In an announcement on Monday, Siemens Healthineers (ETR: SHL) said its comparable sales in the fiscal fourth quarter came in 2% lower on a year over year basis. At £564.88 million, operating profit posted an annualised decline of 20% in Q4 as the ongoing COVID-19 crisis weighed on demand for routine healthcare-related tests.
Shares of the company were reported about 2.5% up in premarket trading on Monday. The stock, however, lost its entire intraday gain on market open. Siemens Healthineers now has a per-share price of £33.32 versus £28 per share in March due to COVID-19 disruptions. Trading stocks online is easier than you think. Here’s how you can buy shares online in 2020.
Siemens Healthineers’ free cash flow jumps 12% in Q4
According to Siemens Healthineers, the Coronavirus pandemic resulted in an increase in its research expenditure in recent months. Diagnostics costs, the company added, also jumped in the fourth quarter. Free cash flow, as per Siemens Healthineers, climbed 12% in the fourth quarter to £638.87 million.
Analysts had forecast the medical technology company to record £581.12 million of EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) in the recent quarter. In the same quarter last year, Siemens Healthineers had registered £706.55 million of EBIT. Its parent company, Siemens AG, published better than expected financial results for Q3 in the first week of August.
For the full year, Siemens Healthineers now forecasts a 5% to 8% growth in sales. It is also targeting up to £1.55 of adjusted per-share earnings in the current financial year. Its guidance is based on a supposition that the COVID-19 crisis will not push governments into another lockdown.
