Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on January 28, 2025
(Reuters) - Shares in Sartorius jumped 15.6% on Tuesday after the Franco-German lab supplies maker's preliminary annual results beat expectations and despite a cautious outlook for 2025.
"Business development in the second half of the year, and especially in the final quarter, confirms our estimate that the temporary weakness in demand is coming to an end and that the industry will gradually return to its robust, structurally underlying growth trend," CEO Joachim Kreuzburg said in a statement.
The company reported its annual underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 945 million euros ($985.54 million), topping a Vara consensus estimate of 932.7 million.
Fourth-quarter orders for its key Bioprocess Solutions division (BPS) rose 23.1% to 856.7 million euros, representing a 22% beat to J.P. Morgan estimates.
Underlying EBITDA and order intake beat should support Sartorius shares and those of its French subsidiary Sartorius Stedim Biotech on Tuesday, J.P.Morgan said in a note to clients.
Shares in Sartorius Stedim Biotech were up 13.9% in morning trade.
Both shares are on track for their best day since October.
Shares in Sartorius peer Merck KGaA were up 5.5%.
For 2025, Sartorius expects continuous demand recovery and growth in the life science market, albeit at a rate below its long-term average.
The company anticipates growth in underlying EBITDA will outpace sales revenue, citing expected volume development and positive product mix effects.
The company plans to publish a quantitative forecast after the first quarter of 2025, IT said.
($1 = 0.9589 euros)
(Reporting by Amir Orusov and Anastasiia Kozlova)
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