STRATEC reports on first half of 2013

- Sales of EUR 59.4 million in H1/2013 (+8.0%; H1/2012: EUR 55.0 million*)
- EBIT margin of 14.1% in H1/2013 (H1/2012: 17.1%*)
- Flood-related delays expected to be made up in second half
- Consolidated net income of EUR 6.8 million in H1/2013 (-7.8%; H1/2012: EUR 7.4 million)
- Earnings per share of EUR 0.58 in H1/2013 (-7.9%; H1/2012: EUR 0.63)

Birkenfeld, July 23, 2013

STRATEC Biomedical AG (Frankfurt: SBS; Prime Standard, TecDAX) today announced its results for the period from January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013 upon the publication of its Interim Report as of June 30, 2013.

Key figures (EUR 000s)	01.01.- 06.30.2013	01.01.- 06.30.2012	Change
Sales	59,381	54,974*	+ 8.0%
EBIT	8,346	9,423	- 11.4%
EBIT margin (%)	14.1	17.1*	- -
Consolidated net income	6,779	7,352	- 7.8%
Earnings per share (EUR)	0.58	0.63	- 7.9%

 
* 2012 figure adjusted for a one-off item of EUR 3.3 million due to an income-neutral reclassification from unfinished services and prepayments received upon the write-down of a development project. On an unadjusted basis, sales for the first half of 2012 amounted to EUR 58.2 million and the corresponding EBIT margin amounted to 16.2%.

Financial performance
Despite flood-related damages in the second quarter, the company posted a positive sales performance for the first half of 2013. Adjusted for a one-off, income-neutral reclassification in the previous year, sales increased by 8.0% compared with the first six months of 2012. Notwithstanding delays of around EUR 3 million in services and supplies related to flood damage, sales in the second quarter of 2013 were stable year-on-year, with slight growth of 2.7%. STRATEC expects to be able to make up for these delays in full in the course of the second half of the year. The damages caused to buildings and materials have been reported to the respective insurance companies.

Demand in the service and spare parts business continued to develop stably at slightly improved levels compared to previous months. The reported flood-related delays in services and supplies, the associated shifts in the service and spare parts business, as well as cost and scale factors resulted in an EBIT margin of 13.0% in the second quarter. The EBIT margin for the first six months amounted to 14.1% and is within the budgeted framework for the financial year as a whole.

Consolidated net income totaled EUR 6.8 million as of June 30, 2013, as against EUR 7.4 million in the previous year's period, while earnings per share decreased correspondingly by 5 cents to EUR 0.58.

Project development
Serial production of two recently launched analyzer systems is to be stepped up in the second half of 2013. Moreover, further market launches and approvals of analyzer systems are expected to follow in 2014.

Other developments
The clearance and renovation work associated with the flood damage in June 2013 has been completed and, now that the damages incurred have been recorded, operations are fully back on track.

On July 12, 2013, STRATEC reported the discontinuation by a customer of a development and supply agreement. Since then, no new insights have been gained concerning the discontinuation of this contractual relationship. Negotiations for compensation for STRATEC are currently underway with the customer and at present, no more precise details can be provided as to the nature, amount, or timing of such compensation. Further projects with this partner and projects with other partners are not affected by the contract discontinuation.

The distribution of a dividend of EUR 0.56 per share was resolved at the company's Annual General Meeting in Pforzheim on June 6, 2013.

Developments in staff totals
Including temporary employees, the STRATEC Group had a total of 537 employees as of June 30, 2013 (June 30, 2012: 524). The company's workforce thus grew by a further 10 employees compared with December 31, 2012.

Outlook and company forecast
STRATEC published a new company forecast on July 12, 2013. In the 2013 financial year, the company expects to generate sales of between EUR 127 million and EUR 138 million with an EBIT margin of 14.0% to 15.5%. Average annual sales growth of 8% to 12% based on the sales figures for the 2013 financial year is expected in subsequent years. Profitability is expected to improve slightly, albeit in proportion with the number and scale of new development orders and the investments involved.

Our ability to issue precise forecasts continues to be impeded by several external factors, such as capacity utilization rates at installed systems, the timing of further market launches, the planned production launches for new systems, further consolidation in the IVD market, and macroeconomic market factors.

Marcus Wolfinger, Chairman of the Board of Management commented: 'Our new forecast takes account of a changed situation. One major development project has been discontinued prematurely. We have also seen larger-scale fluctuations in our customers' acceptance forecasts, a factor that reduces STRATEC's budgeting reliability and which is why we have provided a relatively broad forecast corridor.

We continue to see sustained growth in our industry and, given our young product portfolio and the systems due to be newly added, we still expect to be able to generate company growth ahead of the industry average going forward.'

Further details can be found in our Interim Report as of June 30, 2013 published at www.stratec.com > Investor Relations > IR News > Financial Reports.

About STRATEC
STRATEC Biomedical AG (www.stratec.com) designs and manufactures fully automated analyzer systems for its partners in the fields of clinical diagnostics and biotechnology. These partners market such systems, in general together with their own reagents, as system solutions to laboratories, blood banks and research institutes around the world. The company develops its products on the basis of its own patented technologies.

Shares in the company (ISIN: DE0007289001) are traded in the Prime Standard segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and are listed in the TecDAX select index of the German Stock Exchange.

Further information can be obtained from:
STRATEC Biomedical AG
André Loy, Investor Relations
Gewerbestr. 37, 75217 Birkenfeld
Germany
Tel: +49 7082 7916-190
Fax: +49 7082 7916-999
ir@stratec.com
www.stratec.com