Successful 2021 financial year for SKAN Group AG

Ad hoc release pursuant to art. 53 LR
 

Successful 2021 financial year for SKAN Group AG

- Order intake increased by 39.4% to CHF 280.3 million; net sales up by 22.2% to CHF 234.3 million.

- EBITDA improved by 86.1% to CHF 30.7 million; EBITDA margin at 13.1%.

- Significant growth in both business segments.

- Agreement signed to increase stake in Aseptic Technologies to 90%.

- Investments of CHF 42.6 million; expansion of production capacities as planned.

- Sustainability report published for the first time.

- Optimistic outlook: Broad-based market growth and high order backlog of CHF 226.1 million indicate another good financial year in 2022.

Allschwil, 5 April 2022 - SKAN Group AG, global market leader in high-quality isolator systems for aseptic production processes in the (bio-)pharmaceutical industry, can look back on a successful year 2021. The company continued its growth path and increased order intake and net sales to new record levels. In October, the threshold of 1,000 employees was exceeded for the first time. The move to the new, modern headquarters in Allschwil and the successful IPO on the Swiss stock exchange were further highlights.

The SKAN Group recorded an order intake of CHF 280.3 million in fiscal year 2021, which corresponds to an increase of 39.4% compared to the previous year. Net sales rose by 22.2% to CHF 234.3 million. Earnings before depreciation, amortization, interest and taxes (EBITDA) increased by 86.1% to CHF 30.7 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 13.1%. With this result, the SKAN Group was able to achieve and even exceed the targets communicated during the IPO. Against the background that SKAN, like many other companies, was affected by the impact of the Covid-pandemic as well as delays in the supply chain, this is a very good performance.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for the financial year 2021 amounted to CHF 23.1 million and net profit reached CHF 21.4 million. The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting on May 4, 2022 the distribution of a dividend of CHF 0.24 per share.

Equipment & Solutions segment further increases market share

Both segments of the SKAN Group - Equipment & Solutions and Services & Consumables - grew significantly in 2021. As a technology leader and manufacturer of equipment for the sterile filling of medicines, SKAN recorded strong demand from customers in the (bio)pharmaceutical industry in the Equipment & Solutions segment and increased its order intake by 33.1% to CHF 212.3 million. An additional surge in demand was triggered by orders for equipment to fill Covid vaccines. Due to the long-term nature of the business, this Covid effect could not yet be translated into sales. Accordingly, net sales increased less strongly, by 19.2% to CHF 172.0 million. EBITDA of CHF 16.1 million represents an EBITDA margin of 9.4%.

Product milestones in 2021 were the launch of Cellana, an innovative isolator for cell and gene therapy processes. Furthermore, the Skanfog Spectra isolator was awarded the prestigious Red Dot Award for product design. The award shows that the efforts for continuous improvement are bearing fruit and that SKAN products are now not only top class in terms of quality, but also in terms of design.

SKAN was once again able to significantly increase the closing rate for offers, especially in the second half of 2021. This will only be reflected in the order intake in the current year, but underscores that SKAN was able to further increase its market share in the core market of high-end insulators. SKAN has countered the delays in the supply chain by changing its
manufacturing processes. Key components are now ordered earlier, ensuring their availability at the required time. This has enabled the SKAN Group to always ensure a high level of delivery readiness.

Services & Consumables segment leverages growing installed base

The Services & Consumables segment increased its order intake by 63.5% to CHF 68.0 million and net sales by 22.6% to CHF 58.0 million in the year under review. EBITDA of CHF 13.6 million corresponds to an EBITDA margin of 23.5%. The segment was driven by life cycle support, spare parts as well as retrofit business based on the growing installed base of SKAN equipment. Additional impetus was provided by another drug manufactured using the closed vial process of Aseptic Technologies which went into commercial production last summer.

Agreement to expand stake in Aseptic Technologies

Aseptic Technologies is a Belgian subsidiary of strategic importance to the SKAN Group. The automated, robotic process solutions for closed vials (Crystal Closed Vial Technology) produced by it target applications in cell and gene therapy, a rapidly growing market segment. Potential customers of Aseptic Technologies have over 300 compounds in research and clinical trials, 17 of which are in the third and final phase of development before market approval. The commercialization of new drugs will increase the demand for closed vials and thus the volume in the Services & Consumables segment.

