bioMérieux – Third-Quarter 2020 Business Review

• Organic growth of 19.4% at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation over the first nine months of the year:
  • €2,266 million in sales
  • Up 17.5% as reported
• Further exceptional momentum in the third quarter driven by the molecular biology solutions, resulting in quarterly growth of 26.5%.
• Moderate year-on-year slowdown in immunoassays, clinical microbiology and industrial applications, however improving compared with the previous quarter.
• 2020 outlook: bioMérieux expects sales growth to be above 16% at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation, and contributive operating income before non-recurring items to exceed €520 million. 

Alexandre Mérieux, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said: “Fighting the pandemic is a priority for bioMérieux. Our employees are fully engaged and we are mobilizing as much of our production, logistics and R&D resources as possible to fulfill our public health mission. bioMérieux performed exceptionally well in the third quarter, however recent pandemic-related developments and the associated lockdown measures require us to be cautious in our performance outlook. We can nonetheless confirm that, in 2020, we will deliver remarkable growth of consolidated sales and contributive operating income before non-recurring items. Even so, this performance is not projectable as such beyond 2020”

Regulatory News:

bioMérieux (Paris:BIM), a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, today released its business review for the nine months ended September 30, 2020.

SALES

Consolidated sales reached €2,266 million for the first nine months of 2020 versus €1,928 million for the prior-year period, representing growth of 17.5% as reported. Organic growth (at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation) picked up pace in the third quarter to reach 19.4% for the first nine months of the year. Exchange rate movements resulted in a negative currency effect of €34.5 million, primarily reflecting the devaluation of certain South American and Asian currencies. In addition, the positive effect recorded in the first half thanks to the US dollar was offset by its decrease against the euro in the third quarter.

Analysis of sales

In € millions

 

 

 

 

SALES - NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

1,928

 

 

 

Currency effect

-35

-1.8%

 

 

Changes in scope of consolidation(1)

-2

-0.1%

 

 

Organic growth (at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation)

+374

+19.4%

 

 

SALES - NINE MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2020

2,266

+17.5%

 

 

(1) Disposal of businesses in Australia

ANALYSIS OF SALES BY APPLICATION

Sales by Application

In € millions

Q3 2020

Q3 2019

% change as reported

% change at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation

 

 

9 months ended Sept. 30, 2020

9 months ended Sept. 30, 2019

% change as reported

% change at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation

 

Clinical Applications

679.9

536.6

+26.7%

+32.0%

 

1,937.3

1,589.3

+21.9%

+23.2%

Molecular biology

318.8

151.3

+110.0%

+119.8%

 

875.1

477.6

+83.2%

+84.8%

Microbiology

236.2

259.0

-8.8%

-5.2%

 

696.6

740.3

-5.9%

-4.5%

Immunoassays

111.4

117.6

-5.3%

-0.9%

 

306.4

346.0

-11.4%

-9.7%

Other lines(1)

14.5

8.7

+66.3%

+77.5%

 

59.1

25.4

+132.9%

+131.2%

Industrial Applications

109.5

116.5

-6.0%

+0.6%

 

328.3

338.9

-3.1%

+0.9%

TOTAL SALES

789.4

653.1

+20.9%

+26.5%

 

2,265.6

1,928.1

+17.5%

+19.4%

(1) Including Applied Maths and BioFire Defense

• Clinical applications sales, which accounted for around 85% of bioMérieux’s consolidated total, rose by 32% year-on-year to €680 million for the third quarter of 2020 and by 23.2% to €1,937 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2020.
  • In molecular biology, the BIOFIRE® FILMARRAY® product line recorded growth of 120% in the third quarter, driven by very strong demand for the BioFire® Respiratory Panel 2.1 plus (RP2.1 plus), which can detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 epidemic. The installed base continued to expand significantly. More than 1,900 units were deployed during the quarter, bringing the total installed base to around 15,900 units. The extraction and ARGENE® solutions used in the fight against the COVID-19 epidemic continued to contribute to the segment’s growth.
  • In microbiology, business improved versus the second quarter, particularly in Europe and the Americas. Yet reagent sales were down again year-on-year, as they continued to be affected by the decline in hospital visits.
  • In immunoassays, sales contracted slightly in third-quarter 2020 versus. 2019 but nonetheless improved in all regions versus the second quarter. In particular, the two serology tests VIDAS® anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgM and VIDAS® anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG contributed to this improvement.
• Industrial applications sales, which account for around 15% of the consolidated total, came to €110 million for third-quarter 2020, representing a slight increase (0.6%) year-on-year and a substantial improvement versus the second quarter. Business was driven by sales growth in microbiology reagents for pharmaceutical industry clients. The agri-foods segment continued to contract slightly, under the impact of the health crisis. Sales for the first nine months of the year came to €328 million, up 0.9% year-on-year.

