Vita 34 publishes figures for the first quarter of 2021
- Revenues in Q1 2021 at EUR 5.4 million after EUR 4.6 million in Q1 2020
- Adjusted EBITDA at EUR 1.7 million after EUR 1.1 million in Q1 2020
- Investments in marketing and sales reflected in increased demand in DACH region

Leipzig, 31 May 2021 - Vita 34 AG (ISIN: DE000A0BL849; WKN: A0BL84), one of the largest cell banks in Europe, has started the year 2021 with a positive business performance. The company was able to increase both revenues and earnings compared to the same quarter of the previous year and benefit from a noticeable revival of demand in its core markets.

Revenues rose by 16.1 percent to EUR 5.4 million in the first quarter (Q1 2020: EUR 4.6 million), with the positive momentum of the final quarter of 2020 carrying over into the new financial year. The development continued to be driven by the core markets of the DACH region, while the Southern European markets showed stable development compared to the immediate previous quarter. In the DACH region, the investments in marketing and sales expanded at the end of 2020 already had a positive effect. In addition, the hospital business contributed to business development in the first quarter, which the company believes is due to catch-up effects from postponed interventions. "We can generally observe that we were able to generate growth impulses in the DACH region despite the ongoing pandemic," explains Dr. Wolfgang Knirsch, CEO of Vita 34 AG.

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)^[1] showed a significant increase, rising by 52.5 percent to EUR 1.7 million (Q1 2020: EUR 1.1 million). The adjusted EBITDA margin^[1] increased from 24.3 to 31.9 percent. "Even though the increase in revenues in the first quarter was already accompanied by increased personnel costs in the manufacturing and laboratory areas, this significant increase in earnings cannot be extrapolated to the full year," says Falk Neukirch, CFO of Vita 34. "The increase in revenues in the first quarter in the core business is mainly due to the intensification of marketing and sales expenses in the previous quarter. Vita 34 benefited disproportionately from this on the earnings side in the first quarter of 2021. As of the second quarter, marketing and sales expenses are to be increased again as planned. Furthermore, of the expenses planned for the full year for the development project "Immune Cells", relatively few costs were incurred in the first quarter, but these are expected in subsequent quarters."

The key figures for business development are as follows:

There was also a positive development in operating cash flow. This increased from EUR 0.7 million in Q1 2020 to EUR 1.0 million in Q1 2021. Following a pandemic-related build-up of inventories in the previous year, cash flow was positively influenced by an increasing normalization of working capital in the past quarter. This also led to a corresponding increase in liquidity. Cash and cash equivalents increased further, rising by 4.0 percent compared to the end of the year to EUR 10.8 million (31.12.2020: EUR 10.4 million).

Planned Business Combination with PBKM

The Management Board of Vita 34 today signed an agreement on the planned business combination of Vita 34 and Polski Bank Komórek Macierzystych S.A., Warsaw ("PBKM"). Further information is available in the ad hoc announcement published today as well as in the corporate news on the planned merger and the invitation to the extraordinary shareholders' meeting on 13 July 2021, which will be published later today.

Notwithstanding the above, the Management Board maintains its guidance for the full fiscal year 2021 of Vita 34 AG (prior to the planned merger) published in the context of the Annual Report 2020.

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^[1] For the first time with the publication of the annual report for 2020, Vita 34 reports adjusted EBITDA in order to distinguish financial special effects from the review and implementation of the planned business combination with PBKM from the purely operational development of the company. A definition of the key figure can be found in the Quarterly Statement on Q1 2021 on page 1.

Contact:
Ingo Middelmenne
Investor Relations
Vita 34 AG
Phone: +49 (0341) 48792 - 0
Mobile: +49 (0174) 9091190
Email: [email protected]

Company profile
Vita 34 was founded in 1997 in Leipzig and is today one of the leading cell banks in Europe. As Europe's first private cord blood bank and a pioneer in cell banking, the company has since offered collection logistics, processing and storage of stem cells from umbilical cord blood and tissue as a full-service provider for cryopreservation. Based on the expansion of the business model in 2019, Vita 34 also intends to offer the storage of immune cells from peripheral blood and stem cells from autologous fat in the future. Endogenous cells are a valuable starting material for medical cell therapy and are kept alive at temperatures around minus 200 degrees Celsius so that they can be used as part of a treatment if required. More than 247,000 customers from more than 20 countries have already provided for their family's health with a cell depot at Vita 34.