AMP Limited

Good afternoon. This is the Coral School Conference Operator. Welcome and thank you for joining the Amplifon Full Year 2021 Results Conference Call. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, they may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on their telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Ms. Francesca Rambaudi, Investor Relations and Sustainability, Senior Director of Amplifon. Please go ahead, madam.

Thank you. Good afternoon and welcome to Amplifon's conference call on full year 2021 results. Before we start, a few logistic comments. This morning we issued a press release related to our results and this presentation is posted on our website. The call can be accessed also via website, and dial-in details are on Amplifont's website as well as on our press release. I have to bring your attention to the disclaimer on slide two, as some of the statements made during this call may be considered forward-looking statements. Please also let me drive your attention that in light of the wind down of ELITE completed and effective in Q4 2021 and treated as discontinued operations following IFRS 5 application, ELITE P&L is excluded from full year 21 consolidated results, as well as from full year 2020 and full year 2019, which have been fully restated up to the line profit from continuing operations. In addition, in light of the relevant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 2020 financials, this presentation also reports 2019 income statement data for greater comparability purpose. With that, I am now pleased to turn the call over to Amplifon CEO, Enrico Vita.

Thank you, Francesca. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today I'm pleased to comment with you another very successful year for our company. In 2021 we achieved excellent financial results and also we initiated and delivered many important projects and initiatives. I'm very pleased about what we have achieved in 2021 also because I know very well that behind all these accomplishments, there was a massive amount of work done by the whole team. So I would like to start by going over some of the key achievements for the year. First, the acquisition of Bay Audio, another key milestone in our growth story that allowed us to gain a clear leadership in one of the key markets in our industry. I'm also happy to share that since the closing of the deal, our teams have been working well together to exploit the full potential of the new combined business. Then we progressed perfectly in line with our plan with the rollout of the Amplifon product experience, finally implementing it in an important market such as buying. Finally, I will talk later during the presentation about the acceleration of our sustainability and innovation plans. So let's look now at our main numbers for the year. 2021 was an excellent year across all the key financial metrics. Revenues were up by nearly 20% at cost and exchange rates versus 2019. And once again, the composition of the growth was very healthy. In fact, the organic growth was double digit at 12%. Regarding the EBITDA recurring, we delivered 483 million euro, thanks to a material step change in profitability, which increased by 190 basis points versus 2019 at 24.8%. we posted an all-time high net profit recurring of 175 million euros, increasing by a remarkable 50% versus 2019. Finally, the net profit as reported was 150 million euros, allowing us to propose a dividend increase of nearly 20% at the next shareholders meeting. to 26 euro cents from the 22 euro cents of the previous year. With this, I now hand over to Gabriele to give you more colors about our financials.

