Signify published its 2018 Annual Report. In it, the company reports a comparable sales growth of 4.4%.
"Looking back on 2018, I’m very pleased with the commitment to creating value for our customers that I’ve seen across our businesses, and with the progress of our simplification and cost reduction actions. They keep our transformation journey on the right track", CEO Eric Rondolat comments.
"On May 16 2018 we changed our name from Philips Lighting to Signify. This new name is a clear expression of our strategic vision and purpose.
"On top of the shares we repurchased from Royal Philips (during its sell down) – it held 16.5% at year-end – we also returned EUR 220 million to our shareholders through our share repurchase program.
"To help us meet the needs of the fast-growing urban lighting market in China, we acquired LiteMagic Technologies, whose technology was used for the largest architectural lighting project in our history, lighting the waterfront, historical and business districts in Shanghai.
"In 2018 we increased the focus on our growing profit engines (namely our LED, Professional and Home Business Groups) as they represent the foundations we’re strategically building and investing in to move to LED and connected lighting. In doing so, we have decided to develop new and promising growth platforms around connected systems, IoT platform services, horticulture, solar, and LiFi.
"Our Adjusted EBITA margin has improved, free cash flow is strong, and exciting developments in our growth platforms show that we continue moving in the right direction. All of this occurred in the most challenging market conditions we’ve seen in some years."
