Celesio AG / Final Results
26.03.2009
Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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- Euro revenue and earnings decrease in 2008 as expected
- Management board sees sound opportunities for growth in medium term
Stuttgart, 26 March 2009. Celesio, one of the leading international trading
companies and service providers for the pharma market, suffered a fall in
euro revenue and earnings in 2008 as had been expected. Revenue decreased
by 2.3 per cent to 21,828.6 million euros in 2008. EBITDA (Earnings Before
Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation) fell by 22 per cent to
657.3 million euros.
At today's balance sheet press conference, Chairman of the Management Board
and CEO, Fritz Oesterle, said that falling profits were due mainly to the
'massive price reductions in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2007.' This
had a negative effect on the Celesio Pharmacies division throughout the
whole of 2008. Government measures affected EBITDA by a total of about 135
million euros. The massive devaluation of the pound Sterling also affected
the earnings published in euros by about 50 million euros. The investment
in Andreae-Noris Zahn AG had a further negative impact of 25 million euros.
When just all these negative amounts are added together, it totals a
shortfall of 210 million euros of earnings in 2008.
Profit before tax - adjusted for impairment of goodwill - fell by 32.3 per
cent to 412.2 million euros and net profit also adjusted for impairment of
goodwill - fell by 38.3 per cent to 268.5 million euros. On 3 February
2009, Celesio announced that as a consequence of increasing macroeconomic
uncertainty, it was applying higher risk premiums in four foreign markets -
the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Italy - and that it was recognising
an impairment loss on goodwill totalling 287 million euros.
Proposed dividend of 0.48 euro per share
The management board and supervisory board of Celesio will recommend to the
Annual General Meeting on 8 May 2009 that it distribute an ordinary
dividend of 0.48 euro per share. This means that Celesio remains on track
with its long-term distribution ratio of around 30 per cent of net profit
(before impairment of goodwill).
Management board sees sound medium-term growth opportunities
'Celesio is evolving from a trading company into a customer-oriented
service provider', stressed Chairman of the Management Board and CEO Fritz
Oesterle. In order to 'recognise, address and, above all, realise the many
opportunities for profitable and value-added growth', the organisational
structure of the company has been changed.
The new structure is built on the three divisions Patient and Consumer
Solutions, Pharmacy Solutions and Manufacturer Solutions in order to
address new requirements and, therefore, customer demand with transparency
and clear responsibility.
Celesio's future growth will be based on three pillars:
1. Organic growth and efficiency
2. External growth of existing business in current and new markets
3. Growth through new business
As an example of increasing efficiency across the group, Oesterle mentioned
today's announcement (26 March 2009) of an outsourcing contract with
Hewlett-Packard to harmonise and optimise the group's IT infrastructure.
Celesio expects that as from 2010, this will result in divisional and
cross-border synergy effects in the low triple-digit millions.
The second growth pillar comprises the expansion of existing business in
existing and new markets. Its goal is to minimise dependence on fixed
governmental remuneration structures and to reduce dependency on the
British market in the long-term. This is the logic behind the small
acquisition of Dirk Raes in Belgium, which was announced today (26 March
2009). Dirk Raes is the leading provider of cold chain logistics for
pharmaceuticals in the Benelux countries.
According to Oesterle, the third pillar is growth through new business.
Celesio wants to use the synergy potential from existing business areas for
new business. The aim here is also to minimise dependence on fixed
governmental remuneration structures and to reduce dependency on the
British market in the long term. Therefore Celesio has increased its stake
in pharmexx GmbH from 30 to 65 per cent. pharmexx operates in 26 countries
and is one of the leading international personnel and marketing services
providers for the pharmaceutical industry. This signifies the creation of a
new international area of business in addition to Movianto in the
Manufacturer Solutions division.
Forecast 2009: 'relative optimism' confirmed
'In very difficult conditions that look much worse than just a few months
ago,' said Oesterle, Celesio remains optimistic about the future than
companies in other sectors or some of its competitors. The management board
therefore confirms the relatively optimistic forecast for 2009. However, it
is expected that revenue and EBITDA will be lower in the 1st quarter 2009
than the same period in the previous year. This is due to the continuing
weakness of the pound Sterling and the cyclical over-the-counter (OTC)
business in pharmacies that has been falling - with country-specific
differences - since the beginning of 2009.
Forecast 2015: 'EBITDA of at least 1 billion euros'
'In the period up to 2015, the growth of Celesio will be based on our three
pillars of value-added growth and not on individual exogenous factors',
stressed Oesterle. 'We are convinced that Celesio will significantly
increase its profitability and will be generating an EBITDA of more than 1
billion euros by 2015. Therefore, Celesio remains a long-term profitable
growth stock.'
Overview of key figures
2007 2008
in million euros in million euros
Revenue 22,349.5 21,828.6
Gross profit 2,523.7 2,410.5
EBITDA 842.5 657.3
Profit before tax 608.8 125.2
Adjusted for impairment of goodwill 608.8 412.2
Net profit 435.4 - 18.5
Adjusted for impairment of goodwill 435.4 268.5
Earnings per share in euros 2.53 - 0.12
Adjusted for impairment of goodwill 2.53 1.56</pre>
Press contact:
Celesio AG
Rainer Berghausen
Fon: +49 (0)711.5001-549
E-Mail: rainer.berghausen@celesio.com
About Celesio group:
Celesio is one of the leading international trading companies and service
providers for the pharma market. As of 31 December 2008, 37,746 people were
employed by the group. Celesio is active in 28 countries. Its three
divisions - Patient and Consumer Solutions, Pharmacy Solutions and
Manufacturer Solutions - cover the entire spectrum of pharmaceutical trade
and pharmaceutical-related services. Celesio's 2,337 own local pharmacies,
as part of Patient and Consumer Solutions, serve over 550,000 customers in
seven countries every day. 120 wholesale branches, which belong to Pharmacy
Solutions, supply over 35,000 pharmacies in twelve European countries
daily. In the Manufacturer Solutions division, Celesio offers
pharmaceutical manufacturers logistics and distribution solutions and
supports them in sales and marketing.
DGAP 26.03.2009
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Language: English
Issuer: Celesio AG
Neckartalstr. 155
70376 Stuttgart
Deutschland
Phone: +49 (0)711 5001-735
Fax: +49 (0)711 5001-736
E-mail: investor@celesio.com
Internet: www.celesio.com
ISIN: DE000CLS1001
WKN: CLS100
Indices: MDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Berlin, Frankfurt (Prime Standard),
München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart; Freiverkehr in Hannover,
Hamburg; Terminbörse EUREX
End of News DGAP News-Service
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DGAP-News: Celesio AG: Celesio remains 'relatively optimistic'
| Source: EQS Group AG