Tecan issues preliminary statement on first quarter revenues and delivers update on recent business developments

• First quarter revenues reach CHF 85.3 million
• First product sales recorded in Proteomics for the ProTeam™ FFE
• Centralized proteomics laboratory operational in Munich, Germany
• Tecan selected as lead industry participant on state-funded proteomics projects in Germany

Zurich, Switzerland, 12 April 2002 – Tecan, a leading player in the fast-growing Life Science supply industry, today announced that it will report on April 30th, 2002 worldwide sales of CHF 85.3 million for the first quarter of 2002, compared with CHF 84.3 million in the first three months of 2001. This represents an increase of 1.3% or 3.0% in local currencies. The areas of Genomics/Proteomics, Drug Discovery and Diagnostics had comparable growth rates in the first quarter of 2002. The company also issued an update on recent business developments.

Emile Sutcliffe, CEO of the Tecan Group, commented: ”The lower than anticipated revenues for the first quarter are the result of a general slowdown in the market and increased seasonality in sales. The low sales growth reported for this first quarter also reflects a strong baseline effect as first quarter sales in the year 2001 were exceptionally high and, for the first time, were above the sales level of the previous fourth quarter. This year’s first quarter sales represent the strongest first quarter sales result in Tecan’s history, and follow a record fourth quarter.”

Mr Sutcliffe added: “In the past, Tecan has proven its ability to deliver a strong financial performance despite uncertain market conditions. We are confident that our validated business model, core competencies, and synergies between business market areas will enable Tecan to continue its record of delivering strong annual financial returns and superior services to the Life Science industry.”

In 2001, Tecan reported worldwide sales of CHF 361.9 million, an increase of 32.3% compared to CHF 273.5 million in 2000. Compared to the record financial performance of 2000, Tecan further accelerated its sales growth in local currencies to 35% (2000: 33%) despite turbulent market conditions last year.

First sales recorded in Proteomics business area

Tecan continues to make strong progress in Proteomics and recorded its first sales in this business area with the introduction of the ProTeam™ FFE. The ProTeam™ FFE is a revolutionary technology that reduces the complexity of the proteome and provides unparalleled access to low-abundant proteins. For the first time, this technology enables researchers to achieve the reproducibility and sensitivity necessary to overcome key bottlenecks in proteomic research. This system is proving popular with researchers both in academic and industrial settings.

New Proteomics laboratory operational in Munich, Germany

Following the establishment of Tecan Proteomics GmbH early in 2001, Tecan announced the completion of a fully operational Proteomics laboratory in Munich. This new facility is developing enabling technologies to address key bottlenecks in proteomics. Tecan’s expertise in the field of Proteomics was recently acknowledged in Germany when the company was selected as the lead industrial participant on several state-funded proteomics projects. These projects are capitalizing on one of the unique benefits of Tecan’s ProTeam™ FFE to provide access to membrane proteins which play a crucial role in many processes in living cells. These biological processes are highly relevant to pharmaceutical research.

Outlook

Independent market research envisages that the Life Science industry market available to Tecan will grow on average by 15% in the coming years. Due to the strength of its business model, Tecan should continue to outperform the average growth rate of the Life Science industry.


Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading player in the fast growing Life Sciences supply industry that specializes in the development, production, and distribution of solutions enabling the discovery of pharmaceutical substances, as well as for genomics, proteomics, and diagnostics. Tecan clients are leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, university research departments and diagnostic laboratories. Founded in Switzerland in 1980, the company has manufacturing, research and development sites in both North America and Europe and maintains a sales and service network in 52 countries. In 2001, Tecan achieved sales of CH 361.9 million (USD 214.1 million; EUR 239.6 million).  Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the Swiss SWX stock exchange (TK: TECN / Reuters: TECZn.S / Valor : 1210019). 

For more information, please contact:

Tecan
Dr. Emile C. Sutcliffe
Chief Executive Officer
Tel.: +41 (0)44 922 81 11
Fax: +41 (0)44 922 88 89
e-mail: investor@tecan.com
Internet: www.tecan.com

Rochat & Partners
Christophe Lamps 
Tel.: +41 (0)22 786 54 55
Fax: +41 (0)22 786 54 58
e-mail: clamps@rochat-pr.ch