FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Financial Performance
First half of 2020: Record Sales and Faster Growth
- Strength and reliability in exceptional circumstances
- Record sales
- Increased profitability
- Accelerated hiring
- Second half on track to break further records
- Annual targets confirmed
Bubendorf/Basel, August 21, 2020 – The Bachem Group (SIX: BANB) generated record sales of 177.1 million CHF (+31.7%) for the first half of 2020, impressively underscoring its strength and reliability in a challenging market environment impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only negative exchange rate effects kept the total below the Group’s historic best of 179.2 million CHF, achieved in the second half of 2019. Sales of generic products grew by more than 23% against the previous year's period and amounted to 71.7 million CHF, with sales in North America almost doubling. For research chemicals, it was mainly large orders for catalog bulk products and customer syntheses associated with NCE active-substance development projects that lifted sales by a total of 4.8 million CHF (+35.9% in local currencies LC). Sales of new chemical entities (NCEs) continued to grow in both sales regions – North America and Europe/Asia – clearly exceeding the prior year period by over 43% in LC (North America) and some 95% in LC (Europe/Asia). Despite a growth-driven higher expense base, operating income for the first half of 2020 grew sharply to 40.3 million CHF (+64.9%). Thanks to a better total capacity utilization and the larger contribution margins resulting from an advantageous product mix, the EBIT margin came to 22.7% (H1 2019: 18.2%). Despite unfavorable exchange rate effects, net income rose sharply to 32.8 million CHF (+60.7%) by mid-year 2020.