Fluidra SA Q3 2021 Earnings Call Transcript

The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.

Question: Christoph Greulich - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst : I would like to start with some clarification on the Early Buy program for the 2022 pool season. So if I remember correctly, ahead of the '21 pool season and a larger than usual part of the early buys were shifting Q1 instead of Q4. So what is your expectation for this year? And will the Early Buy split between Q4 and Q1 be more similar to the pre-pandemic years or more similar to what we've seen last year?

Question: Christoph Greulich - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst : Yes, that's very clear. Then on the pricing initiatives, so the mid-to-high single-digit increases that you mentioned you have implemented for the next pool season, will they already have a full impact on the Q4 revenues? Or are you still having sales in Q4 under the old prices?

Question: Christoph Greulich - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst : Yes. And then maybe another word on the cash EPS growth outlook. So you expect a stronger sales growth than before and the same margin. So why is the cash EPS outlook not up? Has anything changed below the EBITDA line in the P&L?

Question: Christoph Greulich - Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. KG, Research Division - Analyst : That's clear. Just my last question, yes, with regards to M&A activity in your factors. So we've seen one of your main competitors in the U.S. recently announcing the acquisition of a pool filter specialist, Pleatco. So was it a situation you also looked at? Or was there not enough of a strategic fit for you?

Question: Manuel Lorente - Mirabaud Securities Limited, Research Division - Analyst : First, a follow-up on prices. So this mid-to-high single-digit price increase for next year pool season, if I understand correctly, it has already been or trying to be implemented in North America, but not in Europe yet? Is that something that we'll have to wait for next year? Or...

Question: Manuel Lorente - Mirabaud Securities Limited, Research Division - Analyst : Okay. Great. Understood. So then my second question is on volume dynamics, right? As you perfectly said in a number of occasions, there has been a structural change somehow post COVID in the industry, right? That, as quarters evolve, I tend to identify a kind of a 2-speed sector. On the one hand, we have North America growing at a massive speed somehow back. On the other hand, Europe, I don't know if it's because we are returning to the normality in a different way or whatever, I have the impression that it's slowing down somehow. Do you have that feeling that there is a certain correlation between the structural megatrend in North America and Europe or the rest of the world? REFINITIV STREETEVENTS | www.refinitiv.com | Contact Us consent of Refinitiv. 'Refinitiv' and the Refinitiv logo are registered trademarks of Refinitiv and its affiliated companies. OCTOBER 28, 2021 / 9:00AM, FLUI.MC - Q3 2021 Fluidra SA Earnings Call

Question: Manuel Lorente - Mirabaud Securities Limited, Research Division - Analyst : Do you think that maybe that is because there is some restocking panic in the industry, in the context of these supply chain disruptions and energy shocks, et cetera?

Question: Manuel Lorente - Mirabaud Securities Limited, Research Division - Analyst : So probably my final question, and I'm sorry to come back to next year trends. But when you shared with us our -- your medium-term target assumptions, you were outlining somehow a 4 to 8 market growth for those targets, right? And in the context of the current ticketing evolution, it is fair to say that for next year, we will be above those million term growth assumptions for the market, right?