Sartorius with Gains

29-Apr-2014 - Germany

Sartorius got off to a good start in fiscal 2014, with gains in order intake and sales revenue. In constant currencies, Group sales revenue rose 6.3% and order intake increased 4.9%. Despite negative currency impacts, operating Profit for the Group also grew 2.0%; its respective margin after the first three months was at 18.0%. Based on first-quarter results, Sartorius confirms its Group guidance for the full year of 2014, which projects currency-adjusted growth in sales of 8% to 10% and an increase of its EBITDA margin to 20%.

Sartorius AG

Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg

"In the Group as a whole, we are on track after three months, with different performance levels reported by our divisions," commented CEO Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg. "Our Bioprocess Solutions Division continues to be the key growth driver for sales and earnings. Besides the gains reported for our single-use products, the businesses we acquired last year in cell culture media and small-volume single-use bioreactors also showed highly positive development. In the Lab Products & Services Division, the phase-out of a few non-strategic product lines from its portfolio dampened performance as expected, and we project that business will pick up, especially in the second half of the year. Earnings development is overall in line with our expectations; however, the considerably less favorable exchange rates compared to the prior year impacted our figures."

Development of First-Quarter Sales Revenue and Order Intake

Sartorius increased its order intake in the first quarter by 4.9% (reported: 2.7%) to 246.3 million euros. Sales revenue grew slightly higher at 6.3% (reported: 4.1%), attaining 223.1 million euros compared with 214.3 million euros in the year-earlier period.

The Bioprocess Solutions Division continued to show high growth dynamics. Order intake for the division rose, despite the high comparative base resulting from the exceptionally strong first quarter a year ago, by 5.3% (reported: 3.4%) to 158.1 million euros. The division's sales revenue climbed 16.9% (reported: 14.8%) and after three months was 137.7 million euros. In addition to strong business with single-use products, the most recent acquisitions in cell culture media and mini-bioreactors primarily contributed to these gains.

For the Lab Products & Services Division, order intake rose 5.4% (reported: 2.7%) to 65.3 million euros. However, its sales revenue was 63.7 million euros, down -4.7% year over year. As expected, the phase-out of a few non-strategic products impacted sales; moreover, the market environment, particularly in Asia, proved to be weaker than expected.

For the smallest Group division, Industrial Technologies, formerly Industrial Weighing, order intake at 22.9 million euros edged up slightly above the prior-year level (+1.0%; reported: -1.1%). Yet its sales revenue fell -13.6% (reported: -15.4%) to 21.7 million euros, with timing effects related to completion of projects having a negative impact as did the ongoing difficult market environment in Asia.

Regionally, the strongest growth impulses were generated by North America, where a gain of 18.4% was recorded and growth contributed by acquisitions played a significant role. Revenue in Asia was up 7.0%; sales with customers in Europe rose 4.7%. (All regional figures currency-adjusted)

Further Increase in Consolidated Profit

Considerably less favorable exchange rates compared with the previous year noticeably dampened the expansion of earnings. Despite this, underlying EBITDA at 40.1 million euros was up 2.0% year over year. The respective margin reached 18.0% relative to 18.4% a year ago. Earnings contributed by the Bioprocess Solutions Division increased 19.4% to 29.8 million euros; its respective margin rose from 20.8% in the year-earlier quarter to 21.7% in the reporting quarter. The Lab Products & Services Division reported an underlying EBITDA of 8.9 million euros relative to 12.0 million euros a year ago and a margin of 14.0%, compared with 17.5% in the previous year. Underlying EBITDA for the Industrial Technologies Division was 1.4 million euros relative to 2.4 million euros a year earlier; this corresponds to a margin of 6.4% versus 9.2% in the year before.

Group EBIT, including extraordinary items of -1.3 million euros (Q1 2013: -1.0 million euros), depreciation and amortization, was 26.0 million euros (-5.7%). The respective margin was 11.7% compared with 12.9% a year ago. Relevant net Profit2) for the Group was 13.8 million euros (Q1 2013: 14.8 million euros). Its respective earnings per ordinary share were 0.80 euro (Q1 2013: 0.86), and per preference share, 0.82 euro (Q1 2013: 0.88 euro).

Full-year Outlook Confirmed for the Group

Based on the results of the first quarter in 2014, management confirmed its guidance for consolidated sales and earnings growth. For the full year, Sartorius expects sales to grow 8% to 10% and its EBITDA margin to rise from 19.5% to 20.0%, with all figures given in constant currencies.

"We confirm our full-year Group targets. However, the contribution of each division to the projected Group results could differ from the forecast made at the beginning of the year. Given that the Asian markets most recently developed below our expectations, their further development, in particular, appears uncertain to us. We assume that we will have a clearer picture towards the middle of the year," said Kreuzburg.

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