Half Year Trading Update

RNS Number : 7420F

Alliance Pharma PLC

20 July 2021

 

For immediate release

20 July 2021

ALLIANCE PHARMA PLC

("Alliance" or the "Group")

Half Year Trading Update

Strong revenue growth continues

 Amberen performance since acquisition in line with expectations and integration now complete

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH), the international healthcare group, announces its trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2021 (the "Period"), ahead of the expected announcement of the Group's interim results on 21 September 2021.

The Group traded strongly with see-through revenue¹ of £80.9m, 24% higher than the same period last year (H1 2020: £65.3m) and 28% higher on a constant currency basis.  Excluding Amberen ™ , acquired in December 2020, like for like see-through revenue¹ was £71.4m, 9% higher than the same period last year (12% on a constant currency basis). Based on trading in the year to date, the Board expects underlying profit before tax for the full year to be in line with market expectations.

Our Consumer Healthcare brands continue to perform strongly, with total Consumer Healthcare revenues for the Period up 30% to £56.8m (H1 2020: £43.8m) and like for like revenues, excluding Amberen, up 8% to £47.3m (12% on a constant currency basis) . Kelo-cote™ delivered another very strong performance, with revenues in the Period up 54% to £21.9m (H1 2020: £14.2m), 62 % on a constant currency basis. Amberen continues to trade in line with our pre-acquisition expectations, generating revenues of £9.5m in the Period, a constant currency increase of 10% versus the last six-months under its previous ownership. Nizoral™ revenues were 8% lower than the same period last year, at £9.0m (H1 2020: £9.8m), 7% lower on a constant currency basis, primarily due to the phasing of distributor orders .

We saw an uplift in our Prescription Medicines business in the Period, with revenues increasing 12% to £24.1m (H1 2020: £21.5m), as some of the negative impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of routine treatments eased.

Free cash flow for the Period was £6.5m (H1 2020: £10.5m), the reduction reflecting the expected reversal of the favourable working capital movements in Q4 2020 and the timing of sales within the Period. Net debt reduced by £2.7m to £106.7m as at 30 June 2021 and Group leverage² reduced to 2.21 times at the end of June (31 December 2020: 2.43 times).  We continue to expect this to fall below 2.0 times by the end of the year.

Peter Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance, commented:

"I am pleased to report that the Group continued to deliver a strong performance in the first half of 2021. Our Consumer Healthcare business continues to perform well - Kelo-cote in particular enjoyed a very strong first half. We were pleased with the first half performance from Amberen, and the integration of the brand into our US-based operations is now complete .

"We expect the Group's strong performance will continue throughout the second half and anticipate this will have a positive impact on cash generation and our ability to further deleverage by the year end."

¹ See-through revenue includes sales from Nizoral™ as if they had been invoiced by Alliance. Under the terms of the transitional services agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Alliance receives the benefit of the net profit on sales of Nizoral from the date of acquisition up until the product licences in the Asia-Pacific territories transfer from J&J to Alliance. Revenue for H1 2021, on a statutory-reported basis, is expected to be £78.6m, an increase of 27% on the same period last year

² Adjusted net debt / enlarged Group EBITDA, calculated using pro forma EBITDA on a trailing 12-month basis

For further information:

Alliance Pharma plc	+ 44 (0)1249 466966
Peter Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Franklin, Chief Financial Officer
www.alliancepharma.co.uk
Buchanan	+ 44 (0)20 7466 5000
Mark Court / Sophie Wills / Hannah Ratcliff
Numis Securities Limited	+ 44 (0)20 7260 1000
Nominated Adviser: Freddie Barnfield / Oliver Steele
Corporate Broking: James Black

Investec Bank plc	+ 44 (0) 20 7597 5970
Corporate Finance: Daniel Adams
Corporate Broking: Patrick Robb

About Alliance

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH) is an international healthcare group, headquartered in the UK with subsidiaries in Europe, the Far East and the US and wide international reach through an extensive network of distributors, generating sales in more than 100 countries.

We hold the marketing rights to around 80 Consumer Healthcare brands and Prescription Medicines, which are managed on a portfolio basis according to their growth potential. Promotional investment is focused primarily on our Consumer healthcare brands, many of which have significant international or multi-territory reach. Our Prescription Medicines are generally sold in a more limited number of local markets, and most require little or no promotional investment.

Our strategy allows us to deliver good organic growth and to enhance our growth rate through carefully selected acquisitions.

For more information on Alliance, please visit our website: www.alliancepharmaceuticals.com

 

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