Fourth-Quarter 2018 revenue

Fourth-Quarter 2018 revenue Sustained revenue growth in 2018, up 3.3% like-for-like(1) at 7,258 million

Fourth-quarter 2018: 1,997 million, up 2.1% like-for-like(1)

Lagard re confirms its Group recurring EBIT growth target(1) for 2018 at between 1% and 3%(2)

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The Group is actively pressing ahead with rolling out the strategy to refocus its operations around Lagard re Publishing and Lagard re Travel Retail, with the completion of significant new transactions on both the acquisitions and disposals sides of the equation. As part of the plan, the acquisition of HBF, a transformational acquisition for Lagard re Travel Retail's US-based Foodservice activities, was completed in November 2018, and exclusive negotiations have been initiated for the sale of the Television business (excluding Mezzo) in January 2019.

Full-year 2018:

The Lagard re group's continued growth momentum was powered by a solid performance at Lagard re Travel Retail, and was achieved despite lacklustre business cycles at Lagard re Publishing and Lagard re Sports and Entertainment.

Revenue totalled 7,258 million, up 3.3% like-for-like and up 2.5% on a consolidated basis. The difference between consolidated and like-for-like revenue is essentially attributable to a negative foreign exchange effect resulting mainly from the depreciation of the US dollar. Changes in the scope of consolidation had a positive impact on revenue, due chiefly to acquisitions at Lagard re Publishing and Lagard re Travel Retail, partially offset by the divestment of LARI, Doctissimo and MonDocteur by Lagard re Active.

Fourth-quarter 2018:

Group revenue came in at 1,997 million versus 1,918 million in fourth-quarter 2017(3), a rise of 2.1% like-for-like and of 4.1% on a consolidated basis.

By division (like-for-like basis):

Lagard re Publishing: revenue edged up 1.4%, buoyed mainly by the success of General Literature in the United Kingdom and United States, which offset the decline in Partworks and the unfavourable comparison basis linked to the success of Ast rix et la Transitalique in 2017.

Lagard re Travel Retail kept up its growth momentum during the period (up 5.6%), driven mainly by expansion of the store network and good sales performances in the EMEA region and in France.

Lagard re Active saw revenue fall 6.6%, due mainly to the decline in advertising and circulation revenues at Magazine Publishing.

Lagard re Sports and Entertainment: revenue was up slightly by 0.9% due to strong performances from the Olympics division and Football activities in Europe, offsetting the disposal of Tennis activities in Sweden.

1. REVENUE AND ACTIVITY BY DIVISION

Lagard re Publishing Revenue for 2018 totalled 2,252 million, down 1.2% like-for-like and down 1.6% on a consolidated basis. The difference between consolidated and like-for-like figures is attributable to a 40 million negative foreign exchange effect resulting mainly from the depreciation of the US dollar, partially offset by a 30 million positive scope impact, chiefly relating to the acquisitions of Jessica Kingsley, Summersdale, Kyle Cathie, Worthy Publishing and Bookouture.

As expected, the slight decline in business in 2018 essentially reflects the absence of curriculum reform in France and to a lesser extent in Spain, as well as an unfavourable comparison effect linked to the success of Ast rix et la Transitalique in 2017 in these same regions. These factors were partly countered by good momentum in the United States, driven by the success of best-selling titles such as the Bill Clinton and James Patterson novel The President is Missing and Nicholas Sparks' Every Breath, along with good performances at Perseus. Over the year as a whole, Education was down 13.4% or 49 million, with the decline offset in part by a strong performance from General Literature, which gained 2.2% or 22 million.

E-books accounted for 7.9% of total Lagard re Publishing revenue in 2018, with the proportion remaining stable versus 2017, while Digital audio books represented 2.7% of revenue versus 2.0% in 2017.

Fourth-quarter 2018:

Fourth-quarter revenue totalled 645 million, up 1.4% like-for-like and up 3.4% on a consolidated basis. The difference between consolidated and like-for-like figures is due primarily to a 10 million positive scope effect, which includes the Worthy Publishing, Kyle Cathie, Jessica Kingsley and Summersdale acquisitions.

On a like-for-like basis, the main changes in each geographic area can be explained as follows:

In France, business held firm (down 0.7%) due mainly to the success of Michelle Obama's Becoming and to a good performance for Livre de Poche paperbacks, which more than offset an unfavourable prior-year comparison effect (Ast rix et la Transitalique, Dan Brown's Origin and E.L. James' Darker).

Strong 6.3% growth in the United States essentially reflects a good backlist performance, in particular further success for Jen Sincero's You are a Badass at Perseus. A busy schedule of new title releases also helped lift growth, particularly Nicholas Sparks' Every Breath at Grand Central Publishing.

Good business momentum in the United Kingdom (up 8.9%) was mainly driven by the success of General Literature, particularly J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, and Stephen Hawking's Brief Answers to the Big Questions.

The Spain/Latin America region was up slightly, gaining 2.3%.

Partworks fell 4.6% due to a limited number of new launches compared to 2017 and to the slowdown in business in Argentina following the devaluation of the peso.

Lagard re Travel Retail 2018 revenue totalled 3,673 million for the division, a rise of 8.8% like-for-like and of 7.7% based on consolidated figures. The difference between consolidated and like-f

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