04 Net sales

2014 Net sales 2014 Net sales: 7,170m; -0.6% on a reported basis.

On a like-for-like basis(1): -1.8% for 2014, and -0.9% in the fourth quarter.

Lagard re is confident in meeting its recurring Media(2) EBIT target in 2014(3)

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At the end of the year, the Lagard re group enjoyed an improvement in trends thanks to Travel Retail, which kept up its growth; TV Production, which caught up on programme deliveries; and good performance by Lagard re Unlimited.

On the other hand, the unfavourable comparison effect at Lagard re Publishing (many best-sellers in the fourth quarter of 2013) explains the slightly negative change in the Group s net sales over the fourth quarter.

Fourth-quarter 2014:

Net sales totalled 1,903 million, down 0.9% on a like-for-like basis (-1.6% on a reported basis). The difference between reported and like-for-like data is due to a negative scope effect (- 31 million), due to the deconsolidation of Relay operations in railway stations in France (creation of a joint venture with SNCF), the disposal of Payot (book stores in Switzerland) and the disposal of the 10 media titles at Lagard re Active, partially offset by a positive foreign exchange effect ( 17 million, essentially at Lagard re Publishing).

Lagard re Publishing: activity down (-8.7% on a like-for-like basis), due to an unfavourable comparison effect, with the end of 2013 having been marked by many commercial successes in France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Lagard re Services: acceleration in growth of Travel Retail activities ( 6.9% on a like-for-like basis), with marked progress in most of the countries, driven by passenger traffic and the development strategy.

Lagard re Active: net sales virtually stable (-0.6% on a like-for-like basis). Catching up on deliveries in TV Production and good performance in Radio offset the negative trend in Magazine Publishing.

Lagard re Unlimited: net sales were up 8.3% on a like-for-like basis with the good performance of competitions organised in Asia (BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global in tennis and AFF Suzuki Cup in football).

Full year 2014:

Net sales totalled 7,170 million, at -1.8% on a like-for-like basis, and -0.6% on a reported basis. The difference between reported and like-for-like data is essentially due to a positive scope effect ( 108 million) related to the strategic acquisitions carried out in airport Travel Retail (mainly Airest in Italy and Gerzon in Amsterdam). The foreign exchange effect was negative (- 27 million).

I. GROUP CONSOLIDATED NET SALES AND ACTIVITY

Net sales in Q4 (in m)

Change

2014/2013

on a reported basis

Change

2014/2013

like-for-like

Q4 2013 Q4 2014

LAGARD RE 1,934 1,903

-1.6%

-0.9%

Lagard re Publishing 569 537

-5.5%

-8.7%

Lagard re Services 949 926

-2.4%

- 3.1%

Lagard re Active 309

315

2.1% -0.6%

Lagard re Unlimited 107 125

16%

8.3%

Net sales for the fiscal year (in m)

Change

2014/2013

on a reported basis Change

2014/2013

like-for-like

2013 2014

LAGARD RE 7,216 7,170 -0.6% -1.8 %(1)

Lagard re Publishing 2,066 2,004 -3.0% -4.5%

Lagard re Services 3,745 3,814 1.8% 1.3%(2)

Lagard re Active 996 958 -3.8% -5.4%

Lagard re Unlimited 409 394 -3.8% -6.6%

(1) -1.2% excluding end of tobacco sales in Hungary.

(2) 2.6% excluding end of tobacco sales in Hungary.

> Lagard re Publishing Fourth-quarter 2014:

Activity was down as expected (-5.5% on a reported basis and -8.7% on a like-for-like basis), with the difference due to positive foreign exchange ( 14 million) and scope ( 4 million) effects.

This quarter was marked by an unfavourable comparison effect with a fourth quarter 2013 that had been very solid ( 6.7% compared to fourth-quarter 2012) and especially rich in best-sellers.

NB: the above data are on a like-for-like basis.

In France: activity was down overall (-9.9%), due to the unfavourable comparison effect with year-end 2013, which had posted many top sellers in General Literature (The Cuckoo s Calling by Robert Galbraith, The Ffity Shades trilogie) and Illustrated (mainly Asterix and the Picts).

In the United Kingdom: net sales were down (-10%) compared to a fourth-quarter 2013 that had gained from the strong success of the autobiography of Sir Alex Ferguson, which sold 1.4 million copies.

In the United States: the sales trend (-8.4%) can be explained by the comparison with a year-end 2013 marked by a very promising release schedule, and by the decline in sales of digital, since the agreement with Amazon came only at the very end of the year.

Spain/Latin America: over this 4th quarter, where the activity of the Spanish-speaking division is traditionally fairly low, activity (-18.5%) saw a downturn in Trade because of the 2013 release of the new Asterix, and a one-off export operation in Latin America last year.

Digital: in the US, where the market is stabilising, net sales of e-books made up 19% of net sales for Trade in the fourth quarter of 2014, compared with 27% in the fourth quarter of 2013, with this decline being due to weaker publications than in 2013, and to the trade-related issues with Amazon. In the UK (where e-books had taken off two years after the US), net sales continued to advance (25% of net sales for Adult Trade compared to 21% in the fourth-quarter 2013).

Thus, in the fourth-quarter of 2014, Digital accounted for 8.9% of total sales for Lagard re Publishing (vs. 9.6% in the fourth-quarter of 2013).

For 2014:

Net sales for 2014 stood at 2,004 million, -3% on a reported basis and -4.5% on a like-for-like basis, with the difference due to positive scope ( 24 million) and foreign exchange ( 8 million) effects.

It was a year of transition for the divi

LINK:	http://www.lagardere.com/press-room/press-releases/press-releases-363....
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