| Safe group announces sales of €1.35m in Q3 2023 | ||
- Q3 sales of €1.35M versus €1.4M in 2022
- Cumulative sales 2023 stable compared with 2022
- Update on the Group's overall situation
Éragny-sur-Oise, Fleurieux sur l’Arbresle, France, on October 6th, 6h30 pm CET – Safe (FR001400F1V2 – ALSAF), French group specialized in the design, manufacturing and distribution of ready-to-use medical devices for Spine surgeries, especially safe for vertebral fracture treated in emergency, announces the sales in Q3 2023.
Third-quarter 2023 sales
| En milliers d’euros* | Q3 2023 (3 months) | Q3 2022 (3 months) | 9M 2023 | 9M 2022 | ||
| Safe Orthopaedics | 769 | 956 | -20% | 2482 | -8% | 2695 |
| Safe medical | 580 | 441 | +32% | 1 763 | +14% | 1 543 |
| Total sales | 1 349 | 1 397 | -3% | 4 245 | +0% | 4 238 |
*Non-audited. IFRS 15 excluded
Third-quarter sales were stable overall at -3%, with a 20% decline in Safe Orthopaedics sales and +32% growth in Safe Medical sales.
Safe Orthopaedics achieved double-digit growth in its historical areas of direct sales in France/UK and indirect sales. In the United States, sales were down on Q3 2022, as the company had delivered start-up stock to a US partner at that time. In Germany, Safe Orthopaedics made a marketing change in September 2023, signing an agent agreement with a German company which took over 50% of the sales force.
Safe Medical recorded 32% growth in sales to customers outside the Group, while maintaining the production levels required for Safe Orthopaedics' commercial activity.
Cumulative sales for the first 9 months came to €4.25 million, flat compared with 2022.
Safe Orthopaedics sales were down 8%, driven by 14% growth in the historical France/UK and indirect regions (€2.23M), and down €528k in regions undergoing restructuring and start-up (i.e. Germany and USA). Since the launch of SteriSpineTM ready-to-use technologies at the end of the third quarter of 2023, over 27,800 procedures have been performed worldwide.
Safe Medical delivers cumulative sales of €1.77 million, up 14% on external customers. Safe Medical has enjoyed steady growth since its acquisition by the Safe Group.
Pierre Dumouchel, President and CEO of the Safe Group, comments:
"Our third quarter was marked by strong growth at Safe Medical and in Safe Orthopaedics' historical sales regions. In less dynamic areas, we have made strategic distribution changes to revitalize our sales. Since the opening of the receivership, we have been implementing rapid restructuring measures and seeking structuring partnerships and/or financing. Our operational teams remain 100% focused on marketing our Safe Orthopaedics technologies and Safe Medical industrial services.”
Update on the Group's overall situation
As a reminder, by judgments pronounced on September 4, 2023, the Pontoise Commercial Court pronounced the opening of receivership proceedings in respect of the Group's French companies, SAFE, SAFE ORTHOPAEDICS SAS and SAFE MEDICAL SAS, and opened a 6-month observation period for in respect of each of the companies. As a reminder, in accordance with the provisions of article L. 631-15 of the French Commercial Code, receivership is a collective procedure whose purpose is to "enable the company to continue tradinǵ, maintain employment and pay off its liabilities" (article L.631-1 of the French Commercial Code).
The general management, assisted by the law firm BLERIOT & Associés, in the person of Maitre Philippe Blériot in his capacitý of court-appointed administrator, is carrying out all the restructuring necessary for the turnaround of the three entities.
In accordance with the provisions of the French Commercial Code, the appropriateness of continuing the observation period for the companies concerned will be reviewed again on November 17, 2023, by the Pontoise Commercial Court.
At October 13, 2023, the Group's unaudited cash position stood at €285k, compared with €220k at June 30, 2022.
Under the terms of a press release dated March 14, 2023, Safe announced the implementation of bond financing in the form of OCEANE bonds with financial investor Alpha Blue Ocean, and highlighted the risks inherent in this type of financing, potentially highly dilutive.
As announced in the press release of July 31, 2023, the Alpha Blue Ocean financing contract has been suspended. The 190 bonds outstanding to date are currently being reviewed and may be converted with the approval of the court-appointed administrator.
On September 6, 2023, the 'Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meetings were unable to validly deliberate due to a lack of the required quorum of 25% of shareholders. Management is making every effort to reconvene and hold the ordinary and extraordinary general meetings. Shareholders will shortly be informed of the dates of these meetings.
Next publications
Sales for 2nd half 2023, January 10, 2024 (after close of trading)
About Safe Group
Safe Group is a French medical technology group that brings together Safe Orthopaedics, a pioneer in ready-to-use technologies for spine pathologies, and Safe Medical (formerly LCI Medical), a medical device subcontractor for orthopedic surgeries. The group employs approximately 125 people.
Safe Orthopaedics develops and manufactures kits combining sterile implants and ready-to-use instruments, available at any time to the surgeon. These technologies are part of a minimally invasive approach aimed at reducing the risks of contamination and infection, in the interest of the patient and with a positive impact on hospitalization times and costs. Protected by 15 patent families, SteriSpineTM kits are CE marked and FDA approved. Safe Orthopaedics is headquartered in the Paris region (95610 Eragny-sur-Oise) and has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and the Lyon region (Fleurieux-sur-l'Arbresle).
For more information: http://www.safeorthopaedics.com/
Safe Medical produces implantable medical devices and ready-to-use instruments. It has an innovation center and two production sites in France (Fleurieux-sur-l'Arbresle, 69210) and in Tunisia, offering numerous industrial services: industrialization, machining, finishing and sterile packaging.
For more information: http://www.safemedical.fr/
Contacts
Safe Group
François-Henri Reynaud
Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
Tél. : +33 (0)1 34 21 50 00
investors@safeorthopaedics.com
Attachments
