Sartorius, a leading international laboratory and pharmaceutical
equipment provider, successfully closed the first nine months of
2012, with substantial gains in order intake, sales revenue and
earnings. The Bioprocess Solutions Division that primarily
specializes in single-use products for pharmaceutical drug
manufacture performed especially well. In addition, initial
consolidation of the Biohit Liquid Handling business substantially
boosted growth for the Laboratory Products & Services Division.
Based on the company’s strong business development in the first
nine months, management slightly lifted its full-year guidance for
its earnings yet again. Assuming that the currency exchange rates
essentially remain favorable as in the first nine months of 2012,
Sartorius expects adjusted earnings (operating EBITA) to increase
by about 18% (former guidance: about 15%). Full-year guidance for
sales remains unchanged: sales revenue is projected to grow by
about 11% in constant currencies.
Dynamic Growth of Sales Revenue and Order Intake
In the first nine months of 2012, Sartorius increased its sales
revenue year over year by 18.1%, or 13.8% in constant currencies,
to 639.4 million euros. The Biohit Liquid Handling business
acquired at the end of 2011 added approximately six percentage
points to this gain. In the same period, order intake rose 15.8%,
or 11.6% in constant currencies, to 636.6 million euros.
The Bioprocess Solutions Division, which accounts for more than
half of consolidated revenue, continued on the growth track of the
past quarters: it posted strong organic sales growth of 360.3
million euros, up 19.0%, or 14.4% in constant currencies. Order
intake for the division also rose significantly by 13.6%, or 9.2%
in constant currencies, to 356.6 million euros. Demand was high,
especially for single-use products for the manufacture of
biopharmaceuticals, such as specialty filters and aseptic bags and
tanks.
The Lab Products & Services Division, which provides premium
lab instruments and consumables, saw its nine-month sales revenue
soar 22.5%, or 17.9% in constant currencies, to 202.5 million
euros, and reported a jump in order intake of 27.4%, or 22.4% in
constant currencies, to 203.9 million euros. Initial consolidation
of the Biohit Liquid Handling business acquired at the end of 2011
contributed around 19 percentage points, based on constant
currencies, to growth for this division.
The smallest Group division, Industrial Weighing, showed stable
development, as projected. Its sales revenue improved against the
moderate year-earlier revenue base by 4.5%, or 2.2% in constant
currencies, to 76.7 million euros, while its order intake edged up
0.6% from 75.6 million euros a year ago to 76.1 million euros and
thus remained approximately at the previous year's level
(currency-adjusted -1.7%).
Regional analysis shows that North America posted the strongest
growth in sales revenue, which was considerably up 25.3%. In Asia,
business expanded by 11.7%; Europe saw a gain of 10.2% (all
regional figures in constant currencies).
Significant Increase in Earnings
Based on its dynamic sales performance, Sartorius further
increased its earnings year over year. The Group's operating
earnings1) surged 22.7% from 81.5 million euros to 100.0 million
euros; the respective margin for the Group climbed from 15.0% to
15.6%.
In the same period, the Bioprocess Solutions Division boosted
its earnings 26.1% to 66.8 million euros; its margin rose from
17.5% to 18.5%. The Lab Products & Services Division
considerably lifted its operating earnings by 16.2% to 26.4 million
euros from 22.8 million euros in the previous period, with a margin
of 13.1%, relative to 13.8% a year earlier. The Industrial Weighing
Division achieved operating earnings of 6.8 million euros; its
margin was 8.9% relative to 7.9% a year ago.
Including extraordinary items of -9.7 million euros (9-mo. 2011
period: -7.7 million euros), Group EBITA soared year on year by
22.5% from 73.7 million euros to 90.3 million euros. These
extraordinary expenses primarily were related to integration of the
Biohit Liquid Handling business, transfer of single-use bag
manufacture from California, USA, to Puerto Rico, and to various
Group projects. The corresponding EBITA margin was 14.1% (9-mo.
2011 period: 13.6%). The Group’s relevant net profit2) surged 22.1%
from 38.3 million euros a year ago to 46.8 million euros. The
Group’s respective earnings per share are at 2.75 euros, up from
2.25 euros in the previous period.
