EXEL INDUSTRIES

2016-2017 first-quarter revenue Recession in Agricultural Spraying in France - Seite 2

• Spraying and Watering for Garden

Revenue is in line with the same quarter last year, bearing in mind that the first quarter generally accounts for 10% of yearly revenue.
This Q1 was devoted to making logistical preparations for new distribution contracts.

• Industrial Spraying

Revenue is in line with last year, with a large order book that should create revenue throughout the 2016-2017 fiscal year.
Staff have been working on the merger of Kremlin-Rexson and Sames Technologie, enabling the new entity to speed development of our Industrial Spraying business in its various markets.

• Outlook and Strategy

Guerric Ballu, CEO of EXEL Industries Group, noted:

"The first quarter showed the ongoing recession in agricultural spraying in France and the USA, as well as good performance from the other businesses. Our subsidiary ET Works has started to benefit from the Group's marketing synergies, and for the first time sold agricultural self-propelled sprayers in Ukraine, through the Berthoud Agricole network.
Matrot Equipements and Hardi Evrard have the project to merge, in order to optimize their manufacturing and customer contact.
Sugar Beet Harvesters have been buoyed by the stimulus programs in Russia and Ukraine.
The reorganization of Industrial Spraying via merger will increase our synergies and competitiveness in all markets worldwide, and help us serve our customers better. This merger will create a leader among the large global companies in this sector.

All Garden employees are now involved in implementing new distribution contracts, which will greatly give access to countries in Europe where Hozelock products were not before, and that will  impact the revenue from February onward.

In line with our growth strategy, we continue to carry out our innovation policy in all of our business lines, with new products launched on the markets in the Watering and Gardening activity with the Super Hose and Pice Power, and in the Industrial Spraying activity with the Infinistream and the electrostatic chemical conversion for spraying aluminium sheets.
In the agricultural business, all our brands will be represented at the next SIMA in February 2017, featuring many innovations, including a carbon-fiber spraying ramp, sprayers by drones, adjustable ground clearance, spraying equipements for straddle tractors, and fully automatic  truck filling for cleaner loader in the Suger Bettes Harvesters business.