Three month report January - March 2000

Three month report January-March 2000: Strong sales growth and new launches in renal products Total revenues up 10% to SEK 5,114 M with a 12% increase in EBITDA to SEK 985 M, a 40% growth in earnings per share to SEK 0.28 and a 21% increase in cash earnings per share to SEK 1.89 Strong sales growth of more than 4% and significant new launches in Gambro Renal Products Continued good revenue growth of 14% in Gambro Healthcare Rapid progress and strong recognition of the development in Pathogen Eradication Technology. First product defined for blood plasma. For further information please contact: Bengt Modéer, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, +46-8-613 65 00, +46-70-513 65 33 Lars Granlöf, Senior Vice President, CFO, +46-8-613 65 00 Anna Augustson, European Investor Relations Manager, +46-8-613 65 35, +46- 70-513 65 34 Cindy Lyman or Kerry Schneider, Citigate Dewe Rogerson, New York , tel. +1-212-688 6840 Gambro's financial information is also available on the Internet: www.gambro.com THREE MONTH REPORT JANUARY-MARCH 2000 Overall first quarter 2000 was characterized by good revenues and earnings growth. Gambro Renal Products had a profound increase in revenues due to good sales on European markets and a strong increase in internal sales. Significant launches of new products are underway during the year as part of the ongoing change program. Higher demands for synthetic dialyzers will be met by extended production capacity during this and the coming years. Gambro Healthcare had a continued good growth through a combination of organic growth, establishment of new clinics and acquisition of new clinics. The period included good growth and improved financial performance for the international clinics operations while the US clinics operations had continued good growth but a financial performance that did not meet expectations for the quarter. Gambro BCT sales picked up at the end of the period after a slow start of the year. The Pathogen Eradication Technology (PET) project had a rapid progress with the first product defined and a strong recognition and interest from the scientific community and regulatory bodies. Key data, present structure (excluding nonrecurring items) SEK M Jan - Mar April Jan - 1999 - Dec 2000 1999 March 1999 2000 Revenues 5,114 4,654 20,203 19,743 Operating earnings b. depreciation, EBITDA 985 878 3,868 3,761 % 19.3 18.9 19.2 19.0 Operating earnings, EBIT 432 406 1,778 1,752 % 8.4 8.7 8.8 8.9 Earnings after financial items, EBT 321 263 1,399 1,341 ) Earnings per share, EPS, SEK ¹ 0.28 0.20 1.48 1.40 2) Cash earnings per share, CEPS, SEK 1.89 1.57 7.55 7.23 3) Cash flow from operations 461 -77 2,034 1,496 Net debt 5,169 4,094 5,169 4,632 1) After full tax Net income plus depreciation and amortization divided by number of shares 3) Cash flow before acquisitions and taxes ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/26/20000426BIT00280/bit0001.doc The full report http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2000/04/26/20000426BIT00280/bit0002.pdf The full report