- Customer inventory reductions further and orders up nearly 10 percent at constant currency
- Sales decreased by 7.6 percent at constant exchange rates, and the underlying EBITDA margin remained at a high level of 28.6 percent
GÖTTINGEN, Germany, April 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a continued challenging market environment, life sciences group Sartorius closed the first quarter as expected, with higher orders and lower sales revenue compared to a strong performance in the year-ago quarter. Looking ahead to the full year, the Group continues to forecast a quarter-on-quarter recovery in business momentum and sales revenue growth in the mid-to-high-single-digit percentage range.
"In the first quarter, we largely saw the expected start to the fiscal year, with a mixed picture overall: We saw a significant increase in orders for our core consumables business, which indicates that our customer inventory reduction efforts are at an advanced stage. Client business in the cell and gene therapy space is doing well, which is a key strategic focus for us, although this still very young area often exhibits high volatility. In contrast, customers in China, in particular, and to a certain extent in Europe, showed a marked investment caution, which had a significant dampening effect on the order volume of our equipment business," said Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO of Sartorius. The EBITDA margin continues to remain at a high level, and we expect further efficiency gains in the coming months. "
Group Business Development[1]
In the first three months of 2024, the Sartorius Group's order intake increased by 9.8 percent (reported: 8.0 percent) at constant exchange rates to 826 million euros, continuing the good trend since the end of the third quarter of 2023.
Sales in the first quarter amounted to 820 million euros, down 7.6 percent in constant currency terms, down 7.6 percent (reported: -9.3 percent). This includes an increase of around 2% from mergers and acquisitions[2].
By region, demand recovered in all business regions, with the exception of Asia-Pacific, which was heavily impacted by China: orders in EMEA[3] increased by 6.5% and sales revenue decreased by 4.4%. In the Americas, orders increased by 26.1 percent at a double-digit rate, while sales revenue declined by 9.3 percent. In the Asia-Pacific region, continued weakness in China led to declines in both orders (-4.8%) and sales revenue (-10.4%).
Underlying EBITDA for the first three months declined by 13.8 percent to 234 million euros due to lower sales revenues. The resulting margin was 28.6 percent, compared to 30.1 percent in the prior-year quarter.
The related net profit amounted to EUR 70 million, compared to EUR 116 million in the first three months of 2023. Basic earnings per ordinary share amounted to 1.01 euros (previous year: 1.69 euros) and earnings per preferred share amounted to 1.02 euros (previous year: 1.70 euros). The number of employees worldwide was 14,338 as of March 31, 2024, compared to 15,547 in the same period last year (December 31, 2023: 14,614).
Key Financial IndicatorsThe Group's key financial indicators remained at a good level. As of March 31, 2024, the gearing ratio increased to 35.4% (December 31, 2023: 28.3%), mainly due to equity measures completed in early February 2024. The ratio of net debt to underlying EBITDA decreased significantly to 4.4 from 5.0 as of December 31, 2023.
Net operating cash flow amounted to EUR 45 million, mainly due to lower earnings, compared to EUR 202 million in the prior-year quarter. Cash flow from investing activities amounted to -135 million euros, compared to -137 million euros in the first quarter of 2023. The ratio of capital expenditures (CAPEX) to sales revenue was 15.7 percent, compared to 15.0 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Business development in the Bioprocess Solutions segmentThe Bioprocess Solutions segment offers a wide range of innovative technologies for the production of biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies, and demand for core recurring businesses such as single-use consumables continues to recover as expected. Sales revenue and order intake in this key product category recovered further, while the Equipment and Systems business remained weak due to sluggish customer investment activity.
In constant currency terms, the segment's order intake increased by 15.0 percent in the first quarter (reported: 13.4 percent) to 653 million euros, with growth in all regions except China. Business has been recovering since the end of the third quarter of 2023 as customers further advance to reduce inventory. Order volumes in the first three months of 2024 were slightly higher than sales revenues, which amounted to 647 million euros, a figure that was 5.3 percent lower than the strong performance of the prior-year period at constant exchange rates (reported: -6.9 percent). This includes a 2.8 percentage point increase from mergers and acquisitions[2].
Underlying EBITDA declined to 193 million euros, partially offset by positive portfolio effects and cost base adjustments. The profit margin was 29.8 percent (previous year: 31.2 percent).
Business development in the laboratory products and services segmentThe Laboratory Products & Services segment, which focuses on life sciences research and pharmaceutical laboratories, continued its growth momentum since the end of 2023 in the first quarter. However, order intake and sales revenue declined compared to the strong year-ago quarter due to very weak Chinese markets and continued sluggish customer investment activity.
In the first three months of the fiscal year, order intake and sales were at the same level at 173 million euros, representing a year-on-year decrease of 6.2 percent (reported: -8.2 percent) at constant exchange rates.
Sales in this segment amounted to 173 million euros, a year-on-year decrease of 15.3% (reported: -17.1%) at constant exchange rates, a positive trend compared to the end of 2023.
Underlying EBITDA amounted to EUR 41 million, compared to EUR 55 million in Q1 2023, with a corresponding margin of 24.0 percent (previous year: 26.3 percent) due to volume and product mix.
2024 Outlook for the fiscal yearThe Group's management confirmed its expectations for the current financial year and continues to expect a modest performance in the first half of 2024 and a growing business momentum for the full year. In addition, increasing geopolitical tensions and economic slowdown may also impact business performance.
The company forecasts revenue growth to be in the mid-to-high-single-digit percentage range, with acquisitions contributing approximately 1.5 percentage points. The underlying EBITDA margin is expected to be just over 30 percent (previous fiscal year: 28.3 percent). The ratio of capital expenditures to sales revenue is expected to be approximately 13%, and the ratio of net debt to underlying EBITDA (excluding potential acquisitions) is slightly above 3.0.
