Announcement No. 14/2009

Announcement of full-year financial results 2008/09
(1 October 2008 – 30 September 2009)

Highlights

• Organic revenue growth was 6%. Changes in exchange rates reduced revenue growth by 2 percentage points. Revenue in Danish kroner was up by 4% to DKK 8,820m
• Organic growth rates by business area: Ostomy Care 4%, Urology & Continence Care 9%, Wound & Skin Care 3%
• Gross profit was up by 2% to DKK 5,103m, equal to a gross margin of 58%. Changes in exchange rates reduced the gross margin by 1 percentage point
• EBIT was up by 40% to DKK 1,395m. Before special items, EBIT improved by 28%
• The EBIT margin was 16% against 12% in 2007/08. Changes in exchange rates reduced the EBIT margin by 1 percentage point. The underlying EBIT margin was 17%
• The free cash flow amounted to DKK 1,428m against DKK 653m last year
• A share buy-back programme of up to DKK 1bn will be launched, scheduled to run in 2009/10 and 2010/11
• The Board of Directors recommends that the shareholders attending the general meeting to be held on 1 December 2009 approve a dividend of DKK 7.00 per share, equal to a pay-out ratio of 34%, as compared with 36% last year

Guidance for 2009/10

• We expect organic revenue growth of 6–7%. Revenue growth measured in DKK is expected to be 4-5%
• We expect an EBIT margin at constant exchange rates of 17-18% and in DKK of 16-17%
• Capital expenditure is expected to be DKK 500–600m
• The effective tax rate forecast is approx. 27% 

Conference call

Coloplast will host a conference call on 6 November 2009 at 15.00 CET. The call is expected to last about one hour. To attend the conference call, call +45 3271 4607, +44 (0)20 7162 0077 or +1 334 323 6201. A webcast will be posted on www.coloplast.com shortly after the conclusion of the conference call.