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Mercator Medical Group with record Q1

The Mercator Medical Group, a manufacturer of medical gloves and a distributor of single-use medical materials based in…

The Mercator Medical Group, a manufacturer of medical gloves and a distributor of single-use medical materials based in Krakow, has recorded the best January-March period in its history. After Q1, net cash exceeded PLN 663 million, and the construction of the new specialist glove plant is proceeding on schedule and on budget.

Financial data:

 

Q1 2020

Q1 2021

Year-on-year change

 

million PLN

million PLN

value

%

Revenues

202.8

551.6

+348.9

+172%

EBITDA

35.3

301.6

+266.4

+755%

EBITDA margin

17.4%

54.7%

+37.3 pp

 

Net profit/loss

20.6

286.6

+266.0

+1,289%

Net cash

-129.8

663.5

+793.3

-

In Q1 2021, the Mercator Medical Group achieved PLN 286.6 million net profit (+1,289% YOY) with PLN 551.6 million sales revenue (+172% YOY), and a significant increase of EBITDA results and margin – by 755%, to PLN 301.6 million, and by 37.3 pp, to nearly 55%, respectively. The results for Q1 this year are many times higher than the annual results from before 2020, but also lower than in Q4 last year, when the Mercator Medical Group reported almost PLN 350 million net profit and over PLN 405 million EBITDA.

“The dynamics of the QOQ results have multiple reasons. The first symptoms of glove price drops resulted in much more cautious buying among customers, which decreased volumes. Naturally, the profitability of the distribution sector was under additional pressure due to manufacturers increasing prices. We also redirected premium gloves worth approx. PLN 70 million from the Thailand factory to our own distribution network in Western Europe, but the revenue and profit will only be booked after they are sold to our customers. In Q1, we were also affected by the restrictions to the HoReCa and Beauty sectors,” explains Witold Kruszewski, CFO at the Mercator Medical Group.

“However, the price drop trajectory of nitrile gloves is still milder than we expected, economies are being unfrozen and disposable glove demand is on the increase. At the same time, regulations are still in place requiring the use of disposable gloves in public spaces, for example in Poland. We are implementing the chosen development and diversification strategy, but I cannot disclose any more details yet. As for the revealed elements, such as the construction of the third glove plant, it is proceeding as planned and the first production lines should be launched at the end of this year. While our industry and the entire market still face the same risks, recently we have heard more good than bad news,” adds CFO Witold Kruszewski.

The Mercator Medical Group announces that in June–July it intends to distribute the 2020 profit through stock buyback. PLN 312 million has been earmarked for this purpose, i.e. one third of the consolidated result. Shares will be repurchased for a price of PLN 500–770 per share. Details of the invitation for shareholders to sell their shares (price, schedule and specific solutions) will be announced soon, after we conclude an agreement with a brokerage company to handle the buyback. The remaining part of the consolidated result attributable to shareholders of the parent company (PLN 618 million) was used for development investments – e.g. expansion of the distribution network in Western Europe and selected other markets, increasing the production capacity, introducing new products, market segments and sales methods, acquisitions, as well as the development of a new line of business, compatible with current operations, which can provide the Mercator Medical Group with new possibilities, in particular in terms of innovation and scalability.

It is noteworthy that due to the increasing investors’ interest in the Mercator Medical Group, manifested in the company capitalisation and liquidity of shares, in December last year the company was added to the MSCI Small Caps Index, and during the Annual Index Review in March this year, the Mercator Medical shares qualified for the prestigious WIG20 index. The company and its management are also recognised and appreciated in many competitions and contests, emphasising the dynamic business growth, geographical expansion and strong increase of capitalisation on the WSE. The company was announced the winner of the Puls Biznesu survey of market participants as Listed Company of the Year in the 2020 Success category, and won the title of WSE Champion. Mercator Medical, represented by its founder and CEO Wiesław Żyznowski, PhD, was awarded the title Family Ambassador of the Year by Forbes. Mercator Medical was awarded a distinction in the Foreign Investment Pioneer (Pionier Inwestycji Zagranicznych) category of the competition ‘Polish Company – International Champion’ (Polska Firma – Międzynarodowy Czempion) organised by PwC Polska and Puls Biznesu. The company debuted in the 22nd edition of the ‘Lista 500’ ranking compiled by Rzeczpospolita and received the Eagle of the Republic award (Orzeł Rzeczpospolitej) in the Debut category; in addition, it was awarded the Investor without Borders title (Inwestor bez granic), granted annually as part of the European Economic Congress in Katowice to the most effective Polish investors expanding internationally.

At the same time, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Mercator Medical Group 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, Mercator Medical has already donated over 1.8 million examination gloves, over 370 thousand nonwoven products and 50 thousand face masks to almost 70 different institutions, mainly hospitals, nursing homes, hospices and foundations, as well as to the Police Headquarters, the Material Reserves Agency and the Ministry of Health. At present, the company is running the #TogetherAgainstTheVirus (#WspólniePrzeciwWirusowi) campaign to support medical and care facilities by donating personal protective equipment from its own portfolio. A similar initiative was launched in the Group’s production company, Mercator Medical (Thailand) Ltd., which has donated latex gloves to several Thai hospitals and local administration offices in order to fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus. To find out more about the non-financial activities of the Group, see the summary non-financial report for 2020.

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