Interim report January - September 2007

Interim report January - September 2007

• Net sales amounted to 361.9 (382.9) MSEK in the period January - September
2007 and to 111.9 (133.9) MSEK in the third quarter. At comparable exchange
rates and excluding the Chem Dev product area, which is being closed down, sales
increased by 1% in the nine month period and decreased by 12% in the third
quarter.

• The operating result for the first nine months 2007 amounted to 27.6 (-2.9)
MSEK. The operating result for the third quarter amounted to 9.3 (11.4) MSEK.
• In the first nine months 2007 net profit amounted to 56.5 (-8.2) MSEK and
earnings per share to 0.64 (-0.09) SEK. In the third quarter profit after tax
amounted to 11.2 (8.6) MSEK and earnings per share to 0.13 (0.10) SEK.

• The cash flow from operating activities amounted to 21.2 (11.9) MSEK in the
first nine months and to 22.9 (17.4) MSEK in the third quarter.

Comment from Torben Jörgensen, President and CEO

The third quarter 2007 showed continued good profitability, with a good result
and improved gross margin. However total sales were lower than expected.
Biosystems continues to develop positively and in the third quarter the first
sales in the market segment “Molecular Imaging” took place. The decreased sales
of the Discovery Chemistry business area in the third quarter are mainly
attributable to a weak demand for purification products among the major pharma
companies but also to new products being introduced by competitors.

The Group has enjoyed a very good financial development during the last 18
months. The work aimed at consolidating and optimizing the business with focus
on profitability has yielded good results. From being a company with large
losses, we have in the latest 12 month period had sales of approximately 500
MSEK and an operating profit of 37.5 MSEK. 
Of course I am disappointed that we cannot see sales growth in the third
quarter, but at the same time I feel confident going into the fourth quarter.
With this behind us I now see that we are ready to enter into a new phase.
Biotage is operating in a business environment where structural deals are an
essential element in the efforts to achieve higher turnover with increased
profitability, which also has led to that Biotage has been approached by other
strategic parties. The board has therefore, with an unprejudiced view, decided
to evaluate different strategic alternatives which can lead to acquisitions  of
new companies, sell out of parts of the company or the entire company and/or
possibility of changes in the ownership structure of the company. The strategic
evaluation will be performed with the natural aim to maximize shareholder value.
The strategic evaluation will be performed with a flexible time schedule and the
broadest possible scope. The board has decided to appoint Greenhill & Co as an
advisor.
In the meantime we will continue our daily tasks, building and refining
Biotage's profitable business. 


For further information, please contact:

Torben Jörgensen, President and CEO, phone: +46 707 49 05 84					
Mats-Olof Wallin, CFO, phone: +46 705 93 52 73

About Biotage
Biotage is a global company active in life science research with strong
technologies, a broad range of operations and a long-term view of the market.
The company offers solutions, knowledge and experience in the areas of genetic
analysis and medicinal chemistry. In 2005 business and products from the company
Argonaut were acquired, further strengthening the product range in medicinal
chemistry. The customers include the world's top 30 pharma companies, the
world's top 20 biotech companies, and leading academic institutes. The company
is headquartered in Uppsala and has subsidiaries in the U.S., Japan, UK, Germany
and several other European countries. Biotage has 332 employees and had sales of
520 MSEK in 2006. Biotage is listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. Website:
www.biotage.com