Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Dermapharm Holding Q3 2025 Results Conference Call. I am George, the call's co-operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be listened on in mode, and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star and one on your telephone. For operator assistance, please press star and zero. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Britta Hamberger. Please go ahead.
Thank you, George, for your introduction. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Dermapharm's Q3 2025 Webcast. Thank you for joining us on our call this afternoon. Our speaker today is our CFO, Christoph Dreibholz. Christoph will guide you through the presentation, and afterwards, there will be time for Q&A. Christoph, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Britta. Good afternoon also from me. My name is Christoph Dreibholz. I will guide you through the presentation, as Britta said, starting with slide four. To give you an overview of what went well again in year to date, September 2025, has been our high-margin branded pharmaceutical segment comprising the three subsegments: German core, which accounts for approximately 60% of the branded pharmaceutical segment; the international business, another 20%; and Alargo Pharma, with also approximately 20% of segment gross sales. While gross sales of the German core were at prior levels in the year-to-date period, international increased at approximately 10%, with main drivers and above-average growth rates being generated in Spain, Poland, and Ukraine. Alargo Pharma gross sales increased year over year at 17%. Main products here are Alargo Vit, growing at approximately 15%.
Akaroid, a mite product, has no marketing authorization and cannot be sold from October 2025 onwards. Remaining year-to-date gross sales were low single-digit millions. Alargo has a third product, NHD, Novo Hélicine Dépôt, also a mite product, which is authorized for sale, and we are promoting this product with doctors to replace Akaroid going forward. The strategy shows promising results, with NHD growing at nearly 80% in gross sales year over year, generating already higher revenues than Akaroid. Vaccine-related revenues are low double-digit and largely result from our participation in the German pandemic preparedness program. Q1 2024 showed higher revenues, the three quarters covering also H2 2023 retroactively. Hence, year-to-date September 2025 is negatively impacted by approximately EUR 6 million, and we will see this later in our bridge. The optimization measures at AXI are starting to show results with increasing contribution margin per piece.
Volume has declined significantly, approximately 60% as of September 25, compared to average Q1 2025, i.e., below initiating the improvement measures. Reason for that is the delisting of low contribution margin products from April 2025 onwards. Contribution margin per piece has more than doubled in the same period. We are also seeing a positive trend in monthly subgroup EBITDA results, which were positive and above prior year in July and September. Last but not least, the reduction of the low-margin AXI revenues already had a favorable impact at group level, leading to an EBITDA margin increase of approximately one percentage point. ARCO Pharma is working strongly on creating the new ARCO Pharma. If I say this, I have to point out once again that we are speaking of an EBITDA-positive business with a double-digit EBITDA margin.
ARCO has, however, a lot of potential, and we, and especially the local management team, are working hard on transforming a good business to an excellent, sustainable business. That comprises a new and fresh presentation of ARCO Pharma, an increased communication of the advantages of our products, including underlying claims, and the superiority and uniqueness of our manufacturing processes to customers and especially to the pharmacists. Pharmacists are in the center of our approach as they heavily influence, apologies, the decision of the end customer. We are in the process of employing medical trainers to communicate the scientific superiority of our products to the sales reps and pharmacists. We have also an excellent R&D team who is in parallel working on new innovative products.
We are also preparing the organizational setup to be able to grant challenges, i.e., incentives per unit to the pharmacists from January 26 onwards. All in all, 2025 and H1 2026 will be a period of transformation, and we are more than confident that ARCO Pharma will show a turnaround latest in H2 2026. Slide five, please. We increased our net sales revenues in branded in Q3 2025 compared to Q3 2024 by 4% or approximately EUR 6 million. This is excluding our revenues from the vaccine business. Branded grew slightly slower than in Q2 2025, and other healthcare revenues declined by approximately 3% or EUR 3 million over Q3 2024 compared to a growth in the second quarter of 4%.
As mentioned in the beginning, all subsegments, the German core, the international, and Alargo Pharma contributed to this growth, where the main drivers of the decline in other healthcare in Q3 was, again, ARCO Pharma, following the increase that ARCO Pharma recorded in Q2 2025. Especially September was a difficult month for ARCO Pharma in all business units due to lower pre-orders. The increase in ARCO's international business could only partially compensate for the performance of other VUs. PI revenues are down by roughly a third in Q3 2025 alone compared to Q2 2024. As mentioned, sorry, Q3 2024, of course. As mentioned earlier, this decline is only volume-driven. Adjusted EBITDA group level increases by approximately EUR 1 million or 1% in Q3 2025. Ethics impacts were negligible in Q3 2025.
