SES : Store Electronic Systems
News 21-11-06
 
Business on 30/09/2006: orders enjoying high growth
Business on 30/09/2006

-9 month's sales volume 2006: €20.5 million

-252 new stores delivered in 9 months, in 9 different countries and belonging to 39 different chains

- Big increase in orders over the 3rd quarter : up 55%

- First major listing with a non-food retailer

-Signature of 3 roll-out contracts

Business remains high, orders enjoying high growth

Over the third quarter 2006, Store Electronic Systems delivered 77 stores, achieving a total sales volume of €6,264K (1). This performance is highly satisfactory given that business is traditionally calm during August. 73% of sales concerned new installations, while the remaining 27% was accounted for by recurrent activities (Swap/Restocking/Maintenance, After-Sales/Miscellaneous). On the first nine months of the year, 252 stores have been delivered. This performance is supported by the high growth in the equipment of leading chains in France. During the 3rd quarter 2006, the Group registered 82 orders for equipment, an increase by 55 % compared to the 3rd quarter of 2005. France continues to drive growth for Store Electronic Systems with an increase by 76 % in orders taken and 67 stores to be delivered. On the 10th of November 2006, the number of orders taken since the beginning of the year came up to 309 versus 261 on the same date in 2005 (+ 18.3%), thus confirming the expansion of the market for electronic labelling and the relevance of Store Electronic systems offer.

Major technological innovations

At the last Equipmag 2006 trade fair held last September, Store Electronic Systems has presented the first electronic label with an integrated RFID reader. This is a major innovation in the retail sector, characterised by the increasingly widespread use of RFID chips, which should on a medium term bases replace bar codes. At the same show, the company has presented its future range of animated signing, using electronic-ink based technology.

Signature of a new listing contract and three roll-out contracts

On 17th October, after selection of the Group's offer, and after a realisation and validation in a pilot store, a non-food chain decided to list Store Electronic Systems for the electronic labelling equipment of its stores The contract represents a potential of 400 stores over the next few years, and definitely proves that Store Electronic Systems offer is ideally suited to the needs of non-food retail. On 21st September, Store Electronic Systems signed a roll-out contract with Altis. Altis is 50%-owned by Carrefour France and 50% by Eroski (Spanish leader in food retail), and runs 22 stores under the Carrefour and Champion brands. A first wave of 7 stores should be equipped by the end of 2006. On 12th October, the Group signed a roll-out contract with a food retail group that runs several thousand stores. The contract includes 120 stores to be installed during 2007 and 2008. On 27th October, Store Electronic Systems signed a roll-out contract with COOP D'ALSACE Group. COOP D’ALSACE Group runs 61 hypermarkets and superstores (as well as 145 convenience stores). The contract covers the equipment of all hypermarkets of the Group.

Outlook

- 2006: The margin should be maintained at a high level over the year (in line with that recorded for the 1st half). Moreover, sales for the fourth quarter should show significant growth when compared with the third quarter.

- Roll-out contracts: In addition to the three roll-out contracts already signed, the Group is currently negotiating the signature of other roll-out contracts with some leading names. Some of these contracts could represent very considerable volumes for Store Electronic Systems.

(1) Store Electronic Systems has only been listed since 2 February 2006, so the Group does not have any audited turnover data for the 1st and 3rd quarters 2005 for comparison with the 2006 data.