Stable Growth at Analytik Jena after Nine Months

08-13-2010: With sales of EUR 59.6 m, Analytik Jena AG has achieved an important milestone towards being able to close the current financial year with record sales once again. This was announced by the analytical measuring technology manufacturer at the presentation of its nine-month figures.

Analytik Jena generated consolidated sales of EUR 59.6 m (previous year EUR 54.1 m) in the first nine months of financial year 2009/2010, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 10.2 %. Operating earnings (EBIT) amount to EUR 3.2 m (previous year EUR 4.9 m), a decline of 33.5 % as against the previous year. The EBIT margin decreased significantly in the reporting period, ending it at 5.4 % (previous year 9.0 %). Analytik Jena posted a net profit of EUR 2.5 m, corresponding to earnings per share of EUR 0.47 (previous year EUR 0.55).

"With its nine-month figures, the Company is continuing its overall successful business development. In addition to new record sales, we also want to exceed the previous year in terms of earnings per share", said Klaus Berka, Chairman of the Executive Board of Analytik Jena AG. "The causes of our below-expectations result after nine months, and of the adjusted key figures for the year 2009/2010 as a whole, are mainly temporary effects which occurred across all business units", continued Berka.

According to the Company, this is attributable to the persistent disappointing sales in the Optics segment, where the anticipated recovery has not yet occurred. Operating earnings also include one-off costs arising from combination of the two subsidiaries Analytik Jena Japan Co. Ltd. and CyBio Japan Co. Ltd., which is being liquidated, in the amount of approximately EUR 0.3 m. Write-downs totaling around EUR 0.6 m in relation to the purchase price allocation as part of the acquisition of Biometra and CyBio must also be taken into account. The EUR 1.2 m decrease in sales in Analytical Instrumentation as against the previous year also reduced operating earnings.

In the core business of Analytical Instrumentation, Analytik Jena again saw a stable sales development, generating sales of EUR 35.9 m (previous year EUR 37.1 m). However, the Company is still below its figures for the previous year. As at the end of June, Analytik Jena managed to exceed the previous year's level of incoming orders in Analytical Instrumentation for the first time in the financial year. In view of the two major orders gained in the prior-year period with a volume of approximately EUR 3.5 m, this can be considered an excellent development. In the current fourth quarter, the Company expects to be able to slightly exceed the previous year's annual sales in this division.

The growth segment of Life Science also continued its positive sales development with strong growth rates. Here the Group generated sales of EUR 20.3 m (previous year EUR 12.1 m) after nine months, equivalent to a 67.5 % increase. It should be noted that the subsidiaries Biometra GmbH and CyBio AG were not yet fully consolidated in the equivalent period of the previous year. Overall, this division is currently still going through a phase dominated by research and development as well as structuring of sales.

In the Optics division, Analytik Jena posted profitable sales of EUR 3.4 m (previous year EUR 4.9 m) in the reporting period, 29.9 % lower than in the previous year.