Main driver is the gross margin, which increased by approximately 4 percentage points compared to the comparable period in 2024, partly offset by higher share of personnel and other operating expenses. Reported personnel expenses were 2 percentage points higher compared to Q3 2024. The number of employees declined, following especially the workforce reduction in parallel import. Hence, labor costs are the driver of the increase. It has to be noted that personnel expenses comprise a restructuring provision of EUR 2.1 million in Q3 alone. Total restructuring costs were EUR 5 million in the year-to-date period. Adjusted for these expenses, inflationary labor cost per FTE increase, or labor cost per FTE increase, inflationary driven at approximately 2.5% in Q3. The ratio of adjusted personnel expenses to net sales increases by approximately 1 percentage point.
Earnings after tax development in Q3 standalone is driven by a lower negative financial result, this driven in Q3 by the valuation of our interest rate hedges. Slide six please. Only points to mention here with regard to the year-to-date results, in addition to the earlier explanations, are that in Q1 2025, we saw EUR 6 million lower revenues compared to Q1 2024 from the pandemic preparedness program, as mentioned at the beginning. This is related to the vaccine business when Q1 benefited from vaccine-related revenues that economically referred to the second half of 2023 as the contract was concluded in Q1 2024, but retroactively starting July 2023. Furthermore, the favorable valuation of the swaps in Q3 2025 balanced out over the year-to-date period, i.e., no meaningful impact on earnings after tax from the financial result.
Instead, normal depreciation charges in year-to-date September and lower CIT expenses favorably impacted the earnings after tax result. Slide seven please. This slide breaks out main underlying drivers regarding reported EBITDA, financial result, tax expenses, and depreciation charges compared to year-to-date September 2024. Reported EBITDA change of approximately EUR 4 million regarding AXI Corp subgroup is the result of the reduced revenues from the portfolio optimization and personnel expenses of the employees where contracts have been canceled. The favorable impact of the latter is trailing behind the revenue reduction. The remarkable underlying EBITDA growth of the remaining business is largely attributable to the German core business, especially Alargo Pharma and international units, as mentioned in the beginning, contributed to this development. One additional impact in year-to-date September 2025 is the devaluation of the US dollar to the euro, with an approximately EUR 4 million negative impact at EBITDA level year over year.
Considering this, the already remarkable underlying increase of the remaining business is even higher. This especially applies to the other healthcare business, in this case, where the decline of EUR 3.7 million is entirely attributable to ethics losses, i.e., the remaining entities in other healthcare compensate for the lower EBITDA generated by ARCO Pharma. Net interest costs slightly declined compared to year-to-date September 2024. The latter showed higher interest income from a settlement receivable in connection with a repurchase agreement, where interest income was recorded in Q1, covering also part of 2023. This negative impact has been netted by a favorable impact from the valuation of the interest rate hedges in approximately the same amount. Lower tax expenses and lower depreciation charges compared to the comparable period in 2024 had a favorable impact on earnings after tax in year-to-date September 2025. Slide eight please.
This EBITDA normalization only comprised restructuring expenses relating to headcount reductions in Germany, mainly AXI Corp, France, i.e., ARCO Pharma, and Spain. In the latter, we are speaking of single low double-digit number of employees concerned. Slide nine. This slide shows net debt and the equity ratio development. Net debt has been continuously reduced over the last quarters following the amortization payments regarding SIN loan tranche B with EUR 25 million per semester and the scheduled repayments of the promissory note loan. The increase as of September 2025 is mainly driven by higher working capital, mainly trade receivables, compared to June 2025, and higher corporate tax payments. We had income tax payments of in total approximately EUR 74 million in year-to-date September 2025. A large part of the tax payments relate to prior fiscal years, especially 2022, where results have been impacted by the vaccine business.
The leverage ratio is comfortably below three at 2.8 times, same as in Q2 and slightly below Q1 with 2.9 times. The interest cover ratio, interest expenses compared to EBITDA, has again improved to 7.7 times from 6.9 in Q2. Equity ratio continuously increases due to positive results. The dip as of June 24 and 25 is driven by the reclassification of the dividend to liabilities settled beginning of July each year. Slide 10 please. Our net assets and liabilities increased slightly to EUR 2.117 billion over December 2024, driven by increased working capital in line with underlying seasonality and the higher cash number. The equity increase was generated in Q3 2025.