Full-year Earnings Guidance Raised
Based on the company’s strong business performance in the first
nine months of the current fiscal year, management slightly raised
its earnings guidance for the full year of 2012 yet again. Assuming
that currency exchange rates remain favorable as in the first nine
months of 2012, Sartorius now anticipates that operating EBITA will
increase by about 18% (former guidance: about 15%), with its
guidance for sales growth remaining unchanged at a projected rate
of about 11% in constant currencies.
In view of the three divisions, Sartorius anticipates that
currency-adjusted sales revenue for Bioprocess Solutions will grow
approximately 11% (former guidance: about 10%). The division’s
operating EBITA is projected to increase by about 20% (former
guidance: approximately 15%).
The company confirms its sales and earnings forecasts for the
Lab Products & Services Division and the Industrial Weighing
Division. According to the outlook for Lab Products & Services,
the company continues to project that sales revenue will expand by
approximately 16% to 20%, primarily due to initial consolidation of
the Biohit Liquid Handling business. The division’s operating EBITA
is expected to increase by approximately 20% to 24%.
For the Industrial Weighing Division, the company expects both
the currency-adjusted sales revenue and the operating EBITA of this
division to show stable development relative to the year-earlier
period.
1) Sartorius uses earnings before interest, taxes and
amortization, EBITA, as the key profitability measure. To enable a
more informative comparison of the figures given for the previous
years, the company additionally reports operating earnings adjusted
for extraordinary items (= operating EBITA) besides EBITA.
2) Underlying net profit after non-controlling interest,
excluding non-cash amortization and effects from valuation
adjustments of derivative financial instruments.
Key Figures for the First Nine Months of 2012
www.sartorius.de/fileadmin/media/global/company/pr_20121029_9M_2012_figures_sag-en.pdf
Current Image Files
Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO and Executive Board Chairman of
Sartorius AG:
www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/media/global/company/joachim_kreuzburg_1.jpg
Sartorius products used in the manufacture of medications:
www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/media/global/company/pr_20120419_bioprocess_solutions.jpg
Sartorius products used in laboratory research:
www.sartorius.com/fileadmin/media/global/company/pr_20120419_lab_products_services.jpg
Conference Call and Webcast
Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO and Executive Board Chairman of
Sartorius, will discuss the figures for the first nine months of
2012 with analysts and investors on October 29, 2012, at 3:30 p.m.
Central European Time in a webcast teleconference. You may dial
into the teleconference starting at 3:20 p.m. CET at the
following numbers:
Germany: +49(0)69 2999 3285France: +33(0)1 70 48 01 63UK:
+44(0)20 3450 9571USA: +1646 254 3387
The dial-in code is as follows: 4467739; the webcast and
presentation can be viewed at: www.sartorius.com
Upcoming Financial Date:
January 2013 Publication of the preliminary figures for fiscal
2012
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.
This is a translation of the original German-language press
release. Sartorius shall not assume any liability for the
correctness of this translation. The original German press release
is the legally binding version. Furthermore, Sartorius reserves the
right not to be responsible for the topicality, correctness,
completeness or quality of the information provided. Liability
claims regarding damage caused by the use of any information
provided, including any kind of information which is incomplete or
incorrect, will therefore be rejected.
A Profile of Sartorius
The Sartorius Group is a leading international laboratory and
process technology provider covering the segments of Bioprocess
Solutions, Lab Products & Services and Industrial Weighing. In
2011, the technology group earned sales revenue of 733.1 million
euros. Founded in 1870, the Goettingen-based company currently
employs more than 5,000 persons. The major areas of activity of its
Bioprocess Solutions segment cover filtration, fluid management,
fermentation, cell cultivation and purification, and focus on
production processes in the biopharmaceutical industry. The Lab
Products & Services segment primarily manufactures laboratory
instruments and consumables. Industrial Weighing concentrates on
weighing, monitoring and control applications in the manufacturing
processes of the food, chemical and pharma sectors. 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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