Q4 & FY20 TRADING UPDATE

30 March 2021, Steinhausen, Switzerland: Selecta, Europe’s leading route-based unattended self-service retailer, announces a trading update for the three months and the twelve months ended 31.12.2020.

In the fourth quarter, the Group continued to progress the execution of its ONE Selecta vision.

The Group’s financial performance continued to be impacted by COVID-19 as lockdown measures tightened over the course of the quarter across most geographies, a trend that continued into Q1 2021. The Group has continued to successfully take action to protect its profitability and liquidity.

Q4 and FY 20 Performance Summary1

• Q4 net sales reached €247.4 million for the three months ended 31.12.2020, a reduction of -31.4% compared to the three months ended 31.12.2019
• Q4 adjusted EBITDA2,3 to exceed €27 million as additional mitigation actions were implemented.
• Full year net sales reached €1,007.7 million for the twelve months ended 31.12.2020, a reduction of -30.4% compared to the twelve months ended 31.12.2019
• Adjusted EBITDA2,3 to exceed €84.0 million for the twelve months ended 31.12.2020 compared to €246.0 million for the twelve months ended 31.12.2019. Adjusted EBITDA excluding IFRS 16 to be above the Group’s expectations
• Reported EBITDA3 expected to be over €18 million for the twelve months ended 31.12.2020, after one-off charges to support rightsizing of the business, with full time equivalents expected to be reduced from 10,000 pre COVID-19 to 7,000 by the end of 2021
• As of 31.12.2020, the company had liquidity headroom4 above €200 million, providing more than sufficient funds to execute the long-term plan and weather current headwinds.

1 At actual exchange rates, non-audited figures. 2Adjusted EBITDA: Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization and prior to one off items (external and internal costs which are not related to the on-going business). 3 2020 number include the effects of IFRS 16, which was adopted from 1 Jan 2020 4 liquidity headroom corresponds to available cash and the unused portion of credit lines.

Joe Plumeri, Executive Chairman, said:

“Our vision is for Selecta to become a great and admired company with the clear purpose of making people feel great and creating millions of moments of joy and happiness every day. Against the backdrop of the pandemic and related headwinds, we have made great progress in the transformation of the Group and execution of our ONE Selecta strategy to position it for future growth.”

Christian Schmitz, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:

“As the pandemic intensified in Q4 2020 and into 2021, we have continued to take decisive action to protect our profitability and liquidity. We are focused on driving organic and profitable growth through retaining our clients and developing innovative new solutions and excellent service. In the quarter, we were delighted to renew and extend our partnership with Nestlé and enter in a new agreement with Albert Heijn in the Netherlands to provide an innovative and high-quality fresh food offering as a part of our Foodie’s MicroMarkets.

Full year Gross Revenue by segment and channel

In 2020, gross revenue reached €1,141.4 million, down – 30.1%, with vending fees at -€133.7 million, reduced by -27.8%.

By segment, gross revenue versus prior year ranged from –19.1% in the North region to -29.9% in the Central region and -38.0% in the South, UK and Ireland region. The North region was supported by resilient revenue levels in Sweden and at the Roaster, with the Netherlands showing better performance than Belgium. The Central region saw resilient revenue in Switzerland, which achieved our highest sales levels in Europe, as well as in Germany and Austria, while France showed a sharp contraction versus prior year. The South, UK and Ireland region saw difficult trading conditions across all three markets of the UK and Ireland, Spain, and Italy.

By channel, net sales and sales machine per day showed reduction of respectively -28.0% and -25.9% in the private channel, -22.0% and -22.8% in public, with a sharper drop in Semipublic, of -44.2% and -38.3%.

Q4 Gross Revenue by segment and channel

In the fourth quarter of 2020, gross Revenue reached €281.3 million, down –31.2%, with vending fees at -€33.9 million reduced by -29.7%.

By segment, gross revenue versus prior year ranged from –22.5% in the North region to - 29.5% in the Central region and -39.2% in the South, UK and Ireland region. The North region was supported by resilient sales levels in Scandinavia, in the Netherlands and at the Roaster while Belgium showed tougher trading. The Central region saw resilient revenue in Switzerland as well as in Germany and Austria, while France continued to face the toughest headwinds. The South, UK and Ireland region saw difficult trading conditions across UK and Ireland, Spain and Italy to a lower extent.

By channel, net sales and sales machine per day showed reduction of respectively -29.6% and -25.1% in the private channel, -25.4% and -25.0% in public, with a sharper drop in Semipublic, of -48.8% and -34.5%.

Execution of the ONE Selecta vision

During the quarter, Selecta continued to execute its ‘ONE Selecta’ vision, focused on transforming the Group and transitioning to a “GLOCAL” model by leveraging its global resources and world-class distribution network to deliver excellent local execution.

The recapitalization of the Group was completed in October 2020, which provided financial strength and flexibility to enable execution of the strategy.

As an important step to drive the execution of the ONE Selecta vision, the Executive chairman and the Chief Executive Officer have both entered into management service contracts with the Company which secures them in their roles for an initial term till 2024.

The pandemic has been a catalyst to accelerate the Group’s transformation, with continued progress achieved in the rightsizing of the organization. In addition, Selecta focused on contingency planning in Q4 that resulted in strong savings in personal expenses and other overhead and helped mitigate the impact of the pandemic.

During the quarter, Selecta has amplified its focus on strengthening and developing client relationships and operational excellence to deliver industry leading client retention levels, as well as working with partners to bring globally recognized brands to its clients.

Financial calendar

Selecta Group will host its Q4 & FY20 Results Noteholder Presentation webcast, followed by a Q&A session on Tuesday 13 April 2021 at 17:00 BST (18:00 CEST). The webcast will be hosted by Joe Plumeri, (Executive Chairman), Christian Schmitz (Chief Executive Officer) and Philippe Gautier (Chief Financial Officer) and will provide a further update on the financial performance and strategic progress.

Cautionary Statement

We are providing this information voluntarily, and the material contained in this announcement is presented solely for information purposes and is not to be construed as providing investment advice. As such, it has no regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any recipient. No representation or warranty, either express or implied, is made as to, and no reliance should be placed on, the fairness, completeness, accuracy, correctness or reliability of the information contained herein or the assumptions upon which the information is based. It should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgment. Neither Selecta, nor any of its directors, officers, employees, affiliates, direct or indirect shareholders, advisors or agents accepts any liability for any direct, indirect, consequential or other loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of relying on all or any part of this presentation and any liability is expressly disclaimed.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” that involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside of Selecta’s control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning Selecta’s plans, objectives, goals, future events, performance or other information that is not historical information. All statements other than statements of historical fact referred to in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give Selecta’s or the Group’s current expectations and projections relating to its financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as “target,” “believe,” “expect,” “aim,” “intend,” “may,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” 5 “plan,” “project,” “will,” “can have,” “likely,” “should,” “would,” “could” and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Such forward-looking statements, as well as those included in any other material, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about Selecta, its present and future business strategies, trends in its operating industry and the environment in which it will operate in the future, future capital expenditure and acquisitions. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the events in the forward-looking statements may not occur or Selecta’s or the Group’s actual results, performance or achievements might be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. None of Selecta, its affiliates or their respective directors, officers, employees, agents or advisers undertake to publicly update or revise forwardlooking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances after the date made, except as required by law.