Corporate | 7 May 2013 07:27


STRATEC reports on first three months of 2013


STRATEC Biomedical AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results/Interim Report

07.05.2013 / 07:27

STRATEC reports on first three months of 2013

– Sales increase by 14.1% to EUR 29.2 million in Q1/2013 (Q1/2012: EUR 25.6 million*)
– EBIT margin of 15.1% in Q1/2013, up from 12.2% in Q4/2012 (Q1/2012: 17.0%*)
– Consolidated net income of EUR 3.5 million in Q1/2013 (+3.1%; Q1/2012: EUR 3.4 million)
– Earnings per share of EUR 0.30 in Q1/2013 (+3.4%; Q1/2012: EUR 0.29)
– Updated company forecast planned for release by end of H1/2013

Birkenfeld, May 7, 2013

STRATEC Biomedical AG (Frankfurt: SBS; Prime Standard, TecDAX) today announced its results for the period from January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2013 upon the publication of its Interim Report as of March 31, 2013.

Key figures (EUR 000s) 01.01.- 03.31.2013 01.01.- 03.31.2012 Change
Sales 29,173 25,573* +14.1%
EBIT 4,406 4,349 +1.3%
EBIT margin (%) 15.1 17,0* —
Consolidated net income 3,544 3,439 +3.1%
Earnings per share (EUR) 0.30 0.29 +3.4%

* 2012 figure adjusted for a one-off item of EUR 3.3 million due to an income-neutral reclassification from unfinished services and prepayments received upon the write-down of a development project. On an unadjusted basis, sales for the first quarter of 2012 amounted to EUR 28.8 million and the corresponding EBIT margin amounted to 15.1%.

Financial performance
Sales performed positively in the first quarter of 2013 and increased year-on-year by 14.1%. This growth was driven both by sound developments in the volume of analyzer systems delivered, and by a recovery in the service parts business. The share of sales generated with servicing parts continued to recover compared with 2012 as a whole, and rose significantly compared with the weak final quarter of 2012. Due not least to this factor, the EBIT margin of 15.1% for the first three months of 2013 was improved compared to the overall 2012 financial year (14.4%), and most visibly improved when compared to the final quarter of last year (12.2%). Based on current developments, STRATEC expects the positive trend observed so far in 2013 to date to continue. At EUR 3.5 million, consolidated net income was up 3.1% up on the previous year’s figure, while earnings per share rose by 3.4% in the first three months. The tax rate amounted to 17.8% in the first quarter.

On an unadjusted basis, sales and the EBIT margin for the first quarter of the previous year (2012) amounted to EUR 28.8 million and 15.1% respectively.

Initial progress has been made in enhancing the profitability of systems newly launched onto the market, as stated in the 2012 financial year, and losses from the individual subsidiaries have reduced further following completion of the investment programs implemented in 2012.

The company plans to update its forecast for 2013 and subsequent years in the course of the first half of 2013.


Project development
Additional market launches and approvals of analyzer systems are expected in the current and coming years. Further development milestones have been reached to this end. Moreover, measures continue to be implemented to extend capacities within the company’s existing structures.

One of the development and production projects started in 2012 was contractually finalized and signed in the first quarter of 2013. Further projects have reached promising stages of negotiation.


Other developments
The volumes of in-vitro-diagnostics tests reported by leading global laboratory operators give reason to expect only a slow recovery in the market. The associated share of sales STRATEC generates with service parts is currently developing stably and has recovered slightly compared with 2012. Our customers’ forecasts for analyzer systems continue not to be affected by government austerity or fiscal policy measures in the Euro or Dollar regions.

The company’s Annual General Meeting will be held in Pforzheim on June 6, 2013. The Board of Management and the Supervisory Board are proposing a dividend of EUR 0.50 per share for approval by the Annual General Meeting.


Development in staff totals
Including temporary employees, the STRATEC Group had a total of 541 employees as of March 31, 2013 (March 31, 2012: 512). The company’s workforce thus grew by a further 14 employees compared with December 31, 2012.


Outlook
Our ability to issue precise forecasts continues to be limited by several external factors, such as capacity utilization rates at installed systems, the timing of further market launches, the planned production ramp-ups for new systems, further consolidation in the IVD market, and macroeconomic market factors. Based on the indicators and forecasts available to us, and given our current business performance, we expect to generate sales growth accompanied by increasing profitability in 2013. We plan to issue an update of the company forecast for the current financial year and subsequent years in the course of the first half of 2013.

Further details can be found in our Interim Report as of March 31, 2013 published at www.stratec.com > Investor Relations > IR News > Financial Reports.


About STRATEC
STRATEC Biomedical AG ( www.stratec.com ) designs and manufactures fully automated analyzer systems for its partners in the fields of clinical diagnostics and biotechnology. These partners market such systems, in general together with their own reagents, as system solutions to laboratories, blood banks and research institutes around the world. The company develops its products on the basis of its own patented technologies.

Shares in the company (ISIN: DE0007289001) are traded in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and are listed in the TecDAX select index of the German Stock Exchange.


Further information can be obtained from:
STRATEC Biomedical AG
André Loy, Investor Relations
Gewerbestr. 37, 75217 Birkenfeld
Germany
Tel: +49 7082 7916-190
Fax: +49 7082 7916-999
ir@stratec.com
www.stratec.com



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Language: English
Company: STRATEC Biomedical AG
Gewerbestr. 37
75217 Birkenfeld
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)7082 7916 0
Fax: +49 (0)7082 7916 999
E-mail: info@stratec.com
Internet: www.stratec.com
ISIN: DE0007289001
WKN: 728900
Indices: TecDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, Düsseldorf, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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