product at the customer's site by up to 50%. This makes SpectraVision particularly attractive for international retail chains, for whom a quick response to the latest fashion and market trends is a decisive competitive advantage.

In addition, Datacolor once again provided several upgrades to the successful color measurement software packages Paint, Match Textile, Match Pigment and Tools, adding over 120 new functions to meet the highest customer requirements.

Solid financial structure

As per September 30^th, 2018, cash and cash equivalents including financial assets amounted to USD 40.6 million (USD 38.2 million), corresponding to 58% (56%) of total assets of USD 70.4 million (USD 68.1 million). Consolidated net equity increased to USD 44.1 million (USD 42.2 million).

Datacolor AG

In fiscal 2017/18 the parent company Datacolor AG (holding company for Datacolor investments) posted a decrease in profit to CHF 1.4 million (CHF 3.3 million). After distribution of a dividend of CHF 2.4 million (representing 35% of the 2016/17 net profit), as at September 30^th, the equity of Datacolor AG amounted to CHF 17.0 million, unchanged from the previous year.

Further expansion of the organization to support long-term growth

During fiscal 2017/18, Datacolor accelerated its recruitment in marketing, sales and support, as well as research and development. As part of the implementation of the growth strategy, the average number of employees increased from 382 to 417. The onboarding and training processes, employee training programs and activities to promote employee engagement were digitized and further optimized.

Changes in management

On December 7^th, 2017, Dr. Jvo Grundler was elected as a new member of the Board of Directors of Datacolor AG by the Annual General Meeting. He replaced Dr. Peter Beglinger, who had been a commendable member of the Board of Directors since 1992. On November 1^st, 2018, Philipp Hediger took over the function as CFO of Datacolor from previously responsible Annet van der Laan.

Outlook

In fiscal 2018/19, Datacolor is focusing on marketing its successful product range and on launching additional, new and innovative color measurement and color matching instruments and software. Provided the global economy is not further affected by protectionist measures and political disputes, and without new major orders, Datacolor aims to achieve sales within the range or slightly below the 2017/18 fiscal year while maintaining margins. In achieving this ambitious goal, Datacolor can also count on highly committed employees and its own global sales and support organization focused on customer needs.

The complete Annual Report 2017/18 is available on https://ir.datacolor.com/en/financial-reports/

Lucerne, November 13, 2018