Newsgroup: it.economia.borsa
Titolo: alle 15.30 parte sempre Sorin

ben rastrellata dai fondi USA?

ce l'ho

under the
chairmanship of Umberto Rosa. It reviewed and approved the Report on
Operations in the fourth
quarter of 2006 that was presented by Chief Executive Officer Drago 
Cerchiari.
Fourth Quarter 2006
In the fourth quarter, net revenues rose by 7.8%* to a record Euro 206.5 
million compared to Euro
196.7 million in the
same year-ago period. The strong growth was largely driven by the success of
the new product lines for the Group's Cardiac Surgery and Cardiac Rhythm 
Management business
areas.
------------------------------------ 
* At fixed exchange rates
1
The Cardiac Surgery business area (implantable devices and cardiac surgery 
systems) posted
revenues of Euro 114.4 million, up 8%* from Euro 110.5 million in
the same quarter in 2005. The
increase in sales was largely due to the S5 heart-lung machine, the new 
PrimO2x oxygenator and
tissue valves.
The Cardiac Rhythm Management business area (implantable devices that manage 
cardiac
rhythm) reported
revenues of Euro 59.1 million, up 16.3%* from Euro 51.4 million in the 
fourth
quarter in 2005. Sales rose both in the tachycardial segment (mainly 
defibrillators and CRT-D) and
in the bradycardial segment (mainly pacemakers), both growing faster than
the growth rate of the
market itself. In particular, a large part of the revenue and profit growth 
was due to Ovatio, the new
family of defibrillators and CRT-D, which is experiencing noteworthy success 
both in Europe and
the United States.
The
Vascular Therapy business area (drug-eluting and bare-metal coronary stents, 
endovascular
stents and catheters for angioplasty) posted revenues of Euro 7.4 million 
compared to Euro 9.5
million in the fourth quarter 2005.
The Renal Care business area
(biomedical devices used to treat patients with kidney diseases)
had revenues of Euro 25.0 million during the fourth quarter compared to Euro 
26.5 million during
the last quarter of 2005, largely due to the refocusing of sales on more 
profitable
product lines.
Consolidated EBITDA for the Sorin Group totalled Euro 26.1 million, up 51.2% 
(on a comparable
foreign exchange rate basis) versus the same quarter in 2005, thanks to an 
improvement in gross
profit and the lower impact of operating
expenses on revenues.
Fourth quarter EBIT improved significantly compared to the previous year, 
going from Euro -1.2
million in 2005 to Euro 12.7 million in the fourth quarter 2006.
The Sorin Group's net debt at December 31, 2006 stood at Euro
290.6 million, a sharp reduction
compared to Euro 325.4 million Euro at the end of September, largely due to 
the significant fall in
net working capital.
2
Preliminary consolidated financials for 2006
Preliminary financial data for the full-year 2006 show that revenues and 
profitability were higher
with respect to the guidance given at the beginning of the year. Preliminary 
revenue figures show
an
increase of 5.5%*, rising to Euro 791.8 million compared to Euro 753.0 
million in 2005. EBITDA
grew 17.4%* to Euro 85.8 million, up from Euro 74.4 million in 2005. EBIT in 
2006 jumped 79.4%*
to Euro 30.5 million, up from Euro 17.6 million. The net
financial position at year-end 2006 is Euro
290.6 million, substantially in line with the net financial position at 
year-end 2005.
The preliminary data show that the Sorin Group will post a net profit in 
2006. This result
confirms the success of the
turn-around and validity of the strategy that the management
team is currently executing.
In terms of the single business areas, Cardiac Surgery posted a revenue 
increase of 3.8%*, rising
to Euro 434.9 million compared to 2005. Revenues for Cardiac
Rhythm Management rose
16.7%* in 2006 to Euro 217.7 million. The Vascular Therapy business area had 
revenues totalling
Euro 32.7 million (-13.9% at constant exchange rates), and finally, the 
Renal Care business area
posted revenues of Euro 104.6
million (-3.4% at constant exchange rates).
"The excellent results of the fourth quarter and the preliminary figures for 
2006 are evidence of the
effectiveness of strategic decisions made in 2004, the year in which the 
Sorin Group was founded.
Our
important drivers for growth, in particular Cardiac Rhythm Management, and 
the strength of
our newly-defined financial structure and balance sheet will allow us to 
continue pursuing our
growth strategy with the view of creating value for our
shareholders," said Drago Cerchiari, Sorin
Group Chief Executive Officer.
Outlook for 2007
The management forecasts continued growth in 2007, similar to that in 2006 
with revenues
increasing between 4% and 6%, EBITDA growth between 10% and 15%
and a stable net financial
position. The drivers of growth will continue to be Cardiac Rhythm 
Management and Cardiac
Surgery with a strong focus on increasing market share in the U.S.