Thanks, Enrico, and good afternoon to everybody. Moving to chart number four, we have a look at the group financial performance in Q4. which, as already commented by Enrico, posted a very strong finish of the year. In the quarter, revenues of Constant Forex increased by over 17% versus 2019, despite the December peaking COVID contagions and the very challenging comparable basis. With an excellent organic growth at over 8%, and around 9% M&A contribution primarily for Bay Audio consolidation from October 1st. Debit recurring came in at around 19, thanks to the strong revenue performance coupled with the structural efficiencies and the productivity enhancements and the scale reach in four countries. This strong EBITDA increase was achieved even after sizable investment in the business, including marketing and several strategic initiatives ongoing. Outstanding profitability was also reflected at the net result level, with record net profit recurring at over €70 million, up 47% versus 19%. Moving to slide number five, we have a look at our financial performance in the full year. Revenues at constant Forex were up around 19% versus 2019, with a well-above market organic growth at around 12%, M&A contribution at around 7%, and Forex impact at minus 1.5%. EBITDA recurring reached all-time high level of 483 million euros, up 27% versus 90. EBITDA margin ended up in line with guidance at 24.8%, up 190 basis points versus 2019. Net profit recurring came in at the record level of over 175 million euros up around 50% versus 19. Cash flow indicators also came in very strong with the free cash flow up 70% versus 19 and the NFP at year end at around 870 million euros with financial leverage at 1.68 after over €600 million investment in CAPEX, M&A, dividends, and shares by BEX. As anticipated by Enrico, the truly outstanding results achieved this year allow us to propose at the next shareholders' meeting a strong dividend of €0.26, with a payout at 37%. Moving to slide six, we have a look at EMEA's strong top-line performance, despite the challenging comparison basis and the December-peaking COVID contagions, and also the record profitability. In Q4, revenue growth at cost of Forex was around 8% versus 19%, with an organic growth at 5.5%. M&A contribution was 2.2%. Excellent organic growth was reported in France, also driven by the regulatory change, and Spain, supported by the successful AP rollout. Solid performance was also reported in Italy, Switzerland, and Poland. EBITDA amounted to around 134 million euros, up 14.5% versus 2019, with margin at 33%, up 190 basis points versus Q4 2019, thanks to the improved efficiency and productivity, as well as to the outstanding performance of Spain and the scale reach in core countries. In full year 21, revenue growth versus 19 at Costa and Forex was around 11%, with a strong organic growth at 8%. EBITDA amounted to around 480 million euros, up around 27% versus 19, with margin at 29.4%, up 370 basis points. Moving to slide number seven, we have a look at the Q4 continued impressive performance of Americas. Revenue growth was 41% at constant Forex versus Q4 19, with an excellent organic performance in the U.S. at around 22%, over two times the market performance. Primarily driven by the outstanding growth of Miracolier, Elite wind-down was also completed and effective during the quarter. Very strong performance was reported both in Canada and Latin. M&A contribution was 19% versus Q4 2019, primarily reflecting PJC acquisition. Total Forex effect was negative for around 11% versus 19%, due to the euro appreciation versus dollar and LATAM currencies. EBITDA amounted to 22.4 million euros, with margin at 27.1%, up 210 basis points versus Q4 2019. In full year 21, revenues at Constant Forex were up around 57% versus 2019, driven by an excellent organic growth of around 36%. EBITDA amounted to over 80 million euros, with a margin of 26.2, up 180 basis points versus 19. Moving to slide number eight, we have a look at Asia-Pacific performance, which reported an outstanding finish of the year. boosted by Bay Audio consolidation, and despite local lockdown in the period in both Australia and New Zealand. In Q4, revenues were up around 65%, a constant Forex versus 19, driven by an organic growth of around 18%. Many contributions related to Bay Audio in China accounted for around 47% versus 19%. Forex was positive by 3.9%. Australia posted an excellent performance, further boosted by Bay Audio consolidations. New Zealand reported an impressive acceleration at the year-end, despite lockdowns ongoing until December 3rd. Also, China reported an excellent performance, thanks to an outstanding organic growth and to the contribution of the Soundbridge joint venture. EBITDA amounted to over €22 million, with margin at 27.6%, contracting 40 basis points versus Q419 due to the strong investments in marketing, primarily in Australia. In full year 21, revenues were up 32% of constant Forex versus 19, driven by a very strong organic growth of around 13%. EBITDA amounted to 71 million euros, with margin at 28.4%, contracting by around 90 basis points versus 19, reflecting the continued strong investment in marketing in Australia and the lower revenue growth in the July-October period for lockdown in both Australia and New Zealand. The comparison with the previous year profitability is not meaningful, given the significant extraordinary incomes related to COVID-19 reported in 2020. Moving to slide number nine, we appreciate the Q4 profit and loss. In the quarter, total revenues increased by 16.3% to 568 million euros, with a strong 8.4 organic growth versus 19. The excellent upline growth, together with the structural efficiencies and the productivity enhancements derived by the measures implemented in 2020, led the EBITDA recurring margin at 27.6%, with an improvement of 180 basis points versus Q4 2019. Recurring EBITDA increased by 24%, around 15 million, to around 157 million euros. Reported figures include around 9 million euro one-off costs, primarily related to the transaction costs for DB audio acquisition. Following the strong investment plan during the past quarter, DNA increased by over 5 million, leading the recurring EBIT to around 95 million euros, with a growth of 31% versus Q4 2019. Following a decrease of around 5 million euros in net financial expenses, primarily benefit from 4.5 million euro income, according to IFRS 9, related to the accounting of a change to the fair value of the financing for the acquisition of GAES, which was refinanced at the end of December, and a lower tax rate, net profit recurring came at over 70 million euros, plus 47% versus Q4 2019. The net result at over 70 million euros, plus 47% versus Q4 2019. The net result from elite wind down, which amounted to negative 6.6 million euros, lower than initially anticipated, led to a net profit reported of 57 million euros, again up 47% versus 2019. Moving to slide number 10, we appreciate the full year 21 profit and loss. In the full year, total revenues increased by 17.2% to $1,948 million, with an excellent 12% organic growth versus monthly. EBITDA recurring margin came in at 24.8%. perfectly in line with our guidance, with an improvement of 190 basis points versus 90. Recurring EBITDA increased by 27%, around 117 million to 483 million euros. Reported figures include 14.5 million euros one-off cost, primarily related to Bay Audio, Guides integration, and the redefinition of the corporate structure of Amplifon SPA. DNA increased by 29 million, leading recurring EBIT to around 262 million euros, with a growth of around 38% or 73 million versus 90. Net financial expenses accounted to 22.6 million euros, also thanks to the change to the value of the financing for the acquisition of the ISM, as previously commented, leading to a recurring PBT of 239 million euros from around 162 million in 2019, posting a 48% increase. Tax rate ended at 26.8%. leading net profit recurring at over 175 million euros, with a 50% increase versus 19. Net results from discontinued operation amounted to negative 5.8 million, leading net profit reported to around 158 million euros, as well up 50% versus 19. Moving to slide number 11, we appreciated the cash flow evolution. Operating cash flow after lease liabilities was in the period equal to 366 million euros, often an improvement of over 50 million, or 16.5% versus 2020. A comparison versus 19. shows an outstanding improvement of 127 million euros, leading to an increase of over 50% versus 19, reflecting the measures implemented during the pandemic to mitigate COVID-19 impact. At CAPEX, increased by around 54 million to around 111 million euros, leading free cash at 255 million, up by 105 million, or 70% versus 19, and flat versus the 2020 highly comparative figures. Net cash out for M&A was 450 million euros, driven by Bay Audio transformational M&A, as well as by all-time acquisition in EMEA, China, US. The sum of the share buyback program and the dividend distribution amounted to 81 million, leading net cash flow for the period to negative 240 million euros versus positive 160 million in 2020 and 55 million in 2019. NFT ended up 870 million euros. Moving to slide 14, we have a look at the debt profile, trend, and the key financial ratios. As mentioned in the previous chart, the net financial debt closed at 870 million euros, with the liquidity accounting for positive 270 million, short-term debt accounting for around 116 million, and medium long-term debt accounting for around 1.20 million euros. This confirms the very strong financial profile of the group, with a financial headroom of around 500 million euros after they cashed out, including the undrawn revolving credit facility. Following the FRS 16 application, lease liabilities amounted to €450 million, leading the sum of net financial debt and lease liability to €1.32 billion. Equity ended up at €927 million, with an increase of around €125 million versus December last year. Looking at financial ratios, net debt over EBITDA ended at 1.68 and changed versus 2020 after strong investment, impressive M&A, and a robust shareholder's return. Net debt over equity ended at 0.94 versus 0.80 at the end of 2020. Lastly, let me highlight the importance of PAP further in integrating sustainability in our financial strategy and performance. After the 100 million sustainability link the revolving credit facility signed in September, in December we signed with a pool of three banks a 210 million euro ESG link term law. mainly aimed at refinancing the Geist Acquisition Facility, which was outstanding for some 180 million. This five-year terminal closed with very favorable terms and pricing conditions and is linked to certain ESG indicators, part of our sustainability plan, which, as achieved, will activate a margin adjustment I will now hand over to Enrico for a further deep dive on our development in the sustainability area.

