BioGaia AB: Year-end report January – December 2022

FOURTH QUARTER 2022

• Net sales amounted to SEK 274.3 million (206.2), an increase of SEK 68.1 million, or 33% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 19%) of which the acquisition of Nutraceutics accounted for an increase of SEK 29.9 million (15%). Organic growth was 5%.
• Net sales in the Paediatrics segment amounted to SEK 207.4 million (150.1), an increase of 38% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 24%).
• Net sales in the Adult Health segment amounted to SEK 64.7 million (55.2), an increase of 17% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 5%).
• Operating expenses amounted to SEK 136.9 million (105.9), an increase of SEK 30.9 million, (29%), of which the acquisition of Nutraceutics accounted for an increase of SEK 29.4 million (28%).
• Operating profit increased by 34% to SEK 71.1 million (53.1), which corresponds to an operating margin of 26% (26%).
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 139.2 million (38.3), an increase of 264%. Profit after tax was impacted by financial income from the adjustment of the value of an additional purchase price for Nutraceutics in the amount of SEK 76.0 million.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 1.38 (0.38) before and after dilution[1].
• Cash flow amounted to SEK 89.0 million (-43.6).
• Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2022 amounted to SEK 1,488.4 (1,484.7).

Key events in the fourth quarter of 2022

On 17 October, BioGaia announced that profit for the third quarter exceeded market expectations.
 

JANUARY – DECEMBER 2022

• Net sales amounted to SEK 1,104.0 million (785.1), an increase of SEK 318.8 million, or 41% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 29%) of which the acquisition of Nutraceutics accounted for an increase of SEK 80.1 million (10%). Organic growth was 19%.
• Net sales in the Paediatrics segment amounted to SEK 868.4 million (603.7), an increase of 44% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 32%).
• Net sales in the Adult Health segment amounted to SEK 230.2 million (176.9), an increase of 30% (excluding foreign exchange effects, 19%).
• Operating expenses amounted to SEK 440.5 million (329.2), an increase of SEK 111.3 million (34%), of which the acquisition of Nutraceutics accounted for an increase of SEK 97.0 million (29%).
  Operating expenses included costs of evaluation of acquisition candidates of SEK 1.2 million (9.3), restructuring costs (relating to personnel) of SEK 5.6 million (8.9) and the reversal of previous impairment of right-of-use assets linked to a rental contract for premises of SEK -1.7 million (4.2). Excluding these items, operating expenses amounted to SEK 435.4 million (306.9), an increase of 42%.
• Operating profit increased by 42% to SEK 361.5 million (253.7), which corresponds to an operating margin of 33% (32%).
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 373.6 million (196.3), an increase of 90%. Profit after tax was impacted by financial income from the adjustment of the value of an additional purchase price for Nutraceutics in the amount of SEK 80.0 million.
• Earnings per share amounted to SEK 3.70 (1.94) before and after dilution[1]. Cash flow amounted to SEK -12.8 million (13.1).
• In accordance with the dividend policy, the Board proposes that the upcoming Annual General Meeting on 5 May 2023 approves an ordinary dividend according to policy of SEK 1.45 (0.73) per share, plus an extra dividend of SEK 1.45 (2.26) per share resulting in a total dividend of SEK 2.90 (2.98) per share, corresponding to SEK 292.8 million (301.3). The Board further proposes a provision to the Foundation to Prevent Antibiotic Resistance of SEK 4.4 million (2.9). The dividend proposal is based on BioGaia’s updated dividend policy to distribute 50% of the Group’s profit. Group profit was adjusted for financial income from adjustment to the value of the additional purchase price for the acquisition of Nutraceutics.

Key events after the end of the fourth quarter

No significant events have occurred after the end of the fourth quarter that were not included in this year-end report.

[1] In view of the 5:1 share split, which took place in May 2022, historical key ratios based on the number of shares have been restated.
 

CEO’S COMMENTS

BioGaia achieves billion SEK sales
This year was the first time in BioGaia’s history that the company exceeded SEK 1 billion in sales on a full-year basis. Sales increased by a full 29% excluding foreign exchange effects. As we now look back on the year, we can see that our strategy has delivered four strong quarters in 2022. This was the seventh consecutive quarter with double-digit growth, including acquisitions, and we increased total net sales by 33% compared with the year-earlier quarter. The Paediatrics segment increased 38% and the Adult Health segment by 17%. Despite extensive investments in a gradual expansion of our direct distribution to consumers, we are not compromising on our high operating margin.

