Interim Report January - March 2018

UPPSALA, Sweden, April 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- First quarter January - March 2018

• Net sales amounted to 208.0 MSEK (185.2), which is an increase by 12.3 percent compared to the corresponding quarter last year. At comparable exchange rates[1] and adjusted for acquisitions, net sales increased by 9.8 percent.

• Operating profit increased by 19 percent to 41.6 MSEK (34.9)

• Result after tax increased by 27 percent to 44.9 MSEK (35.3).

• Earnings per share increased to 0.69 SEK (0.55) before and after dilution.

• The cash flow from operating activities amounted to 28.1 MSEK (29.2).

• Net cash[1] at March 31 amounted to 59.6 MSEK (152.1).

• The acquisition of Horizon Technology Inc. was closed on January 16. Through the acquisition, Biotage strengthens its position in analyses of environment and food safety.

• At the end of the reported period Biotage had no holding of own shares. No shares were acquired under the repurchasing program resolved at the 2017 Annual General Meeting.

[1] See definition on pp. 15-16

Comments by CEO Torben Jörgensen

The start of 2018 has been very satisfying. The integration of Horizon Technology proceeds according to plan. The acquisition is vitalizing and important for our increased focus on analyses in the areas of environment and food safety.

We add yet another quarter with record sales as well as record profitability. The sales amounted to 208 MSEK with an organic growth of close to 10 percent. At the same time we continue to improve our operating margin, which was 20 percent in the quarter. The average EBIT margin for the latest three year period is 15.6 percent.

The gross margin for the period amounts to 61 percent, in line with our strategic goal of 60 percent. Increased production volumes together with a higher degree of automation and general efficiency improvements at the plant in Cardiff, Wales continue to contribute to the improved gross margin. During the quarter we also enjoyed generally favorable exchange rates.

The further development of the production plant in Cardiff continues. Later this year we will start using additional premises, which will enable further automatization and thus ensure prerequisites for continued growth.

The investments in direct sales continue to contribute to the sales successes. The operations in South Korea continue to develop well and the sales were 2.5 times larger than the corresponding period last year. The operations in China are also developing well, increasing sales by more than 28 percent. Practically all countries with their own local sales forces grew compared to the first quarter 2017. We continue to expand our direct sales and the latest contribution is India. Here we have carried out a number of key recruitments that will join us in the third quarter.

Demand is generally good with growth in all strategically important product areas. The biggest growth, some 60 percent, is accomplished by our evaporation products. Sales of the new generation of the evaporation system TurboVap® continue to be strong. With the acquisition of Horizon Technology we increase our efforts in analytical chemistry. It is still too soon to evaluate the acquisition, but we are satisfied with the development so far. Sales of Industrial Products have started the year well, especially in Europe. In Europe we also see a boost in the sales of consumables. Products in the purification area have also had a successful quarter and we set a new sales record for the number of units sold of the purification system Isoleratm.

For a time our synthesis and peptide synthesis products have had to stand back in favor of other product areas with higher priority. However, more resources have been allocated to these products and updates are planned for launch already by the end of the second quarter.

System sales constituted 48 percent of the turnover in the quarter and aftermarket products 52 percent. The system sales continue to increase and the main explanation is the continued sales successes for the purification system Isoleratm, above all in China, where we sold a record number of systems in the first quarter.

The research and development work is further intensified and we look forward to new launches during the year.

Coming financial reports

The interim report for the second quarter 2018 will be issued on July 16, 2018.

The interim report for the third quarter 2018 will be issued on November 6, 2018.

The year-end report for 2018 will be issued on February 7, 2019.

All reports are available at Biotage's website from the above dates.

This report has not been reviewed by the company's auditors.

For further information:

Torben Jörgensen, President and CEO, phone: +46-707-49-05-84                                                                                                                      

Erika Söderberg Johnson, CFO, phone: +46-707-20-48-20                          

This information is information that Biotage AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 15.00 CET on April 26, 2018.

About Biotage

Biotage offers efficient separation technologies from analysis to industrial scale and high quality solutions for analytical chemistry from research to commercial analysis laboratories. Biotage's products are used by government authorities, academic institutions, contract research and contract manufacturing organizations, pharmaceutical and food companies, among others. The company is headquartered in Uppsala and has offices in the US, UK, China, Japan, South Korea and India. Biotage has approx. 400 employees and had sales of 748 MSEK in 2017. Biotage is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm. Website: www.biotage.com 

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