Swedencare AB (publ) INTERIM REPORT JANUARY 1st – SEPTEMBER 30th, 2017
Successful sales in China while the main markets are picking up the pace
SUMMARY OF THE PERIOD
Third quarter: July 1st – September 30th 2017
Numbers in parentheses refers to outcomes during the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Net revenue amounted to 21 593 KSEK (13 438 KSEK), an increase of 60,7%
- EBITDA amounted to 6 190 KSEK (4 740 KSEK), corresponding to an EBITDA-margin of 28,7% (35,1%)
- Operating profit after depreciation (EBIT) amounted to 4 260 KSEK (4 254 KSEK), corresponding to an EBIT-margin of 19,7% (31,5%)
- Net income amounted to 3 169 KSEK (3 238 KSEK)
- Profit per share, based on 15 770 622 shares, 0,20 SEK (0,21 SEK)
- At September 30th 2017, cash amounted to 22 018 KSEK (36 722 KSEK)
First 9-months: January 1st – September 30th 2017
Numbers in parentheses refers to outcomes during the corresponding period of the previous year.
- Net revenue amounted to 62 852 KSEK (38 333 KSEK), an increase of 64%.
- EBITDA amounted to 16 733 KSEK (12 240 KSEK), corresponding to an EBITDA-margin of 26,6% (31,7%)
- Operating profit after depreciation (EBIT) amounted to 11 371 KSEK (10 895 KSEK), corresponding to an EBIT-margin of 18,1% (28,2%)
- Net income amounted to 7 974 KSEK (9 163 KSEK)
- Profit per share, based on 15 770 622 shares, 0,51 SEK (0,59 SEK)
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to 6 296 KSEK (4 429 KSEK)
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS DURING THE THIRD QUARTER
Swedencare has noted an increasing interest from institutional investors. During July a foreign institution, which has not previously been a shareholder, acquired 1,9% of the shares in Swedencare from the main shareholders (Håkan Svanberg & Co Health Care AB, Mastan AB and JCC Group Invest Sweden AB).
Swedencare’s ProDen PlaqueOff Dental Bites was awarded the VOHC-seal for scientifically proven results of plaque and tartar control.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE THIRD QUARTER
Swedencare and Musti Group launch a new and unique product line – Cat dry feed containing ProDen PlaqueOff®
Swedencare change Certified Adviser from Remium Nordic AB to FNCA Sweden AB as of October 27th 2017.
WORDS FROM THE CEO
Selective marketing efforts deliver results! It is extremely satisfying to get confirmation that the choices we made in the form of selected market initiatives have given the desired or even better results than expected.
We are, as you all know, active in an extremely interesting industry where, in principle, all markets and segments continue to grow. The number of pets grows in number, and more families choose to view their pet and its health and well-being as a high priority. Since most people now view their pets as a family member, it is natural that they are also prepared to spend a lot more to care for their four-legged friends. Thus, there is an industry filled with opportunities. With this I do not want to say that it is self-written to succeed - it still requires a clear plan, expertise, superior products and an immense drive as well as some timing. We believe that we have these parts in place and that it contributes strongly to our sales and earnings development.
With the help of our ProDen Plaque Off line, we have managed to establish ourselves as an interesting supplier and partner to veterinarians, specialty pet retail chains and pharmacies worldwide. The number of inquiries who want to buy our products and collaborate is constantly increasing. In this report we will display images from a selection of the exhibitions and events we participated in during the quarter. It is both a necessary and rewarding way to get direct response from customers as well as end consumers.
As I predicted in the previous report, we were able in Q3 to increase our sales and improve the margins due to the efforts and investments we made in Q2. Our sales so far this year have already exceeded 2016 total sales and Q4 has started strongly so I look forward to the year end closing. As for our different markets, all major markets deliver well, while Asia accounts for the biggest increase compared to Q3 last year.
In the US, we took the last extraordinary selling costs for our new Dental Bones during July. We have now provided these to all distributors in the US and in August / September, a lot of products was delivered to Canada from our warehouse in Seattle. The North American market is now well-supplied and we can focus on helping our big customers to work on the end-users in various ways, both with shop events and online campaigns.
In Europe, we are now looking forward to launching the Dental Bones at the end of Q4 2017 and during Q1 2018. The market has shown great interest and the chewbones will be introduced widely in most European countries in both veterinary and pet specialty stores.
During the past quarter, we have increased our NutriScience sales, especially in the UK. For other European markets, for example the Nordic region, it will be during Q4 2017 and Q1 2018 that the launch will result in larger sales volumes.
Asia, mainly Japan and China, account for the majority of the sales during the quarter. Our partner in China has exceeded our expectations and we have jointly managed to inform and convince the market about the benefits of giving ProDen PlaqueOff to China's pets. During the quarter, we were at Asia's largest pet fair (see picture on page 9) and in addition we have had a number of training sessions / presentations for veterinarians in, for us, new regions. 2017 has been characterized by a veterinary initiative, in 2018 the focus will be Pet specialty retailers in the form of physical and online stores. We also held a board meeting in Shanghai while the big fair took place and the entire board were very impressed with what our Chinese partner has achieved and the power of the growth in the Chinese market.
In October, together with Musti Group, we have launched a new Cat Feed Line, which includes ProDen Plaqueoff in all dry feed flavorings. I look forward to being able to report on this and other feed projects during forthcoming quarterly reports. These partnerships open up a new part of the market, which we do not expect will compete with our existing products, on the contrary, it will give us a new group of customers for the most part while increasing awareness of the ProDen PlaqueOff® brand.
For our Dental Bites, we see that new business opportunities will open thanks to the successful clinical studies we conducted during the year. With these studies we have been granted the right to use the VOHC seal on our Dental Bites bags. The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) is an organization that only grants the right to use their seal on products with scientifically proven effects. Only about 20 products have achieved this status, as the requirements are high, both in terms of the design of the studies and proven results.
Even though we have been successful in recent years, both in terms of expanding the product offering and strengthening the distribution network, we still have a lot left. Today we reach a couple of percentages of the potential market, the rest we are actively working to reach with existing and new products.
To sum it up, I can proudly say that the entire organization, as well as our partners, are full of energy and will do everything possible to finish the year in the best possible way!
Håkan Lagerberg, CEO
Malmö 26th of October, 2017
The complete interim report is attached in this press release and is available at www.swedencare.se
For more information, please contact:
Håkan Lagerberg, CEO Swedencare
Phone: +46 (0)73 517 0170
Email: hakan.lagerberg@swedencare.se
Jenny Graflind, CFO Swedencare
Phone: +46 (0)73 944 8554
Email: jenny.graflind@swedencare.se
Remium Nordic AB is the Certified Adviser of the Company
Phone: +46 (0)8 454 32 00
Please visit the Company homepage www.swedencare.se
About Swedencare
Swedencare develop, produce, market and sell premium products on the global and fastgrowing market within animal healthcare for cats, dogs and horses. The product groups ProDen PlaqueOff and NutriScience are represented on approximatly fifty markets in all parts of the world, including the headquarter in Malmö, five subsidiaries in the Nordics, United States, France, Great Britain and Ireland and through a external distribution network. Swedencare’s sales have increased significantly over the last few years with strong margins and results. The board of directors and the management have a wide and extensive experience of international marketing and sales.