SKAN with higher sales and margin in 2023

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR
 

SKAN with higher sales and margin in 2023

• Net sales up 15.5% to CHF 320.0 million; double-digit growth in both business segments.
• EBITDA improved by 24.9% to CHF 50.1 million; with an EBITDA margin of 15.7%, the communicated margin target was exceeded.
• Order intake normalised at a healthy level of CHF 295.1 million; order backlog of CHF 312.1 million offers planning security for more than a year.
• Dividend of CHF 0.35 per share proposed for the 2023 financial year.
• Strategic initiatives for integrated process systems and a higher degree of standardisation in the Equipment & Solutions business as well as for pre-approved services are on track.
• Gert Thoenen will not stand for re-election after 19 years in office; Beat Lüthi proposed as new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SKAN Group.
• Confident outlook: Broad-based market growth, a high order backlog and a full project pipeline should ensure a good financial year 2024.

Allschwil, 26 March 2024 – The SKAN Group AG, world market leader for high-quality isolator systems for aseptic production processes in the (bio-)pharmaceutical industry, continued its growth trajectory in the 2023 financial year. The successful business performance was driven by the continued strong market development. The trend towards injectable drugs continues unabated. The number of approvals for biotech active ingredients is constantly increasing, including in oncology, an important area of application for customers. In addition, there are reinforcing growth drivers such as the current GLP-1 drugs against obesity and the Covid vaccines in previous years. These factors ensure encouragingly robust market growth and high demand for process solutions for the aseptic filling of biopharmaceutical active ingredients.

According to its own estimates, the SKAN Group once again grew faster than the market. The success rate for offers was around 50%, which is primarily due to the qualitative and technological superiority of the SKAN systems and the process expertise. As a result, SKAN was able to maintain its number one position in the high-end segment of the isolator market.

Above-average increase in profitability

The SKAN Group increased net sales by 15.5% to CHF 320.0 million; adjusted for currency effects, growth even amounted to 19.2%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 24.9% to CHF 50.1 million, which corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 15.7%. The SKAN Group has thus achieved the communicated financial targets for net sales growth and exceeded them for the EBITDA margin. The significant increase at the EBITDA level is primarily due to the profitable growth of the Services & Consumables segment.

After the exceptionally strong previous year, incoming orders stabilised at the healthy level of CHF 295.1 million. The order backlog of CHF 312.1 million ensures that the SKAN Group can continue to plan ahead for more than a year in the Equipment & Solutions segment. At the same time, the normalised order intake has the positive effect of shortening delivery times and making SKAN Group more attractive to customers again.

In order to cope with growth, the SKAN Group once again invested heavily in the recruitment of specialised staff in the reporting year. A total of over 200 new employees were hired. In line with the decentralisation strategy the ramp-up, in relative figures, mainly took place in the subsidiaries. Accordingly, personnel expenses also increased slightly more than net sales. In contrast, the cost of materials increased at a slower rate than net sales due to a higher level of in-house production, while other operating costs increased in line with net sales.

Profit for the 2023 financial year amounted to CHF 27.9 million, compared to CHF 21.4 million in the previous year. The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting of SKAN Group AG on May 7, 2024, to distribute a dividend of CHF 0.35 per share.

Equipment & Solutions segment on track with strategic initiatives

The Equipment & Solutions segment reported an order intake of CHF 213.3 million for the 2023 financial year. Net sales increased by 14.2% to CHF 237.1 million. The segment thus contributed 74% to the SKAN Group's total sales. Segment EBITDA rose by 16.7% to CHF 26.8 million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 11.3%.

In the reporting year, incoming orders were evenly split between high-speed systems with
e-beam technology and systems for smaller production volumes. Due to customer delays, the completion of some projects was postponed until 2024. Nevertheless, over 70 projects were completed in the reporting year, bringing the number of SKAN isolators installed to around 1,100. In addition, there are around 450 systems from Aseptic Technologies installed worldwide. The expansion of the installed base increases the potential for the future service and spare parts business.

The Equipment & Solutions segment made progress as planned with its strategic initiatives in the areas of integrated process systems and standardisation. The SKAN Group has once again invested a significant amount, around 7% of net sales, in this area and in general research and development activities, which has been directly charged to the income statement.

Services & Consumables segment significantly increases profitability

The Services & Consumables segment achieved an order intake of CHF 81.8 million and 19.6% higher net sales of CHF 82.9 million in the 2023 financial year. EBITDA of CHF 23.3 million reflects an increase in the EBITDA margin to 28.1%.

Growth in the service business was driven by the steady expansion of the installed base of SKAN systems. These require regular maintenance, periodic requalification as required by regulations, and spare parts. The retrofit business, the renewal of technical equipment and software for older isolators, also developed positively in the reporting year.

