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Mercator Medical after Q2 2020: record-breaking margins and negative net debt

The Krakow-based manufacturer of medical gloves and distributor of single-use medical materials, Mercator Medical, reco…

The Krakow-based manufacturer of medical gloves and distributor of single-use medical materials, Mercator Medical, recorded in the first half of 2020 PLN 269.9 million in consolidated EBITDA result and PLN 231.1 million in net profit, with PLN 578 million in revenues, thus confirming the continuation of positive trends observed in the previous quarter. At the same time, the Mercator Medical Group generated PLN 194.6 million in cash from operating activities.

Selected consolidated financial results:

  2019 Q2 2020 1st half of 2020
  million PLN YOY million PLN YOY million PLN YOY
Revenues 540.3 +29% 375.2 +175% 578.0 +124%
EBITDA 24.6 -19% 234.6 +227.6m PLN 269.9 +261.0m PLN
EBITDA margin 4.6% -2.7 pp 62.5% +57.5 pp 46.7% +43.3 pp
Net result -2.0 -9.3m PLN 210.5 +209.6m PLN 231.1 +233.7m PLN

 

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has rapidly increased the global demand for single-use protective and medical gloves. Clearly, this situation is favourable for manufacturers and distributors of these strategically important products.

We are glad that we managed to successfully supply the Polish market with gloves during such a demanding period and thus significantly assist Poles in the fight against COVID-19“”, says Wiesław Żyznowski, PhD, President of the Management Board, Mercator Medical S.A.

“At the same time, we have successfully – and also rapidly – increased the scale of our turnover on the markets in Western Europe. In recent months, we have also signed important contracts for the Anglo-Saxon markets. The Mercator Medical Group’s team, a total of 1,300 people, is working hard to increase the availability of the highest quality single-use gloves in our sales channels and to help protect human health and life. Work to combat infections is our mission and a long-term commitment”, adds President Żyznowski.

In the first half of this year again Poland became the largest market of the Mercator Medical Group, coming ahead of the USA – a market which became no. 1 for the Mercator Medical Group in 2019. The UK became no. 3 after a spectacular increase in sales. Poland accounted for 30% of revenues (stable YOY), while Western Europe for as much as 23% (4% a year ago). The USA market generated 20% of revenues and the CEE region excluding Poland – 17%.

Undoubtedly, Q1 of the current year was extremely successful for the Mercator Medical Group, but it was Q2 that was entirely affected by SARS-CoV-2 and positive, dynamic market changes. As a result, consolidated sales in Q2 increased to over PLN 375 million (+175% YOY), and the Mercator Medical Group earned as much as 62.5% of EBITDA margin, which means PLN 234.6 million of profit at this level. This is 22% more than the total EBITDA for the last 10 calendar years (2010-2019). At net level, the difference is 3.5 times (PLN 210.5 million of net profit in Q2 2020). In addition, revenues for the first half of the year were higher than for the whole of the previous year.

“We are following market trends, so in Q2 we benefited from the growth of manufacturers’ market prices. As a result, the margin of the production segment was higher than that of the distribution segment, whereas in Q1 it was still the opposite. At the same time, Q2 was the first full quarter for business in the new pandemic-driven reality”, says Witold Kruszewski, Member of the Management Board for Finance at Mercator Medical S.A.

“Of course, it is important for us to record profits, but we are paying even more attention to the cash generated. That is why, in the first half of the year, we already earned nearly PLN 195 million in operating cash flow, and at the end of June we had nearly PLN 154 million in cash, which is over 10 times more than at the end of March, and that despite the dividend payment and the stock buyback”, adds the CFO of the Mercator Medical Group.

As a result, for the first time in the history of the Mercator Medical Group, it has more cash than financial liabilities. The negative net debt also translated into a negative value of the net debt to EBITDA index (compared to 5.2 a year ago) and high liquidity ratios. This is a very good starting point for further business growth.

It is worth noting that following the growing interest of investors in the Mercator Medical Group, which is reflected in the company's capitalisation and liquidity of its shares, after the session on 19 June 2020, securities of Mercator Medical advanced to mWIG40. At the same time, since the beginning of the pandemic, this Krakow-based company has been actively involved in the fight against COVID-19 by donating personal protective equipment from its own portfolio to numerous medical and care facilities. To date, the company has already donated almost 1.6 million examination gloves and 50,000 face masks to 55 different institutions, mainly hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and foundations – including the Foundation for the Development of Nursing (Fundacja Rozwoju Pielęgniarstwa), the Saint Dominic Nuns Foundation (Fundacja Sióstr św. Dominika) – as well as to the Police Headquarters, the Material Reserves Agency and the Ministry of Health.

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Mercator Medical S.A. with its seat in Kraków is a producer and distributor of disposable medical, protective and household gloves, medical dressings as well as medical nonwoven products. On these markets it is one of the most important players in Poland and a significant entity on the international scene. The company’s history dates back to 1989.

Building the second gloves factory in Thailand (the last production line completed in September 2018) allowed the company to increase its production capabilities by 150%, to over 3 billion gloves annually. With the distribution of gloves purchased from external suppliers, the Mercator Medical Group’s total sales potential can be estimated at over 7 billion gloves per year. The company conducts direct distribution in Poland, Russia, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine and Hungary, as well as in Germany and Italy. Mercator Medical operations have a global reach – local distributors sell its products in over 70 countries on five continents, including the American market, and the company focuses on the ongoing geographic expansion.

Since November 2013, Mercator Medical S.A. shares have been quoted on the regulated market at the Warsaw Stock Exchange. More information: www.mercatormedical.eu

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