Yes, thank you, Gabriele. Let's talk now about our commitment to sustainability. As you know, in 2020, we have undertaken a step further in sustainability, shifting our focus from the past to the future. With listening ahead, our sustainability plan focused on listening to our main stakeholders. Today, I'm happy to share with you some of the significant advancements in our plan and strategy in 2021. First, we promoted awareness on eating prevention among young people. We supported the ramp up of the Amplifon Foundation both and also thanks to our employees' involvement as volunteers in different initiatives focused on promoting social inclusion among the elderly. Then we continued to fight the stigma reaching over 170 million seniors via awareness-raising campaigns. We also continued focusing on enhancing all our employees worldwide, delivering over three days of training and promoting equal opportunities. We have seen an increase of women in our top management, from 27% to 30%, and maintaining the minimum 50% threshold on female representation in our global back office population. The 2022 top employer recognition for the EMEA region recognized our firm commitment to our people. We have also released a new supplier code of conduct and designed a global ESG-based supplier evaluation framework, which we will implement as a pilot in a core country already this year. Let me finally add that in 2021, we subscribed to the United Nations Global Compact, the world's largest voluntary corporate citizenship initiative, personal commitment to 10 universal sustainability principles. And we were included both in the ESG index, dedicated to the top 40 Italian blue chips with the most robust ESG practices, and in the highly recognized standard-imposed sustainability yearbook for the healthcare providers and services sector. Lastly, I'm very pleased to share with you that today, during today's meeting, the Board of Directors resolved to donate 1 million euros in favour of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to support the people constrained by the contingency of the current emergency in Ukraine. But in addition to sustainability, this year we also strongly accelerated innovation. So let's now move to the following chart. Here I'm very excited to share with you our latest step to accelerate our digital innovation journey further. In fact, we have just launched Amplifonics, a new organizational structure to reshape the audiological care experience, boosting our AmpliCare strategy. Amplifon X is made by more than 50 digital talents coming from AutoHub with full end-to-end accountability from design to the final product development. AutoHub and the digital Amplifon team have already delivered innovative proprietary products such as AutoPad or the Ecosystem Control Center. Now, with the combination of the two teams, we aim even higher. Already in H2, this year, leveraging internal software development capabilities, Amplifon X will deliver a new version of the Amplifon 360, our patented protocol providing a more immersive and personalized experience to our customers. Amplifon X will operate in a top-notch ecosystem, working, for example, alongside the Bocconi University Chair in Customer Science. The overall cumulated resources fooling Amplifon X for 2022-2024 will be above 150 million, making it one of the most significant investments in software and digital in the industry. So let's move now to the next chart for the outlook. This is the last chart of today's presentation. And we can say that we are extremely satisfied with our performance and about the work that we have done in 2021, which make us feel even stronger about the years to come. We are very confident about our journey of sustainable, profitable growth. We are very confident about our target to 2023, already shared with you during our Capital Market Day last September. We are also very confident about this year. In numbers for 2022, with regards to the top line, we expect the revenues of Amplifon excluding Bay growing high single digit and above market. Regarding profitability, we expect our margin to further improve by at least 40 basis points. Finally, I can also share that in the first two months of the year, so in January, February, Our global revenue growth was healthy and strong, especially in consideration of the last sale of COVID infections in Europe, mainly in January, and also the still ongoing one in New Zealand. And you know that starting the year well is also very important from a psychological point of view for the team. With this, I would like to thank you all for your attention, and we look forward to taking your questions. Francesca, over to you.

