Year-end report for 2014

Fourth quarter October - December
2014

  · Group net sales in the fourth quarter 2014 amounted to 137.8 MSEK (121.6),
an increase by 13.3 percent compared to the corresponding period last year. At
comparable exchange rates sales increased by 3.2 percent.
  · Operating profit amounted to 13.7 MSEK (13.4). Compared to the corresponding
quarter last year operating profit was charged with 3.9 MSEK higher costs for
R&D and 3.7 MSEK higher sales costs relating to variable remunerations and
strategic initiatives in the USA.
  · The result after tax amounted to 16.7 MSEK (18.5).
  · Earnings per share amounted to 0.26 SEK (0.28).
  · The cash flow from operating activities amounted to 29.0 MSEK (21.1).
  · Net cash at December 31 amounted to 95.0 MSEK compared to 72.9 MSEK at
September 30.

Full year January - December 2014


  · Group net sales in 2014 amounted to 490.4 MSEK (444.6), a 10.3 percent
increase compared to last year. At comparable exchange rates sales increased by
5.5 percent.
  · Operating profit increased by 26 percent to 49.3 MSEK (39.2).
  · The result after tax amounted to 51.1 MSEK (41.4), an increase by 23
percent.
  · Earnings per share amounted to 0.79 SEK (0.61).
  · The cash flow from remaining operating activities amounted to 80.9 MSEK
(56.8).
  · Net cash at December 31 amounted to 95.0 MSEK, compared to 85.0 MSEK at
December 31, 2013.
  · Dividends to shareholders were paid in May 2014 to the amount of 38.8 MSEK
(34.9).
  · Dividends for 2014 are proposed to amount to 0.75 SEK (0.60) per share.
According to the dividend policy established by the board Biotage should
distribute at least 50 per cent of the net profit.
  · Biotage had no holding of own shares at the end of the reported period. No
shares were acquired under the repurchasing program decided at the 2014 Annual
General Meeting. The previous holding of 5,146,883 own shares, acquired under
the previous repurchasing program, were canceled in May 2014 in accordance with
the resolution of the AGM.

Comments by CEO Torben Jörgensen

Biotage ended the year with a sales increase of 13.3 percent in the quarter
compared to the corresponding period last year. In the full year we achieved
10.3 percent growth. In contrast to last year we were helped by the currency
development in 2014. At comparable exchange rates we grew by 3.2 percent in the
quarter and by 5.5 percent in the full year. I am satisfied that we are growing
at the same time as we are improving our profit margin. We meet our financial
goal of an average operating margin (EBIT) of 10 percent in the fourth quarter
as well as in the full year. The good result, a positive cash flow from the
operations amounting to over 80 MSEK and a healthy liquidity enables us to give
dividends of 0.75 SEK per share, which the board proposes to the Annual General
Meeting.

The USA continued to provide the largest growth both in the quarter and the full
year. Our business in China is developing in the right direction and we show
growth in the quarter as well as for the full year. Europe has had a tough year
and did not achieve the growth we expected. The operations in Japan are affected
by Japan’s general economic difficulties. Thanks to a very strong first quarter
the result for 2014 in Japan is only slightly lower than last year. Biotage’s
distributor sales decreased somewhat. We have, however, taken relatively
extensive measures in 2014 in order to address the weakening indirect sales. We
have already seen that an increased focus within EMEA (Europe, Middle East,
India and Africa) has resulted in increased sales. In APAC (Asia Pacific) more
remains to be done before we can evaluate the effects.

We have good momentum in analytical chemistry with our Sample Prep products,
especially in the important American market. In organic chemistry our single
biggest product area, purification, continues to show the largest growth.
Together Sample Prep and purification represent more than 70 percent of
Biotage’s sales and show, excluding currency effects, an 8 percent growth in the
year. We can also see that we during the year have moved our position forward
with our Industrial Resins products. The product area peptide synthesis, on the
other hand, has not lived up to our expectations and we are planning dedicated
efforts within the sales organization in order to increase the sales.

During the quarter we carried out a big and important product launch of the new
technology platform Extrahera™. Extrahera is an automated system for sample
preparation and analysis based on Supported Liquid Extraction (SLE) and Solid
Phase Extraction (SPE) methods in plate as well as column format. The launch has
been well received in the market and we have great belief in this product in its
own right, but also in that it will contribute to increased consumable sales.

The gross margin amounts to 54.4 percent for the quarter as well as the twelve
month period. We see a largely unchanged relation between the sales of systems
and aftermarket products (consumables and service); 44 (43) and 56 (57) percent,
respectively, in 2014.

All in all 2014 was a year with many causes for rejoicing and some challenges,
not least the varying conditions we have seen in different markets where we
operate. We start the new year with a good order book and a continuing favorable
currency situation. I look forward to 2015 with confidence.

For further information, please contact:
Torben Jörgensen, president and CEO, phone: +46 70 749 05 84
Erika Söderberg Johnson, CFO, phone: +46 70 720 48 20

The information is of the kind that Biotage AB (publ) is required to make public
according to the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was released
for publication at 08.30 on February 12, 2015.

About Biotage
Biotage offers efficient separation technologies from analysis to industrial
scale and high quality solutions for analytical chemistry from research to
commercial analysis laboratories. Biotage’s products are used by government
authorities, academic institutions, pharmaceutical and food companies, among
others. The company is headquartered in Uppsala and has offices in the US, UK,
China and Japan. Biotage has approx. 290 employees and had sales of 490 MSEK in
2014. Biotage is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm stock exchange. Website:
www.biotage.com