Healthier outlook forecast by pharma group following brand shake-up
International healthcare group Alliance Pharma today said bringing in structural changes to improve efficiency, including streamlining its portfolio of brands, would position it for growth after a tough period of trading.
Annual revenue at the Chippenham-headquartered firm, which owns products ranging menopause relief to anti-dandruff shampoo, inched down by 1% to £178.8m last year with its pre-tax loss narrowing from £48.8m to £14.5m.
Reporting its preliminary results for the year to 31 December, the firm said the changes, along with a number of new senior management hires, should lead to growth “over the medium term”.
Alliance sold eight ‘tail-end’ brands for £2.8m in December and discontinued six others.
It said its innovation pipeline continued to deliver, with 4.9% of consumer health sales from products launched within the past three years against 2.6% in 2023.
Significant new launches in the year include Nizoral Derma Daily dandruff shampoo, menopause relief Amberen gummies and eye health supplement MacuShield Omega 3.
There was strong growth from scar treatment Kelo-Cote, mouth ulcer treatment Aloclair and MacuShield, although declines in other consumer healthcare brands, namely Nizoral, led to see-through revenues from its consumer healthcare range down 2% to £130.7m.
Prescription medicine revenues of £49.6m were up 8%, with strong growth in eczema and dry skin cream Hydromol and multivitamin and mineral supplement Forceval, offsetting weakness in docosahexaenoic acid supplement Lefuzhi and teething powder Ashton & Parsons.
Alliance Pharma holds the marketing rights to around 80 consumer healthcare brands and prescription medicines, which are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide.
As well as its global HQ in Chippenham, the firm – which employs 290 people – has bases in eight countries, including the US, China and Germany.
Alliance CEO Nick Sedgwick, who joined in May last year from UK hygiene, health and nutrition brands group Reckitt, said: “2024 has been an important year for Alliance as we implemented the necessary changes to accelerate decision making and to bring the consumer closer to the heart of the business.
“I am delighted by the number of highly skilled senior managers that have joined Alliance, many of whom have already made a significant impact on the business, and I see further opportunity to deliver efficiency gains and capability improvements over time.”
The firm expects to cease trading on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market by the end of this year following an approach by DBAY, its biggest shareholder, which pounced with a £350m takeover bid in January.
Isle of Man-based DBAY Advisors, which already owned a 27.9% stake in Alliance, has built up a portfolio of business since it was launched in 2008, including baked food group Finsbury, which it acquired in October 2023.
Its other acquisitions and investments over the past few years have also been in IT and software businesses.
It said it had become apparent that Alliance, which has been listed on AIM for nearly 20 years, “needed time away from the public market to allow it to fully deliver these initiatives in a reasonable timeframe”.
DBAY’s initial cash offer was increased two months later to £362m.
