EQS-News: Annual General Meeting of Zur Rose Group AG
EQS Group-News: Zur Rose Group AG / Key word(s): AGM/EGM
Annual General Meeting of Zur Rose Group AG
05.05.2017 / 07:00
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Press release
Annual General Meeting of Zur Rose Group AG
- General Meeting of Shareholders approved all proposals
- Election of Dr. Heinz O. Baumgartner to the Board of Directors
- Continuing revenue growth in the first quarter of 2017
- Board of Directors considers raising additional funds to accelerate growth
All agenda items approved - 223 shareholders attended the Annual General Meeting
of Zur Rose Group AG on 4 May 2017. A total of 2'547'268 voting shares were
represented, amounting to 58.7% of the equity share capital. The General Meeting
of shareholders consented to all proposals of the Board of Directors with a
large majority. Dr. Heinz O. Baumgartner, CEO of Schweiter Technologies AG, was
elected to the Board of Directors of Zur Rose Group AG. His election is to be
seen in connection with the retirement of Dr. Lukas Wagner in 2018. Prof. Stefan
Feuerstein, Chairman of the Board, is delighted about the election: "Dr. Heinz
O. Baumgartner, for many years the CEO and before that the CFO of a successful,
publicly listed technology company, will further enhance the expertise of the
Board of Directors." (The individual resolutions of the General Meeting of
shareholders are available at zurrosegroup.com | Investors & Media | General
Meeting of Shareholders.)
Continuing growth in the first quarter - Following the comprehensive investments
of previous years and the execution of a capital increase in the fall of 2016,
Zur Rose Group continues to focus on growth. The aim of the massively increased
marketing activities of DocMorris in Germany since September of last year is to
achieve a significant acceleration in revenue growth. At the same time in
Switzerland, Zur Rose launched the implementation of its omni-channel strategy
with the opening of its pilot flagship pharmacy in Berne. In doing so, the
company is reinforcing the integration of its sales channels.
The growth of the Zur Rose Group accelerated in the first quarter of 2017.
Revenues increased to CHF 229 million in the first three months of 2017, up by 7
percent compared with the same period in the previous year. The Group's growth
initiatives, in particular at DocMorris in Germany, have considerably increased
demand for prescription and non-prescription (OTC) drugs. Accordingly, revenues
generated in Germany increased by a significant 13 percent to CHF 112 million,
while in the stable Swiss business revenues grew by 2 percent to CHF 117
million. As anticipated, earnings were affected by increased marketing and
personnel expenses amounting to around CHF 8 million in total. Earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came to minus CHF 5.8
million (previous year: CHF 2.4 million) and net income (net loss) amounted to
minus CHF 9.5 million (previous year: minus CHF 0.9 million).
Board of Directors considers raising additional funds to accelerate growth - On
occasion of the General Meeting of shareholders, the Board of Directors of Zur
Rose Group AG stated its conviction that the position of Zur Rose Group has
continued to improve with regard to future growth opportunities. On the one
hand, demand for non-prescription (OTC) drugs is to be further boosted by the
intensified marketing activities in Germany. On the other hand, the lifting of
the discount ban for mail-order pharmacies located in other EU countries by the
European Court last October led to a surge in new customers and an increase in
revenues in the field of prescription medicines, which could be further
reinforced. The cooperation with Migros announced in December 2016 for the
further implementation of the omni-channel strategy in Switzerland also has the
potential to strengthen the company's market position. Furthermore, structural
trends such as demographic change and the associated increased multimorbidity
(more than one illness at the same time), advancing digitisation and cost
pressures in the health sector are - in the opinion of the Board of Directors -
key drivers for the business model of Zur Rose Group. With the further expansion
of the digital service portfolio by connecting data, the Group intends to make
further contributions to therapy compliance, to improve healthcare provision and
to reduce costs for the healthcare system and the insured persons.
In order to exploit these additional growth opportunities, the Board of
Directors is evaluating options for raising additional funds. The options which
are being assessed by UBS and Berenberg on behalf of Zur Rose Group include an
initial public offering with capital increase, further private funding as well
as additional debt financing. The Zur Rose Group intends to make use of the wide
range of growth opportunities on offer by the market and to further expand the
strong position of the Group in the European pharmaceutical mail-order sector.
