Year-end report for 2015
Fourth quarter, October – December 2015
- Group net sales in the fourth quarter 2015 amounted to 168.5 MSEK (137.8), an increase by 22.4 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. At comparable exchange rates sales increased by 6.4 percent.
- Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to 20.2 MSEK (27.2). The comparative period 2014 includes 13.5 MSEK relating to a retroactive reversal of goodwill write-down. Adjusted for this one-time effect the operating profit increased by 6.4 MSEK from 13.7 MSEK last year, an increase by 47.0 percent.
- Result after tax amounted to 20.7 MSEK (30.2). Adjusted for the one-time effect 2014 the result after tax increased by 4.1 MSEK from 16.7 MSEK last year, an increase by 24.4 percent.
- Earnings per share amounted to 0.32 SEK (0.47). Excluding the one-time effect earnings per share amounted to 0.26 SEK in 2014.
- The cash flow from operating activities increased to 33.3 MSEK (29.0).
Full year January - December 2015
- Group net sales in 2015 amounted to 610.5 MSEK (490.4), an increase by 120.2 MSEK, corresponding to 24.5 percent. At comparable exchange rates sales increased by 8.4 percent.
- Operating profit (EBIT) increased by 19.1 percent to 74.8 MSEK (62.8). Excluding the one-time effect 2014 operating profit increased by 25.5 MSEK from 49.3 MSEK, an increase by 51.7 percent.
- Result after tax amounted to 73.3 MSEK (64.6) an increase by 13.4 percent. Adjusted for the one-time item 2014 the result after tax increased by 22.1 MSEK, corresponding to 43.3 percent.
- Earnings per share amounted to 1.13 SEK (1.00). Excluding the one-time effect earnings per share increased by 0.34 SEK from 0.79 SEK in 2014.
- The cash flow from operating activities amounted to 120.1 MSEK (80.9).
- Net cash at December 31 amounted to 134.9 MSEK (95.0).
- Dividends to the shareholders to the amount of 48.5 MSEK (38.8) were paid in May.
- The Board of Directors intends to propose to the AGM dividends to the shareholders for 2015 amounting to 1.00 SEK per share (0.75) and, in addition thereto, an extra ordinary dividend of 0.25 SEK per share. According to the dividend policy Biotage should distribute at least 50 percent of the net profit.
Comments by CEO Torben Jörgensen
Biotage ends the year with a strong last quarter. For the full year we exceed our financial targets with an organic sales growth of 8.4 percent at comparable exchange rates and an operating margin (EBIT) of 12.2 percent. We have received a good contribution from favorable exchange rates, above all the US dollar, and in reported figures our sales grew by 22.4 percent in the quarter and by 24.5 percent in the full year. At the same time we have a negative currency effect as a great part of our cost base is located in the UK, with a relatively strong GBP during the year.
The operating cash flow for the year has developed very favorably and we achieved a 48 percent improvement compared to last year. All in all 2015 was a very satisfying year for Biotage.
All our product areas grew in 2015. In the Industrial products area, which grows by 33 percent on a full year basis, we pursue development in close cooperation with existing and potential customers concerning separation and purification. This work and the sales it generates show that we have a broad and competitive range of polymers and silica-based products. They constitute an attractive base for continued growth in the product area, at the same time as sales vary considerably over time due to the fact that the development work often takes long time and our customers’ production often is carried out in campaigns.
Biotage’s single biggest product areas are Purification and Sample Prep, which both end a solid year with a good last quarter. In Purification we particularly note strong sales of our Flash system Isolera™ in China, mainly to customers engaged in contract research. We also see a continued good sales development for our system platform Extrahera™ in Sample Prep. Both these systems contribute to driving the sales of consumables and service.
The product launches of recent years are now bearing fruit and we feel that we are well equipped to face the competition in our strategically most important product areas. We continue to invest in our system platforms and related consumables in order to continuously improve our customer offering and strengthen our competitiveness. We are planning for new launches in 2016.
All geographic regions with direct sales grew, in the last quarter as well as in the full year. China had the biggest percentage growth with a high and stable growth rate throughout the year. The organic growth in the Chinese market amounts to no less than 34 percent. Also the Americas, Europe and japan continue their strong sales trend from the previous quarters. Of Biotage’s sales in 2015 the Americas – primarily the USA and Canada – account for almost 44 percent. The direct sales in Europe reached a record level for the region and exceeded 50 MSEK in the last quarter of the year. Despite a slow start the annual sales in Europe grew organically by 9 percent. The Japanese sales organization has faced a difficult economic market climate with tough challenges. Still Japan ends the year with a strong last quarter and can report strong growth for the full year.
The distributor sales have generally developed considerably poorer than the direct sales. In EMEA especially the uncertain situation in Saudi Arabia has been a strongly contributing factor to the weak sales. In the APAC countries there are varying causes for why the sales are not materializing as fast as we wish. Here we have carried out relatively comprehensive changes in 2015 which we expect to have effect in 2016. However, we can observe that having our own local sales staff, with or without support from local distributors, is a successful sales model for Biotage.
We are continuously working with improving the efficiency of our production plant in Cardiff, Wales. In 2015 substantial efforts began to have effect and together with the currency effects these contribute to the improvement of the gross margin to 56.1 percent (54.4) in 2015.
In 2015 the distribution of sales of systems versus aftermarket products (consumables and service) was 45 (44) and 55 (56) percent, respectively. We are a bit short of our strategic goal of 40 percent for systems versus 60 percent for aftermarket products. This is largely explained by successful system launches.
All in all 2015 was a fantastic year, but also in many respect a challenging one. We have seen varying financial conditions in many of the markets where we operate. Also 2016 will probably bring challenges, but I look forward to the new year with confidence. We are well prepared to meet the market.
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 11, 2016.
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 611 MSEK in 2015. Biotage is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm stock exchange. Website: www.biotage.com
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