ANALYSIS OF SALES BY REGION

Sales by Region

In € millions

Q3 2020

Q3 2019

% change as reported

% change at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation

 

9 months ended Sept. 30, 2020

9 months ended Sept. 30, 2019

% change as reported

% change at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation

Americas

410.5

284.3

+44.4%

+54.0%

 

1,173.3

866.1

+35.5%

+37.9%

North America

367.7

244.9

+50.1%

+57.6%

 

1,052.0

752.8

+39.7%

+39.8%

Latin America

42.8

39.4

+8.8%

+32.4%

 

121.3

113.3

+7.0%

+25.3%

Europe(1)

257.9

234.6

+9.9%

+11.9%

 

729.7

689.3

+5.9%

+7.0%

Asia Pacific

121.0

134.2

-9.9%

-5.8%

 

362.6

372.7

-2.7%

-0.7%

TOTAL SALES

789.4

653.1

+20.9%

+26.5%

 

2,256.6

1,928.1

+17.5%

+19.4%

(1) Including the Middle East and Africa

• Sales in the Americas (52% of the consolidated total) reached €411 million in third-quarter 2020, an increase of 54% on third-quarter 2019. Sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2020 came to €1,173 million, up 37.9% year-on-year.
  • In North America (47% of the consolidated total), third-quarter growth was led by a strong performance from the BIOFIRE® FILMARRAY® molecular biology product line.
  • Latin America recorded robust organic growth in quarterly sales, driven by the strong dynamic in molecular biology and by price increases to offset devaluations of local currencies.
• Sales in the Europe – Middle East – Africa region (33% of the consolidated total) came to €258 million for third-quarter 2020, up 11.9% year-on-year. Sales for the full nine months totaled €730 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 7%.
  • In Europe (27% of the consolidated total), particularly rapid sales growth was reported in most countries, fueled by strong demand in molecular biology. Alongside this exceptional performance, the slowdown in the microbiology and immunoassay lines was less pronounced than in the second quarter.
  • In the Russia – Middle East – Africa region, the decline in certain countries in immunoassays and microbiology was offset by double-digit growth in molecular biology. As a result, third-quarter 2020 sales were stable compared with third-quarter 2019.
• Sales in the Asia Pacific region (15% of the consolidated total) amounted to €121 million for the third quarter of 2020, down 5.8% from the prior-year period but with pronounced differences between countries. Japan recorded strong sales growth driven by the molecular biology lines, while India managed to maintain a satisfactory performance in an environment complicated by the pandemic. The health crisis had a negative impact on sales in ASEAN countries, and China recorded another year-on-year decline. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, total consolidated sales for the Asia Pacific region came to €363 million, down a slight 0.7% year-on-year.