For the Bioprocess Solutions segment, management expects sales revenue to increase by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage, including approximately 2 percentage points from acquisitions. The underlying EBITDA margin for this segment is expected to exceed 31 percent (previous fiscal year: 29.2 percent), mainly positively impacted by the above-average profitability of the Polyplus business. The Laboratory Products & Services segment is expected to continue its recovery in the current year, with sales revenue growing by a low-single-digit percentage and underlying EBITDA margin at the same level as in the previous fiscal year (previous fiscal year: 25.1%).
Forecasts are based on historical data and are in line with financial policies. As in previous years, all forecasts are based on a fixed exchange rate. Management noted that the industry has seen a significant increase in volatility and volatility in recent years. In addition, uncertainties arising from changes in the geopolitical situation, such as emerging decoupling trends across countries, are playing an increasing role. This leads to higher uncertainty in forecasting business data.
1 Sartorius has published alternative performance measures that are not defined in IAS. These indicators are identified to improve the comparability of performance across periods and within the same industry.
- Order volume: All customer orders for which contracts and bookings were signed during the corresponding reporting period
- Basic EBITDA: Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for non-recurring items
- Related Net Profit: Profit for the current period after deducting non-controlling interests, adjusted for non-recurring items and amortization, as well as standard financial results and standard tax rate
- Net debt to underlying EBITDA ratio: Quotient of net debt and underlying EBITDA for the trailing 12 months, including the projected amount resulting from acquisitions for the period
2 收购 Polyplus
3 EMEA includes Europe, the Middle East and Africa
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the future development of the Sartorius Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sartorius assumes no responsibility to update such statements based on new information or future events. The news is a translation of the original German. Sartorius assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of this translation. The original German press release is legally binding.
2024 Q1 Key Performance Indicators| Sartorius Group | Bioprocessing solutions | Laboratory Products & Services | ||||||||||
| Unit: million euros (unless otherwise stated) | Q12024 | Q1 2023 | D (%) It is reported | D % cc[1] | Q12024 | Q1 2023 | D (%) It is reported | D % cc[1] | Q12024 | Q1 2023 | D (%) It is reported | D % cc[1] |
| Sales revenue and order volume | ||||||||||||
| Order volume[2] | 826.3 | 764.8 | 8.0 | 9.8 | 652.8 | 575.7 | 13.4 | 15.0 | 173.5 | 189.0 | -8.2 | -6.2 |
| Sales revenue | 819.6 | 903.2 | -9.3 | -7.6 | 647.0 | 695.0 | -6.9 | -5.3 | 172.5 | 208.2 | -17.1 | -15.3 |
| - Europe, Middle East & Africa[3] | 341.4 | 359.0 | -4.9 | -4.4 | 273.0 | 283.7 | -3.8 | -3.4 | 68.4 | 75.2 | -9.0 | -8.1 |
| - Americas[3] | 288.3 | 322.2 | -10.5 | -9.3 | 233.1 | 255.6 | -8.8 | -7.6 | 55.2 | 66.6 | -17.1 | -16.0 |
| - Asia Pacific[3] | 189.8 | 222.0 | -14.5 | -10.4 | 140.9 | 155.7 | -9.5 | -5.0 | 48.9 | 66.4 | -26.4 | -22.9 |
| earnings | ||||||||||||
| EBITDA[4] | 234.4 | 271.9 | -13.8 | 193.1 | 217.2 | -11.1 | 41.4 | 54.8 | -24.4 | |||
| EBITDA Margin % | 28.6 | 30.1 | -1.5pp | 29.8 | 31.2 | -1.4pp | 24.0 | 26.3 | -2.3pp | |||
| Underlying net profit[5] | 69.9 | 116.2 | -39.9 | |||||||||
| Net Profit[6] | 36.7 | 93.1 | -60.6 | |||||||||
| Financial data per share | ||||||||||||
| EPS[5] (EUR) | 1.01 | 1.69 | -40.5 | |||||||||
| Earnings per preferred share[5] (EUR) | 1.02 | 1.70 | -40.3 | |||||||||
| [1] cc = Fixed Exchange Rate: Numbers expressed in a fixed currency eliminate the effect of exchange rate changes by applying the same exchange rate for the current year and the previous year | ||||||||||||
| [2] All customer orders for which contracts were signed and booked during the respective reporting period | ||||||||||||
| [3] Depending on the customer's location | ||||||||||||
| [4] Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, adjusted for non-recurring items | ||||||||||||
| [5] Profit for the period after deducting non-controlling interests, adjusted for non-recurring items and amortization, as well as standard financial results and standard tax rate | ||||||||||||
| [6] Excluding non-controlling shareholders' interests |
Sartorius Group (XETRA: SRT3 | STR) is a leading international partner to the life sciences research and biopharmaceutical industries. The Group's Laboratory Products & Services segment offers innovative laboratory instruments and consumables designed to meet the needs of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, as well as research and quality control laboratories in academic research institutions. The Bioprocess Solutions segment offers a broad portfolio focused on single-use solutions that help customers safely and efficiently manufacture biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies. Headquartered in Göttingen, Germany, the Group has around 60 manufacturing and sales sites worldwide. The Group continues to expand its product portfolio through the acquisition of complementary technologies. Group sales in fiscal 2023 amounted to approximately EUR 3.4 billion. Currently, approximately 14,600 employees serve customers worldwide.
ContactPetra Kirchhoff, Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations