IBA Reports Half Year 2021 Results
25% SALES GROWTH AND STRONG IMPROVEMENT IN REBIT LINKED TO INCREASED ACTIVITY AND ACCELERATED BACKLOG CONVERSION
STRONG BALANCE SHEET WITH EUR 69 MILLION NET CASH
B-CORP CERTIFICATION IN RECOGNITION OF STAKEHOLDER COMMITMENT
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, 25 August 2021 - IBA (Ion Beam Applications SA), the world leader in particle accelerator technology, today announces its consolidated results for the first half of 2021.
Olivier Legrain, Chief Executive Officer of IBA commented: “Our focus on execution in the first half has resulted in impressive sales growth and a strong improvement in REBIT. Whilst the challenges from COVID-19 continue to impact the business, the Group’s resilience is evident. With a very strong order intake for Other Accelerators and good momentum in Proton Therapy and Dosimetry we are confident in maintaining our solid performance in the second half and beyond.
Looking regionally, Asia continues to be an area of paramount strategic importance for IBA, but we have also made progress elsewhere, with new sales in the US and in emerging markets. We are also seeing potential for IBA in the growing space of theranostics and we continue to develop our position in this exciting market. Finally, our firm commitment to a stakeholder approach and to meeting our ambitious ESG goals is reflected in our recent B-Corp certification.
With our increasingly strong balance sheet, IBA will continue to invest in the emerging technologies of the future whilst seeking value-enhancing business development opportunities as we look to drive long-term sustainable growth.”
Financial summary
- Total H1 2021 Group revenues of EUR 137.2 million, up 25%, primarily driven by increased activity and backlog conversion versus the same period last year
- Gross margin improvement of 1.1 bp versus H1 2020 driven by product mix and stringent cost management
- Order intake of EUR 78.8 million for Proton Therapy and Other Accelerators with revenues up 29.5% to EUR 110.8 million as a result of improving backlog conversion
- Proton Therapy equipment revenues improved strongly, up 129% to EUR 24 million as backlog conversion accelerated strongly
- Other Accelerators equipment revenue increased by 62% to EUR 30.1 million, reflecting continued order intake, production and backlog conversion
- Resilient performance for Dosimetry with strong order intake of EUR 26.8 million reaching the same level as last year and revenue up 9.2% to EUR 26.4 million in H1 2021
- Stable performance of Services as centers remain fully operational
- Equipment backlog reached an all-time high of EUR 429 million and overall equipment and services backlog remains high at EUR 1.1 billion
- Positive H1 2021 REBIT of EUR 0.7 million (H1 2020: EUR 9.9 million loss) reflecting continued strong recovery
- Total Group net loss of EUR 1.9 million (H1 2020: EUR 12 million loss)
- Strong balance sheet with EUR 69 million net cash position (FY 2020: EUR 65 million) and (unaudited) net cash position of over EUR 110 million at date of publication
- 2021 share buyback program launched at end June 2021 for a total of 250,000 shares
Business summary
- Received B Corporation (“B Corp”) certification in June
- Proteus®ONE* selected by Advocate Radiation Oncology for new proton therapy center in Florida
- In Other Accelerators, 14 new sales recorded over the first half and three additional machines sold post-period end. Excellent performance driven by growth in new geographies and further strengthening of IBA’s market leadership
- One new installation started in PT and 13 installations in Other Accelerators started in H1 despite pandemic
- New high-energy cyclotron, the Cyclone® IKON, launched with enhanced availability of theranostic radiopharmaceuticals
- Collaboration with NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes expanded to enable global availability of diagnostic radioisotope technetium-99m (Tc-99m)
- Initiation of global DynamicARC® Consortium for the roll-out of Proton Arc Therapy
Post-period highlights
- In August, the first down payment was received for a five-room Proteus®PLUS* solution in China
- Post closing, the Group signed three new contracts for the sale of equipment in the Other Accelerators market in Europe, Middle East and South America.
- In July and August, the Group continued its share-buyback program. As of August 20, 2021, the Group had purchased 141,794 additional treasury shares since June 30, 2021
- In August, IBA announced the launch a large-scale, multi-institutional, randomized controlled clinical trial in conjunction with 19 industry and academic partners. The consortium will conduct the “ProtectTrial” in esophageal cancer with the aim of improving access to proton therapy for patients, whilst validating a model-based approach for the use of proton therapy treatment in cancer more broadly