IBA Reports Full Year 2019 Results

Strong order intake and record backlog across all business lines

Significantly strengthened balance sheet

Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, 26 March 2020 - IBA (, EURONEXT), the world’s leading provider of proton therapy solutions for the treatment of cancer, today announces its consolidated annual results for the 2019 financial year.

* Dosimetry numbers (including RadioMed) re-integrated, following the decision in 2019 to retain the business

** RadioMed numbers integrated for 11 months following its disposal in December 2019

IFRS 16 – Leases became effective on January 1, 2019. The effect of this accounting standard at December 31, 2019 is an improvement of REBIT by EUR 0.3m and of REBITDA by EUR 4.9m. The impact on the net result is immaterial

Olivier Legrain, Chief Executive Officer of IBA commented: “At IBA’s core is our deep, world leading expertise in particle acceleration. This unrivalled understanding combined with more than 30 years of operational application has seen IBA build four robust business lines: Proton Therapy, Dosimetry, Radiopharma and Industrial Solutions.

“During 2019 all of these business lines saw a strong order intake which, coupled with significant backlog conversion in the second half, helped IBA to deliver an encouraging rise in Group revenue. The nine rooms sold in Proton Therapy across all major geographies and a record 25 new orders in Other Accelerators contributed to a 10% increase in revenue versus last year. Our Services business also had another excellent year of double digit growth, with this revenue stream continuing to evolve and positively contribute to Group performance. 

“Pricing pressure on new proton therapy contracts continued to impact as our competitors attempted to gain market share. However, we have continued to take steps to mitigate the impact of this on our margins as we continue to reduce our costs and apply systemic cost control and efficiency measures to achieve sustainable profitability. We are also doing everything possible to look after our global team, our customers and their patients as we continue to confront COVID-19's impact on family lives and business operations. 

“We have begun 2020 with a strengthened balance sheet and streamlined focus based around three core drivers: know-how, execution and innovation. Our core particle accelerators knowledge is unparalleled, with almost 100,000 patients treated on our proton therapy solutions and over 550 accelerators in operation globally across all of our businesses. Conversion of our record backlog in equipment and services continues and coupled with our good cash position, will allow us to continue to invest in next generation technologies such as FLASH to maintain a highly compelling offering across all of our core markets.”

Financial summary *

• Total 2019 revenues of EUR 282.6 million, up 10% (2018: EUR 257.4 million). The increase was due to an excellent order intake for Proton Therapy and Other Accelerators, delivery of nine Proton Therapy rooms and a record 25 Other Accelerators to customers and continued high Services revenues and a strong performance for Dosimetry
• Equipment and service backlog of EUR 1.1 billion, comprising an equipment backlog for Proton Therapy and Other Accelerators of EUR 379 million at full year 2019 and Proton Therapy services backlog of EUR 744 million
• Full year REBIT amounted to EUR 0.1 million vs EUR 5.7 million for the previous year, reflecting gross margin weakness as a result of pricing pressure on new contracts and increased investment in R&D
• Total Group profit of EUR 7.6 million, a significant increase versus PY (2018: EUR –4.4 million), as a result of the gain on the disposal of RadioMed
• Net debt position of EUR -3 million at the end of 2019** with strong improvement compared to EUR -47.1 million at the end of December 2018 thanks to careful management of working capital
• Completion of refinancing of the Company’s credit lines, enabling flexibility and future investment in innovative technologies. EUR 37 million undrawn credit lines still available as of today
• As of the date of publication of this release, the Company has a gross cash balance of more than EUR 85 million and is net cash positive (unaudited numbers)
• Based on the 2019 results and the strong cash position of the company, in line with IBA’s dividend policy, the Board of Directors will recommend to the annual general assembly, the distribution of a total dividend of EUR 0.076 per share (approximately EUR 2.3 million), representing a 30% payout on net profit

* The figures for 2018 reintegrate the Dosimetry segment following the decision in 2019 to retain the business

** On like for like basis excluding the impact of new IFRS 16 of EUR 18.1 million

Business summary

• Strong order intake across all business lines, including nine Proton Therapy rooms across all major geographies, with the first systems sold in Georgia and Indonesia
• Currently 21 PT centers are under construction or installation, comprising 14 Proteus^®ONE¹ and seven Proteus^®PLUS¹
• Record year for Other Accelerators with 25 accelerators sold in Asia, Europe and the US, reflecting strong radiopharmaceutical demand, especially in emerging markets, and growing market in accelerator-based sterilization solutions
• The Services business continues to grow strongly with double digit growth in both PT and Other Accelerators lines; Services made up almost half of total PT and Other Accelerators revenues in 2019
• Streamlined focus on core particle accelerators and dosimetry businesses with sale of RadioMed, the VISICOIL™ fiducial markers business, to IZI Medical Products LLC in December and decision taken to retain Dosimetry within the Group
• Company-wide cost control measures remain in place, while allowing for strategic investments in R&D, to achieve sustained profitability
• Continued progress with highly innovative technologies such as Motion Management, ARC therapy and FLASH, with first FLASH irradiations delivered in research mode at UMCG in Groningen, Netherlands and the Rutherford Cancer Centre in Reading, UK, demonstrating IBA’s leadership in this novel, non-invasive delivery of ultra-high dose radiation
• Multiple collaborations with several leading proton therapy centers in their pioneering research to better understand the mechanisms of FLASH irradiation, including Institut Curie in Paris as well as the University of Pennsylvania to test the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of delivering a full dose of radiation therapy in a split second
• In September Normandy Hadrontherapy, a company in which IBA has a minority interest, launched the co-development of a carbon therapy system in Normandy, France. Hadron therapy using carbon ions functions in the same way as proton therapy, but has the advantage of being particularly effective for the treatment of radiation-resistant tumors

***ENDS***

A conference call to discuss the full year results will be held today at 15:00 CET / 14:00 GMT / 10:00 EDT / 07:00 PDT and can be accessed online at:

If you would like to participate in the Q&A, please dial (PIN code 72868170#):

Belgium:                    

UK:                             59

NL:                              9

LU:                              3

US:                             16

FR:                              03

The presentation will be available on website and on:

shortly before the call.

To ensure a timely connection, it is recommended that users register at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled webcast.

Financial calendar

First Quarter 2020 Business Update                         13 May 2020

Annual General Assembly                                         10 June 2020

First Half 2020 Results                                              26 August 2020

Third Quarter 2020 Business Update                       19 November 2020

About IBA

IBA (Ion Beam Applications S.A.) is a global medical technology company focused on bringing integrated and innovative solutions for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The company is the worldwide technology leader in the field of proton therapy, considered to be the most advanced form of radiation therapy available today. IBA’s proton therapy solutions are flexible and adaptable, allowing customers to choose from universal full-scale proton therapy centers as well as compact, single room solutions. In addition, IBA has a radiation dosimetry business and develops particle accelerators for the medical world and industry. Headquartered in Belgium and employing about 1,500 people worldwide, IBA has the largest number of installed proton therapy systems across the world.

IBA is listed on the pan-European stock exchange NYSE EURONEXT (IBA: Reuters IBAB.BR and Bloomberg IBAB.BB).

More information can be found at

¹ Proteus^®ONE and Proteus^®PLUS are brand names of Proteus 235

For further information, please contact:

IBA

Soumya Chandramouli

Chief Financial Officer

Thomas Ralet

Head of Corporate Communication

For media and investor enquiries:

Consilium Strategic Communications

Amber Fennell, Angela Gray, Lucy Featherstone, Lizzie Seeley

+44 (0) 20 3709 5700

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