The consumables business proved to be a key driver of sales and margin growth in the Services & Consumables segment in the 2023 financial year. The automated process solutions for closed vials from the Belgian subsidiary Aseptic Technologies were in particularly high demand. There are currently seven drugs sold in the AT-Closed Vial^® that have been approved by six leading health authorities, including the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) and EMA (European Medicines Agency), in a total of 14 countries. As at mid-2023, there were five drugs in nine countries. Based on the sales of AT filling machines and filling kits, the development pipeline of drugs filled in the AT-Closed Vial^® is likely to be in the region of 450 active ingredients. Accordingly, the sales volume of the AT-Closed Vial^® is likely to increase further in the future.

The SKAN Group is well on track with the project for pre-approved services, which will also contribute to the expansion of the Services & Consumables segment in the future.

Investing in future growth

The expansion of pre-approved services also accounted for the majority of investments, totalling CHF 35.3 million in the 2023 financial year. The remaining funds were used to expand capacity in Switzerland and Belgium. At CHF 8.7 million, operating cash flow was significantly lower than in the previous year, which is attributable to the lower order intake and the associated lower volume of advance payments from customers. Equity at the end of 2023 amounted to CHF 176.4 million, corresponding to an equity ratio of 47.2%.

Beat Lüthi proposed as new Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SKAN Group

Chairman of the Board of Directors Gert Thoenen has decided not to stand for re-election at the upcoming Annual General Meeting of SKAN Group AG on May 7, 2024. Gert Thoenen (*1957) has been a member of the Board of Directors of SKAN Holding AG since 2005 and its Chairman since 2019. Since 2021, he has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the holding company SKAN Group AG, which was newly established in the course of the IPO. During his 19 years on the Board of Directors, the SKAN Group has become the global market leader in its field. The successful IPO on the Swiss stock exchange in October 2021 also took place under his leadership. The Board of Directors and the SKAN Group would like to thank Gert Thoenen for his successful work and his long loyalty to the company and wish him all the best for the future.

Beat Lüthi (*1962) will be proposed to the Annual General Meeting as his successor. Beat Lüthi is a Swiss citizen and holds a master in electrical engineering and a PhD in software technology management from ETH Zurich. Since 2008, he has been CEO of the Basellandschaft-based company CTC Analytics, which produces liquid handling robots for laboratory applications. Beat Lüthi has been Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SIX-listed INFICON Group since 2012 and a member of the SKAN Group Board of Directors since 2022 as head of the Nomination and Compensation Committee. The Board of Directors of SKAN Group AG is convinced that Beat Lüthi is ideally suited to drive forward growth and strategic development of the company.

Outlook and guidance

The SKAN Group is focused on a market that benefits from structural growth. The medical application areas that our customers target with their medicines will continue to grow. The trend towards injectable drugs will continue, as will the increasing importance of biotechnologically produced active ingredients. Accordingly, customer demand for process solutions for aseptic filling and for the associated services and consumables will also remain high. The SKAN Group will continue to consistently implement its strategy in order to participate over-proportionally in market growth.

Against this background, the Board of Directors and management of the SKAN Group are also optimistic about 2024. The start to the current year has been pleasing, and the order backlog and full project pipeline should ensure a good course of business. The Board of Directors and management are confident that the SKAN Group will once again reach its growth targets. In terms of net sales, an increase in the mid- to upper ten percent range is expected in 2024, with the Services & Consumables segment once again likely to grow more strongly than Equipment & Solutions. The EBITDA margin should range between 13 and 15%.

Consolidated key figures

Conference Call and Audio Webcast (in English)

Thomas Huber, CEO, and Burim Maraj, CFO, will guide you through the results for the financial year 2023 and provide an outlook for the current financial year in a conference call and audio webcast. Afterwards, they will be available for questions.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024
2:30 to 3:30 p.m. (CEST)

To participate in the conference call, please register via this link. You will then receive a confirmation e-mail with individual dial-in data. As a participant in the conference call, you can follow the presentation here.

The presentation will be broadcast as a live audio webcast. To access, please use this link. Questions can be asked via the chat function. A recording will subsequently be available under the same link.

For questions about the conference call or audio webcast, or if you have problems with the link, please contact ir@skan.com, +41 79 703 87 28.

Download Links:

>> Annual Report 2023

>> Presentation Financial Year 2023
 

Contacts:

Thomas Balmer, ir@skan.com, +41 79 703 87 28

Alexandre Müller, ir@skan.com, +41 79 635 64 13

Financial calendar:

SKAN – together always one step ahead

SKAN is a pioneer in the field of aseptic and aseptic-toxic manufacturing processes for the (bio)pharmaceutical industry. The company is the market and technology leader for high-quality, process-critical isolator systems for filling drugs according to strict sterility standards. In addition, the company offers its customers process support, services and consumables. Innovative solutions and an efficient life-cycle support organisation make SKAN an important partner for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, CMOs (Contract Manufacturing Organisations) and research laboratories worldwide. Founded in 1968, SKAN today employs approximately 1400 people. More than half of them work at the Allschwil headquarters in the Life Sciences Hub of the Basel region. The other employees are located among the subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Japan and the USA.