Jörn Iffert

Jörn Iffert inquired about historical PC peripheral attachment rates for mice and keyboards to understand trends, and expressed concern over declining gaming markets in the U.S. and Europe, asking about strategic responses and specific performance details for PC gaming, mice, and headsets.

Answer

Hanneke Faber, CEO, reported 2% global gaming growth driven by strong performance in China, where Logitech gained market share across gaming mice and keyboards. She noted stabilization in U.S. and European share despite declining markets, attributing softness to economics and game release timing, and outlined strategies to win at both premium and entry levels. Matteo Anversa, CFO, stated that Logitech's peripheral sales historically outpace PC unit sales by 300-500 basis points, with the largest opportunity in the installed base.

Jörn Iffert of UBS asked about the key differences in new shop concepts designed to boost conversion, whether personnel costs would return to 2019 absolute levels due to wage inflation, and for an update on the Hainan operation and the strategy for Chinese consumers.

Answer

CEO Xavier Rossinyol explained that new shop concepts are data-driven and customized to specific airport consumer profiles to drive conversion. He affirmed that Hainan remains a long-term strategic bet and the focus is on serving Chinese travelers globally. CFO Yves Gerster noted that the future impact of wage inflation on personnel costs is unclear, but the company is currently facing hiring challenges and expects wage pressures to materialize with a delay.

Jorn Iffert from UBS followed up on the cost savings program's cash conversion amid inflation, asked for the cash impact of MAG savings in 2021 and the assumption for 2022, and inquired about the company's strategy for the upcoming Spanish airport tenders.

Answer

CEO Julian Gonzalez confirmed the previously communicated cash conversion from cost savings still holds, with inflation's impact depending on pass-through to customers. He specified that MAG savings had a CHF 800 million cash impact in 2021, with CHF 200 million assumed for 2022. Regarding Spain, he stated Dufry is interested in participating in the Aena tender and believes they hold a competitive advantage.

Jörn Iffert inquired about the cash impact of incremental MAG relief, the timeline for gross profit margin recovery, the revenue opportunity in food and beverage, and later followed up for clarification on the 2023 equity-free cash flow outlook considering cost savings.

Answer

CFO Yves Gerster confirmed that all MAG relief translates to cash savings, split between 2021 and 2022, and clarified the 2023 cash flow calculation. CEO Julián Díaz explained that gross profit margin recovery to 2019 levels (ex-mix) is expected in 2022 and that the company sees a significant opportunity to expand its food and beverage offerings globally.

Jörn Iffert of UBS inquired about specific examples of digitalization projects with Alibaba, the risk of prolonged pressure on gross profit margins from online retail, and the components of the equity free cash flow breakeven scenario, particularly regarding working capital inflows.

Answer

CEO Julián Díaz detailed the Alibaba collaboration, which includes assessing Dufry's digital capabilities, boosting digital marketing to increase spend per passenger, and developing 'smart shops'. He clarified that the 2020 gross margin drop was primarily due to one-off inventory liquidations (3.5%) and a higher wholesale mix (1.5%), not just promotions (1.6%), expecting a near-full recovery by 2022. CFO Yves Gerster confirmed the cash flow scenario includes a normalization of working capital but no deferrals of concession payments, describing it as a prudent forecast.