PANDORA RECORDS 21% REVENUE GROWTH FOR 2016 AND IN

•      Group revenue in 2016 was DKK 20,281 million, an increase of 21% (24% increase in local currency), compared with 2015, and in line with financial guidance:

•      Americas increased by 5% (6% increase in local currency)

•      EMEA increased by 27% (33% increase in local currency)

•      Asia Pacific increased by 46% (48% increase in local currency)

•      Revenue from concept stores increased by 37% corresponding to 66% of revenue

•      Roughly 50% of revenue growth for 2016 was driven by  growth in stores open for more than 12 months (including all sales channels) and roughly 50% was driven by expansion of the network, including forward integrations

•      The gross margin increased to 75.1% in 2016, compared with 72.9% in 2015

•      EBITDA increased by 27% to DKK 7,922 million in 2016, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 39.1%, compared with 37.1% in 2015 and in line with financial guidance

•      Net profit in 2016 was DKK 6,025 million, compared with DKK 3,674 million in 2015, corresponding to earnings per share of DKK 52.8 compared to DKK 30.9 in 2015

•      Free cash flow in 2016 was DKK 5,358 million, compared with DKK 2,449 million in 2015

•      The Board of Directors proposes to return DKK 4.0 billion in dividend in 2017, including an ordinary dividend of DKK 9 per share and three extraordinary quarterly dividends of DKK 9 per share. Additionally, PANDORA will today initiate a DKK 1.8 billion share buyback programme

•      For 2017, PANDORA expects revenue of DKK 23-24 billion and an EBITDA margin of approx. 38%

In connection with the full year results Anders Colding Friis, CEO of PANDORA, stated:

“2016 was another great year for PANDORA, where we significantly improved our global branded presence. We delivered as promised and reached a number of milestones including more than DKK 20 billion in revenue and opening our concept store number 2,000. Cash flow generation continued to be solid, and we propose to almost triple the total dividends in 2017 to DKK 36 per share. This is of course a token of our strong belief in the business, but also to align our cash return with our shareholders’ preferences.”

FINANCIAL GUIDANCE 2017 

In 2017, PANDORA will continue to drive growth in existing stores, and expand the store network in newer as well as in more developed markets. Revenue is expected to be in the range of DKK 23-24 billion, with existing stores expected to contribute roughly half of the growth, and expansion of the store network contributing the remaining half.  PANDORA currently expects only single digit revenue growth in Q1 2017, due to timing of shipments and a very strong performance in Q1 2016. Assuming current exchange rates, PANDORA expects a full year tailwind effect from currencies on revenue of around 1 percentage point compared with 2016.

The EBITDA margin in 2017 is expected to be around 38%. The EBITDA margin is expected to be significantly lower in the first half of 2017 compared to the second half. For 2017, the EBITDA margin is anticipated to be negatively impacted by around 0-1 percentage points from higher commodity prices. Furthermore, assuming current exchange rates, PANDORA expects a full year headwind effect from currencies on the EBITDA margin of around 1 percentage point compared with 2016.

CAPEX for the year is expected to be around 5% of revenue. The expected level of investments includes expansion of the crafting facilities in Thailand, investments in PANDORA’s distribution network, as well as  IT investments.

The effective tax rate for 2017 is expected to be around 21%, unchanged compared to 2016.

In 2017, PANDORA plans to continue to expand the store network and expects to add more than 275 new concept stores during the year of which roughly 50% are expected to be opened in EMEA, 25% in Americas and 25% in Asia Pacific. PANDORA expects around half of the concept store openings to be PANDORA owned stores, which is in line with the Company’s intentions to increase the owned and operated retail footprint.   

Expectations are based on the foreign exchange rates at the day of announcement.

Dividend For the financial year 2015, PANDORA paid out ordinary dividend of DKK 13 per share, corresponding to DKK 1.5 billion in total. From 2017, PANDORA proposes to supplement the ordinary dividend with three extraordinary quarterly dividends.

Following a strong financial performance in 2016, the Board of Directors proposes to return DKK 4.0 billion in dividend in 2017. This includes an ordinary dividend of DKK 9 per share and additionally three extraordinary quarterly dividends of DKK 9 per share in relation to Q1 2017, Q2 2017 and Q3 2017. In total, PANDORA will pay out a total of DKK 36 per share in 2017.

SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAMME FOR 2016 In connection with the Annual Report 2015, PANDORA announced its intention to buy back own shares of up to DKK 4.0 billion during 2016 in a share buyback programme. As of 31 December 2016, a total of 4,641,992 shares had been bought back, corresponding to a transaction value of DKK 4.0 billion. The purpose of the programme is to reduce PANDORA’s share capital and to meet obligations arising from employee share option programmes. At the Annual General Meeting 2017, The Board of Directors will propose to reduce the Company's share capital by a nominal amount of DKK 4,549,430 by cancellation of 4,549,430 own shares of DKK 1, equal to 3.9% of the Company's total share capital.

NEW SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAMME FOR 2017 The Board of Directors of PANDORA has decided to launch a new share buyback programme in 2017, under which PANDORA expects to buy back own shares to a maximum consideration of DKK 1.8 billion. The shares acquired within the programme will be used to reduce PANDORA’s share capital and to meet obligations arising from employee share option programmes. The programme will run in the period from 7 February 2017 to no later than 6 February 2018.

ANNUAL REPORT 2016 PANDORA’s Annual Report 2016 has been released today and is available for download in the investor section of www.pandoragroup.com.

CONFERENCE CALL A conference call for investors and financial analysts will be held today at 11.00 CET and can be joined online at www.pandoragroup.com. The presentation for the call will be available on the website one hour before the call.

The following numbers can be used by investors and analysts:

DK: +45 38 32 28 69

UK (International):  +44(0) 203 427 1907

US: +1 212 444 0895

To participate, please quote confirmation code “PANDORA” when dialling into the conference.

FINANCIAL CALENDAR 2017

15 March 2017                           Annual General Meeting

20 March 2017                           Payment of annual dividend

9 May 2017                                Interim Report for the first quarter of 2017

16 May 2017                               Ex dividend date

18 May 2017                              Payment date

8 August 2017                            Interim Report for the second quarter of 2017

15 August 2017                          Ex dividend date

17 August 2017                          Payment date

7 November 2017                      Interim Report for the third quarter of 2017

14 November 2017                    Ex dividend date

16 November 2017                    Payment date

ABOUT PANDORA PANDORA designs, manufactures and markets hand-finished and contemporary jewellery made from high-quality materials at affordable prices. PANDORA jewellery is sold in more than 100 countries on six continents through around 8,100 points of sale, including more than 2,100 concept stores.

Founded in 1982 and headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, PANDORA employs more than 21,500 people worldwide of whom around 12,400 are located in Gemopolis, Thailand, where the Company manufactures its jewellery. PANDORA is publicly listed on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange in Denmark. In 2016, PANDORA’s total revenue was DKK 20.3 billion (approximately EUR 2.7 billion).

CONTACT For more information, please contact: