HARTMANN in numbers

HARTMANN’s company history dates back over 200 years. Today we are one of the leading providers of professional medical and care products and associated services in the European market. We are represented in 36 countries and sell our diverse portfolio to service providers in over 130 countries.

In a world where health is becoming an increasingly important matter, we offer our customers simple and effective solutions for the benefit of their patients. We are ambitious and constantly looking for ways to improve outcomes in both the professional sector and at home. This is expressed in our brand promise of “Helps. Cares. Protects.”. Our core portfolio is augmented by consumer-based medical ranges, along with care products and cosmetics.

In 2023, we employed over 10,000 staff worldwide and generated sales of EUR 2.3 billion.

The activities of the HARTMANN GROUP are reported in business segments: Wound Care, Incontinence Management, Infection Management, and Complementary Group Divisions, which primarily include Kneipp, CMC, and KOB.

Growth in the Wound Care segment

The Wound Care segment generated sales of EUR 586.4 million in the reporting year. Organic sales growth was moderate at 5.6%. In addition to sales growth, price adjustments due to higher material and energy costs and cost-saving measures also contributed to the increase in profitability in the Wound Care segment.

In total, HARTMANN was again the leading wound care provider in the European pharmacy market in 2023. As the market leader in traditional wound care, HARTMANN is feeling considerable pressure from very aggressive pricing among competitors. In the area of advanced wound care, dynamic growth was driven in particular by the market launch of silicone superabsorbent wound dressings. The latter recorded growth well above the market average. In the non-European markets, collagen dressings also recorded very high growth rates. Individual ranges of traditional wound products grew also, such as non-adhesive fixation products. Vivano® products for vacuum-assisted wound therapy also contributed to the positive sales trend.

Adjusted EBITDA rose by EUR 7.2 million to EUR 108.0 million in the reporting year.

Increase in sales in the Incontinence Management segment

In the Incontinence Management segment, HARTMANN generated sales of EUR 759.5 million in the reporting year. The organic sales growth of 6.2% is in particular attributable to the necessary price adjustments resulting from increased costs.

The ranges with particularly strong sales during the reporting year included incontinence pull ups and products for moderate/severe incontinence. Skin and patient care product ranges also showed above-average growth.

The cost of raw materials and energy increased significantly again in 2023, which slowed the development of adjusted EBITDA in the Incontinence Management segment. Despite the negative effects, adjusted EBITDA in the Incontinence Management segment amounted to EUR 68.2 million in 2023 and was therefore only around EUR 0.4 million below the previous year’s figure.

Infection Management's sales decline

In the reporting year, the Infection Management segment recorded sales of EUR 515.1 million, a moderate organic decline of 8.0% compared to the previous year.

Demand for PPE, particularly examination gloves, declined due to high customer inventories. There was also a significant fall in market prices for examination gloves. By contrast, sales rose in the surgery-related product ranges, in part as a result of passing on some of the higher material costs.

HARTMANN recorded a year-on-year decline in demand for hand disinfection products against the backdrop of a reduced number of nursing staff and still high customer inventories. Adjusted EBITDA in the Infection Management segment decreased by EUR 3.4 million to EUR 14.4 million.

Positive earnings performance in Complementary Group Divisions

Sales revenue in the Complementary Group Divisions segment amounted to EUR 492.3 million in the reporting period. This corresponds to moderate organic sales growth of 4.4%. At EUR 12.8 million, the segment’s adjusted EBITDA was up on the previous year’s figure of EUR 3.6 million.

At the CMC Group, the positive sales rend is due to the acquisition of new customers and successful price adjustments. For the Kneipp Group, the German market and online business, among others, developed positively. The KOB Group’s sales declined slightly in 2023, in particular due to restraint in the construction supply industry.

In its core sales market of Germany, the HARTMANN GROUP generated sales revenues of EUR 720.4 million in 2023. This figure corresponds exactly to that of the previous year. In the EMEA region (Europe excluding Germany, Middle East, Africa), sales revenues amounted to EUR 1,407.8 million with organic growth of 3.0% compared to the previous year. In the APAC region (Asia-Pacific), HARTMANN generated sales revenues of EUR 148.0 million. Compared to the previous year, this corresponds to organic growth of 9.2%. In the Americas region, HARTMANN recorded organic sales growth of 4.7% and sales revenues of EUR 77.0 million.

Slight decline in domestic share of sales

In the reporting period, the ratio of domestic to foreign sales revenue at HARTMANN moved slightly in favor of foreign sales: Germany accounted for EUR 720.4 million of Group sales, or 30.6% (previous year: 31.2%). Outside the German domestic market, the HARTMANN GROUP generated EUR 1,632.9 million, or 69.4% (previous year: 68.8%) of Group sales.

High raw material prices remain volatile

Changes in demand and geopolitical developments such as the war in Ukraine will continue to have a significant impact on raw material prices in 2023.

HARTMANN experienced additional costs for raw material and energy prices of approximately EUR 60 million in 2023. This was mainly due to rising energy prices and the discontinuation of positive hedging and purchasing conditions from 2022. The additional costs mentioned do not take into account lower purchase prices for examination gloves, as these are reflected directly in the sales market. Some of the additional costs were offset by cost-saving measures as part of the Transformation Program and partially by price increases.

The various commercial and geopolitical challenges had a significant impact on the business performance of the HARTMANN GROUP during the reporting year. HARTMANN continued to operate in a difficult market environment in 2023 with reduced demand persisting in the markets, a massive shortage of personnel in the European healthcare systems and high additional costs for personnel, materials and energy. Nevertheless, the Company has consistently implemented its Transformation Program, made structural cost improvements and passed on some of the increased costs to customers. The Program made a significantly higher positive contribution to adjusted EBITDA in 2023 with an additional EUR 50 million compared to the previous year.

Moderate organic growth in sales

For the purpose of transparent communication and in order to manage the growth in sales revenues, HARTMANN usesorganic sales growth as its central sales performance metric. Overall, the HARTMANN GROUP recorded moderate organic sales growth during the reporting year, which was in line with expectations at 2.3%.

In 2023, the consolidated sales of the HARTMANN GROUP across all business segments amounted to EUR 2,353.3 million. Compared to the previous year, this equates to an increase of 1.8%. Acquisitions/divestments had an impact of +0.2% on the HARTMANN GROUP’s overall growth while the exchange rate effects were -0.7%.

Transformation Program contributed to profitability

The HARTMANN GROUP is making major investments as part of the Transformation Program launched in 2019. In this context, adjusted EBITDA has been the key metric for the HARTMANN GROUP’s earnings performance since 2020. The indicator shows EBIT before depreciation of tangible assets, amortization of intangible assets, impairments/reversals of impairment losses, and adjustments to results, and hence reflects operating performance. The adjustments to the results cover restructuring costs, profits or losses from divestments and acquisition-related spending, as well as other adjustments.

Adjusted EBITDA increased

Adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 203.4 million in 2023 (previous year: EUR 190.8 million). The indicator was therefore above the range of the Outlook published in the 2022 annual report and within the adjusted forecast range published in November 2023. Adjusted EBITDA return increased from 8.3% in 2022 to 8.6% in the reporting year. The main reason for this is the success of the Transformation Program with its focus on cost reductions, innovations and efficiency improvements.

During the 2023 financial year, HARTMANN made adjustments to its operational results. The Company incurred restructuring costs of EUR 24.0 million as a result of its focus on strategy. The main reasons for this were the relocation of production in the Wound Care segment and the modernization of production processes at Kneipp. Other adjustments of EUR 13.8 million were incurred, among other things, in light of digital initiatives for the future (SAP S/4HANA1) and pending litigation relating to circumstances from previous financial years.

The HARTMANN GROUP’s EBITDA for the 2023 financial year amounts to EUR 165.5 million and is thus equivalent to the previous year’s level of EUR 165.0 million. The financial result decreased to EUR -13.6 million (previous year: EUR -2.8 million). Income tax expense in the reporting year amounted to EUR 16.1 million, whereas in 2022 it was EUR 21.1 million. Compared to the previous year, consolidated net income declined by EUR 6.7 million to EUR 32.7 million.