...Madrid (S&P Global Ratings) March 23, 2022--S&P Global Ratings today said that the 2021 full- year results of Germany-based medical laboratory group Synlab AG (##-/Stable/--) surpassed our expectations. Synlab's S&P Global Ratings-adjusted debt to EBITDA for the year stood at 1.8x. Nevertheless, we anticipate S&P Global Ratings-adjusted leverage will be about 4.0x in the next 12-24 months, given our view that revenue contributions from PCR testing will drop more abruptly in 2022 and 2023. The group displayed solid and profitable growth momentum in 2021 linked to its laboratories' key role in the pandemic response, which we expect it will retain. Since the start of the pandemic, Synlab performed over 40 million PCR tests, with testing contributing about 1.6 billion to group revenue and displaying profitability of about 45% in 2021. We note that the group's ability to ramp up operations and deliver a global response have been key to its growth and overall profitability. Excluding COVID-19,...