Thanks, Enrico. I kindly ask operator to open today's Q&A session. Please kindly limit your questions to maximum two initially in order to give everybody the opportunity to ask questions. Now I turn the call over to the operator in order to open for Q&A.

This is the Coral School Conference operator. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and 1 on their touchtone telephone. To remove yourself from the question queue, please press star and 2. Please pick up the receiver when asking questions. Anyone who has a question may press star and 1 at this time. The first question is from Julienne Oadour with BMP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, and thank you very much for taking my questions. I have two. First one on EMEA. Just looking at the region in Q4, could you share with us how much of your French business grew organically? Let's say that we assume 20% growth boosted by the residual impact from the reform. This would just imply that the rest of the region grew organically. let's say 1% organically at best. So just a little bit of color about where you saw growth and decline in the quarter. And a very quick follow-up, just what are your internal assumptions for EMEA growth this year in 2022, assuming a negative development in France? Second question is about the 2022 outlook. So just to be sure I understood, does your 4% to 5% market growth guidance for this year include first the impact from the pent-up demand and then the negative development in France. So just the question is, is it net-net? And just in your guidance, I think that you assume pent-up demand will more than offset the decline in France. But just if we assume that French markets will be down double digits, it lands exactly in your previous pent-up demand assumption of 1% to 1.5% extra growth for the year. So my question here is just have you increased your assumptions for the pent-up demand this year? Thanks a lot.

Thank you. Thank you for your questions. So we start with the second one and the four-hour outlook for the markets in 2022. Our assumption is a growth at the global level of between 4% and 5%. This 4%, 5% growth in 2022 is the net result of, let's say, the historical growth, which is in the region of 4%, 4.5%. Plus, we assume a positive contribution from the pent-up demand, which will be released this year in the region of 1.5%. And then, also, there will be a negative impact from the French markets. which we estimate in the region of 0.5, maximum 1% at global level in consideration of the fact that we estimate the French market to go down this year by 5% mid-single digit, maximum 10%. It's very difficult actually to predict what will be the French market this year because of the extraordinary growth of last year. But overall, this impact from the French market will be more than offset by the pent-up demand that we estimate to be released for this year. With regards to First question, and therefore the EMEA performance in Q4. In Q4, I can't tell you which was the growth of the French market for Amplifon. You know that we do not give this kind of information by market. We think that, however, the market in France is was still double-digit up in the last quarter of last year, which, of course, was a bit less. Actually, it was, let's say, a deceleration, let's say, versus the first three quarters of the year during which the growth was even higher.

