Lonza increased sales last year by 15 percent to 6.22 billion francs, as the company announced. Excluding currency fluctuations, sales would have increased by 15.1 percent. The LSI chemicals division, which was sold in mid-2021, has been excluded from the financial statements.
Net profit even jumped to 1.22 billion francs after 677 million in the previous year. In 2021, a legacy burden had clouded the balance sheet. What is meant is the clean-up of a toxic waste dump, for which CHF 285 million has been set aside.
Shareholders will benefit from a dividend of CHF 3.50 per share. That’s 50 centimes more than last year. In addition, Lonza announces a share buyback program of up to CHF 2 billion starting in 2023.
Lonza’s core results, adjusted for special charges, enable better comparability with the previous year. According to this interpretation, the so-called “core EBITDA” rose by 19.8 percent to CHF 2.00 billion in the year under review.
The corresponding margin reached 32.1 percent, after 30.8 percent in the previous year. Analysts had expected a slightly lower value.
For the current 2023 financial year, Lonza is planning slightly lower growth rates. Currency-neutral sales growth in the high single-digit range and a core EBITDA margin of 30 to 31 percent are promised. Lonza explained that the business driven by the Covid pandemic would have peaked in 2022. (SDA/kae)
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