. 1Q10 revenue of EUR 20.9 million, +17.1% vs. 1Q09 (+5.7% at constant exchange rate and excluding the big events rentals), confirming gradual improvement of the underlying business trend
. Studio represents 64.0% of sales over 1Q10
. 1Q10 EBIT margin of 46.1% and earnings per share of EUR 0.46
. Booming spring order book of EUR 31.6 million (+150%) as of April 30, 2010
. 2010 supported by major sporting events rentals and large studio projects
. Expectation of double digit sales growth and resilient margins for 2010
. Total gross dividend of EUR 2.48 proposed at the General Meeting of May 18
Liège (Belgium), May 11, 2010, EVS Broadcast Equipment S.A. (Euronext Brussels: EVS.BR, Bloomberg: EVS BB, Reuters: EVSB.BR) (Pinksheets: EVBEF), the leader in Professional Digital Video applications for live, near-live and studio TV production, today reported its results for the first quarter of 2010 ("1Q10").
Key highlights
Pierre L'Hoest, CEO of EVS said: "At EVS, we are working hard to make sure that 2010 will be a new step for our company. We have invested a lot in developing new solutions for the studio productions. Our product range is broader than ever, and the recent acquisition of OpenCube Technologies is going in the same direction. This evidences our willingness to further expand in the studio segment." Commenting the market environment, M. L'Hoest added: "The clients remain cautious with their investments. Efficiency is a key word in our discussions with the market, as it was emphasized during the recent NAB trade show in Las Vegas, where our teams were very actively promoting all our solutions. 2010 is also a year with big sporting events, which are opportunities for us to present our new products to dozens of broadcasters."

Commenting on the results and perspectives, Jacques Galloy, CFO added: "We deliver the fifth sequential quarterly sales growth. Sales reach EUR 20.9 million, or +17.1%. Orders during the 1Q10 have been quite strong, as illustrated by the seasonal order book which is up 150%. This is obviously but only partly due to the world cup rentals. Actually, we experience good traction for lots of small to medium deals next to few very large ones. The gross margin is lower than last year due to lower margins on both big events rentals and some large and strategic studio projects for which we have even recruited temporary staff. 2010 shall evidence strong growth in earnings compared to 2009, and the company shall continue building up its leadership in new media content production and delivery solutions. On its side, XDC performs quite well with booming sales of EUR 9.9 million, including recently acquired FTT Group, tending to break-even with Net Contribution to EVS of EUR -0.2 million compared to EUR -0.8 million in 1Q09. Given all this, the Board has decided to propose to the shareholders meeting a dividend pay-out ratio of 126%, i.e. a total gross dividend of EUR 2.48 (final gross dividend of EUR 1.48; ex-date next May 27).