Revenues increase for listed animal medicines firm

Animal drugs and medicines firm Dechra has posted Group revenues of £248.5m, a growth of 7.1%.

The business, which has today released its half-yearly financial report for the six months ended 31 December 2019, saw revenue in EU Pharmaceuticals grow particularly strongly – by 13% to £159.6m.

Acquisition revenue from Caledonian and Venco added £9.3m, with both companies performing ahead of Dechra’s expectations.

Group underlying operating profit in the same period increased slightly to £61.1m, from £60.8m. And the group’s reported profit before tax was £19.5m, compared with £9m the previous year.

Dechra has its manufacturing base in Skipton, North Yorkshire, and its head office in Northwich, Cheshire.

Commenting on the latest results, Ian Page, chief executive officer of Dechra, said: “Our strategy remains robust and we are creating more opportunities than at any time in our history.

“New development opportunities have been secured creating a pipeline with significant potential future value.

“Acquisition opportunities continue to be assessed and delivered, our international business is increasing in materiality and we continue to get growth from our existing portfolio of products.”

However, Dechra’s full report also notes: “The period has also proved to be challenging with performance being temporarily impacted by issues in the supply chain.

“As a result, trading will be more second half weighted than is typical for Dechra. The Board remains confident in the strategy of the Group and the outlook for the future.

“The environment within which the Group operates remains competitive and the launch of alternative products in our key therapeutic sectors is a key risk. We continue to experience competition against a number of products predominantly in the EU.

“We continue to mitigate these risks by closely monitoring the market, investing in lifecycle management strategies for our key products, and an ongoing focus on our sales force effectiveness.”