Thanks a lot, Enrico. Just maybe like a quick follow-up on the like on the second one. So, I mean, have you seen positive growth also in the countries like Spain, Italy, etc., like you mentioned in your press release?

Absolutely, absolutely. We have seen growth in those markets. However, you know also that some markets, like Germany, Actually, the growth was much less because of the tail of the COVID. Overall, we should not forget that in December, there was quite a significant peak in terms of infections, and of course, some markets were affected by this.

Okay, perfect. Thanks a lot, Enrico.

Thank you. Thank you for your questions.

The next question is from Aisha Noor with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead. Good afternoon.

Thanks for taking my questions. My first question is on the revenue guidance of high single digit. Could you provide here your assumptions on FX and M&A excluding Bay Audio? That's number one. And then number two is on labor. We've cut it two parts to the question. The first is, have you seen any challenges in in securing labor either due to COVID-related quarantines or staffing shortages, as we're seeing in other markets? And then what level of wage inflation are you expecting this year and how that compares to historical trends?

Thanks. Thank you. Thank you for your questions. So, clearly, if I give you – If I give you Forex and M&A, then I give you also organic growth. And you know that we do not provide this kind of details in terms of guidance. But as usual, of course, I would say that more than two-thirds of the growth historically has been organic, and this is the kind of assumption that you should also take for our revenue guidance for 2021. Of course, this does not include the contribution of a payout. With regard then to our assumptions in terms of inflation, let's say that we are not envisaging inflation on our purchases, both indirect and direct. Not at all on those items. Actually, we are also envisaging some price reductions. We have already concluded some important contracts with price reductions. While in terms of the other big item of our profit and loss is, of course, labor costs, In terms of labor costs, we see, I think we have already mentioned during our last call, we see some inflation in particular in Australia because of the fact that the borders were closed. And you know very well that in Australia there is quite a significant flow of audiologists coming from abroad. which was not possible actually last year, and as a consequence of that, we saw also some inflation for cost of audiologists, et cetera. But nothing that I would say should be of concern overall on the global P&L of the company. Great.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

The next question is from Veronica Dubaiova with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Hi, guys. Good afternoon. I hope you can hear me okay, and thanks for taking my questions. Two for me, please, as well. One, if I can just push you a little bit on the European growth in the fourth quarter, Enrico. If I look at the data that we've gotten from Demand, I think that shows the European market up 11% versus the 2019 levels in unit terms. I think you're clearly coming below that this quarter. I'm just kind of curious what's driving that. I mean, you have a history of outperforming your end market. And frankly, you had done that through most of last year. So I'm just kind of curious what changed in the fourth quarter. If you can talk to whether there is a specific region or a specific dynamic that might explain that. Just a bit surprised by that. And then my second question, obviously you commented on Jan and Feb and This is maybe a better question for Gabriele. I don't know if you can comment on exactly where the growth is shaking out. Maybe it's not appropriate at this stage, but just would love to get your thoughts on the phasing of that high single-digit growth that you've guided for through the year, and whether you think it's more back-end loaded or front-end loaded, and if you can help us think through that at this stage, that might be helpful. Thanks.

Thank you, Veronica. Thank you for your questions. Let's say with regards to the first question, I would say that if we compare our numbers with those provided from manufacturers, I think that the main difference is related to the UK, both because, of course, we do not include in our market estimation NHS. First, because we are not playing in that channel, in that part of the market. And second, because as far as I remember, UK also in the private part of the market grew quite significantly during the last quarter of last year. As far as I remember, in the region of plus 20%, you know very well that in the mix of of our markets, the U.K. is quite small. So I think that we did not benefit from this growth in the total, let's say, growth of the EMEA region. With regards to the second question, I can answer to that. by saying that if we exclude Bay Audio, you may recall in this respect that Bay Audio was consolidated starting from the first of October of last year. So in the perimeter, which does not include the Bay Audio, you should expect an even growth across the four quarters of the year. not much difference between the different quarters.

