Today Sartorius (FWB:SRT), a leading international process and
laboratory technology provider, reported its nine-month results for
2009. Third-quarter business of both Group divisions showed a
highly divergent pattern of development, similar to that in the
previous quarters. While the Biotechnology Division achieved strong
sales gains and overproportionate increases in earnings,
development in the Mechatronics Division continued to be
considerably impacted by the global downturn. However, the latter
division’s second- and third-quarter order intake and sales
stabilized at a lower level. Due to the extensive cost-saving
measures implemented, operating earnings of the Mechatronics
Division moved back into the profit zone in the third quarter.
Business Development of the DivisionsSartorius Stedim
BiotechThe Biotechnology Division (Sartorius Stedim
Biotech/SSB), which contributes approx. two-thirds to consolidated
sales, was able to continue its dynamic growth trend into the third
quarter of 2009 as well. After nine months of business activity,
its order intake was at 303.4 million euros and thus up 12.7% from
a year ago (currency-adjusted: 10.3%). Again, business with
single-use products fueled this increase by generating strong
double-digit growth rates. In addition to its already positive
development, Sartorius Stedim Biotech profited from the strong
demand generated by its customers from the vaccine industry. By
contrast, business with large-scale bioreactor systems declined
slightly due to market conditions.Considering sales revenue, the
Biotechnology Division also posted sizeable gains. In the reporting
period, its sales climbed 9.0% (currency-adjusted: 6.7%) from 273.3
million euros a year earlier to 298.0 million euros. All business
regions with their significantly positive growth rates contributed
to the successful development of sales.
This strong sales development is also reflected by the
Biotechnology Division’s nine-month earnings. Operating earnings
(earnings before interest, taxes and amortization and adjusted for
extraordinary expenses = underlying EBITA) showed significantly
overproportionate improvement, surging 58.9% to 46.3 million euros.
In the year-earlier period, they were at 29.1 million euros. The
corresponding margin rose from 10.7% to 15.5% in the current
reporting period. Besides the uplift in sales volume, the
Biotechnology Division’s enhanced product mix favoring high-margin
single-use products especially contributed to this surge in
profitability.
“The earnings of Sartorius Stedim Biotech impressively show that
we are on the right track with our business strategy and our
product portfolio," commented Sartorius CEO Joachim Kreuzburg. "For
our customers in the biopharmaceutical industry, we are now
excellently positioned as a total solution provider with a high
proportion of innovative single-use products.”
Sartorius MechatronicsThe Mechatronics Division continued
to be heavily impacted by the global downturn. In the reporting
period, the division received orders valued at 151.4 million euros.
In comparison with the year-ago figure, order intake thus fell
18.0% (currency-adjusted: -20.6%). In the second and third
quarters, this decline hit industrial weighing equipment business
particularly hard, but laboratory business also substantially
contracted. By contrast, service business showed relatively stable
development. Sales revenue reported by the Mechatronics Division
fell 18.5% from 180.0 million euros a year ago to 146.8 million
euros (currency-adjusted: -21.1%). The regional pattern shows that
the division’s decline in revenue was less pronounced for
Asia/Pacific than for Europe and North America.
Nine-month operating earnings for the Mechatronics Division was
-2.4 million euros (Q1–Q3 2008: 11.4 million euros) as a result of
the drop in sales. Following losses in the first and second
quarters of the current year, the division reported slightly
positive operating earnings in the third quarter. This was due to
cost-reduction measures that have already been implemented for the
most part.
The Mechatronics Division has extended its package of
cost-cutting and restructuring measures for the Mechatronics
Division. Its target is to achieve a sustainable reduction in its
annual cost base by more than 30 million euros (so far more than 25
million euros). This program is targeted at reducing approximately
250 positions. The majority of the division’s cost-cutting measures
were completed in the third quarter.
“The cutbacks in the Mechatronics Division are painful, but
essential, in order to reverse the effects of the global recession
on our company and to create a stable starting position for
ourselves in this division for the future," said Joachim Kreuzburg.
