VITA 34 International AG / Final Results/Preliminary Results
04.02.2008
Release of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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VITA 34 revenues and profits for 2007 better than expected
Revenue up 33% to 15.4 million
Storages up 43% to 10,458
EBIT of -0.8 million significantly better than expected
2008 additional double-digit growth
Break-even at approx. 28 million in revenues unchanged for 2009
Leipzig, February 4, 2008 VITA 34 International AG (ISIN DE000A0BL849),
the parent company of the leading umbilical cord blood bank in the
German-speaking countries, VITA 34, looks back on the most successful year
in the companys history and has significantly succeeded its own prognoses
and market expectations in fiscal year 2007.
This is based on the unqualified opinion of the auditors Ernst & Young.
The number of annual storages of umbilical cord blood increased by 43
percent from 7,318 in 2006 to 10,458. Revenues, which lag behind storages
by approx. 6 weeks, increased by 33 percent in 2007 as compared to the
prior year, from 11.6 million to 15.4 million. Profits were
definitively influenced by the planned increase in sales expenditures. EBIT
in 2007 was -0.8 million and was, therefore, better than analyst
expectations. In the prior year it had been 0.5 million. The post-tax
result in the group was -1.2 as compared with -2.9 million in 2006.
The companys cash as of December 31, 2007 rose to 11.0 million as
compared with 4.3 million a year before.
The VITA 34 numbers, which were above expectations, can be attributed to
rapid growth in the German-speaking countries on the one hand, and on the
other to the successful cooperation with Spanish partner Secuvita. The
number of storages from Spain significantly exceeded expectations. Secuvita
offers Spanish customers the storage of umbilical cord blood at VITA 34 in
Germany based on a cooperation agreement.
VITA 34 expects a continuation of dynamic growth in 2008, and expects an
increase in storages and revenues clearly in the double-digit range for the
year as a whole. Here, the upwards trend will not be strictly linear,
instead the new marketing strategy will provide increasingly positive
impetus beginning in the middle of 2008. This is when the new employees in
Marketing and Sales will begin to contribute productively to revenues
following an educational and training phase. The advance costs for
expanding Marketing and Sales will still create a planned EBIT of roughly
-2.5 million in 2008. In 2009 revenues should reach a volume of 28
million, and there should be a return to profits in 2009 after the ramp-up
phase of the new marketing and sales strategy.
The complete Annual Report for 2007 will be ready for download at
www.vita34.de as of February 15, 2008.
About VITA 34 AG:
VITA 34 is the leading umbilical cord blood bank in the German-speaking
countries and was founded by physicians in Leipzig in 1997. To date more
than 46,000 parents have decided to have their childrens umbilical cord
blood placed in long-term storage with VITA 34.
DGAP 04.02.2008
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Language: English
Issuer: VITA 34 International AG
Deutscher Platz 5a
04103 Leipzig
Deutschland
Phone: +49(0341)48792-40
Fax: +49(0341)48792-39
E-mail: info@vita34.de
Internet: www.vita34.de
ISIN: DE000A0BL849
WKN: A0BL84
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-Adhoc: VITA 34 revenues and profits for 2007 better than expected
| Source: EQS Group AG