Okay, that's helpful, Enrico. So maybe give us a bit of flavor, I guess. When you look at your performance within individual markets in Europe, do you still believe you're maintaining that sort of source of outperformance that you've done historically? And then maybe just a quick update on kind of new store openings and how much those are contributing to growth.

No, it's the same kind of shape. The new store opening is very, very limited in comparison with the vast majority of the growth, which is organic. I think that, as I said, looking at the performance, the performance was strong in Italy, was strong in Spain, while it was still slower in Germany. where, as far as I remember, actually all the market was slower in the last quarter.

Fantastic. Thank you.

As a reminder, if you wish to register for a question, please press star and 1 on your telephone. The next question is from Nicola Storer with Kepler. Please go ahead.

Yes, good afternoon. Good afternoon, everybody. I have two questions, please. The first one is on your North American performance, which when compared to 2019, strongly decelerated in Q4. So if you can elaborate a bit on the reasons behind that. And my second one is on CAPEX. We noticed, if I'm not wrong, a sharp acceleration in Q4, which accounted for almost the sum of the CAPEX spent over the previous three quarters. Also, in this case, if you can shed some light. Thank you.

Sure. Thank you. Thank you, Nicola, for your questions. Well, actually, I think that if we are quite happy with our performance in the U.S. in the last quarter, in the fourth quarter, if you compare actually our growth versus the growth of the market, our growth was more than double the growth of the market in the quarter. So I would say that we are continuing to take share and we are growing much faster than the market. With regards to the second question, I would ask Gabriele.

Regarding the CAPEX, anything particularly strange, so we should look at the CAPEX on an annual basis. This year, we ended up at 111 with an acceleration compared to an average speed of, say, 100 million euros. But, of course, I mean, this year is coming after 2020, where CAPEX... were a little bit contracted to face COVID pandemic. So this is a normal level of cap that we will see also moving forward. And also in terms of mix, so part of them devoted to IT system, I would say 40%, another 40% devoted to shops, and around 20% devoted to innovation, also in terms of mix. is something pretty common and something that we will see also moving forward.

Thank you.

The next question is a follow-up from Veronica Dovayova with Goldman Sachs. Please go ahead.

Hi. Thanks, guys. I figured if you don't have anyone else asking questions, I can always jump in for a follow-up or two. Maybe just curious, Enrique, obviously this Amplifon X initiative, how you guys are thinking about it in the context of the OTC legislation in the U.S. and your desire to partake in that market. And then my second question was, you mentioned, I think in response to one of the other questions, that your expectation was that your cogs that are product-related or hearing aid-related would still come down this year. Just slightly surprised by that comment because what we hear from the manufacturers is that they are, in fact, raising prices this year to try to pass on some of the cost headwinds that they're facing in terms of higher raw materials and electronic components costs. So I'm curious if you can give us some insight into how you've managed to get prices down and any changes in terms of contribution from the different manufacturers that are helping you achieve that.

Yeah, well... Of course, I can't comment too much because these are confidential information, but what I can tell you is that we are not envisaging any inflation, and actually we have already finalized some important contracts with price reduction. I can't give you more information than that. With regards to the first question, and therefore Amplifonics, Amplifonics actually, it has nothing to do with OTC. Actually, Amplifonics aims to further personalize and to further enrich the experience for our customers along all the customer journey. I mentioned some of the products that we have already launched, like the ACC. So, it is nothing related to the OTC. With regard to our appetite to participate to the OTC market, well, we will take a final decision when the final regulation will be published. For sure, we are not aiming to be a frontrunner in the OTC. We are currently evaluating Perhaps to give the consumer the option, however, clearly highlighting the limitations of OTC and the benefits of a proper hearing aid. But as I said, it definitely will not be our, let's say, main proposition for our customer, much on the contrary. we will clearly highlight to our customers that if a main proposition for our customer, much on the contrary, we will clearly highlight to our customers the difference between OTC and the property engaged if we decided to participate in this market. And again, I say that We are not aiming to be the frontrunner. I don't think that it's a matter of being the first in the market. It's more a matter of providing to our customers quality service, quality hearing aids. Okay.

Okay. That's helpful. And that contract that you renegotiated, might that be a U.S. supplier contract that you're talking about?

I can't really comment.

Okay. All right. I had to try. Thanks.

The next question is from Giorgio Tavolini with Intermonte. Please go ahead.