"Now that we are nearing successful completion of our
cost-reduction program, we will focus fully on the further
development of our strategic positioning and on tapping into
additional business segments in Mechatronics."
Business Development of the Sartorius GroupAt the Group
level, order intake at 454.8 million euros attained the
year-earlier level of 454.0 million euros (+0.2%;
currency-adjusted: -2.3%). Nine-month consolidated sales revenue
was 444.7 million euros compared with 453.4 million euros a year
ago, and therefore eased 1.9% (currency-adjusted: -4.3%) relative
to the year-earlier period. Regarding consolidated operating
earnings, strong development in the Biotechnology Division
compensated for the weak earnings contribution in Mechatronics,
which was due to the recession: Operating earnings rose from 40.6
million euros to 43.9 million euros.The corresponding margin
increased from 8.9% to 9.9%. Extraordinary expenses totaled
24.7 million euros, which essentially entail provisions for
the restructuring program already implemented in the Mechatronics
Division to a large extent. Unadjusted consolidated EBITA was 19.2
million euros (Q1–Q3 2008: 40.6 million euros).
Without the two non-cash items of amortization and interest for
share price warrants, consolidated underlying net profit after
minority interest was at 13.9 million euros, up from
13.7 million euros a year earlier; the corresponding
earnings per share were at 0.81 euro, up from 0.80 euro
in the previous year.
OutlookFor the last three months of the current fiscal
year, company management expects the Biotechnology Division’s
revenue to increase and its earnings to rise overproportionately
relative to the fourth quarter in 2008. The company continues to
expect exceptionally difficult market conditions for the
Mechatronics Division. However, management anticipates a slightly
positive fourth-quarter underlying EBITA for this division because
of its successfully implemented cost-reduction program.
Current Image Files:Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO of
Sartorius:http://www.sartorius.com/media/content/press/support/Dr_Kreuzburg_3.jpghttp://www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/Image_Archive/sartorius_media/portraits/2009_DrKreuzburg.jpg
Sartorius | Biotechnology Division (Sartorius Stedim
Biotech):http://www.sartorius.com/media/content/press/support/Sartorius_0095_PG4.jpg
Sartorius | Mechatronics
Division:http://www.sartorius.com/media/content/press/support/Mechatronics_AR_2008.jpg
Conference Call and Webcast:Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO
and Executive Board Chairman of Sartorius, will discuss the
nine-month figures with analysts and investors today, October 22,
2009, at 3:00 p.m. Central European Time (CET), in a
teleconference. You may dial into the teleconference starting at
2:45 p.m. CET at the following numbers:
Germany: +49 (0)69 9897 2623France: +33 (0)1 70 99 42 84UK: +44
(0)20 7138 0845USA: +1 212 444 0896
The dial-in code is: 4830253; to view the webcast, log onto:
http://www.sartorius.com
Upcoming Financial Dates:February 2010 Publication of the
preliminary figures for fiscal 2009March 9, 2010 Annual press
conference in Goettingen, GermanyApril 21, 2010 Annual
Shareholders’ Meeting in Goettingen, GermanyApril 2010 Publication
of the first-quarter figures (Jan. – March 2010)
This press release contains statements about the future
development of the Sartorius Group. The content of these statements
cannot be guaranteed as they are based on assumptions and estimates
that harbor certain risks and uncertainties.
A Profile of SartoriusThe Sartorius Group is a leading
international laboratory and process technology provider covering
the segments of biotechnology and mechatronics. In 2008, the
technology group earned sales revenue of 611.6 million euros.
Founded in 1870, the Goettingen-based company currently employs
approximately 4,450 persons. The major areas of activity in its
biotechnology segment focus on fermentation, filtration,
purification, fluid management and laboratory applications. In the
mechatronics segment, the company primarily manufactures equipment
and systems featuring weighing, measurement and automation
technology for laboratory and industrial applications. Key
Sartorius customers are from the pharmaceutical, chemical and food
and beverage industries and from numerous research and educational
institutes of the public sector. Sartorius has its own production
facilities in Europe, Asia and America as well as sales
subsidiaries and local commercial agencies in more than 110
countries.
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