Ypsomed continues on its path of growth Donnerstag, 03. November 2016 - 07:02

Burgdorf, 3 November 2016, 7:00 am – In the first half-year of the current business year 2016/17, the Ypsomed Group generated consolidated net sales of CHF 185.4 million, CHF 27.6 million more than compared with the same period of the previous year (CHF 157.8 million). This represents an increase in sales of 17.5%. In the first half-year of 2016/17, the operating result (EBIT) increased by an impressive 45.0% to CHF 28.1 million compared to the previous year. The EBIT margin is now at 15.2% (previous year: 12.3%). The increase in EBIT is largely due to higher sales and increased utilisation of production capacities, but also to efficiency improvements in production and sales processes. For the reporting period we can post a net profit of CHF 22.4 million.

New designation of segments in financial reporting
For reasons of competition, the Board of Directors has decided to adapt disclosure to the segment reports. Ypsomed will now publish net sales from a sales point of view and report profitability at a group level.

Ypsomed Delivery Systems: continued sales growth
Pharmaceutical and biotech customers purchase injection systems and corresponding services via the Ypsomed Delivery Systems (YDS) segment. Compared with the previous year, net sales in this business area increased by CHF 6.7 million or 11.5% to CHF 64.2 million. There are numerous reasons for this consistent growth in net sales. We were able to achieve further growth with our major customers AstraZeneca and GSK in the area of GLP-1 pens. GLP-1 is a hormone, which is given prior to insulin therapy in type 2 diabetics. This was accompanied by numerous customising and industrialisation projects with existing and new customers for our injection systems; in addition pens were supplied for clinical studies and for the qualification of final assembly machines at our customers. Additional growth drivers in this area were increased deliveries of components for Sanofi SoloStar disposable pens.

Ypsomed Diabetes Care: launch of the mylife YpsoPump
With its mylife Diabetescare brand, Ypsomed Diabetes Care (YDC) operates successfully in the direct business with products and services for people with diabetes mellitus. The products are marketed directly to hospitals, physicians, pharmacies and patients via Ypsomed’s subsidiaries and distributors. The net sales for this division amount to CHF 113.4 million. This corresponds to a growth in net sales of an impressive 23.0% (previous year CHF 92.2 million). Our pen needles and blood glucose monitoring systems have grown above market averages over the reporting period, although slight price pressure exists at a low single-digit percentage rate. The better part of growth for Ypsomed Diabetes Care is composed of the increased sales for third party products via DiaExpert and the growth of the mylife OmniPod insulin patch pump. Introduction into new markets has proved positive. The market launch in France in particular, exceeded all expectations. The mylife OmniPod has been extremely well received by type 1 diabetic patients in France, who have waited for many years for the introduction of this unique patch pump. Another important milestone for the Ypsomed Group is the market launch of its own mylife YpsoPump insulin pump during the first half-year 2016/17.

Others: the environment remains difficult
The Others segment, which consists of Ypsotec and the assets not used operationally, showed a slight decrease in net sales. Net sales in the first half-year of 2016/17 amounted to CHF 7.8 million and declined by 2.6 % (previous year CHF 8.1 million). The decline in net sales is due to the continuing difficult environment in the sector as well as strong competitive pressure in Switzerland. Growth was achieved by the Ypsotec subsidiary in Czechia. Several new orders were acquired for this production site.

Profitability in terms of operating profit is over 15 %
In the first half-year of 2016/17, the operating result (EBIT) increased by an impressive 45.0 % to CHF 28.1 million (previous year. CHF 19.4 million). The EBIT margin is now at 15.2 % compared with 12.3% for the same period in the previous year.

Looking at gross profit, the following issues contributed to the success:

• Growth in net sales for all products led to additional margins. The increased net sales for injection systems and pen needles led to improved utilisation of production capacities.
• Optimisation of the purchasing and sales processes increased the margin at DiaExpert.
• In the first half-year of 2016/17, dissolutions in guarantee provisions for injection systems of CHF 0.7 million, which had been formed in the 2015/16 annual report, contributed to the results.

At the level of operating costs in the areas of marketing and sales as well as administration, the following issues affected the result:

• Increased net sales in the subsidiaries and the introduction of the mylife YpsoPump during the first half-year helped to make even better use of the sales structure capacities in the subsidiaries.
• The first half-year of 2016/17 is affected by the launch activities for our new mylife YpsoPump insulin pump with CHF 1.0 million.
• A further expense was incurred in setting up the new subsidiaries in Czechia and Australia.

Outlook
For the overall year 2016/17, we will increase the outlook for growth in net sales to around 15.0%. The operating result of around CHF 55.0 million is confirmed, as the launch of the mylife YpsoPump will place a greater burden on the result.

If you would like any further information please contact Benjamin Overney, Head of Investor & Public Relations for Ypsomed Holding AG. He can be reached on +41 34 424 41 59. This press release, the Semiannual Report 2016/17 and further documents in electronic form can be accessed at www.ypsomed.com (under Media & Investors).

About the Ypsomed Group
The Ypsomed Group is a leading developer and manufacturer of injection and infusion systems for self-medication and a renowned diabetes specialist with over 30 years’ experience. As a leader in innovation and technology, Ypsomed is the preferred partner for pharmaceutical and biotech companies for the supply of pens, autoinjectors and infusion systems to administer liquid drugs. Ypsomed promotes and sells its product portfolio under the umbrella brands mylife Diabetescare directly to patients or through pharmacies and clinics and under YDS Ypsomed Delivery Systems as business- to-business to pharmaceutical companies. Ypsomed has its headquarters in Burgdorf, Switzerland, and operates a global network of manufacturing sites, subsidiaries and distributors. The Ypsomed Group employs almost 1’300 employees. Additional information are available under www.ypsomed.com.