News
Analytik Jena Closes Three Month Shortened Financial Year 2014 Negatively
- Group revenue of EUR 28.8 m generated
- Earnings situation influenced by sustained depreciation of the Russian ruble and weak operating business in the core segments
- Positive operating cashflow of EUR 1.2 achieved
- Order entry on a record level at the beginning of 2015 leads to expect return to profitability
Jena (Germany), March 5, 2015 — Analytik Jena AG (ISIN: DE0005213508, market segment: Prime Standard, Stock market symbol: AJA) generated Group revenue of EUR 28.8 m (previous year 12 months: EUR 121.3 m) from October 1 to December 31, 2014. In the instrument business, total revenue amounted to EUR 24.4 m (previous year 12 months: EUR 99.7 m). Group revenue included the revenue recognized in the project business of our AJZ Engineering subsidiary, which totaled EUR 4.3 m (previous year 12 months: EUR 21.6 m) at the end of the shortened financial year. Analytik Jena’s export ratio amounted to 76.8 % (previous year: 79.3 %). Analytik Jena recorded order entry of EUR 23.1 m in the instrument business.
“Behind us lies a shortened financial year of three months, in which we suffered a similarly loss-filled reporting period as in the past 2013/2014 financial year. This was as expected, given unchanged political conditions in Ukraine and Russia, the integration of the ICP-MS business in our Analytical Instrumentation business unit, and the streamlining of our structures in the Life Science business unit“, said Klaus Berka, CEO of Analytik Jena AG. „Due to the ongoing depreciation of the Russian ruble, we once more had to take significant value adjustments and high operating losses in our project business. They amounted to EUR 8.6 m as of the end of the reporting period.”
The Group concluded the financial year with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of EUR -9.7 m (previous year: EUR -1.3 m) with an EBITDA margin of -33.9 % (previous year: -1.0 %). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) amounted to EUR -11.6 m (previous year: EUR -6.2 m). The unsatisfactory earnings development is also attributable to the continued weak operating business as Analytik Jena was unable to offset higher selling, administrative, and R&D costs resulting from the acquisitions in the past two financial years with any corresponding increases in revenue in the instrument business. The operating result was negatively affected particularly by sustained weak revenue in all three business units of the instrument business and respective losses in Life Science, Optics, and the Project Business. The result was additionally affected by planned restructuring measures in the Life Science business unit realized by the creation of provisions as one-time effects. They include expected costs for the closure of the sepsis diagnostics area and the depreciation of a shareholdings' book values.
At the end of the financial year, Analytik Jena recorded a consolidated net loss for the year of EUR -13.0 m (previous year: EUR -9.2 m). Earnings per share amounted to EUR -1.31 (previous year: EUR -1.21). In the past shortened financial year, Analytik Jena recorded positive operating cashflow of EUR 1.2 m (previous year: EUR -5.6 m).
“The specified expenses are essentially one-time items and will not have a negative impact on the current 2015 financial year. Order entry in both core segments Analytical Instrumentation and Life Science was encouraging in the first two months of the 2015 financial year. We expect to generate revenue in the current financial year from the market launch of PlasmaQuant® MS at the European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry at the end of February in Münster. We are very confident that Analytik Jena will return to profitable growth by the end of the calendar year”, said Berka.
As of December 31, 2014, the Group had a total of 1,102 employees, including 36 interns (previous year: 1,098 employees, including 35 interns), or nearly as many employees as on the previous balance sheet date.
Analytik Jena AG will be listed on the regulated market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in the Prime Standard segment until March 26, 2015. As of March 27, 2015, Analytik Jena AG shares will only be listed for over-the-counter trading on the Stuttgart, Munich, Hanover, Düsseldorf, Berlin/Bremen, and Hamburg exchanges. Effective January 1, 2015, the financial year corresponds to the calendar year.
The complete financial report is available at http://berichte.analytik-jena.de/AnnualReport2014R.pdf.
