YEAR-END REPORT 2005
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· Biacore had its most successful quarter ever in the final three months of 2005. Sales increased by 23% to SEK 193.7 million (157.1). The American market continued its recovery with sales up 48% to SEK 75.9 million and European sales increased by 45% to SEK 73.9 million. After a very strong performance earlier in the year, sales in Asia-Pacific declined by 20% in the fourth quarter. Biacore’s full-year 2005 sales rose by 15% to SEK 569.0 million (494.5). Excluding the effect of exchange rates, sales also grew by 15% in 2005. · Operating income for the fourth quarter was SEK 59.9 million (18.8). After adjustment for non-recurring costs in 2004 and capitalization/amortization of development costs in 2004 and 2005, operating income increased by 55% compared with the fourth quarter 2004. Operating income for the full-year 2005 amounted to SEK 120.8 million (0.5). The operating margin was 21.2%. · Net income for the fourth quarter amounted to SEK 49.4 million (24.4). Net income for 2005 in total was SEK 191.2 million (-0.5). This amount includes a one-off tax credit, booked in the second quarter, of SEK 96.7 million (SEK 9.91 per share) resulting from an internal asset transfer in conjunction with the move of the Company’s Corporate Headquarters and operations to Sweden. Diluted earnings per share were SEK 5.06 (2.51) in the fourth quarter and SEK 19.60 ( 0.05) for the full-year 2005. · Biacore has considerably strengthened its product line during the course of 2005 with the introduction of Biacore®T100 and Biacore®A100 and by acquiring Flexchip from HTS BioSystems Inc. Biacore®T100 is already the Company’s best-selling system in all major markets. · The Board proposes an unchanged dividend of SEK 3.00 per share. · The outlook for 2006 is for Biacore’s sales to increase at approximately the same rate as in 2005 with modest growth in the first quarter. The operating margin for the first half of the year may decline as the Company further expands its sales and marketing infrastructure, yet it is expected to return to historic levels for the full-year 2006. As usual, the Company's performance will vary between the quarters. For further information, please contact: Erik Walldén, President and CEO, Phone +46 (0)702 252 270 Lars-Olov Forslund, CFO, Phone +46 (0)702 252 727 Jan Isoz, Investor Relations, Phone +46 (0)708 10 31 17