Interim Management Statement

RNS Number : 4508L

Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC

28 April 2015

 

Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Dechra^® Pharmaceuticals PLC

(Dechra or the Company)

Interim Management Statement 

The Board of Dechra issues the following unaudited Interim Management Statement covering the period from 1 January 2015 to the date of this announcement. The financial reporting period covers the third quarter to 31 March 2015.

Following this Statement, scheduled communications by the Company will now formally comprise Half-Yearly Results in February, Final Results in September, Annual General Meeting Statement in October, together with pre-close trading statements in January and July.

Overview

The Board remains confident that trading continues to be in line with management expectations for the year ending 30 June 2015.

Group trading in the third quarter has been strong, however, sales have benefited from the phasing of pre-Easter ordering in Europe and competitor stock shortages in the US.

Group revenue in this quarter increased by 14.3% at constant exchange rate (CER) (6% at actual exchange rate (AER)). For the nine months ended 31 March 2015, revenue growth was 12.3% at CER (6.6% at AER).

European Pharmaceuticals

In the third quarter our European Pharmaceuticals Segment increased revenues by 7.3% at CER (-3.3% at AER). Revenues for the nine months grew by 5.7% at CER (-0.9% at AER).

Compared to last year, sales in Europe were positively impacted by wholesalers buying in advance of the Easter break.  Companion Animal Products (CAP) grew by approximately 13.5% in the quarter at CER and Equine grew by 30.2% at CER. Our Diets franchise is also showing signs of recovery as we resolve our back-order issues following the transfer of manufacturing to a new supplier. Sales in our Food producing Animal Products (FAP) continued to decline by 12.8% at CER in the third quarter.

North American Pharmaceuticals

Our Canadian subsidiary commenced trading in January 2015. The results of our existing US business and the new Canadian entity will be reported under the North American Segment to align to our management structure.

North America sales in the quarter grew by 66.8% at CER (76.4% at AER). Revenue growth for the nine months was 67.2% at CER (69.0% at AER).

For reference, US revenue on a like-for-like basis in the same period, excluding the Canadian subsidiary, grew by 57.7% at CER (67.9% at AER) in the third quarter. Revenue growth for the nine months was 63.8% at CER (65.7% at AER).

As reported in our half-yearly results in February 2015, the revenue growth in the US is partly attributable to the recent acquisition of Phycox®, the launch of Osphos®, and the re-launch of two Ophthalmic products following the resolution of long term supply issues. The performance in this quarter has also been enhanced by strong trading in our dermatology product range, largely due to a competitor out-of-stock situation.

Strategic progress update

We remain on track to deliver our strategic milestones and further progress has been made in the period:

-     Our new Polish entity has been established and a sales and marketing team recruited. The company will commence trading in our next financial year;

-     We have received FDA approval for our injection facility in Skipton, which is important for the future US launch of Zycortal® as it will be manufactured at this facility; and

-     In March 2015, we made an investment of US$1 million in Jaguar Animal Health to potentially gain access to the EU marketing rights for their companion animal products.

Enquiries:
Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC
Ian Page, Chief Executive Officer	Mobile: [phone]
Anne-Francoise Nesmes, Chief Financial Officer e-mail: [e-mail]	Mobile: [phone] Office: [phone]
TooleyStreet Communications Ltd
Fiona Tooley, Director e-mail: [e-mail]	Office: [phone] Mobile: [phone]

About Dechra

Dechra is an international specialist veterinary pharmaceuticals and relates products business.  Our expertise is in the development, manufacture and sales and marketing of high quality products exclusively for veterinarians worldwide. Dechra's business is unique as the majority of its products are used to treat medical conditions for which there is no other effective solution or have a clinical or dosing advantage over competitor products.  For more information please visit: www.dechra.com.

Stock Code: Full Listing (Pharmaceuticals): DPH

Trademarks

Dechra and the Dechra "D" logo are registered trademarks of Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC.

 

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