DGAP-News: Vita 34 quadruples earnings with a clear increase in margins

Vita 34 quadruples earnings with a clear increase in margins

• Revenues increase by 13.1 percent to EUR 15.6 million in the first nine months
• EBITDA quadrupled at EUR 3.3 million, EBITDA margin at 21.1 percent
• Revenues and earnings forecast confirmed in 2018

Leipzig, 22 November 2018 - Vita 34 AG (ISIN: DE000A0BL849, WKN: A0BL84), the second largest cord blood bank in Europe, continued to grow in the first nine months of 2018 and has consistently improved its earnings quality. With a robust development of the foreign business, an increase in market share in the core market of Germany contributed significantly to continuing the positive trend of the previous quarters.

Revenues for the first nine months increased by 13.1 percent year-on-year to EUR 15.6 million (9M 2017: EUR 13.8 million). In the same period, the gross result rose disproportionately high by 18.6 percent to EUR 9.0 million (9M 2017: EUR 7.6 million). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) multiplied and rose by 316.5 percent to EUR 3.3 million (9M 2017: EUR 0.8 million), which at the same time marked a significant increase in the EBITDA margin of 5.7 to 21.1 percent. With a separate view at the third quarter, also favored by a reduced cost base as a result of efficiency measures in the Scandinavian market, it was even higher at 23.9 percent (Q3 2017: 20.0 percent), again demonstrating the sustained positive trend of recent quarters.

The other significant financial figures also developed positively. At EUR 3.7 million, operating cash flow was nearly four times higher than in the previous year (9M 2017: EUR 1.0 million). Cash and cash equivalents increased by 74.6 percent to EUR 7.3 million (31 December 2017: EUR 4.2 million) against the background of sold financial assets. "The package of measures that we presented as part of our Vision 2021 last year, we work off consistently and point by point. Both our current business development and our order intake show that we are fully on track," confirms Falk Neukirch, CFO of Vita 34 AG. "Our liquidity, our cash flow and the financing potential available to the company through equity and debt allow us to actively pursue our growth course."

The key performance indicators for the business development in the first nine months of 2018 are as follows:

EUR '000		9M 2018	9M 2017	∆
Revenues		15,551	13,753	+13.1 %
Gross result		9,006	7,592	+18.6 %
EBITDA		3,281	788	+316.5 %
EBITDA margin [%]		21.1	5.7
EBIT		1,682	-406
Net result		1,049	-870
Operating cash flow		3,691	951	288.1 %
Cash and cash equivalents [end of period vs. 31.12.2017]		7,298	4,180	74.6 %

From a regional perspective, the development of the foreign subsidiaries is stable with a fundamentally positive overall trend. The change of the distribution partner in Serbia and Italy is developing positively. For 2019, therefore, the Executive Board expects that the change will result in a resumption of the growth trend in the regions concerned. In Denmark, after discontinuing its own sales activities, a partnership was entered into with a hospital chain based in Copenhagen, which already led to first deposits from the region in the third quarter. At the same time, the significantly lower cost base means that the region will have a positive effect on the consolidated result from the fourth quarter onwards with a significant improvement in earnings.

In the DACH region with its core market Germany, the number of storages continues to rise consistently. "Every month, we succeed in convincing expectant parents of the unique opportunities offered by the storage of their child's umbilical cord blood," Dr. Wolfgang Knirsch, CEO of Vita 34 AG, highlights. "Based on long-term contracts with our partner clinics, through which we have meanwhile secured a market coverage of 96 percent, we have the ideal basis for further profitable growth in Germany in the future. With the contract model Vita PUR, we will open up new sales channels."

Against the backdrop of continued positive business development and promising incoming orders, the Executive Board confirms its full-year guidance for 2018. The full report on the company's development in the first nine months as well as further information on Vita 34 AG can be found on the company's website at www.vita34.de/investor-relations/.

Contact:
Ingo Middelmenne
Investor Relations
Vita 34 AG
Phone: +49 (0341) 48792 - 0
Mobile: +49 (0174) 9091190
Email: ingo.middelmenne@vita34.de

Company Profile
Vita 34 was founded in Leipzig in 1997 as the first private cord blood bank in Europe and, as a complete provider of cryo-preservation services, offers collection, logistics, preparation, and storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood and tissue. Stem cells are a valuable base material for medical cell therapy and are kept alive at temperatures of minus 200 degrees Celsius in order to be available for use in a treatment if needed. More than 200,000 customers from more than 20 countries have already provided for their family's health with a stem cell depot at Vita 34.