Hi. Good evening, everyone, and thanks for taking my questions. I was wondering with respect to your entry in the U.S. Medicare Advantage segment, if you have any update to share with us on your ongoing negotiations with insurance companies and what are your progress in the entering this segment? And the second one is on the corporate costs. What level should we expect for 2022, considering your progress in many initiatives that are already well advanced? So if you expect further increase in this corporate cost line. Thank you.

Yeah. Well, thank you for your question. So with regards to the first question, of course we are working on getting the new contracts with regards to Medicare, and we got some small ones, but we still have a significant pipeline of contracts and accounts which we are working on. positive results so far, still a lot of work to be done, but absolutely in line with our plans.

With regards to the second question, Gabriele, maybe you... Yeah, in terms of corporate cost, of course, I mean, as you know, Amplifon made a very important change over the last three, four years, organizing two very strong competence centers, not only in terms of activities managed by back office, but also in terms of activities managed by front office in terms of marketing. And Amplifonex is one of the things that we are, I mean, implementing So we started with very low corporate cost four or five years ago, around 2.5% to 3%. I think that with 2021, with corporate cost a little bit below the 4%, we achieved the kind of speed that can be maintained also moving forward. Of course, I mean, this is, I mean, due to further innovation, to further leverage on scale economies, because, I mean, the more you put together, the more effective you are. And so we believe this kind of centralization is the right choice for the future. But 4% is a reasonable number also for the next years.

Thank you. Just a follow-up on the tax rate. What tax rate should we imagine for the next few years, 27%?

This is a reasonable number. Of course, I mean, it will depend if there will be some change in reform in the U.S., which is, for example, today still under discussion. But the number we achieved this year was very good, but it's something reasonable. Okay, thank you. Thank you.

The next question is a follow-up from Julien Oadour with BMP Paribas. Please go ahead.

Yeah, thanks a lot for taking my... my follow-up. So on the 2022 outlook, could you give us maybe just a bit of more clarity on where you expect growth from a regional perspective? I mean, is it fair to assume that EMEA should deliver the lower growth due to France? Let's say America might also suffer from tough comps and APAC likely to get the like the faster growth, that's the first, like, follow-up. And then a follow-up to Veronica's question on OTC. You were probably, let's say, the most concerned company about the proposed rule, especially when we read your, let's say, longer report that you addressed to the FDA during the comment period. So, like, first of all, if the rule remains unchanged, I mean, are you still interested into, like, into the OTC? And then GN launched recently the Jabra hands-plus device in the U.S. So would you maybe be interested to sell it through your Miracle Ear franchise, for example? Thanks.

Well, no, no. At the moment, we are not planning to do that, as I said. By the way, we have not taken a final decision also, even if we want to launch it or not. But no, we will not launch the GN product. At least, I mean... For now, as I said, we are not planning to be the front runner on the OTC. We do not see any reason why we should rush for that. Also because if we decided to do something, we wanted to do it right, which means we will do something that ensures safety and also ensures quality of the solution for for our customers. With regards to the first question and the four more colors about the region's performance in 2022, I would say that we expect a positive contribution from all from all the different regions. So perhaps maybe in the U.S. a bit higher than the others, but in general terms, good contribution from all the regions. It is true that for the EMEA, they are going to have, let's say, a negative impact from the French market, but on the other side, You may recall that last year some markets, in particular the beginning in the first half, some important markets like Italy and Spain suffered from the COVID situation. Also, Germany was not very strong last year in the second half. So I would say that in general terms, we expect a positive contribution from all the three regions.

Thanks a lot, Enrico.

Thank you.

The next question is a follow-up from Aisha Noor with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.

Thanks so much for fitting me at the end. I just have one quick follow-up question. One of your competitors was talking about a weaker ASP outlook for 2022. What's your outlook for Mix and ASP, and do you see customers trending towards lower ASP products or opting to use more government applications? reimbursement schemes versus previous. And could you remind us what proportion of your customer base is currently private versus covered by social insurance today? Thank you.

Yeah. Well, in terms of ASP, no, we do not envisage a reduction in terms of ASP going forward. You know very well that usually our assumption is an assumption of a stable ASP. I can tell you this is also actually, I mean, in the last few months actually our ASP has grown a bit. So, no, we do not see this kind of trend in terms of ASP decrease, at least for us. With regards to the split between social market and private market in our sales, The vast majority of our sales are private. In the private market, I would say in the region of 75%, 80% is private. Great.

Thanks very much.

Thank you.

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