Strong recovery of business as the economy bounces back from the pandemic - dividend of CHF 35 per share proposed
Datacolor recovered faster than anticipated from the economic impact triggered by the pandemic in fiscal 2020/21. This was reflected in a significant increase in orders from the textile and apparel, paint, dye and plastics industries for Datacolor's high-precision color management solutions, which support remote workflows and thus meet customers' demanding digitization needs. Datacolor's user-friendly consumer solutions for simple and fast calibration of monitors for designers and photographers also enjoyed a solid resurgence in demand. The company's service business remained stable despite pandemic-related contact restrictions.
The strong rebound in sales combined with a downsized company structure and the good financial result led to a record profit. Sales increased to USD 73.6 million (fiscal 2019/20: USD 61.0 million), up 20.6% to previous year and 19% in local currency. Gross profit margins returned to pre-pandemic levels at 65.2% (61.8%). EBITDA was USD 8.1 million (USD 1.8 million), the EBITDA margin was 11.0% (3.0%), EBIT USD 6.4 million (USD 0.3 million) and the EBIT margin was a high 8.7% (0.4%). A very positive development of the investment portfolio and favorable exchange rates led to an above-average financial result of USD 4.5 million (USD -0.9 million). This resulted in an outstanding net result of USD 9.3 million (USD -0.6 million), or USD 56.07 (USD -3.88) per share. The average number of employees was 371 (401) in the year under review.
New organizational setup of Executive Committee fully implemented
As part of the streamlining of the organization in the last fiscal year, Human Resources and Marketing were placed under the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Committee was reduced from seven members in 2020 to five in 2021. Furthermore, the Executive Committee was rejuvenated with the entry of Kevin Quinn at the beginning of the year under review. He took over Sales and Marketing Consumer Solutions from Brian Levey, who retired at the beginning of 2021.
Strong sales recovery in all regions
All regions were able to benefit significantly from the revitalization of sales as customers restarted many investment programs in fiscal 2020/21. This led to double digit growth in all regions, with Asia Pacific and the Americas leading the strong recovery. This positive trend is reflected in the geographical sales breakdown. The Asia-Pacific region's share of sales rose to 39.3% (38.3%) in the year under review. The Americas increased their share to 27.9% (27.0%), and Europe contributed 32.8% (34.7%) to Datacolor's net sales.
Expanding product range and collaborations
Despite all the challenges the Company faced because of the pandemic, Datacolor was successful in launching several new products in the year under review. In January Datacolor announced the launch of the Datacolor Spectro 1000/700 series, a family of close-tolerance benchtop spectrophotometers designed for high efficiency and confidence in digital color formulation and quality control, featuring internet connectivity for upcoming remote services and the ability to capture the temperature of samples measured. This is an essential new quality control feature for those who work with materials that need to be within certain temperature ranges to assure accurate color measurement. In June the Company introduced several new accessories to its Spyder product line, offering an even easier and faster calibration of monitors. In July several new product bundles for the Consumer market were introduced and Datacolor announced the collaboration with RAL gGmbH, an established German based color standard company, resulting in the integration of the Datacolor ColorReader products with the RAL color standards.
Strong financials
As at September 30, 2021, Datacolor had a sound balance sheet with a substantial net cash (including financial assets) of USD 51.9 million (September 30, 2020: USD 41.6 million). Datacolor remains debt-free. Shareholders' equity increased to USD 52.5 million (September 30, 2020: USD 45.3 million). The equity ratio was 62.7% (September 30, 2020: 68.7%).
Datacolor AG
The holding company Datacolor AG posted a profit of CHF 0.5 million (fiscal 2019/2020: CHF 1.1 million) for fiscal 2020/21. Following the distribution of a dividend of CHF 1.2 million to shareholders in December 2020 Datacolor AG had shareholders' equity of CHF 16.6 million as at September 30, 2021 (September 30, 2020: CHF 17.5 million). Based on the strong fiscal year 2020/21 and the remaining solid equity base, the Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting on December 7, 2021, the distribution of a dividend of CHF 35 per share.
Outlook
The Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of Datacolor again expect strong sales and earnings momentum in the new fiscal, provided that the economic recovery continues and the situation in the supplier sector, especially the availability of microchips, stabilizes. With its lean, rejuvenated organization, high cash position and strong shareholders' equity base, Datacolor is well prepared to dynamically expand its market position, primarily through organic growth and, if possible, also through targeted acquisitions.
The complete Annual Report 2020/21 is available on:
https://ir.datacolor.com/en/financial-reports/
Rotkreuz, November 17, 2021
About Datacolor
Datacolor, a global leader in color management solutions, provides software, instruments and services to assure accurate color of materials, products and images. The world's leading brands, manufacturers and creative professionals have used Datacolor's innovative solutions to consistently achieve the right color for 50 years. The company provides sales, service and support in over 100 countries throughout Europe, the Americas and Asia. Industries served include textile and apparel, paint and coatings, automotive, plastics, photography and videography. For more information visit www.datacolor.com.
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