Nine-month Figures for 2016: Sartorius Stedim Biotech continues on the growth track

¹ According to customers' location
² Underlying EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and adjusted for extraordinary items
³ Underlying net profit = net profit after non-controlling interest; adjusted for extraordinary items, non-cash amortization and based on a normalized financial result and tax rate 
⁴ 9M 2015 adjusted for stock split

Double-digit top-line growth

Sartorius Stedim Biotech (SSB), a leading supplier for the biopharma industry, continued on the growth track. Within an ongoing dynamic market environment, the company saw high demand across the entire portfolio and recorded an increase in sales revenue of more than 20%. Besides strong organic performance, acquisitions contributed approx. 2 percentage points of non-organic growth. Asia | Pacific posted the highest growth rate with a gain of around 30%, partly driven by some large equipment deliveries. Sales in the Americas and EMEA region also grew at strong double-digit rates, relative to high comparables in the third quarter.

Profits on the rise

Driven by economies of scale, SSB increased its underlying EBITDA by nearly one fourth to 214.1 million euros; the corresponding margin reached 27.3%. Underlying earnings per share were 1.42 euro, up year over year from 1.13 euro.

Comfortable financial position

Reflected by an equity ratio of 60.5% and a ratio of net debt to underlying EBITDA of 0.3, SSB's financial position has remained strong and stable. Net debt at the end of the first nine months stood at 94.6 million euros.

2016 guidance confirmed

Based on the company's nine-month results, management confirmed its full-year forecast for 2016. Sales revenue is expected to increase by about 17% to 20% in constant currencies, including around 2 percentage points of non-organic growth expected to be contributed by recent acquisitions. The underlying EBITDA margin is projected to rise by about 1.5 percentage points in constant currencies compared with the prior-year figure of 26.2%.

_{This press release contains statements about the future development of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group. We cannot guarantee that the content of these statements will actually apply because these statements are based upon assumptions and estimates that harbor certain risks and uncertainties.}