FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING INFORMATION 5.1 ACTIVITY REPORT Pursuant to article 28 of the Regulation (EC) N°809/2004 products, based on sales and number of branches. of the European Commission dated April 29, 2004, the The Group principal ly operates in three geographic following information is incorporated by reference in this areas: Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Registration document: This geographic segmentation is based on the •the operating and financial review of the Rexel Group’s financial reporting structure. In 2017, Group for the year ended December 31, 2016, the Group divested from al l of its operations in the consolidated financial statements (as well as South East Asia. Therefore, result of operations the related report of the Statutory Auditors) and and cash flows for the year ended December 31, the annual financial statements (as wel l as the 2017 in South East Asia were consol idated until related report of the Statutory Auditors) which November 30, 2017. are respectively included in pages 172 to 186, in In 2017, the Group recorded consol idated sales pages 188 to 248, and 250 to 271, respectively, of of €13,310.1 mi l l ion, of which €7,292.3 mi l l ion the French version of the Registration document were generated in Europe (55% of Group sales), filed with the Autorité des marchés financiers on €4,710.1 mil lion in North America (35% of Group March 31, 2017, under number D.17-0272; and sales) and €1,307.7 mil lion in Asia-Pacific (10% of •the operating and financial review of the Rexel Group sales). Group for the year ended December 31, 2015, the consolidated financial statements (as well as The Group’s activities in Europe are in France (which the related report of the Statutory Auditors) and accounts for 36% of sales in this region), the United the annual financial statements (as wel l as the Kingdom (12% of sales of this region), Germany related report of the Statutory Auditors) which (11% of sales of this region), Scandinavia (Sweden, are respectively included in pages 138 to 155, in Norway and Finland), Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, pages 156 to 217 and 218 to 241, respectively, of the the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Slovenia, French version of the Registration document filed Portugal, Russia and Luxembourg. with the Autorité des marchés financiers on April 7, 2016, under number D.16-0299. The Group’s activities in North America are in the United States (78% of sales in this region) and The information in these documents that is not Canada (22% of sales in this region). incorporated by reference is either irrelevant for the investor or is covered in another section of this The Group’s activities in Asia-Pacific are in Australia Registration document. (41% of sales in this region), China (37% of sales of this region) and also in New Zealand, India and Middle 5.1.1 Operating and financial review and East as well as South East Asia until November 30, prospects 2017. Rexel was incorporated on December 16, 2004. This activity report analyses the Group’s sales, Shares of Rexel were admitted to trading on the gross profit, distribution and administrative regulated market of Euronext Paris on April 4, 2007. expenses, and operating income before The group consists of Rexel and its subsidiaries amortization of intangible assets recognized on (herein after referred to as the “Group” or “Rexel”). purchase price al locations and other income and other expenses (EBITA) separately for each of The activity report is presented in euros and al l the three geographic segments, as wel l as for the numbers are rounded to the nearest tenth of a Other operations segment. mil lion, except where otherwise stated. Totals and sub-totals presented in the activity report are first Seasonality computed in thousands of euros and then rounded to the nearest tenth of a million. Thus, the numbers Despite the low impact of seasonal ity on may not sum precisely due to rounding. sales, changes in the Group’s working capital requirements lead to variations in cash flows 5.1.1.1 Financial position of the Group over the course of the year. As a general rule, the Group’s cash flows are the strongest in the Group Overview fourth quarter while relatively lower in the three The Group is a worldwide leader in the professional other quarters, because of higher working capital distribution of low and ultra-low voltage electrical requirements in those periods. REXEL 2017 – REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 198