Biacore had its most successful quarter ever in the final three months of 2005; sales increased by 23% to SEK193.7 million
The American market continued its recovery with sales up 48% to SEK75.9 million and European sales increased by 45% to SEK73.9 million.
After a very strong performance earlier in the year, sales in Asia-Pacific declined by 20% in the fourth quarter.
Biacore's full-year 2005 sales rose by 15% to SEK569.0 million (494.5).
Excluding the effect of exchange rates, sales also grew by 15% in 2005.
Operating income for the fourth quarter was SEK59.9 million (18.8).
After adjustment for non-recurring costs in 2004 and capitalisation/amortisation of development costs in 2004 and 2005, operating income increased by 55% compared with the fourth quarter 2004.
Operating income for the full-year 2005 amounted to SEK120.8 million (0.5).
The operating margin was 21.2%.
Net income for the fourth quarter amounted to SEK49.4 million (24.4).
Net income for 2005 in total was SEK191.2 million (-0.5).
This amount includes a one-off tax credit, booked in the second quarter, of SEK96.7 million (SEK9.91 per share) resulting from an internal asset transfer in conjunction with the move of the company's corporate headquarters and operations to Sweden.
Diluted earnings per share were SEK5.06 (2.51) in the fourth quarter and SEK19.60 (-0.05) for the full-year 2005.
Biacore has considerably strengthened its product line during the course of 2005 with the introduction of BiacoreT100 and BiacoreA100 and by acquiring Flexchip from HTS BioSystems.
BiacoreT100 is already the company's best-selling system in all major markets.
The board proposes an unchanged dividend of SEK3.00 per share.
The outlook for 2006 is for Biacore's sales to increase at approximately the same rate as in 2005 with modest growth in the first quarter.
The operating margin for the first half of the year may decline as the company further expands its sales and marketing infrastructure, yet it is expected to return to historic levels for the full-year 2006.
As usual, the company's performance will vary between the quarters.
