Strong sales with preparations for period of higher growth
Summary of the period
Second quarter: April 1st - June 30th, 2022
Numbers in parentheses refers to outcomes during the corresponding period of the previous year.
First 6 months, January 1st - June 30th, 2022
* Converted to the number of shares after the share split 5:1 that took place in May 2021
Significant events during the second quarter
Swedencare´s subsidiary Vetio receives Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office (EPO) and Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent Office (USPTO) for its Starch-Free Soft Chew.
Significant events after the second quarter
Swedencare executes the earn-out payment of 27.5 MUSD in relation to the acquisition of NaturVet as the target for it was reached already in May.
Words from the CEO
Strong delivery and intense work preparing for the second half year
As I previously stated 2022 will be a year in which I expect Swedencare to increase quarterly both in terms of sales and margins. This due to several transformative projects that are implemented over the year alongside the acquisitions we made during the first quarter. We managed to improve the margins in the second quarter even though the global economy was significantly affected by a number of parameters like continued price increases, rises in interest rates, inflation and not least the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The net revenue for the second quarter were471 MSEK which is a 194% increase compared to Q2 2021 and the operational EBITDA increased by 146% to 119 MSEK, equaling a margin of 25.2%. The gross margin in the quarter (56.1%) is the strongest since Q3 2020. Our other key performance indicators are equally strong and the entire organization and I are working determinately to stay on route towards the financial goals we have set.
We knew that the organic growth in this quarter would also be below our target for the year and that due to Q2 last year having a strong organic growth of 45%. But what also affected us during the quarter is that our larger retail and veterinary customers were focused on trimming their inventory levels. This means that we receive smaller, but more frequent orders compared to a year ago. In our frequent dialogue with customers, we know that our product lines sold very well to final customers, and in several cases with significantly higher growth than their purchases from us. We have already started to see an improvement in customer inventory levels and several of our group companies had their strongest month in June and July has also opened strongly. China is also this quarter clearly lower than last year, but we have in any case sent a smaller order and hopefully they will also return to a pre-Covid state again. We continue to be affected by raw material and material price increases and we adjust our own prices accordingly. All price increases have been well accepted by final customers and not least our strong June is proof of that. I expect strong organic growth in the coming quarters.
Online has impressed during the quarter as we were not affected in the same way by the inventory cuts described above. NaturVet´s Amazon sales increased by 37%, Pet MD Brands by 30% and SwedencareUK, who sells more than 60% online, increased by 61% during Q2. We are convinced that Online will be the sales channel that will grow more rapidly than the others over the upcoming years.
ProDen PlaqueOff® keeps developing strongly with a growth of 16% in the quarter overall and the important US market grew by 27%. Our very successful Dental Bones are now approved by VOHC (Veterinary Oral Health Council) which means that we can now brand our Dental Bones with the VOHC seal. The VOHC approval is based on two new clinical studies that proves that our dental bones are effective against the buildup and removal of plaque and tartar.
The two major projects that took a lot of resources during the quarter are the implementation of the third soft chew production line for NaturVet and their private label/contract manufacturing customers. Completion of the line, which increases capacity by 100% at full production, has been extensive work and investment but is almost complete and should be in production at the same time as this report is published. Additionally, Vetio South has worked hard to finalize their soft chew line and have started on a smaller scale in June and are rapidly upscaling production during the third quarter. We start with two external customer projects, one of which has great potential to become one of our larger external customer projects going forward. Vetio North is also now entering a manufacturing phase for more than one project, and this has meant new hires and competence building which have burdened the year with costs. They are now well staffed and motivated to begin commercial production of pharmaceutical products. One project has already started in July, and another will start at the end of the quarter.
The export division has been successful, especially ProDen PlaqueOff®, nutravet and RX Vitamins. Asia, apart from China, has recovered well and both Japan and South Korea are delivering impressive growth.
After several years of work and incurred costs, we announced in June that Vetio has obtained a patent for its unique soft-chew process, which gives us an advantage in our sales to, above all, the large pharmaceutical companies. This is particularly important in the growing generics market where we can offer a unique final product for various active API’s (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient).
The acquisition rate in the industry has been lower than earlier quarters. As you know we are extremely selective when it comes to acquisitions, and only want to acquire companies that can add a new piece to the puzzle that fits what we are building. M&A is something we have a high level of expertise in and there are of course many interesting companies left and I am convinced that there will be more of us as time goes on.
In conclusion I would like to mention some findings from external sources about the pet market and its future* where we will have an important role.
The points mentioned above combined with the fact that we have built a group of leading companies that together offer unique products, makes me convinced that Swedencare will continue our successful voyage. The whole organization and I are working hard and focused to ensure that you as shareholder, will be proud and want to be part of it as we intend to continue to have rapid growth together with high profitability in the coming years
Håkan Lagerberg, CEO
Malmö July 28th, 2022
The complete half year report is attached to this press release and is available at www.swedencare.com
Swedencare invites shareholders and analysts to a presentation of the half year report where CEO Håkan Lagerberg and CFO Jenny Graflind will comment on the report. The presentation will be held today at 10:00-10:30 am CEST and can be followed via live webinar.
Please use this link to join the webinar: https://swedencare.webinargeek.com/swedencare-live-presentation-of-q2-report-with-q-a/join/qtonmymh
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