Fluidra expects to grow sales above 6% and increase dividend by 15% in the coming years

BARCELONA, Spain, April 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Fluidra, the global leader in pool and wellness equipment, has confirmed the strong positive prospects for the company in the medium-term. It is expecting to accelerate annual sales growth to above 6% in the coming years, outgrowing the market, driven by market share gains and acquisitions. The company is also set to continue its margin improvement, guiding to expand its EBITDA margin above 50 bps per year.

During its Capital Markets Day Fluidra has reaffirmed its strong cash generation medium term guidance with cash EPS, a key proxy that excludes non-cash items and non-recurring expenses, over 15% per year. This will allow Fluidra to fund value generation initiatives, including both shareholder remuneration and inorganic growth. The company has confirmed a dividend pay-out policy of 50% of cash net profit in the coming years. In terms of M&A, the company still sees significant inorganic growth opportunities in a fragmented industry, which can be leveraged on an excellent track record.

A strong 2021

A strong start to 2021 helped by the global stay-at-home and flight-to-the-suburbs trends, confirms the strong fundamentals of the business and the resilience of the industry.

After CMP's acquisition, Fluidra raised its 2021 guidance, with Sales growth expectations of 12-15% and cash EPS growth of 17-25%. The company has confirmed that it expects to reach the high end of the guidance range. Furthermore, Fluidra has confirmed that it expects to reach all the objectives defined in the Strategic Plan 2018-2022 in 2021, one year ahead of the plan.

ESG at the heart of Fluidra's activity

Fluidra has presented its new comprehensive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) "Responsibility Blueprint" plan for the period spanning 2020-2026. One element that stands out in it is the introduction of ESG performance based variable remuneration for Fluidra's managers.

On the environmental front, Fluidra has made the stellar commitment to becoming carbon neutral in 2027 in terms of Scope 1, 2 and by 2050 for Scope 3. Additionally, the firm expects to have more than 80% of products sales classified as ESG friendly in 2035, currently more than 50% of them already meet this criterion.

In the Social category, Fluidra will focus on the well-being of its employees, with a strong commitment to aiming for "zero net wage gap" between men and women by 2024.

The Governance category is also an essential part of the company's roadmap. Fluidra achieved an ESG rating of 69 out of 100 based on S&P's analysis and the company is committed to reaching a score of 80 by 2030.

"We are a global industry leader with a unique footprint and value proposition in a structurally attractive industry. We have achieved all our 2022 goals ahead of plan and we will continue growing faster than our sector. Most importantly, ESG has been at the heart of Fluidra's activity, and our Responsibility Blueprint commitments will reinforce our long-term positive impact" Eloi Planes, Fluidra's Executive Chairman stated.

SOURCE Fluidra