B. Braun closes 2022 fiscal year with sales growth – result burdened  

“2022 was a difficult year in which B. Braun was strongly challenged,” said
B. Braun CEO Anna Maria Braun today at a virtual press conference.
“But we were able to continue our growth in a persistently volatile market through special dedication and reliably supplied products and services to our customers. Particularly now, when pressure on health care systems continues to increase, at B. Braun we are aware of our special responsibility and are working hard to provide quality health care to more people around the world together with our customers."

B. Braun’s sales were positive in nearly every region and across broad segments of its portfolio. Sales fell for some products that were in very high demand during the coronavirus pandemic but saw less demand in FY 2022. Hospital Care benefited overall from stable volumes and price adjustments caused by inflation. The surgical division Aesculap recovered from the significant burdens caused by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, as more elective surgeries were performed worldwide. Demand steadily increased, especially for knee and hip implants as well as surgical instruments and suture materials. Avitum could not recapture the increased sales in the infection prevention business seen during the pandemic, but sales improved in the therapeutic areas of extracorporeal blood treatment as well as wound management, ostomy care and continence care.

The B. Braun Group’s result in 2022 was burdened by external and internal effects, especially significantly higher costs for raw materials, energy and logistics, which contributed to less profit compared to the previous year. There were also unscheduled amortizations of discontinued production and development projects totaling 96.3 million euros. EBITDA was 9.5 percent below the previous year, totaling 997.2 million euros (previous year: 1,101.9 million euros). The EBITDA margin fell to 11.7 percent (previous year: 14.0 percent). Profit before taxes reached 178.7 million euros (previous year: 408.6 million euros). Adjusting for unscheduled amortization, profit before taxes was 275.0 million euros (previous year: 408.6 million euros).

“We’re not satisfied with the earnings situation,” said Braun. “It’s even more important that we took prompt corrective action, early in the reporting year to improve our profitability. This allowed us to stabilize our result, even if price increases and cost reductions couldn't completely compensate for the negative effects. At B. Braun we will continue to consistently adjust our collaborations, our structures and business models to the changing world this fiscal year—our goal remains meeting customer needs even more quickly and with greater flexibility, and to drive advancements in health care.” 

B. Braun continues to invest in the future

Global measures to stabilize the result allowed B. Braun to continue to invest during FY 2022. A total of over one billion euros was invested in financial instruments and property, plants and equipment as well as in research and development. Investment projects included the continued construction of a new production plant for single-use infusion therapy products in Melsungen, Germany, new manufacturing facilities for infusion therapy products in Daytona Beach, FL, and Allentown, PA, in the USA, as well as construction of a modern dialysis concentrate production plant in Hanoi, Vietnam. Through its Aesculap division, B. Braun also expanded access to endoscopic visualization technology by acquiring the remaining shares in Schölly Fiberoptic GmbH Denzlingen, Germany. 

Consistently pursuing strategy in a difficult market environment

In order to continue to operate successfully as a private, family-owned company, B. Braun took a critical look at its productivity, structures and processes in the reporting year. The company’s goal is to continue to standardize, digitalize and simplify processes under its B. Braun—the next decade strategy. Appropriate changes and more efficient collaboration resulted in the number of B. Braun employees decreasing to 65,055 (previous year: 66,778) as of December 31, 2022.

New possibilities through technology and sustainability

In health care, new technologies offer possibilities for treating people around the world using the highest medical standards, while also ensuring the affordability of care through better efficiency. This also motivated B. Braun in FY 2022 to make innovative solutions accessible to customers, patients, and a wider health care industry. The company offers high-quality product systems enabled by technologies it continues to refine. One example is B. Braun's  Space^plus infusion pump system, which can be connected to hospital data management systems. Infusion data is automatically transmitted and made accessible to medical staff for patient treatment. In the operating room, our Aesculap Aeos® robot-assisted surgical microscope deploys the latest imaging techniques, setting new benchmarks for depth of field, field of view and lighting. (www.bbraun.com/view-of-the-future)  

B. Braun also employs technological developments to weave sustainability through its supply chains, production and logistics processes, and resource management. The company continued to improve its sustainability structures to attain a competitive edge through professional sustainability management for the future. One example is B. Braun’s dialysis equipment, which conserves resources and improves processes by using less water, energy, and materials. (www.bbraun.com/dialysis-is becoming-green)  

Outlook

B. Braun expects positive sales and results in FY 2023. The company also expects the current high prices for raw materials, energy, and logistics services to continue over the short and medium term. In response, in 2023 B. Braun will continue to reinforce the structural changes started in 2022. The contribution to profit expected from these changes should offset cost increases and continue to improve profitability.  

More information on B. Braun SE’s business development can be found in the latest Annual Report at www.bbraun.com/ar2022.