Building for the future
January - March
- Net sales amounted to SEK 385 (480) million, a decrease of 19.9 percent and an organic* decrease of 20.4 percent.
- EBITDA amounted to SEK 28 (112) million and the EBITDA margin amounted to 7.3 percent (23.4).
- Adjusted EBITDA amounted to SEK 50 (126) million and adjusted EBITDA margin amounted to 13.0 percent (26.2).
- Operating profit/loss amounted to SEK -12 (67) million and the operating margin was -3.1 percent (13.9).
- Profit after tax amounted to SEK 4 (33) million.
- Earnings per share were SEK 0.05 (0.42) before and after dilution.
- Cash flow from operating activities decreased to SEK 43 (108) million.
- Adjusted cash flow from operating activities* decreased to SEK 76 (171) million.
- Net cash as of March 31 was SEK 182 (184) million.
Message from the CEO
In the first quarter we took decisive action to streamline our Bioprocessing (Astrea) cost base, as well as continue to build the customer base and seed molecules in the early phases of drug development. While we are not satisfied with our overall financial performance this quarter, we are resolutely focused on the building blocks for future growth while having a right sized cost base.
As expected, our Q1 revenue was softer than the prior year, primarily due to volatility within bioprocessing which we have previously commented on. Our relatively large revenue exposure and its related fluctuations among our plasma customers impacted overall performance, however, we did see growth in our non-plasma revenue and our bioprocessing gross margins advanced by 8.7 points quarter on quarter and by 2.3 pts sequentially to 73.5%. Our overall group gross margin at 62.9% improved 1.1 pts sequentially.
We continued to build the strong foundations for future bioprocessing success by expanding our customer base but at the same time want to reaffirm that the small number of customers in the commercial stage will continue to drive volatility in our business in the short term. In the quarter we added 37 new customers in the early phases of drug discovery and over the past two years we have added 228 new customers. Our sales pipeline is strengthening, and we focused on partnering with our customers as they progress their modalities into late-stage development, which is a key leading indicator of future growth.
In the quarter we took decisive action to right size our bioprocessing cost base and drive stronger integration with the benefits of this starting to flow from quarter two.
In our core business, revenue contracted very slightly year-over-year, largely driven by a slowdown in our analytical testing activities. This softness was driven by some rationalisation in one of our customers operations and delays in purchasing decisions for systems. Towards the latter half of the quarter, we saw increased nervousness and reluctance of some customers in North America to place orders due to macro-economic factors, the potential negative effects of proposed new tariffs and lower visibility of future grants.
We were encouraged by a rebound in demand within the drug discovery segment, particularly in North America. We also saw growth in the Asia Pacific region, with China reporting quarter-on-quarter growth. We continue to work with our partner to increase the level of supply of our peptide systems, where demand continues to outstrip manufacturing capacity. Had we been able to supply the current peptide backlog, we would have been able to report a mid-single digit growth in revenue.
Additionally, our gross margins in the core business grew sequentially quarter on quarter by 5.1 points to 61.7%.
We are focused on executing on our long-term priorities in markets that offer attractive growth prospects such as peptide workflow, rapid sample analysis for environment and food testing, especially PFAS and drug discovery enablement.
Although we recognise that Q1 results are disappointing and we ourselves are not satisfied with them, we were pleased that March showed improved momentum with mid single digit growth in consumable orders. We remain confident in our future mid to long-term outlook, while managing the short- term headwinds with a right-sized cost base.
We appreciate your continued support as we navigate the current challenges and execute our growth strategy and thank all our associates for their hard work and resilience.
Uppsala, April 22, 2025
Frederic Vanderhaegen
CEO and President
Report presentation
The report will be presented on April 23 at 09.00 CET by CEO Frederic Vanderhaegen and CFO Andrew Kellett at a conference call.
The presentation will be held in English. If you wish to participate via webcast, please use the link below. Via the webcast you can ask written questions. Q1 Report 2025
If you wish to participate via teleconference, please register on the link below. After registration you will be provided phone numbers and a conference ID to access the conference. You can ask questions verbally via the teleconference. Call Access
All public info will be available on: Biotage, Audiocast with teleconference, Q1, 2025 | Financial Hearings by Inderes
Contacts
Frederic Vanderhaegen, President and CEO
Andrew Kellett, CFO
e: ir@biotage.com
About Biotage
Biotage is a global supplier and solutions partner to a wide range of customers within Drug Discovery and Development and Analytical Testing. With expertise in separation and purification technology and leveraging intelligent workflow solutions, the group aims to be the best partner advancing health solutions.
Headquartered in Sweden, Biotage operates globally serving over 80 countries. Biotage is listed on NASDAQ Stockholm (BIOT).
Website: www.biotage.com
This information is information that Biotage is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2025-04-22 08:01 CEST.