The Board of Directors may, if appropriate, send out an invitation to an
Extraordinary General Meeting in the coming weeks in order to lay the
foundations for the next growth steps.
In case of doubt, the German original of this press release prevails.
Consolidated income statement
CHF 1,000
01.01.2017 -31.03.2017 01.01.2016 - 31.03.2016 Change
Net revenue 229,120
213,956 7.1%
Other operating income 1,936
1,479
Cost of goods and materials -195,764
-181,557
Personnel expenses -17,690
-15,184
Other operating expenses -23,421
-16,260
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) -5,819
2,434 n.m.
EBITDA as % of net revenue -2.5%
1.1%
Depreciation and amortisation -2,592
-2,280
Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) -8,411
154 n.m.
EBIT as % of net revenue -3.7%
0.1%
Share of results of associates and joint ventures -61
-110
Finance income 1
180
Finance expenses -823
-709
Earnings before taxes (EBT) -9,294
-485 n.m.
EBT as % of net revenue -4.1%
-0.2%
Income tax -158
-368
Net income / (loss) -9,452
-853 n.m.
Net income / (loss) as % of net revenue -4.1%
-0.4%
Consolidated balance sheet
CHF 1,000 31.03.2017 in % 31.12.2016
in %
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents 24,761 25,225
Other current assets 138,833 134,424
Current assets 163,594 61.4% 159,649
61.0%
Financial assets 12,794 12,543
Property, plant & equipment and intangible assets 89,845 89,336
Non-current assets 102,639 38.6% 101,879
39.0%
Total assets 266,233 100.0% 261,528
100.0%
Liabilities and equity
Short term liabilities 148,580 138,217
Long term liabilities 22,597 19,505
Total liabilities 171,177 64.3% 157,722
60.3%
Total equity 95,056 35.7% 103,806
39.7%
Total liabilities and equity 266,233 100.0% 261,528
100.0%
Contact
Lisa Lüthi, Head of Corporate Communications
E-Mail: lisa.luethi@zurrose.com, phone: +41 52 724 08 14
Zur Rose Group
Operating under the "Zur Rose" and "DocMorris" brands, the Swiss-based Zur Rose
Group is Europe's largest mail-order pharmacies and one of Switzerland's leading
wholesale suppliers to medical doctors. Through our business model, we help to
ensure safe, reliable and high-quality pharmaceutical care. We also excel in
developing innovative medicines management services to increase the
effectiveness of the medication process. This creation of added value, our
strong focus on patients and our commitment to supply pharmaceuticals at low
cost make our Group an important strategic partner for healthcare providers,
payers and industry.
The Zur Rose Group is headquartered in Frauenfeld, which is also the base for
serving the Swiss market. In Germany and Austria, we operate through
subsidiaries in Heerlen (Netherlands) and Halle an der Saale (Germany).
Furthermore, we hold a majority interest in BlueCare in Winterthur, the leading
provider of networking systems in the Swiss healthcare market. Employing more
than 800 people at our various locations, the Zur Rose Group generated revenue
of CHF 880 million in 2016.
Zur Rose Group AG's shares (Swiss security no. 4261528, ISIN CH0042615283) are
traded on the Berner Kantonalbank's OTC-X, Zürcher Kantonalbank's eKMU-X and
Lienhardt & Partners Private Bank Zurich Ltd's trading platforms. The CHF 50
million corporate bond issued in November 2012 for the purpose of financing the
DocMorris acquisition is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (Swiss security no.
19972936, ISIN CH0199729366, ticker symbol ZRO12).
Disclaimer
This communication may contain statements about the future that use words such
as, for example, "believe", "assume", "expect" and other similar expressions.
Such statements about the future are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other
factors, which can cause the true results of the company to differ significantly
from that which is expressly or implicitly assumed in these statements. In view
of these uncertainties, the reader should not depend on this type of statement
about the future. The company gives no undertaking whatever to update such
statements regarding the future, or to adapt them to future events or
developments.
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End of Corporate News
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Language: English
Company: Zur Rose Group AG
Walzmühlestrasse 60
8500 Frauenfeld
Switzerland
Phone: +41 52 724 08 14
Internet: www.zurrosegroup.com
ISIN: CH0199729366, CH0042615283
Listed: SIX Swiss Exchange
End of News EQS Group News Service
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570383 05.05.2017