June 25 showed an equity figure at the level of December 2024, indicating that the dividend liability of EUR 48 million, which had been reclassified and hence reduced the equity figure accordingly, was economically financed through the earnings after tax result generated in the first six months of 2025. Slide 11 please. Networking capital is at the level seen as of September 2024, a reflection of the underlying seasonality in the business. The increase in trade receivables is largely offset by lower inventories. Looking at the respective days shows that the ratios of inventories and trade receivables to sales remain largely unchanged, i.e., the underlying drivers including growth in revenues, inflationary production cost increases, both in terms of labor cost and cost of materials, and the necessity to hold certain buffer stock remain unchanged.
DPO increases cut-off driven by eight days to 70 days, June 2025, 72 days, with a favorable impact on the underlying cash cycle. Slide 12 please. The increase of our cash flow from operating activities seen already in H1 2025 continues in Q3 2025 with a lower buildup of working capital in year-to-date September 2025 compared to the comparable period in 2024, partly also a result from the portfolio optimization at AXI Corp with a reduced buildup of trade receivables and inventory in Friedrichsdorf. Replacement CapEx of approximately EUR 30 million is at a normal level. The remaining CapEx in the year-to-date September 2025 period is driven by higher financial assets. The resulting free cash flow of year-to-date September 2025 is approximately EUR 11 million lower than last year. Cash conversion is at 55%, down 1.1 percentage points. Details of the improved operating cash flow are shown on the next slide. 13.
Whilst cash EBITDA continues to remain at a stable level compared to prior year, the favorable trend of operating cash flow is mainly impacted by the lower buildup of working capital in year-to-date September 2025, as discussed before, partially netted by higher tax payments partly relating to historical financial years, as explained earlier. With that, I'm coming to the outlook for the remaining quarter. The overall business shows a stable development compared to prior year, especially when eliminating the remaining impacts from the vaccine business and main underlying drivers develop favorably. Branded sees a remarkable growth across all subsegments, more than compensating for the lower revenues from the vaccine production. Other healthcare is also above year-to-date September 2024, excluding the negative ethics result. Operational KPIs, as well as the subgroup EBITDA of AXI Corp, show positive trends indicating the effectiveness of the optimization measures introduced in April this year.
This said, we have currently no indication that the budgeted range or the budgeted ranges of EUR 1.16 billion-EUR 1.2 billion in revenues and EUR 322 million-EUR 332 million for adjusted EBITDA will not be met. Thank you.
Thank you, Christoph. Now we hand over to you, Gerard, to open the Q&A.
Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. We will now begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star and one on the touchstone telephone. You will hear a tone to confirm that you have entered the queue. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use only handsets while asking a question. Anyone who has a question may press star and one at this time. Our first question comes from Fabian Piasta with Jefferies. Please go ahead. Hi Britta, hi Christoph.
Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. I currently have only one. When I'm looking at the year-to-date growth trajectory and consensus numbers and your guidance for the remainder of the year, that would imply at least to meet consensus 10% growth in fourth quarter or 7% to meet the guidance midpoint. Can you maybe give us some indication on what the building blocks would be? Because currently it looks like more you're going to meet the lower end of the guidance. What would help to reach more the midpoint or the upper half? Thank you.
Thank you for your question, Fabian. October went well, and in October, we were ahead of budget. November is typically a strong month. If thinking of the vitamins in our underlying business, especially the vitamin D, and vitamin D is still one of our top five products.
There is a seasonality in the business. Considering this, we indeed, as mentioned on the outlook slide, are very comfortable that we will meet the guidance and not only at the lower point.
Okay, that's great. Thank you.
Our next question comes from Gerard Deutsch with Berenberg. Please go ahead.
Sorry, I actually had the same question. Just because the last two years, Q4 was slightly weaker than Q3, you said ARCO Pharma had a pretty bad September due to sell in. Has that also turned around in October maybe?
September is indeed a strong month for ARCO Pharma. This is an unfortunate impact on the year-to-date period, but not something that will specifically impact the last quarter. What we've seen is that ARCO Pharma also had a good October.
Okay, fine for me. Thank you.
As a reminder, if you wish to register for a question, you may press star and one. Looks like we have no more registrations over the phone. I would like now to turn the conference back over to Britta Hamberger for any closing remarks.
Thank you very much, George. Thank you for joining us this afternoon. In case there are any questions left open, please get back to me afterwards. Thank you. Bye-bye.
Thank you.
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