BioGaia AB Interim Management Statement - January – September 2021

Third quarter 2021

• Net sales amounted to SEK 173.8 million (132.0), an increase of 32% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 35%)
• Net sales in the Paediatrics segment reached SEK 130.8 million (101.9), an increase of 28%.
• Net sales in the Adult Health segment amounted to SEK 42.1 million (29.3), an increase of 43%.
• Operating expenses amounted to SEK 60.7 million (62.5), a decrease of 3%.
• Operating profit increased by 148% to SEK 67.2 million (27.0), which corresponds to an operating margin of 39% (20%)
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 52.8 million (20.5), an increase of 158%.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 2.62 (1.17) before and after dilution.
• Cash flow amounted to SEK 55.6 million (50.3).
• Cash and cash equivalents at 30 September 2021 amounted to SEK 1,529.7 million (292.4).

Key events in the third quarter of 2021

• On 2 July, BioGaia announced that the company had become the owner of 100% of the shares in MetaboGen. Previously, BioGaia owned 92% of the shares. The purchase price amounted to SEK 11.4 million.
• On 10 September, BioGaia Pharma announced that it had received formal approval to proceed with both of its planned clinical trials. The trials represent the next phase in the development of BioGaia Pharma’s two pharmaceutical candidates. 
• On 20 September, BioGaia announced that it will begin to sell its probiotic products under its own management in the UK market from November 2021. The decision is part of the company’s overall strategy of increasing B2C sales and sales via its own e-commerce solution.

January – September 2021

• Net sales amounted to SEK 578.9 million (559.5), an increase of 3% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 12%)
• Net sales in the Paediatrics segment reached SEK 453.6 million (443.5), an increase of 2%.
• Net sales in the Adult Health segment amounted to SEK 121.7 million (113.9), an increase of 7%.
• Operating expenses amounted to SEK 223.2 million (224.1), a decrease of 0.4%. Operating expenses included costs of evaluation of acquisition candidates of SEK 2.6 million and restructuring costs of SEK 7.5 million. Excluding these costs, operating expenses amounted to SEK 213.1 million, a decrease of 5%.
• Operating profit increased by 10% to SEK 200.6 million (182.9), which corresponds to an operating margin of 35% (33%).
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 158.0 million (141.3), an increase of 12%.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 7.82 (8.08) before and after dilution.
• Cash flow amounted to SEK 56.7 million (79.0).
• Cash and cash equivalents at 30 September 2021 amounted to SEK 1,529.7 million (292.4).

Key events after the end of the third quarter

• On 13 October, BioGaia announced that profit for the third quarter exceeded market expectations.

CEO’s comments

With sales of SEK 174 million (an increase of +32% and excluding foreign exchange effects an increase of +35%) and an operating profit of SEK 67 million, we are very pleased with the third quarter and the robust manner in which the organization has delivered. We can see three external reasons for the good result. Firstly, increased demand from consumers ahead of the winter season, with a focus on the immune system. Secondly, the lifting of pandemic restrictions has led to a rise in visits to doctors and pharmacies and thirdly, several markets, particularly in EMEA, have needed to replenish their inventories and requested that deliveries be moved forward from the fourth to the third quarter.

Following the establishment of BioGaia Japan in 2006 and BioGaia Finland at the beginning of this year, we are now ready to launch BioGaia UK in November. Our ambition with these “direct markets” is to be accessible in these highly interesting markets for probiotics where we previously lacked the right partners that could join us on our strategic journey to build the world’s most respected probiotic brand. From November, consumers in the UK can buy BioGaia’s complete product range on our own e-commerce platform and from mid-November from Amazon UK. We will thereafter gradually establish BioGaia in other parts of the UK market.

Elsewhere in the world, we are continuing our 32-year success story together with our partners. We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel in EMEA (with sales growth of +51% compared with the year-earlier period) in Italy, Spain and Germany, where we launched “back to school” campaigns. APAC (with sales growth of +53% compared with the year-earlier period) has continued to make good progress in part due to our online ventures in China, our sales to dental surgeries and via our own e-commerce platform in Japan and positive demographic trends in Indonesia and Vietnam.

North America remains our strongest growth market due both to the launch of new products (Immune Boost and Prodentis Kids) and our omni-channel strategy whereby BioGaia is available in all consumer channels and through recommendations from the healthcare sector. Latin America noted a drop in sales for the quarter, primarily due to the accrual of orders in Brazil.

Our research companies are continuing research and development into the microbiome, where BioGaia Pharma has received approval for two clinical trials and MetaboGen is focusing on developing next-generation probiotics. In July, BioGaia acquired the remaining shares in MetaboGen and in the third quarter MetaboGen continued its clinical programmes.

To sum up, as the market for probiotics is growing worldwide, in terms of both sales and consumer awareness, life after the pandemic will lead to a greater focus on preventive healthcare. Based on these trends, together with our focus on global brand building and our omni-channel strategy, I remain convinced of our ability to grow.

Isabelle Ducellier
President and CEO BioGaia
21 October 2021

For more information, see attached interim management statement.

Teleconference: Investors, analysts and the media are invited to take part in a teleconference on the interim management statement to be held today, 21 October 2021, at 9:30 a.m. CEST with CEO Isabelle Ducellier and CFO Alexander Kotsinas. To participate in the teleconference, please call +46 8 505 583 53. More information about the teleconference is available here: https://financialhearings.com/event/13238.

This information is information that BioGaia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the CEO, on 21-10-2021 08:00 CET.