Important events during the second quarter
- Net sales in Q2 amounted to SEK 178.9 m, corresponding to an increase of 25% compared to last year (23% adjusted for currency effects).
- The EBITDA margin was 19%, corresponding to an increase of 10 percentage points compared to last year.
- Probi and ProViva celebrated 30 years of collaboration, highlighting the success with ProViva's popular probiotic drinks containing Lp299v®.
- Probi strengthened its presence in APAC by launching China Innovation Day, a customer-oriented event focused on fostering collaborations in the Chinese probiotic market.
- Probi further improved its gut-brain offering, Probi® Sensia, with a fourth study focused on its positive effects among older adults.
- The Matas partnership went live, making Probi consumer products now available in Denmark.
- Probi enhanced its sustainability efforts by partnering with Bower to incentivize consumers in Sweden and Norway to recycle Probi consumer packaging.
- Probi's Annual General Meeting decided on a dividend of SEK 1.30 per share.
CEO Comments
Significant progress on strategic initiatives
The first half of 2024 has now passed, and it was a busy period during which we made significant progress. Q2's results, although partly impacted by low comparatives, demonstrate a very strong development. The solid performance aligns with our expectations and compensates for the slightly weaker results in Q1, effectively balancing our overall performance for the first half of the year. We are currently on track to meet our targets for the full year, which are largely expected to be in line with last year's results.
This quarter I spent significant time engaging with our customers and partners, gathering valuable insights that enable us to stay ahead in our market offerings and product development. We have continued restructuring our commercial organization and successfully intensified our overall focus on accelerating growth, showing promising initial results. Our customer project pipeline is trending positively, and we are seeing high activity across all our regions. I am confident that the impact of our activities will start to become more evident from the year-end and increase gradually moving forward.
One of my key takeaways from this period, which was largely characterized by customer interactions and various industry events, is the significant recognition that we receive for our science-based approach and high-quality products. This confirms that we are on the right track, underpinning our revised business strategy. More importantly, it motivates us to continue innovating and developing even more unique high-quality solutions for, and in collaboration with, our customers. It is difficult to cover all promising activities happening in our business this transitional year. However, it is safe to say that I see a lot of positive customer engagement and an increased internal focus on meeting both our customers' and end consumers' needs throughout our organization. Some of the major emerging trends in the biotics industry right now include gut health, mental health, and metabolic health. These areas are gaining significant attention and driving innovation within the sector, and we are well equipped to utilize our unique strengths to be at the forefront.
In addition to our increased commercial focus, we are continuing our efforts to enhance Probi's internal processes and production-related procedures. We are making steady progress and initial data shows positive results, although we do not expect a notable impact until the end of the year at the earliest. I am however confident that the synergy between these two strategic initiatives, alongside new products, is key to reclaiming our historical achievements: producing steady growth and improved margins. Recent updates to our production facilities have also enabled us to significantly lower our power usage and minimize emissions, advancing us towards our sustainability targets.
To summarize, I am very pleased with the results of this quarter, which have largely been achieved thanks to the hard work and dedication of Probi's employees. However, we are still in an ongoing transition period, working diligently to implement essential changes and improvements to achieve long-term strength. This quarter marks a positive milestone, and although no major financial improvements are expected in the full year results for 2024, I am committed to achieving further progress and continued success as we move forward.
Anita Johansen
CEO
Invitation to teleconference
Probi's interim report for Q2 2024 was published on July 16, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. On the same day at 10:00 a.m., a teleconference will be held with Anita Johansen, CEO and Per Lindblad, CFO, who will present the report. The telephone conference can be accessed via the following link: https://ir.financialhearings.com/probi-q2-report-2024.
The presentation is available at www.probi.com and www.financialhearings.com.
Contact
Anita Johansen, CEO, Tel: +46 (0)72-399 48 21, E-mail: anita.johansen@probi.com
Per Lindblad, CFO, Tel: +46 (0)73-851 29 60, E-mail: per.lindblad@probi.com
This information is information that Probi AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the CEO and CFO, on July 16, 2024 at 08:00 CET. This is a translation of the Swedish version of the interim report. When in doubt, the Swedish wording prevails.
