Sartorius presents half-year figures
The Sartorius Group closed the first half of 2005 with increases in sales revenue and earnings.
The Sartorius Group closed the first half of 2005 with increases in sales revenue and earnings.
Group sales revenue rose 4.9% from Euro 222.3m to €233.2m, with particularly strong gains posted in the Asia Pacific region, as has been the case in previous quarters.
Its filter business was particularly profitable, seeing order book gains hit the double-digit percentage range, while all business areas of the Mechatronics Division contributed to growth after a moderate start at the outset of 2005, increasing sales revenue by 1.5% to €112.3m. The division's order intake edged up 1.4% to €117.1m from €115.5m in 2004. The Biotechnology Division boosted sales revenue by 8.3% to €120.9m, as its order intake rose 0.4% to €127.3m.
In contrast, project business with fermenters and bioreactors, 'suffered from the difficult market environment [and] did not develop satisfactorily'.
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose from €11.6m to €14.9m, and the group's EBIT margin improved from 5.2% to 6.4%. First-half net cash flow, which stood at €13.2m for 2004, was down to €5.4m, while net debt was €81.4m, relative to the €78.9m reported as of December 31, 2004.
Sartorius expects to adhere to its earnings targets for the current year, which provide for an increase in EBIT to over 8% of consolidated sales revenue. The company anticipates that the positive growth trend of the first half will continue in all business areas, with the exception of its fermenter and bioreactor business, in which it expects difficult market conditions to continue. Accordingly, full-year growth is likely to be below the rate posted for the first half.