Labtech

Companies in the Labtech business are active in the market areas diagnostics, biomedical research and laboratory equipment.

Labtech’s net sales in the quarter decreased by 12 percent in the quarter to SEK 958m (1,089), where of organic sales, excluding COVID-19 related sales, amounted to 6 percent and acquired growth was 3 percent. Net sales related to COVID-19 decreased by 82 percent and accounted for SEK 64m (323). Exchange rate changes had positive impact of 5 percent on net sales. EBITA decreased by 39 percent to SEK 138m (227), corresponding to an EBITA-margin of 14.5 percent (20.8).

Labtech’s net sales decreased by 11 percent in the financial year to SEK 3,880m (4,373), where of organic sales, excluding COVID-19 related sales, increased by 6 percent and acquired growth was 4 percent. Net sales related to COVID-19 decreased by 56 percent and accounted for SEK 760m (1,719). COVID-19 testing is expected to be performed in combination with tests for other respiratory diseases in the future, so these sales will not be reported separately going forward. Exchange rate changes had positive impact of 3 percent on net sales. EBITA decreased by 32 percent to SEK 667m (977), corresponding to an EBITA-margin of 17.2 percent (22.3).

Staff shortages in healthcare are also affecting diagnostics operations, driving the need for a shift to more efficient processes. This trend is reflected in the growing interest in time-saving technologies and the services offered by our subsidiaries. The need for training and support is increasingly important for our customers, who have to run complex operations in an environment of staff shortages and high staff turnover. We have now regained full access to customers, and are able to organise training courses and seminars and demonstrate new products that are being launched.

The market situation has caused increased uncertainty regarding government-funded and academic research budgets in some markets. We see a continued positive and strong trend in demand for products and services related to drug discovery.

AddLife can offer suppliers a strong commercial organization with a local presence in 29 European countries, and distribution agreements for innovative products have been established in several countries and are expected to contribute to additional interesting potential for future growth.