Zurich (awp) – The pharmaceutical subcontractor Siegfried saw its turnover jump by more than 30% last year to 1.10 billion Swiss francs, due in particular to the integration of two Spanish sites of encapsulation taken over in 2020 from Novartis. The Zofingian firm also claims a “significant” although unquantified contribution from the Covid-19 vaccine packaging activities of the Biontech / Pfizer alliance set in motion in the second half of the year.
From an operational standpoint, basic gross operating profit (Ebitda) exploded by almost 40% to 207.2 million Swiss francs, while adjusted net profit improved by 31.4% to 95, 3 million. The net gain recorded took off by 57% to 95.6 million, égraine the activity report released Wednesday.
The Board of Directors will propose to shareholders an increased dividend of 20 cents to 3.20 Swiss francs for 2021.
The performance indicators are at the top, or even beyond, the AWP consensus projection range. Shareholder remuneration, on the other hand, turns out to be less than the least optimistic of the forecasts.
Growth should settle down to around 10% over the current year, but management aims to extend the basic Ebitda margin to more than 20%, against 18.8% in 2021. Assuming continued growth and the improvement of its profitability in the medium term as well, Siegfried plans to invest further in the expansion of its production capacities.
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