EQS-News: Vita 34 continues positive trend in the first half of 2024 and once again significantly increases operating cash flow

Vita 34 continues positive trend in the first half of 2024 and once again significantly increases operating cash flow

Revenues increase by 4.9 percent to EUR 38.0 million in the first half of the year EBITDA increases by 76.4 percent to EUR 2.7 million Operating cash flow increases significantly to EUR 4.3 million Outlook for full-year 2024 confirmed

Leipzig, 30 August 2024 – Vita 34 AG, the leading cell bank in Europe and the third largest in the world, continued to improve its business performance in the first half of 2024, reaching the sixth quarter of consecutive growth. Despite the general economic environment remaining challenging, the Company managed to significantly increase its results and operational cash flow.

Revenues increased by 4.9 percent to EUR 38.0 million in the first half of the year (H1 2023: EUR 36.3 million), with growth of 6.0 percent in the second quarter alone. At EUR 35.9 million, the net amount of invoiced services in the end customer business (B2C) was 13.1 percent higher than in the previous year (H1 2023: EUR 31.7 million). The amount attributable to annually recurring payments of EUR 11.0 million was 8.1 percent higher than in the previous year (H1 2023: EUR 10.1 million). In the second quarter, the Group faced a slightly lower than expected number of new customer wins, while selective markets such as Romania, Switzerland and the GCC region performed quite well. The latter once again underlined the attractiveness of this growth region with significant double-digit growth rates and a significant improvement in financial results. In addition, demand for renewals of expiring contracts remained strong and continued to grow. In parallel with this ongoing positive trend, the Company managed to offset the impact of inflation through price adjustments and the sale of higher-value product bundles, resulting in year-on-year revenue growth in most markets.

At EUR 2.7 million, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were up 76.4 percent on the previous year (H1 2023: EUR 1.6 million). As a result, the EBITDA margin continued to recover and, at 7.2 percent, was significantly higher than the previous year's level of 4.3 percent. The Company continues to focus on improving its cost base and accordingly, further post-merger integration steps were completed in the past quarter as planned. Further progress was made in consolidating subsidiaries, thereby leveraging further synergies within the Group. A slightly higher cost basis in the second quarter as compared with the prior year was mainly related to the earlier convening of the Annual General Meeting, and thus also a higher share of administrative costs, as well as legal costs related to the licensing dispute in the US.

The key figures for business development are as follows:

  IFRS, in EUR ´000 Q2 Q2 H1 H1 H1       2024 2023 2024 2023 ∆     Revenues      19,473      18,365      38,030      36,269 4.9%     Gross profit        7,130        6,740      14,093      12,421 13.5%     EBITDA        1,187        1,279        2,735        1,551 76.4%     EBITDA margin 6.1% 7.0% 7.2% 4.3% 2.9 PP     EBIT -1,072 -921 -1,735 -2,734 36.5%     Result for the period -1,745 -1,183 -2,367 -4,224 44.0%     Earnings per share [in EUR] -0.10 -0.07 -0.13 -0.25 48.0%     Operating cash flow -- --        4,315        2,899 48.8%     Cash cash equivalents
(vs. 31 Dec. 2023) -- --      14,443      17,416 -17.1%  

The solid revenue and earnings performance is once again reflected in a very positive development of the operating cash flow. At EUR 4.3 million, this increased by 48.8 percent compared to the previous year (H1 2023: EUR 2.9 million). In addition to a favorable development of the income tax rate, high demand for renewals of expired contracts contributed to this development. As an increasing proportion of the contract portfolio will be up for renewal in the coming years, the Management Board expects this positive trend to continue.

In the CDMO division, the Company was able to recruit a proven expert, who started preparation of a new strategy for this area as the new division head. The Management Board are correspondingly confident about the further development of this business area in the second half of the year. In the area of Cell Gene Therapies, the Group reached an agreement with the US licensor. The new know-how license agreement is limited in scope and includes technology and know-how previously transferred by the licensor to FamiCordTx and PBKM. The know-how license agreement secures access to the CAR-T technology, which is particularly needed for the modified projects, and provides for lower royalty payments by FamiCordTx and PBKM in the event of commercial use or sale without milestone payments.

Based on the positive business performance in the first half of the year, the Management Board confirms the outlook for the full-year 2024, which assumes revenue of between EUR 81 million and EUR 88 million and EBITDA of between EUR 6.5 million and EUR 8.0 million. The outlook is based on a constant exchange rate of the euro against the Polish zloty and other currencies (HUF, RON, TRY, GBP) compared to 29 April 2024.

The Management Board of Vita 34 AG will be available to institutional investors, analysts and representatives of the press today at 2:00 p.m. in a video conference to provide additional information on the business development. Registration for this is by e-mail via the Investor Relations department (ir@vita34.de).

Contact:
Vita 34 AG
Investor Relations
Phone: +49 (0341) 48792 – 40
Email: ir@vita34.de

Company Profile

Vita 34 was founded in Leipzig in 1997 and today is by far the leading cell bank in Europe and the third largest worldwide. As the first private umbilical cord blood bank in Europe and a pioneer in cell banking, the company has since offered the collection logistics, processing and storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood, umbilical cord tissue and other postnatal tissues as a full-service provider for cryopreservation. Due to the expansion of the business model following the merger with PBKM, the company intends to invest in the areas of Cell 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 about 50 countries have already provided for the health of their families with around one million units of stored biological material at Vita 34.