For this reason, SKAN signed an agreement on April 4, 2022 with the co-owner of Aseptic Technologies, Société Régionale d'Investissement de Wallonie (SRIW), to purchase an additional 30% of the shares in Aseptic Technologies, increasing its stake to 90%. The transaction will take place in three tranches - a first tranche of 20% will be acquired in 2022, and two subsequent tranches of 5% each may be acquired between 2023 and 2026. SKAN acquired the first tranche for EUR 20.2 million. SRIW remains a 10% shareholder in Aseptic Technologies and continues to support the company alongside SKAN, in particular in the build-up of a new production site for Closed vials in Belgium. Together with Simonis Plastic, a Belgian company specializing in plastic injection molding, the company Plast4Life was founded for this purpose, in which Aspetic Technologies holds a 24% stake.

Substantial investments, very solid balance sheet

In order to meet the increasing demand from customers, the SKAN Group has continued to expand production capacity at a high cadence. In addition to the new headquarters in Allschwil, the doubled capacities at the Swiss site in Stein started operations on schedule at the beginning of April 2022. The doubled capacities in Görlitz will follow in June 2022. In the USA, local competencies were successfully built up so that the local organization is closer to the customers and can handle a broader range of tasks, which not least reduces the number of air travels.

In total, SKAN invested CHF 42.6 million in the reporting period, compared to CHF 14.6 million in the previous year. The Group has a very solid balance sheet. As a result of the cash inflow from the IPO, cash and cash equivalents increased to CHF 131.5 million at the end of 2021, compared to CHF 63.8 million in the previous year. Equity increased to CHF 174.0 million, which corresponds to an equity ratio of 52.4%.

First Sustainability Report published

As part of this year's annual report, SKAN Group AG presents for the first time a sustainability report. The sustainability report was prepared in accordance with the internationally recognized standard of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and provides information on objectives, measures and results in the areas of environmental protection, responsibility towards employees and commitment to society.

Optimistic outlook

The SKAN Group expects growth of its relevant market to remain high in the coming years. The generally positive development of the (bio)pharmaceutical market contributes to this growth. In addition, there are clear trends towards the superior isolator technology. This is because injectable drugs are substituting other forms of administration as well as because isolators are substituting the classic clean rooms. Demand for SKAN's aseptic filling solutions, services and consumables is thus expected to continue. The Group will rigorously pursue the implementation of its strategy in order to further exploit this market potential.

In light of this, the SKAN Group expects business to be good again in 2022. The record high order backlog of CHF 226.1 million at the end of 2021 ensures high capacity utilization well into the year. Although supply chain bottlenecks are likely to persist, the company is confident that it will also achieve its growth targets in the current year. In terms of net sales, the company expects an increase in the mid to upper teens in 2022, with the Services & Consumables segment likely to grow more strongly than the Equipment & Solutions segment. The EBITDA margin is expected to be between 13 and 15 percent.

Consolidated key figures

¹ not meaningful
² Proposal of the Board of Directors

Conference Call and Audio Webcast

Today, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., CEO Thomas Huber and CFO Burim Maraj will present the 2021 full-year results in a conference call and audio webcast (in English).

Conference call (in English): Tuesday, April 5, 2022, 2:30 (CEST)

Dial-in numbers:

Switzerland, Geneva +41 (0)22 567 5787
Switzerland, Zurich +41 (0)44 580 7279
United Kingdom +44 (0)330 165 4012
United States, Brooklyn +1 646-828-8073
United States, Los Angeles +1 323-701-0160

Confirmation Code: 8986514

As a participant in the conference call, you can follow the presentation here.

Audio webcast in English: Tuesday, April 5, 2022, 2:30 (CEST)

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

Download Links:

>> Annual Report 2021

>> Presentation Financial Year Results 2021

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 organization make SKAN an important partner for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, CMOs (Contract Manufacturing Organizations) and research laboratories worldwide. Founded in 1968, SKAN today employs over 1000 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.