Lonza: Robust industry fundamentals are supportive of growth
Last year, the company expanded its volume of CDMO contracts, with around 115 new clients, bringing the total number of its CDMO business customers to 750. It also clocked up 375 new clinical and commercial programs in 2022.
The contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) reported CHF 6.2 billion (US$6.71bn) in sales for 2022 and CHF 2bn CORE EBITDA, resulting in a margin of 32.1%.
It continued its accelerated investment program last year, with CAPEX at CHF 1.9bn or at 30% of sales. New CAPEX projects announced in 2022 included a CHF 500m investment in a large-scale, commercial drug product facility in Stein, in Switzerland.
Lonza's outlook 2023 is pegged at high single-digit CER sales growth, and CORE EBITDA margin of 30 to 31%; the Swiss company also confirmed its mid-term guidance 2024, which it said is supported by new capacity coming online and strong industry fundamentals.
CAPEX investment set to continue
Pierre-Alain Ruffieux, CEO, Lonza, said the organization is maintaining its “ambitious” approach to CAPEX investment to support its long-term growth.
“Looking to 2023, we will continue to grow the company while building our customer pipeline and driving operational excellence. We will remain focused on executing our growth plans and pursuing new projects.”
Divisional results
The company's biologics division reported strong sales growth of 21.7%, compared to FY 2021, supported by “a robust underlying business” and a COVID-related sales peak in 2022. The business delivered a CORE EBITDA margin of 37.5%.
The cell and gene business reported sales growth of 13.6%, again set against the previous year’s result, and a CORE EBITDA margin of 16.7%. While bioscience delivered a strong performance, Lonza disclosed that the cell and gene technologies area faced delays in clinical trials and customer product challenges.
