H1 2017

Tecan with significant increase in order entry and strong sales growth in the Life Sciences Business - Seite 3

The net profit for the first half of 2017 increased by 9.6% to CHF 25.7 million (H1 2016: CHF 23.5 million) compared to the prior-year period, despite the booking of slightly higher integration costs associated with the acquisitions of Sias, SPEware and Pulssar. The net profit margin in the first half of 2017 reached 10.1% of sales (H1 2016: 10.0%), while earnings per share were CHF 2.22 (H1 2016: CHF 2.04)

The cash flow from operating activities was CHF 31.7 million and below the same period of 2016, during which a further partial reimbursement of development costs by an OEM partner was booked (H1 2016: CHF 64.9 million), thus, cash flow from operating activities corresponded to 12.5 % of sales in the first six months of 2017.

Information by business segment

Life Sciences Business (end-customer business)
Sales in the Life Sciences Business increased by 18.2% in local currencies to CHF 138.2 million (H1 2016: CHF 117.7 million) in the first half of the year and were 17.4% above the prior-year period in Swiss francs. On an organic basis, excluding first-time consolidation of sales by SPEware (now Tecan SP), the revenue in the first half of 2017 rose by 9.5% in local currencies. Growth was broad based, with contributions from a broad range of instrument platforms, the service business and further strong growth in consumables. Amongst the regions, China again stood out with a high growth rate. Order entry in the Life Sciences Business grew in line with sales, both in organic terms and including Tecan SP.

Operating profit in this segment rose by 46.5% to CHF 17.8 million (H1 2016: CHF 12.2 million). This positive performance is primarily a result of sales growth as well as further efficiency gains. The operating profit margin improved by 250 basis points to 12.4% of sales (H1 2016: 9.9%).

Partnering Business (OEM business)
The Partnering Business generated sales of CHF 115.1 million during the period under review (H1 2016: CHF 117.6 million), which corresponds to a decline of 2.1% in local currencies and in Swiss francs against the high base level in the prior-year period, when sales development benefited from the last major order for an expiring instrument platform. The absence of sales of the phased-out instrument platform was almost offset by new instrument platforms as well as strong growth in the components business, services and consumables. By contrast, order entry in the Partnering Business increased at a double-digit percentage rate in the first half of 2017. The acquisition of Pulssar technologies, which has been consolidated in the financial statements since March 1, 2017, had only a limited impact on sales. On an organic basis, excluding sales by Pulssar, revenue in the first half of 2017 fell by 2.6% year-on-year in local currencies.