SKAN with significant profit increase and strong order intake in the 2024 financial year

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

SKAN with significant profit increase and strong order intake in the 2024 financial year

• Order intake increased by 21.8% to CHF 359.5 million; order backlog of CHF 318.3 million gives good visibility for the rest of the year.
• Net sales up by 12.9% to CHF 361.3 million; adjusted for currency effects, growth was 13.6%.
• EBITDA improved by 13.6% to CHF 57.0 million; EBITDA margin reaches 15.8%.
• Dividend of CHF 0.40 per share proposed for the 2024 financial year.
• Strategic initiatives for integrated process systems and a higher degree of standardization in the equipment business are on track; pre-approved services to start in 2026.
• For 2025, a revenue growth in the mid-teens and an EBITDA margin between 14 and 16% are targeted.

Allschwil, 25 March 2025 – The SKAN Group can report another successful financial year. Market growth continued unabated in 2024. The ongoing trend towards injectable drugs, and thus towards SKAN’s process solutions for the aseptic filling of biopharmaceutical active ingredients, ensured high demand among customers. In the reporting year, there was particularly strong demand for filling lines for antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) – modern oncology drugs that enable more targeted therapies. SKAN received several orders in the double-digit million range for such large and complex lines with the highest quality requirements. Another, albeit less pronounced, driver was equipment for filling GLP-1 drugs for obesity, which accounted for around 15% of the order intake in the reporting year. Last but not least, the logjam of orders that occurred after the coronavirus boom has now been cleared.

Taken together, these factors contributed to a marked increase in incoming orders compared to the previous year. In particular, a significant increase in requests for quotations was noticeable from May onwards, reflected in an acceleration of incoming orders towards the end of 2024. The success rate for quotations remained high, which is attributable to the high quality and leading technology of SKAN systems as well as its process expertise. This enabled SKAN to consolidate its position as number one in the high-end segment of the isolator market.

Strong order intake

Overall, the SKAN Group recorded incoming orders of CHF 359.5 million. This corresponds to an increase of 21.8% compared to the previous year. The order backlog climbed to CHF 318.3 million, which gives us good visibility in the equipment business for the rest of the year. The SKAN Group increased its net sales by 12.9% to CHF 361.3 million; adjusted for currency effects, growth was 13.6%. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew by 13.6% to CHF 57.0 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 15.8%.

In terms of sales growth, the SKAN Group fell short of the expectation communicated for 2024. This was due to the fact that some projects were postponed to 2025. Although the relevant systems were already at the customers' premises at the end of the year, work on-site was delayed. At the EBITDA margin level, however, the target was exceeded.

Profit for the 2024 financial year amounted to CHF 40.8 million. The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting of SKAN Group AG on 7 May 2025 that a dividend of CHF 0.40 per share be distributed.

Equipment & Solutions with progress in integration and standardization

The Equipment & Solutions segment increased the order intake in the financial year 2024 by 19.6% to CHF 255.0 million. Net sales rose by 14.3% to CHF 270.9 million. The segment thus contributed 75% of the SKAN Group's total sales. The segment's EBITDA rose by 12.9% to CHF 30.3 million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 11.2%.

In the reporting year, the SKAN Group generated good sales of large-scale systems, including those used for the aseptic filling of the aforementioned ADC or GLP-1 substances. At the same time, the trend towards personalized medications requires smaller production batches, and thus smaller, flexible systems. The integrated systems that the SKAN Group has been developing for some time together with Aseptic Technologies and other long-standing partner companies are designed to meet these requirements. In the reporting year, a large portion of the expenditures for research and development, which corresponded to 8.3% of sales, was invested in the development of such integrated solutions.

The SKAN Group also made good progress with the strategic initiative to increase the degree of standardization of the systems. Measurable successes were seen in a reduction of complexity through the use of standardized components and the associated increase in efficiency.

An extraordinary contribution to the sales of the Equipment & Solutions segment was made last year by the trading business, which fulfilled a major order for 246 biosafety cabinets for a Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer.

Services & Consumables benefits from growing installed base

The Services & Consumables segment recorded an order intake of CHF 104.5 million in the 2024 financial year, 27.6% more than in the previous year. Net sales increased by 9.0% to CHF 90.4 million and EBITDA amounted to CHF 26.6 million, corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 29.5%.

One driver of growth in the service business is the continuous expansion of the installed base of SKAN systems. These require maintenance, periodic requalification as required by regulations, and spare parts. The retrofit business – the renewal of technical equipment and software for older isolators – also developed favorably.

