Correction: Strong finish to the year 24 percent full-year organic sales growth
Updated market penetration rate on page 3 in the report
1 October-31 December 2021
- Net sales increased by 25% to SEK 164 million (131).
- Sales increased organically by 25% (-6), currency effect <1%.
- EBITDA amounted to SEK 60 million (41).
- EBITDA margin amounted to 37% (31).
- Profit before tax amounted to SEK 51 million (36).
- Earnings per share before and after dilution were SEK 1.67 (1.20).
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 46 million (26).
1 January-31 December 2021
- Net sales increased by 20% to SEK 566 million (471).
- Sales increased organically by 24% (-10), currency effect 4%.
- EBITDA amounted to SEK 196 million (143).
- EBITDA margin amounted to 35% (30).
- Profit before tax amounted to SEK 158 million (112).
- Earnings per share before and after dilution were SEK 5.25 (3.75).
- Cash flow from operating activities amounted to SEK 160 million (71).
- The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 2.00 per share for 2021 (0.75).
“With our strong momentum and updated strategic direction, we intend to accelerate our efforts in developing additional industry-leading solutions for the benefit of patients, and laboratory personnel throughout the world.”
Simon Østergaard, President and CEO
CEO’s comment
The year 2021 was a successful year in many respects. Sales for the Group amounted to SEK 566 million (471), representing an organic growth of 24 percent. The Group's total cash flow for the year amounted to SEK 27 million (1) while operating cash flow came in at SEK 160 million (71). During the year we also saw a satisfying momentum in sales of CellaVision® DC-1 (DC-1) and strong sales of reagents in EMEA. During the second half of 2021 we have outlined a strategy that will create short- and long-term growth opportunities for the CellaVision Group.
The fourth quarter in brief
Sales for the Group amounted to SEK 164 million (131), representing an organic growth of 25 percent for the quarter. The Group’s total cash flow amounted to SEK 18 million (9). Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 46 million (26).
In the Americas, sales grew by 94 percent to SEK 73 million (38), compared with the corresponding quarter in 2020, which was heavily impacted by the pandemic. Thanks to a strong finish to the year, full year sales increased to SEK 210 million (152), corresponding to a strong growth of 38 percent.
In EMEA, sales declined by 6 percent in the quarter to SEK 60 million (64). Despite the slight decline in the last quarter of 2021, EMEA has shown strength throughout the year with sales of SEK 252 million (216), corresponding to a solid growth of 17 percent.
In APAC, sales grew by a moderate 6 percent in the quarter to SEK 31 million (29). For the full year, APAC came in on par with the previous year with sales of SEK 103 million (103).
Positive development for CellaVision DC-1 in 2021
After a challenging year in 2020, market conditions improved in 2021, allowing us to intensify our activities to promote CellaVision DC-1 in various geographies and in different types of hospital settings. As a result, we have seen an increased interest for product demonstrations and a marked growth in sales of DC-1. Sales of new products tend to be somewhat volatile between quarters and regions, but for the full year 2021, unit sales grew by 56 percent. We still see opportunities to grow sales considerably in the coming years and are actively working to educate the market of the possibilities that the CellaVision DC-1 offers to standalone laboratories as well as to laboratory networks.
Solid growth of reagent sales in EMEA, continued activities in APAC and Americas
In 2021, sales of CellaVision’s line of reagents showed solid growth in the EMEA region as our network of partners are increasingly successful in their sales of hematology reagents. As part of our strategy to expand sales of reagents internationally, we are currently investing in manufacturing capacity at our plant in France. Our efforts to globalize this product offering are currently centered to Asia as we see opportunities to convert reagent consumption of local suppliers across the Asian market. In the Americas, we see opportunities to penetrate the market with our high-quality methanol-free RAL reagent (MCDh) which offers unique environmental benefits.
No supply issues in the quarter
CellaVision suffered no material disruptions to the supply chain and delivery capacity remained intact during the quarter. The company continues to monitor the global supply situation and we are taking several mitigating actions to handle potential supply chain disturbances going forward.
Post-pandemic direction
Although the effects of the rapid spread of the new omicron variant of the corona virus are somewhat difficult to predict, CellaVision continues to step up marketing and innovation ambitions while following the development of the pandemic closely. Accordingly, we have reactivated paused projects and our geographical expansion plans have resumed. We are preparing to accelerate activities related to local market support within some of our existing markets, as well as preparing for recruitments to our operations in EMEA and the Americas.
Updated strategy with focus on long-term growth
During the second half of 2021, we have outlined an updated strategic direction for CellaVision’s future growth trajectory. We intend to maximize our core business serving the large laboratories around the world, while accelerating the growth opportunities we have in CellaVision DC-1 and our line of reagents. We also see promising potential in building an ecosystem within digital cell morphology by delivering high quality solutions and consumables that secure diagnostic certainty. We are committed to serve additional clinical needs and optimizing the workflow for existing customers while driving rapid adoption of digital cell morphology to an even broader base of customers. To achieve this, we intend to accelerate our efforts in developing additional industry-leading solutions for the benefit of patients, and laboratory personnel throughout the world. This direction will be the foundation for the upcoming years and operationalized in our plans for 2022 and beyond.
See pages 3-5 for a more detailed presentation of our strategy.
Simon Østergaard,
President and CEO