Biotest increases adjusted EBIT by 12% to EUR 29.9 million

– Earnings after taxes reaches EUR 2.0 million

– Expansion project Biotest Next Level proceeding according to plan

– Long-term financing of the Biotest Group

In the first half of the 2019 financial year, the Biotest Group recorded sales revenues of EUR 195.1 million (same period of the previous year: EUR 200.7 million). On a half-year basis, sales are only EUR 5.6 million or 2.8 % below the figure for the same period in the last year. Part of the decline in sales recorded in the first quarter of 2019 has thus already been made up as planned.

EBIT adjusted for expenses for the Biotest Next Level project of EUR 34.5 million (same period of the previous year: EUR 23.7 million) and for monoclonal antibodies (EUR 0.9 million) amounted to EUR 29.9 million in the first half of 2019 after
EUR 26.8 million in the same period in the previous year.

EBIT at Group level amounted to EUR -5.5 million in the first six months of fiscal year 2019 (same period of the previous year: EUR 0.6 million). The weaker EBIT in the Therapy segment compared to the same period of the previous year is primarily the result of the increased costs of sales caused by the increase in costs for the ramp-up phase of the Biotest Next Level project. In addition, a 21.1% increase in research and development costs had an impact on EBIT. The increase is due to the production of clinical material for the development projects for the new products IgG Next Generation and Trimodulin.

In the first half of 2019, the financial result from continuing operations amounted to EUR 8.0 million after EUR -10.7 million in the same period of the previous year. The main reason for the significant improvement were the value adjustments on financial instruments measured at fair value.

For the continuing operations of the Biotest Group, this results in earnings before taxes (EBT) of EUR 2.5 million compared with EUR -10.1 million in the same period of the previous year.

In April 2019, Biotest received the operating permit for the ninth plasmapheresis centre in Hungary from the Hungarian health authority OTH. The centre is located in the capital of Budapest. Thus, the Group’s own network of plasma collection centres in Europe has been expanded to 21 centres to secure the long-term supply of plasma.

In the first half of the year, good progress was made in the expansion project Biotest Next Level at the Dreieich site. The qualification of the clean rooms and media systems is in progress so that they can be approved by the Darmstadt Regional Council in November 2019. At the same time, the commissioning of the processing plants was started and their approval by the Darmstadt Regional Council is expected for 2020.

On June 24, 2019, Biotest signed a financing agreement with a term of 5 years for a volume of EUR 240 million. This will finance the further steps towards the commissioning the Biotest Next Level facilities over the next few years. The closing of the financing agreement took place on 2 July 2019.

Outlook:

For the 2019 financial year, the Management Board expects sales growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range. Earnings in 2019 will be influenced by various factors. In addition to the expected expenses of EUR 80 to 90 million from the Biotest Next Level expansion project, including the associated research and development costs, the tense situation in the crisis regions, particularly in the Middle East, could have an impact. In addition, a partner is being sought for advanced development projects. Based on the aforementioned factors, the Management Board expects EBIT from continuing operations to be between
EUR -5 million and EUR +5 million if partnering can be successfully concluded in 2019. As a result, the Executive Board expects a return on capital employed (RoCE) of approximately -2% to +2% and a cash flow from operating activities of approximately EUR-50 million to EUR-60 million for 2019. Without a partnering, EBIT is expected to be between EUR -15 and -35 million, RoCE between -2% and -4% and cash flow from operating activities between EUR -60 and -90 million. The Management Board expects EBIT adjusted for the impact of the Biotest Next Level project on earnings to rise to between EUR75 million and EUR95 million if partnering can be successfully concluded in fiscal 2019.

The partnering efforts are more complex and more time-consuming than expected, so that the possibility of a forecast occurring without partnering cannot be ruled out.

The half-year report can be downloaded from the company’s website at https://www.biotest.com/de/en/investor_relations/news_and_publications/publications/quarterly_reports.cfm.

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