Pre-Closed Period Trading Upd

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Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC

12 January 2009

 



Issued by Citigate Dewe Rogerson Ltd, Birmingham

Date: Monday, 12 January 2009

Dechra® Pharmaceuticals PLC

('Dechra' or 'The Group')

Pre-closed period Trading Update

The Board of Dechra issues the following update ahead of the publication of the Group's Half-Year Results for the six months ended 31 December 2008 which are scheduled to be announced on Tuesday 24 February 2009.

Trading in the first six months of the financial year is ahead of the same period last year with overall revenue increasing by approximately 23%. On a like-for-like basis (excluding VetXX® acquired in January 2008), revenue was approximately 9.5% ahead of last year.

Product Development

As announced on 15 December 2008, full FDA approval has now been received to market and sell Vetoryl® Capsules in the United States of America. The product will be officially launched on 18 January 2009 at the North American Veterinary Conference in Florida.

A number of other important pharmaceutical products have received approval and are scheduled for launch in selected EU territories within the second half of the financial year, including 2.5 mg Felimazole® Tablets, Malaseb® Shampoo and a generic analgesic injection. New therapeutic diet launches are also planned with the introduction of new lines and improved palatability products. More information in relation to new products and their proposed launch dates will be provided in the forthcoming Half-Year Report.

Pharmaceuticals Division

Overall, revenues from this division are approximately 146% ahead of the same period in 2007. We expect to see further growth during 2009 as we continue to increase sales of our current product portfolio and launch new, licenced veterinary pharmaceuticals internationally.

Dechra Veterinary Products Europe ('DVP EU'), including the UK, performed well during the period with strong growth coming through from the former VetXX operations. The integration of VetXX has been completed successfully culminating in the rebranding of VetXX to DVP which will further strengthen Dechra's presence within the EU.

Dechra Veterinary Products United States ('DVP US') has been preparing for the January 2009 launch of Vetoryl Capsules. Initial Vetoryl sales of US$700,000 were made into US-distributors at the end of the Half-Year period. In preparation for the launch we have appointed a number of high calibre people to strengthen our sales & marketing and technical support teams.

Our manufacturing business, Dales Pharmaceuticals, has produced a solid first half performance, benefiting from an increase in production of our own-branded and third party pharmaceutical products.

Services Division

The Services Division continues to make good progress, with revenue for the six months ended 31 December 2008 being approximately 7.5% higher than the equivalent period last year. Although the market continued to experience growth throughout the six months it was at a slower rate in the latter part of the trading period.  National Veterinary Services® ('NVS') has maintained its market share at above 44%.

Summary

The Group's trading for the financial year ending 30 June 2009 remains in line with the Board's expectations. We remain confident that our strategy and development pipeline have positioned the Group to respond resolutely to challenging times. The Group's cash flow remains strong, our banking facilities secure and balance sheet robust; we therefore remain optimistic about the Group's future prospects.

Enquiries:
Ian Page, Chief Executive	Fiona Tooley, Director
Simon Evans, Group Finance Director	Keith Gabriel, Senior Account Manager
Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC	Citigate Dewe Rogerson
Telephone: + 44 (0) 1782 771 100	Telephone: [phone]
Mobile: [phone] (IP)	Mobile: [phone] (KG)
Mobile: [phone] (SE)
[e-mail]
Ticker: Sector: Full Listing (Pharmaceuticals): DPH

Trademarks appear throughout this release in italics. Dechra and the Dechra 'D' logo are registered Trademarks of Dechra Pharmaceuticals PLC.

 

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