EQS-News: Vita 34 stabilizes business development in the second quarter and noticeably improves earnings

Vita 34 stabilizes business development in the second quarter and noticeably improves earnings

• Revenues in the first half of 2023 up 13.0 percent to EUR 36.3 million
• EBITDA significantly increased to EUR 1.6 million compared with both the previous year and the first quarter of 2023
• Operating cash flow significantly improved to EUR 2.9 million
• Guidance for full year 2023 confirmed despite continued difficult environment

Leipzig, 31 August 2023 Vita 34 AG, the leading cell bank in Europe and the third largest in the world, was able to stabilize its business development in the second quarter of 2023 and at the same time noticeably improve its earnings and cash flow. However, the overall economic environment continues to be characterized by numerous negative influencing factors, which have an overall dampening effect on the organic business development.

At EUR 36.3 million, revenues in the first half of 2023 were 13.0 percent higher than in the previous year (H1 2022: EUR 32.1 million), also characterized by a changed product mix with a higher proportion of prepayment contracts. Price increases compared with 2022 contributed a total of 7.2 percentage points to the improved revenue performance, while positive effects from the harmonization of accounting under IFRS 15 implemented in the previous year contributed a further 9.3 percentage points.

Birth rates in our most important core markets in Europe stabilized in the second quarter, giving hope for a certain normalization of demand for the storage of umbilical cord blood and tissue, explains Jakub Baran, CEO of Vita 34 AG. Parallel to the stabilization of our operational development, we have succeeded in further noticeably improving our earnings situation through continued cost discipline and efficiency improvement measures.

After earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) had already returned to positive territory in the first quarter, the positive development was further consolidated in the second quarter. At EUR 1.6 million, EBITDA in the first half of 2023 was significantly higher than the prior-year figure of EUR -2.6 million. There was also a significant improvement compared with the first quarter of 2023, in which EBITDA amounted to EUR 0.3 million.

The key figures for business development are as follows:

As in the first quarter, the Company continues to focus its investments in the new Cell & Gene Therapies and CDMO businesses on key milestones. In addition to the aforementioned continued cost discipline and efficiency measures, this also led to a significant improvement in the Companys cash flow and liquidity situation in the second quarter. Operating cash flow improved significantly to EUR 2.9 million, while cash and cash equivalents were only slightly below the previous years level at EUR 15.8 million.

The Management Board of Vita 34 AG continues to assess the general market environment as challenging and the development of birth rates in particular is difficult to estimate. Nevertheless, the Company is confident that it will be able to gain momentum in the second half of the year in order to continue the positive trend of the first half of the year and to meet the expectations for the full-year development. For the business development in 2023, the Management Board therefore continues to expect revenues between EUR 75 and 82 million and EBITDA in the range of EUR 5.5 to 7.0 million. The guidance is based on constant exchange rates of the euro against the relevant currencies (PLN, HUF, RON, TRY, GBP) compared to 31 March 2023. Effects from potential acquisitions, including resulting transaction costs, are not included in the outlook.

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 and is today by far the leading cell bank in Europe and the third largest worldwide. As Europe's first private cord blood bank and a pioneer in cell banking, the company has since offered collection logistics, processing and storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, umbilical cord tissue and other postnatal tissues as a full-service cryopreservation provider. Due to the expansion of its business model following the merger with PBKM, the company plans to invest in cell and gene therapies and CDMO. The body's own cells are a valuable starting material for medical cell therapy and are kept alive in the vapor of liquid nitrogen. Customers from around 50 countries have already ensured the health of their families with more than 930,000 units of stored biological material at Vita 34.