Elos Medtech - Year-end report, 1 January - 31 December 2016
10% growth and improved profit
• Net sales increased to SEK 552.0 M (503.7) which, adjusted for exchange-rate fluctuations,corresponds to a rise of 10.1%, of which organic growth was 0.3%.
• Operating profit improved to SEK 42.7 M (30.5).
• Profit after net financial items totalled SEK 37.9 M (22.5). Net financial items were positively affected by exchange-rate differences of SEK 5.4 M (neg: 0.4).
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 26.4 M (16.1), corresponding to SEK 4.37 (2.66) per share.
• Cash flow from operating activities improved to SEK 98.3 M (61.6). Cash flow after investments SEK 98.3 M (61.6). Cash flow after investments amounted to SEK 68.9 M (neg: 144.9).
• The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 1.30 per share.
CEO, Jan Wahlström, comments
"For the 2016 financial year, we are able to report strong perfor- mance for Dental Implant Systems and Diagnostics. Medical Devices reached approximately the same level as in 2015 while Trauma & Spine reports higher full-year sales despite a weaker second half of the year.
The Dental Implant Systems market segment reported a full-year sales increase of 11.2% to SEK 170.9 M. After a cautious start, the year ended on a strong note. The improvement was largely attributable to increasingly closer cooperation with key accounts. At the same time, we increased the manufacturing capacity as a result of automation of machinery. However, the growth rate for own products was weaker than expected at 9.2%, due largely to it taking longer than expected to increase volumes at the distributor level.
For full-year 2016, Trauma & Spine reported a 15.4% increase in sales to SEK 182.1 M. The largest share of the sales increase was related to the operations of Onyx Medical, which is included in the Group for the whole of 2016, compared with just over eight months in 2015. During the third quarter, a contract cus- tomer moved a product to its own manufacturing, which led to lower sales in the two final quarters. Intense work was conducted during the second half of the year to fill the freed-up capacity and new assignments were gradually put into production. A distinct trend was noticeable in the latter part of the financial year whereby several customers temporarily cut back on purchasing volumes in order to reduce stock levels prior to year- end. Nevertheless, the market trend in the Trauma & Spine area remains strong and the aim for the second half of 2017 is to again reach maximum capacity utilisation. During the latter part of the year, we started to see positive synergism between Onyx and our other operations in efforts both to attract new contract accounts and to generate more products from existing customers.
The Medical Devices market segment reports essentially unchanged full-year sales, at SEK 169.3 M (168.7). We are now noting increased demand from our customers, which we expect to result in new assignments as of the middle of the year. Accordingly, a process of new recruitment was initiated in the fourth quarter.
Diagnostics’ continued successes are gratifying. The investments in expanding Elos Medtech Microplast’s capacity have led to favourable results. Diagnostics’ sales increased by 25.8% to SEK 29.7 M. In a usually seasonal market, with lower activity in the final quarter of the year, Diagnostics trended in the opposite direction and noted a 59.2% increase in sales in the fourth quarter.
The global market for medical technology products developed well in 2016 and we are noting continued growth in a number of our segments.
Investments during the financial year amounted to SEK 34.6 M, including SEK 10.2 M in the fourth quarter. The investments were clearly targeted at growth, towards an increased production capacity and with a special focus on automating machinery
2016 was a year of many changes for Elos Medtech. We established a sales team in dental operations for Digital Dentistry, we relocated our head office to Gothenburg and the acquisition of Onyx is now integrated into the Group. For me as President and CEO, it has been an exciting first half year for Elos Medtech and I am looking forward to 2017 with confidence."
For further information, contact:
Jan Wahlström, President and CEO, +46 70-212 18 89, e-mail: jan.wahlstrom@elosmedtech.com
Christian Bergaust, CFO, +46 70-293 50 40, e-mail: christian.bergaust@elosmedtech.com
This is the type of information that Elos Medtech AB (publ) is obliged to publish in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Market Act. The information was issued for publication by the contact persons stated above on 24 February 2017, at 8:00 a.m. (CET).
For additional information about the Elos Medtech Group, visit www.elosmedtech.com
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