EVENTS OF THIRD-QUARTER 2020 AND SUBSEQUENT EVENTS

• CE marking of BIOFIRE® Respiratory Panel 2.1 plus with SARS-CoV-2 This panel, which tests for 19 viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and four bacteria responsible for the most frequent respiratory tract infections, was CE marked in July 2020. The panel also includes an assay for the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). While maintaining an assay runtime of about 45 minutes, the BIOFIRE® RP2.1 plus runs on the fully automated FILMARRAY® 2.0 and FILMARRAY® TORCH systems and is extremely easy to use.
• Launch of BIOFIRE® MYCOPLASMA In July 2020, bioMérieux announced the launch of BIOFIRE® MYCOPLASMA, an innovative test for mycoplasma detection in pharmaceutical products used for biotherapeutics (antibodies, hormones, cell and gene therapies, etc.), the most vibrant sector in the pharmaceutical industry. All the reagents and controls necessary for the analysis are included in a single pouch, making it possible to perform the test close to where the samples are taken and obtain the results in less than one hour.
• AMSP partners with bioMérieux to facilitate supply of high-quality COVID-19 diagnostics in Africa In October 2020, bioMérieux and the Africa Medical Supplies Platform (AMSP) announced a new partnership to facilitate the supply of high-quality diagnostic solutions from the bioMérieux Pandemic Response Portfolio to African Union Member States. The partnership aims to respond to supply shortages experienced in Africa by guaranteeing efficient, continuous and rapid access to bioMérieux solutions, available at very competitive prices.
• bioMérieux receives Emergency Use Authorization for BIOFIRE® Respiratory Panel EZ 2.1 with SARS-CoV-2 On October 2, 2020, bioMérieux received Emergency Use Authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new version of the BIOFIRE® RP-EZ respiratory panel that includes SARS-CoV-2. Launched in 2016, RP-EZ is the subject of a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) waiver, which enables it to be used outside traditional clinical laboratories in sites such as physician’s offices and urgent care centers.

INVESTOR PRESENTATION

bioMérieux will hold an investor presentation on Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 3:00 pm Paris time (GMT+1). The presentation will be given in English and will be accessible via conference call only.

France

Europe

United States

[phone]

[phone]

[phone]

Access code: 728 8051

INVESTOR CALENDAR

Fourth-quarter 2020 sales and 2020 financial results

February 24, 2021

First-quarter 2021 sales

April 27, 2021

Second-quarter 2021 sales and first-half 2021 financial results

Third-quarter 2021 sales

September 1, 2021

October 21, 2021

Notes and definitions

The above forward-looking statements are based, entirely or partially, on assessments or judgments that may change or be modified, due to uncertainties and risks related to the Company’s economic, financial, regulatory and competitive environment, notably those described in the 2019 Universal Registration Document. Accordingly, the Company cannot give any assurance nor make any representation as to whether the objectives will be met. The Company does not undertake to update or otherwise revise any forecasts or objectives presented herein, except in compliance with the disclosure obligations applicable to companies whose shares are listed on a stock exchange.

Currency effect: this is established by converting actual numbers at the average rates of year y-1. In practice, those rates are either average rates communicated by the ECB, or hedged rates if hedging instruments have been set up.

Changes in scope of consolidation: these are determined:

• for acquisitions in the period, by deducting from sales for the period the amount of sales generated during the period by acquired entities as from the date they entered the consolidated reporting scope;
• for acquisitions in the previous period, by deducting from sales for the period the amount of sales generated in the months in the previous period during which the acquired entities were not consolidated;
• for disposals in the period, by adding to sales for the period the amount of sales generated by entities sold during the previous period in the months of the current period during which these entities were no longer consolidated;
• for disposals in the previous period, by adding to sales for the period the amount of sales generated during the previous period by the entities sold.

ABOUT BIOMÉRIEUX

Pioneering Diagnostics

A world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics for over 55 years, bioMérieux is present in 44 countries and serves more than 160 countries with the support of a large network of distributors. In 2019, revenues reached €2.7 billion, with over 90% of sales outside of France.

bioMérieux provides diagnostic solutions (systems, reagents, software and services) which determine the source of disease and contamination to improve patient health and ensure consumer safety. Its products are mainly used for diagnosing infectious diseases. They are also used for detecting microorganisms in agri-food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products.

bioMérieux is listed on the Euronext Paris stock market. Symbol: BIM – ISIN Code: FR0013280286 Reuters: BIOX.PA/Bloomberg: BIM.FP

Corporate website: www.biomerieux.com

Note: Unless otherwise stated, growth is expressed year-on-year at constant exchange rates and scope of consolidation (like-for-like). 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201021005902/en/

Investor Relations bioMérieux Franck Admant Tel.: [phone] [e-mail] Media Relations bioMérieux Olivier Rescaniere Tel.: [phone] [e-mail] Image Sept Laurence Heilbronn Tel.: [phone] [e-mail] Claire Doligez Tel.: [phone] [e-mail]