As expected, the subsidiary Aseptic Technologies continued to see growing acceptance of its automated processing solutions for closed vials. New drugs filled in AT-Closed Vials^® have been approved for distribution, meaning that eight drugs had been approved by health authorities in 17 regions and launched by the end of 2024. The development pipeline of medications to be filled in a AT-Closed Vial^® contains several hundred active ingredients. Accordingly, the sales volume of AT-Closed Vial^® and associated consumables, such as filling sets, is expected to increase further in the future.

The Pre-Approved Services project was also driven forward in the reporting year. The response from initial selective customer discussions has been extremely positive. According to the current project status, the inspection by the Swiss regulatory authority is planned for the first quarter of 2026, so that commercial operation can start in the second half of 2026.

Investments in future growth

Most of the investments, totaling CHF 53.8 million, were used to develop pre-approved services in the 2024 financial year. The remaining funds were used to expand infrastructure in Switzerland and Belgium.

Cash flow from operating activities rose significantly, from CHF 8.7 million to CHF 46.7 million, primarily driven by increased profitability, reduced inventory levels, and effective management of trade receivables. Equity at the end of 2024 amounted to CHF 202.6 million, corresponding to an equity ratio of 52.7%.

Sustainability strategy in place and responsibilities defined

In the 2024 financial year, SKAN pushed ahead with its sustainability policy and anchored it even more firmly within the company. A group-wide ESG strategy has been adopted to ensure that sustainability considerations are systematically integrated into business activities. The corresponding responsibilities have also been defined. At the Board of Directors level, Vice President Cornelia Gehrig is responsible for sustainability, while CEO Thomas Huber is responsible for sustainability at the Executive Board level.

In addition to the sustainability report in accordance with the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) standard, which SKAN has been publishing since 2021, the company successfully completed the assessment of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) for the first time last year. This assessment provided a comprehensive understanding of the climate-related opportunities and risks that are relevant to the business. In addition, the necessary data collection was established in the reporting year to comply with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which will be required at the European level.

SKAN confirms double-digit growth target for 2025

The SKAN Group is focused on a market that is benefiting from structural growth. The medical applications targeted by the customers' medications will continue to increase. The trend towards injectable drugs will continue, as will the shift from traditional clean rooms to superior isolator technology. Accordingly, customer demand for aseptic filling process solutions and related services and consumables will also continue.

Due to the nature of the project business, there may be delays in the execution of orders. From today's perspective, the Board of Directors and Management therefore expect a subdued sales development in the first half of 2025. The resulting shortfall in sales and earnings should be largely compensated for in the second half of the year, so that sales growth in the mid-teens is expected for the full year. At the EBITDA margin level, a target between 14% and 16% has been set.

In addition to the structural growth drivers and the high order backlog, the strong order intake in the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first months of 2025 are particularly encouraging. Furthermore, some customers have reserved production capacities for the coming months. The newly acquired projects will be reflected in sales in the second half of 2025 and then especially in 2026.

Consolidated key figures

Conference Call and Audio Webcast (in English)

Thomas Huber, CEO, and Burim Maraj, CFO, will guide you through the results for the financial year 2024 and provide an outlook for the current financial year in a conference call and audio webcast. Afterwards, they will be available for questions.

Tuesday, March 25, 2025
2:30 to 3:30 p.m. (CEST)

To participate in the conference call, please register via this link. You will then receive a confirmation e-mail with individual dial-in data. As a participant in the conference call, you can follow the presentation here (please mute the browser sound).

The presentation will be broadcast as a live audio webcast. To access, please use this link. Questions can be asked via the chat function. A recording will subsequently be available under the same link.

For questions about the conference call or audio webcast, or if you have problems with the link, please contact ir@skan.com, +41 79 703 87 28.

Download Links:

>> Annual Report 2024

>> Presentation Financial Year 2024

Contacts:

Thomas Balmer, ir@skan.com, +41 79 703 87 28

Alexandre Müller, ir@skan.com, +41 79 635 64 13

Financial calendar:

SKAN – together always one step ahead

SKAN is a pioneer in the field of aseptic and aseptic-toxic manufacturing processes for the (bio)pharmaceutical industry. The company is the market and technology leader for high-quality, process-critical isolator systems for filling drugs according to strict sterility standards. In addition, the company offers its customers process support, services and consumables. Innovative solutions and an efficient life-cycle support organisation make SKAN an important partner for the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, CMOs (Contract Manufacturing Organisations) and research laboratories worldwide. Founded in 1968, SKAN today employs approximately 1500 people. More than half of them work at the Allschwil headquarters in the Life Sciences Hub of the Basel region. The other employees are located among the subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Japan, the USA and Brazil.