Year-end report May – April 2013/14

• Order bookings amounted to SEK 12,253 M (12,117), equivalent to an increase of 5* percent.
• Net sales increased 7* percent to SEK 10,694 M (10,339).
• EBITA amounted to SEK 2,183 M (2,297) before non-recurring items of SEK -161 M (-46), equivalent to an increase of 3* percent. Currency effects amounted to SEK -175 M. A program has been launched to further streamline the organization. Non-recurring costs of SEK 100 million related to the program have been expensed in the fourth quarter.
• Net income amounted to SEK 1,152 M (1,351). Earnings per share amounted to SEK 3.01 (3.52) before dilution and SEK 3.00 (3.52) after dilution.
• Cash flow after continuous investments amounted to SEK 494 M (1,292). In the fourth quarter cash flow after continuous investments was SEK 1,044 M (957). Cash conversion is targeted to return to around 70 percent in fiscal year 2014/15.
• For 2013/14, the Board of Directors proposes an ordinary dividend of SEK 1.50 (1.50) per share. In addition, the Board proposes an extraordinary dividend amounting to SEK 0.50 (0.50) per share. The Board intends to propose to the annual general meeting to renew the authorization for the Board to repurchase a maximum of 5 percent of the number of shares outstanding in Elekta AB.

Outlook

• There are strong drivers for growth in radiation therapy. Elekta’s ambition is to continue to grow faster than the market and the financial objective of an annual net sales growth exceeding 10 percent in local currency remains unchanged.
• Due to lower growth in some emerging markets and a focus on tighter management of working capital, net sales is expected to grow by 7-9 percent in local currency for the fiscal year 2014/15.
• EBITA is expected to grow by 10 percent or more in local currency compared with last year. Exchange rate movements are expected to have a negative impact of approximately 2 percentage points on EBITA growth.

* Compared to last fiscal year based on constant exchange rates.

President and CEO comments
Elekta’s dedication to customers, patients and innovation has earned us a leading position in cancer care. I am convinced that our comprehensive solutions will play an even more important role in the future. During the year cancer incidence and cancer prevalence continued to grow faster than the capacity increased, thus widening the gap between need and capacity. I believe Elekta can play a significant role by providing cost-effective and high quality treatment options for our customers and their patients. Elekta’s ambition is to continue to grow faster than the market. Our objective of an annual net sales growth exceeding 10 percent in local currency remains unchanged.

Mixed development during last fiscal year
Although the fourth quarter showed record net sales, the year must be qualified as challenging and characterized by mixed market development across the regions. On an aggregated level we estimate that the overall radiation therapy market growth for the year temporarily slowed down to 4 percent, which is substantially lower than historic levels.

Elekta’s order bookings rose 5* percent in the fiscal year. We achieved double-digit growth in the US, in China and in our main markets in Europe. In Russia, the market weakened considerably in the latter part of the year. Elekta’s performance in India and Latin America was below expectations.

Net sales rose 7* percent in the fourth quarter and 7*percent for the full year. Growth was particularly strong in region Europe, Middle East and Africa. Leksell Gamma Knife® volumes recovered in the fourth quarter according to plan, but volumes for the full year were lower than last year. Our initiatives to strengthen the business will continue. EBITA before non-recurring items amounted to SEK 2,183 M (2,297) for the full year, representing a growth of 3* percent. Currency effects for the year were significant and amounted to SEK -175 M.

Cash flow was lower than expected for the year. We have initiated measures to gradually improve our cash flow through the year and cash conversion is targeted to return to around 70 percent.

Continued progress in product development
Our latest linear accelerator, Versa HD™, has been very well received by the market and exceeded expectations in its first year. During the year, we also launched Esteya, a brachytherapy skin cancer solution, as well as Monaco 5, a state of the art treatment planning system.

We are in a phase of high investments in R&D. The research program for MRI-guided radiation therapy is our largest R&D undertaking to date. We invested approximately SEK 300 M in this program during the year. It is encouraging to see the strong traction the program has among radiation oncologists around the world. Some of the most renowned university hospitals have joined our research consortium. Recently, we started the installation of the world’s first high-field MRI-guided radiation therapy system in the University Medical Center in Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Streamlining for the future
We will take measures to improve efficiency and to streamline the organization for further growth. One-off costs related to these measures amounted to SEK 100 M and have been expensed in the fourth quarter. We will also take measures to improve working capital efficiency.

Outlook
There are strong drivers for growth in radiation therapy. Elekta’s ambition is to continue to grow faster than the market. Our financial objective of an annual net sales growth exceeding 10 percent in local currency remains unchanged. Due to lower growth in some of our emerging markets and our focus on tighter working capital management we expect net sales to grow by 7-9 percent in local currency for the fiscal year 2014/15.

EBITA is expected to grow by 10 percent or more in local currency compared with last year. Exchange rate movements are expected to have a negative impact of approximately 2 percentage points on EBITA growth.

Niklas Savander
President and CEO

* Compared with last fiscal year, based on constant exchange rates.

Conference call
Elekta will host a telephone conference at 10:00 – 11:00 CET on May 28, with President and CEO Niklas Savander and CFO Håkan Bergström.

To take part in the conference call, please dial in about 5-10 minutes in advance and use the access code 944936.

Swedish dial-in number: +46 (0)8 5052 0110, UK dial-in number: +44 (0)20 7162 0077, US dial-in number: + 1 877 491 0064.

The telephone conference will also be broadcasted over the internet (listen only). Please use the link:
http://webeventservices.reg.meeting-stream.com/86620/

Financial information                
Annual report 2013/14                                             
August 7, 2014

Interim report May – July 2014/15                    
August 28, 2014

Annual general meeting 2014                                   
August 28, 2014

Interim report May – October 2014/15                        
November 27, 2014

For further information, please contact:
Håkan Bergström, CFO, Elekta AB (publ)
+46 8 587 25 547, hakan.bergstrom@elekta.com

Johan Andersson, Director Investor Relations, Elekta AB (publ)
+46 702 100 451, johan.andersson@elekta.com

Elekta AB (publ)
Corporate registration number 556170-4015
Kungstensgatan 18, ­Box 7593, SE 103 93 Stockholm, Sweden

The above information is such that Elekta AB (publ) shall make public in accordance with the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was published at 07:30 CET on May 28, 2014.

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