Ambu raises its outlook for the year after a quarter with growth of 16%, an EBIT margin of 21.6% and free cash flows of DKK 99m.
"In Q3, we again saw a steady increase in growth and a solid increase in earnings, with EBIT increasing by 38% and the EBIT margin by 3.4 percentage points. The strong trend within our visualisation products continues, with growth of 79% during the year relative to last year, and our two business areas both contribute to the overall growth. Geographically, we are in a strong position, with double-digit growth in all sales regions. We therefore raise our outlook for the year and look forward to concluding our four-year strategy in fighting form, and setting new ambitious targets for the period towards 2020," says President and CEO Lars Marcher.
Highlights for Q3 2016/17
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Revenue of DKK 601m was posted, representing growth of 16% in local currencies and in Danish kroner.
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Anaesthesia contributed growth of 23%, while PMD (Patient Monitoring & Diagnostics) delivered growth of 5%.
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Europe contributed growth of 13%, North America also contributed 13% and the rest of the world 40%.
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Sales of videoscopes reached 95,000 units. Sales volumes are thus up 62% relative to Q3 last year.
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The gross margin was 57.1% (54.9%), equating to an improvement of 2.2 percentage points. The improvement is in line with the development since the beginning of the year and is driven by a good product mix, double-digit growth as well as increased efficiency at the factories.
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Total capacity costs were DKK 213m (DKK 190m), corresponding to an increase of 12%.
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EBIT was DKK 130m (DKK 94m) with an EBIT margin of 21.6% (18.2%), corresponding to a 38% improvement. Year to date, the EBIT margin was 18.3% (14.9%).
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Net working capital relative to revenue saw strong improvement and now amounts to 21% (24%).
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Free cash flows before acquisitions of enterprises were DKK 99m (DKK 172m) and DKK 193m (DKK 206m) for the year to date.
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The outlook for 2016/17 is raised. The outlook is now for organic growth of approx. 14% against the previously announced outlook of 12-14%. The EBIT margin is expected to remain unchanged at approx. 19%, while free cash flows of approx. DKK 300m are now expected against earlier expectations of DKK 250-275m. Net interest-bearing debt is now expected to be in the region of 1.4 x EBITDA rather than in the region of 1.5 x EBITDA.
A conference call is being held today, 23 August 2017, at 11.00 (CET). Please call the following number five minutes before the start of the conference: +45 3544 5580. The conference can be followed via www.ambu.com/webcastQ32017 and is held in English. The presentation can be downloaded immediately before the conference call via the same link.