IMCD N.V.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for holding, and welcome to the IMCD analyst call. At this moment, all participants are listen-only mode, and after the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. I would like to hand over the call to Mr. van der Slikken. Go ahead, please.

Yes, good morning, everybody. As usual, I'm here with Hans Klooymans, my colleague, and together we will answer your questions on our first quarter results. As reported in our press release, we had a strong first quarter with an EBITDA growth of 28% and 34% on a constant currency basis. Growth consists both from organic growth and growth from acquisitions in 2020 and a most notably signet in India. As said in earlier calls, our business model is robust, also under difficult economic circumstances. We saw in the first quarter strong demand from our customers and we must assume a preparation of economies that will open up after COVID. Across many markets, we experienced delays in deliveries because of product shortages or supply chain issues. We also saw price increases over a wide range of products. Notwithstanding this, we were able to cope with all these factors successfully, and we look with optimism for the remainder of the year. Now Hans will take you through the Q1 numbers, And after that, we will answer your questions. Thank you, Pete. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. And I will give you a short summary of IMCD's first quarter 2021 results. And as usual, I will start on page 10 of the analytical presentation. We are happy to report a thoroughly suggested revenue increase of 13% and 17% gross profit increase in the first quarter of this year. The gross profit increase was a combination of 9% organic growth and 8% as a result of the first-time inclusion of companies acquired in 2020 and 2021. Gross profit in percentage of revenue improved by 0.8%. percent point from 23.6 to 24.4%. This increase in percentage was a combination of the contribution of newly acquired businesses, product mix effects, changes in local market circumstances and successful internal growth margin improvement initiatives. Forex adjusted operating EBITDA increased 34% to 19.6 million. This increase was a combination of substantial organic growth and first-time inclusion of acquisitions. The operating EBITDA margin increased by 1.7% from 9.5% in the first quarter of 2020 to 11.2% in the same period this year. The conversion margin, calculated as operating EBITDA in percentage of gross profit, was 45.9%, which is 5.7% better than the same period of last year. In all regions, we saw an improvement of this ratio. Forex adjusted net result before amortization and non-recurring items increased 32% to 64 million. Free cash flow and cash conversion ratio both increased compared to the same period of last year. Substantial operating EBITDA growth in 2021 more than fully compensated for the increase in working capital in the first three months. This working capital investment of about 27 million was mainly the result of increased business activities. Net working capital, translated in days of revenue, were 54 days, similar to the first quarter of last year. Year-to-date CAF earnings per share were €1.11, an increase of 18% compared to the same period of last year and a 22% increase when adjusting for forex differences. On the last line of this page you could see a 10% increase in our number of employees and most of this increase is the result of the first time inclusion of acquisitions. On the next slide, slide 11, you will find growth profit, EBITDA and conversion margin per operating segment. EMEA reported 8% forex-adjusted growth profit growth and 18% operating EBITDA growth. Operating EBITDA in percentage of revenue improved from 10.5% to 11.3%. As most of the acquisitions in this region were relatively small, it's fair to assume that most of the growth is organic growth, and the impact of the acquisitions is limited. A bit of a similar story in the second column with America's Q1 figures. However, weakening of local currencies in this region had quite an impact on reported Euro numbers, as you can see. Forex adjusted growth profit in the Americas increased 10% and operating EBITDA increased 11%. Most of the EBITDA growth is organic, and amongst others driven by an increased growth profit percentage. Asia Pacific in the third column reported 70% growth profit growth and more than doubled operating EBITDA. This was a combination of substantial organic growth and a first-time inclusion of acquisitions. Operating EBITDA in percentage of revenue and the conversion margin further improved. This increase was a combination of the acquisition of Signet in India in November last year and healthy organic growth profit and EBITDA growth. And in the last column, as usual, you will find the cost of holding companies. And this includes, as you know, all operating companies, including the all MOEM operating companies, including the head office in Rotterdam and the regional support offices in Singapore and in the US. On page 12, a summary of IMCD's free cash flow. Free cash flow and cash conversion ratio were both substantially higher than the same period of last year as a result of increased operating EBITDA combined with a lower working capital investment. Further, CAPEX was about 2 million lower than in the same period of last year. Then on page 13, a short update on the net debt and leverage. As you can see, reported leverage ratios and leverage based on the definitions in the loan documentation. at 2.3 and 1.6 times LTM, either DAP. The 1.6 times leverage ratio is well below the lowest 3.5 times leverage threshold in IMCD's loan documentation. And last but not least, on page 15 you will find our outlook for 2021. So far the short summary of our year-to-date financials and Peter and myself are happy to answer your questions.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you would like to ask a question, please press star 1. For questions, star 1. Go ahead, please. First question is from Mr. Moodley-Gondegans from ABN Hamburg. Go ahead, please.