Gerresheimer Reports Strong First Quarter

- - Cross reference: Full press release is available at http://www.presseportal.de/nr/9072/dokument - Gerresheimer AG, one of the leading partners to the pharma and healthcare industry worldwide, made a successful start to financial year 2016."The first three months of the new year went well as expected. We succeeded in generating strong revenue growth in the first quarter. The strategic changes we initiated last year are having a very positive impact on our business," said Uwe Röhrhoff, CEO of Gerresheimer AG.  Pharmaceutical packaging manufacturer Gerresheimer boosted revenues by 13.4% to EUR 342.3m in the first quarter of financial year 2016 (December 1, 2015 to February 29, 2016). Part of the revenue growth is accounted for by the business relating to plastic packaging for prescription drugs acquired with the purchase of Centor last year. This means Gerresheimer is now the leading supplier of plastic containers for prescription tablets in the USA, having already led the North American market in glass packaging for parenteral drugs for a long time. On an organic basis, meaning adjusted for exchange rate effects, acquisitions and divestments, revenues increased in the same period by a substantial 4.4%. Revenues with drug delivery devices such as asthma inhalers, insulin pens or prefillable syringes increased significantly. As expected, primary packaging glass sustained the favorable trend from preceding quarters, displaying especially strong performance in injection vials, ampoules and cartridges. Moulded glass product sales were also up on an organic base, notably due to strong demand for glass cosmetic packaging. The first quarter of 2016 saw adjusted EBITDA increase by 29.6% to EUR 66.0m. Adjusted EBITDA likewise came to EUR 66.0m on a constant exchange rate basis. In the first quarter, the adjusted EBITDA margin stood at 19.3%, significantly higher than the 16.9% recorded in the prior-year period. Net income came to EUR 17.6m, up EUR 4.9m on the prior-year quarter figure. Adjusted net income stood at EUR 25.0m in the first quarter, compared with EUR 15.6m in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted earnings per share climbed 72.1% year on year to EUR 0.74. Gerresheimer incurred capital expenditure of EUR 13.7m in the first three months (Q1 2015: EUR 13.9m). The Company purchased a site for a new plastic pharmaceutical packaging plant in Brazil. At the same time, Gerresheimer made further investments in expanding the Peachtree City, USA, plant for the production of asthma inhalers and other medical plastic systems. In addition, work continued on standardizing and modernizing machinery for the manufacture of injection vials and cartridges worldwide. Outlook  Gerresheimer's expectations for financial year 2016 continue to be set out in the following, in each case based on constant exchange rates. For the US dollar-which will account for about a third of Group revenues in 2016 going forward and is likely to have the largest currency impact on the Group currency-Gerresheimer continues to assume an exchange rate of approximately USD 1.12 to EUR 1.00. In financial year 2016, the Company continues to anticipate Group revenues of around EUR 1.5bn (plus or minus EUR 25m) on a constant exchange rate basis. The Group revenues of around EUR 1.5bn correspond to revenue growth of some 9% at constant exchange rates compared with revenues in financial year 2015, and organic revenue growth of between 4% and 5%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to increase to some EUR 320m (plus or minus EUR 10m) in financial year 2016. Capital expenditure in financial year 2016 is forecast to account for around 8% of revenues at constant exchange rates. In addition, the Company confirmed its guidance for the financial years 2016 to 2018, in each case stated at constant exchange rates and assuming a US dollar exchange rate of USD 1.12 to EUR 1.00. Gerresheimer is aiming for average annual organic revenue growth of between 4% and 5% for the period from 2016 to 2018. For the adjusted EBITDA margin, the Group has set a target of around 22% for financial year 2018. In order to meet these targets, Gerresheimer will in all probability require significantly lower annual capital expenditure of the order of only about 8% of revenues at constant exchange rates. The full quarterly report is available here: http://www.gerresheimer.com/en/investor-relations/reports Contact: Jens Kürten Group Senior Director Communication & Marketing Phone: +49-211-6181-250 Fax: +49-211-6181-241j.kuerten@gerresheimer.comhttp://www.gerresheimer.com