Profits plunge by 48 per cent at pharmaceutical giant
Profits plunged by 48 per cent at pharmaceutical firm Alliance Pharma in the first six months of the year.
The Wiltshire firm saw profits before tax slip from £19.7m to £10.3m in the period up to the end of June.
Despite the fall in profits the company says the underlying business remains strong and the board’s expectations for group performance in the full year remain unchanged.
The company added that in response to shareholder feedback the board has decided to pause the interim dividend whilst it develops a new dividend policy with greater focus on reinvestment in the business.
Revenues remained broadly flat at just over £82m and net debt was £94m.
Chief executive Peter Butterfield, who has returned to the helm of the business following a leave of absences, said: “We are encouraged by the recovery in China and the significant market share gains made by Kelo-Cote, along with the excellent progress of Nizoral, which is now fully under our control.
“Meanwhile our wider portfolio continues to provide a robust platform from which to grow our consumer healthcare brands.
“The second half of 2023 has got off to an encouraging start as we have addressed the regulatory issues and recommenced production of certain products impacted in the first half of the year.
“Our Kelo-Cote CBEC distributor has begun to place orders and we have contractual agreements in place to secure the future orders required to meet our expectations for full year revenues. We anticipate strong group sales growth in H2 as our marketing campaigns yield benefits and we launch several new products to grow our market share.
“Our free cash flow is expected to continue to build strongly for the remainder of 2023, and we will continue to reduce our net debt and leverage by the end of the year.”
