Exclusive Networks Q3 results: EMEA business carries solid quarterly sales
Gross sales up 9 per cent reported and up 13 per cent at constant currency to €1.2bn
Exclusive Networks has reported a solid Q3 with gross sales up 9 per cent reported and 13 per cent at constant currency to €1.2bn (£1.04bn).
EMEA carried the biggest growth for Exclusive, reaching gross sales of €973m, an increase of €116m or 14 per cent.
The region benefitted from momentum resulting from the quality of vendor portfolio across all countries, Exclusive said in its results.
Most of the reported growth (5 per cent) was driven by business with existing vendors in their current geographies.
The remainder of the growth was mostly due to vendor expansion (3 per cent), a combination of vendors entering into new geographies (2 per cent) and new vendor relationships (1 per cent).
The recent acquisition Ingecom, also supported the company's growth for 1 per cent.
CEO Jesper Trolle commented: "Exclusive Networks, as a leader in cybersecurity, is moving towards its mission of creating a safer world.
"In the third quarter, we made solid progress with gross sales in line with our expectations.
"We delivered double-digit growth in our largest region (EMEA), despite a challenging macroeconomic environment and low visibility which has seen sales cycles lengthen and return to normalised levels since the end of 2022.
"We have a consistent solid pipeline with no project cancellation.
"After several years of organic growth, our strong balance sheet and excellent cash generation enable us to make the acquisition of Ingecom to broaden and deepen our offering and support our long-term growth strategy.
"This strategic acquisition will enable us to expand our capabilities in innovative and disruptive technologies to complement and scale our offering of emerging and fast-growing cybersecurity solutions in our markets.
"Our current momentum of double-digit growth year to date, coupled with a strategic acquisition, underpins our confidence in meeting our 2023 guidance."
In the Americas, (13 per cent of total quarterly gross sales) gross sales were €157m, up 1 per cent.
The region faced a high basis of comparison in Q3, when it delivered sharp growth.
In a context of demand normalisation and dollar fluctuation in Q3, the region managed to maintain a positive trend during the quarter, supported by the progressive ramp up of new vendors.
APAC (8 per cent of total quarterly gross sales) saw a decline in gross sales by 14 per cent reported at €99m.
"The trend is improving quarter on quarter and the initiatives implemented locally allowed the region to progressively improve the trend compared to the previous quarter," an Exclusive statement reads.
A look ahead
Exclusive also predicted that, despite macroeconomic volatility challenges, the French distributor would still meet its FY 2023 targets of:
- Gross sales above €5.150bn
- Net margin in the range of €450m to €465m
- Adjusted EBIT in the range of €172m to €178m, expected to reach the upper end of the range
- Adjusted operating free cash flow above 80 per cent of adjusted EBITDA