Strong market development
Once again, we witnessed stable sales growth during the quarter, mainly driven by our paediatrics product range. This success was largely underpinned by EMEA, led by Southern Europe (Italy, France, Spain), together with Eastern Europe (excluding Russia and Ukraine).

In the USA, we noted our best quarter to date in the Amazon, Target and Walmart marketplaces. Our Prodentis product received a positive response from both consumers and healthcare professionals. We believe Prodentis can become a future growth engine in this market. In Latin America, we are outperforming our strong competitors and 2022 was our strongest year for sales so far, thanks to our capable distribution partners.

APAC continues to be negatively impacted to some extent by Covid-restrictions, mainly in Japan and China. In South Korea and Vietnam we reported better results, supported by digital initiatives. During the quarter, BioGaia APAC hosted the first regional distributor workshop for three years. This event, which took place in Singapore, promotes best practices from partners and stimulates regional business development. Product launches continued in the region during the quarter.

One general conclusion to be drawn from our market areas is that despite some signs of a global economic slowdown, our sales are strong and stable. This confirms our assumption that BioGaia’s drops for infants are highly resilient in recessionary times.

Our strategy with four channels stands firm
Our omnichannel strategy is delivering results as we are reaching consumers from multiple directions. The digital contact points are particularly successful in China and the USA, including exposure in marketplaces and social platforms, and in Japan through sales via BioGaia’s local e-commerce platforms. Online sales in China are increasing via TikTok, which acts as a social platform and marketplace. In Japan, where the dental profession is important, we are aiming to take part in dental conferences to activate the dental surgeries.

Building BioGaia’s brand is a continuous process, and we regularly measure consumer attitudes to us. During the quarter, we carried out a market survey that confirmed that we must continue efforts to increase our brand awareness. The results also showed that those with greatest awareness of BioGaia rank us highly or highest in terms of brand trust. One component in efforts to strengthen the brand is the ongoing campaigns in various channels that include a new marketing tool developed to support our Protectis drops for infants: “Let baby time be happy time”.

During the quarter, we conducted an extensive scientific tour of Latin America to launch our Gastrus product. In the USA, we supported our dental operations through a comprehensive initiative focusing on dental hygienists and dentists. This included an initiative focused on hygiene educators and the recruitment of key opinion leaders (KOL) at the dental congress in New York.

We are continuing to optimise the product supply chain by negotiating pricing for the years to come to secure access to bacterial cultures and to minimise the risk of price increases due to inflation. We are also continuing to test and optimise our new fermentation facility that is expected to begin fermenting small batches at the beginning of 2023.

Supported by a strong 2022
We will continue to face unpredictable times in 2023. Our Protectis drops for infants have demonstrated a high degree of resilience during the economic downturn as demand for these remain strong. We are carefully reviewing all costs in response to in the best way an uncertain world.

I am convinced that the strategic direction we established in 2019 is right as we enter a new year. Our unique competitive advantage is built on a strong brand and evidence-based research that is combined with an omnichannel strategy towards consumers. After implementing the strategy in the midst of the pandemic, this has proved effective and has now produced seven strong quarters in a row. I am therefore confident that BioGaia will remain robust through the economic and geopolitical storms affecting the world around us. In parallel, we will work tirelessly to achieve our goal of becoming the world’s most trusted probiotic brand.

Isabelle Ducellier
President and CEO BioGaia
2 February 2023
 

You find the complete report with tables in the attached PDF or on https://www.biogaia.com/investors/financial-reports/

Teleconference:
Investors, analysts and the media are invited to take part in a teleconference on the interim management statement to be held today, 3 February 2023, at 09:30 a.m. CET with CEO Isabelle Ducellier and CFO Alexander Kotsinas. More information about the teleconference is available here: https://financialhearings.com/event/46019

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Contacts:
Alexander Kotsinas, CFO
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +46 (0) 735 00 11 11

Mikaela Idermark Stern, Corporate Communications
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +46 (0) 730 95 61 50

About BioGaia
BioGaia is an innovative Swedish healthcare company that develops, markets, and sells probiotic products with documented health benefits. The products are sold through local distribution partners in more than 100 countries worldwide. The class B share of the Parent Company BioGaia AB is quoted on the Mid Cap segment of Nasdaq Stockholm. biogaia.com

This disclosure contains information that BioGaia is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 a.m. CET on February 3, 2023.