Rapid corona tests continue to push Siemens Healthineers

Munich (Reuters) – The business with rapid corona tests is also boosting the Erlangen-based medical technology group Siemens Healthineers in the new fiscal year.

In the first three months of 2021/22, the Siemens subsidiary had a turnover of 329 million euros with the tests, more than planned for the year as a whole (as of the end of September), as announced on Thursday. The tests are an important building block for virus containment, especially in Europe, even in the third Corona winter. For the year as a whole, they should now deliver sales of 700 million euros to Siemens Healthineers, half a billion more than expected. CEO Bernd Montag is therefore now expecting a sales increase on a comparable basis of three to five (previously: zero to two) percent. Earnings per share are expected to rise to EUR 2.18 to 2.30 (2021/22: 2.03) per share, which is ten cents more than planned.

For Siemens Healthineers, the corona tests are actually a sideline. In the core business of computer tomographs, laboratory lines and surgical robots, sales grew by 4.5 percent in the first quarter (October to December), including tests it was 9.5 percent on a comparable basis. The 16 billion dollar acquisition of the US cancer treatment specialist Varian increased sales by 31 percent to 5.07 billion euros. Business picked up significantly, especially in imaging (CT, MRI, X-rays). “Our team has made an excellent start to the next phase of our company – despite a more than challenging environment,” said Montag. Siemens Healthineers aims to further accelerate growth.

The incoming orders for new devices, which were 20 percent higher than sales, speak for this. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) improved by 22 percent to EUR 898 million in the first quarter of 2021/22. According to a survey by Siemens Healthineers, analysts had expected an average of 829 million. Negative currency effects and higher procurement and logistics costs impacted earnings. The bottom line was a net profit of 472 million euros, eight percent more than a year earlier.