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Year-end report for 2013

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Fourth quarter October-December 2013                                                                                                    

  • Group net sales in the fourth quarter 2013 amounted to 121.6 MSEK (113.9), an increase by 7 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. At comparable exchange rates sales increased by 11 percent.
  • Operating profit for the quarter amounted to 13.4 MSEK (13.5).
  • The result after tax amounted to 18.5 MSEK (13.6).
  • Earnings per share amounted to 0.28 SEK (0.19).
  • The cash flow from operating activities amounted to 21.1 MSEK (29.9).
  • Net cash at December 31 amounted to 85.0 MSEK, compared to 80.5 MSEK at September 30.
  • During the quarter 738,924 (1,371,175) own shares were acquired under the repurchasing program resolved at the 2013 Annual General Meeting. At the end of the reported period Biotage had a holding of 5,137,609 (1,782,906) own shares acquired for a total purchasing sum of 46.6 MSEK (14.7).
  • After the end of the accounting period another 9,274 (1,523,369) shares have been acquired. Biotage’s holding of own shares totals 5,146,883 (3,306,275) shares.
  • The board intends to propose to the Annual General Meeting that all repurchased shares are canceled.

Full year January - December 2013                                                                          

  • Group net sales in 2013 amounted to 444.6 MSEK (462.9), a 4 percent decrease compared to last year. At comparable exchange rates sales increased by 2 percent.
  • Operating profit amounted to 39.2 MSEK (43.8).
  • The result after tax amounted to 41.4 MSEK (38.3).
  • Earnings per share amounted to 0.61 SEK (0.52).
  • The cash flow from operating activities amounted to 56.8 MSEK (67.5), excluding discontinued operations.
  • Net cash at December 31 amounted to 85.0 MSEK, compared to 165.4 MSEK at December 31, 2012.
  • Dividends to shareholders were paid in May to a total amount of 34.9 MSEK (29.3).
  • Dividends for 2013 are proposed to amount to 0.60 SEK (0.50) per share. According to the dividend policy established by the board Biotage should distribute at least 50 percent of the net profit.

Comments by CEO Torben Jörgensen
It’s with satisfaction that I look back at the ending of last year. We reported a sales increase by 7 percent for the quarter compared to the corresponding period last year. At comparable exchange rates sales grew by no less than 11 percent. In the full year sales decreased by 4 percent, but at comparable exchange rated they increased by 2 percent. This is quite far from our 8 percent growth target, but in line with the growth in the market in which we operate. Strategic Directions International, SDi, October 2013, estimates that the market for separation is growing by 1.9 percent.

Our single biggest product area Purification continues to show healthy growth. The product area is growing by 10 percent. The launch of the combined Flash and Mass detector instru­ment Isolera™ Dalton is a contributing cause. Isolera Dalton gives Biotage a techno­logical edge that we are consciously trying to use to our advantage when selling in consumables.

The product area Peptide Synthesis continues to develop positively. During the year it has grown by 24 percent. A large part of this growth is attributable to the automated peptide synthesis system Initiator™ Alstra, which was launched at the end of 2012.

In analytical chemistry we have seen a weaker development of instrument sales, while the sales of consumables continue to grow. In 2014 we will launch a new instrument for analytical chemistry, which will help us regain our position as systems supplier in this area.

In 2013 our sales in the product area Industrial Resins decreased as one of our biggest customers made no purchases of a product that is important for Biotage. This customer has now resumed the purchases and we expect that sales to this customer will gradually increase in 2014. In general we have broadened our customer base in Industrial Resins and we expect a favorable development in 2014.

Geographically Europe is developing best. Europe contributed 40 percent of the sales in the fourth quarter and 36 percent in the full year. The US remains the single biggest market with 38 percent of the annual sales. At comparable exchange rates all geographic regions showed growth in the fourth quarter. It is worth noting that our operations in China faced a challenging year with a refocusing from contract research customers to academic and government customers.

The gross margin amounts to 55.0 percent for the quarter and to 56.1 percent for the twelve-month period. Our successful system launches have resulted in an increase in the share of instrument sales, which contributes to a development that is not in line with the gross margin target of 60 percent. In 2013 the unfavorable currency development in Japan and the US has also had a negative influence on our profitability.

Also the outcome for the strategic target that sales of products in analytical and organic chemistry should be about the same size is affected by the system launches in organic chemistry. In 2013 the relation between the product areas was that organic chemistry contributed 55 percent of the sales, analytical chemistry 39 percent and Industrial Resins 6 percent.

Our target is to achieve an operating margin averaging 10 percent. We report an operating margin of 8.8 percent for 2013 and 11.1 for the fourth quarter. I look forward to 2014 with confidence and I am content that we move into 2014 with a good order stock.

For further information, please contact:
Torben Jörgensen, President and CEO, phone: +46 707 49 05 84
Erika Söderberg Johnson, CFO, phone: +46 707 20 48 20

  
The information in this press release is of the kind that Biotage AB (publ) is required to make public according to the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was released for publication at 08.30 on February 13, 2014.

About Biotage
Biotage offers efficient separation technologies from analysis to industrial scale and high quality solutions for analytical chemistry from research to commercial analysis laboratories. Biotage’s products are used by government authorities, academic institutions, pharmaceutical and food companies, among others. The company is headquartered in Uppsala and has offices in the US, UK, China and Japan. Biotage has approx. 290 employees and had sales of 445 MSEK in 2013. Biotage is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm stock exchange. Website: www.biotage.com

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Year-End Report Biotage Q4 2013

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