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April 27, 2005 | Corporate News | English

Tecan reports consolidated first quarter sales of CHF 69.8 million and net profit of CHF 3.2 million

Zurich, Switzerland, April 27, 2005 – Tecan, a leading manufacturer of products and solutions for the biopharmaceutical and clinical diagnostic industries, today published its first quarter financial results. Total sales reached CHF 69.8 million for the first three months of 2005, a decrease of 1.2% in Swiss Francs or an increase of 2.8% in local currency compared with the same period in 2004. Operating profit reached CHF 5.3 million or 7.5% of sales.

Overall sales for the first quarter of 2005 were comparable to revenues in the same period last year. The trend of declining sales in the previous quarters of last year was not evident for the first three months of 2005.

 

Sales by markets

Sales in Genomics/Proteomics increased by 30.7% or by 38.2% in local currency (CHF 27.9 million) and were considerably above the level of last year’s performance (2004: CHF 21.4 million). Sales in Drug Discovery decreased by 20.3% or 16.4% in local currency to CHF 16.8 million (2004: CHF 21.1 million). Diagnostic sales, which amounted to CHF 25.1 million, declined by 11.1% or 9.0% in local currency compared with 2004 (CHF 28.2 million). Compared with the first quarter of 2004, sales in North America and Europe increased in local currency by 8.6% and 2.6%, respectively. Sales in Asia were 30.1% below last year, mainly due to ongoing consolidation in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry.

 

Profit statement

Operating profit reached CHF 5.3 million (2004: CHF 6.0 million) including a charge of
CHF 1.2 million for the ongoing regulatory and quality control compliance initiative. Savings in material costs and a volume increase had a positive impact on the operating profit, whereas exchange rates and higher personnel expenses had a negative impact. Gross profit margins increased by 1.8%. Net profit reached CHF 3.2 million due to a negative financial result.

Order intake for the first quarter of 2005 was CHF 70.1 million (2004: CHF 73.2 million),
a decrease of 0.6% in local currency compared with 2004.

 

Business Highlights

Tecan’s extensive GAP analysis of regulatory standards and procedures was successfully completed earlier this year. Since this time, Tecan has made good progress in its on-going modifications to regulatory procedures and documentation. Recent milestones include:

  • Tecan Switzerland successfully passes series of audits1
  • Tecan Software Competence Center successfully passes two audits2
  • Sales of Safire2 progressed well in the first quarter of 2005 following its launch and introduction to the market last year. Overall, Tecan’s detection business showed strong sales during the first three months of 2005

Due to the amendments of existing International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the introduction of new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), effective as of January 1, 2005, the previous year has been restated accordingly (see tables).

1 ISO 13485/2003, ISO 9001/2000 and Canadian Medical Devices Conformity Assessment Scheme (CMDCAS)
2 ISO 13485/2003, ISO 9001/2000 Audit

 

About Tecan

Tecan (www.tecan.com) is a leading player in the 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 2004, Tecan achieved sales of CH 286.0 million (USD 230.6 million; EUR 185.7 million). Registered shares of Tecan Group are traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange (TK: TECN / Reuters: TECZn.S / Valor : 1210019).

 

Web cast

A conference call discussing the first quarter results for 2005 will take place today at 2pm (CET). This event will also be relayed by live audio web cast which interested parties may access via Tecan’s corporate home page at www.tecan.com. A link to the web cast will be provided immediately prior to the event.

For further information please contact:

Rudolf Eugster
Chief Financial Officer
Phone : +41 (0)44 922 81 86
Fax : +41  (0)44 922 88 89

Annabelle Brameshuber
Corp. Communications & Investor Relations
Phone: +41 (0)44 922 84 30
Fax: +41 (0)44 922 88 89
E-mail: investor@tecan.com