BioPhausia focuses and sells OTC products to Meda for SEK 190 million
(Thomson Reuters ONE) -
On 22 September, BioPhausia signed an agreement to sell its portfolio of OTC
products to Meda for a total of SEK 190 million, plus the value of the
inventory. The Company has also completed the previously communicated strategic
review of its generics portfolio, allowing further concentration on prescription
pharmaceuticals which have better profitability potential. An associated review
of the Company's intangible assets in the form of impairment testing has also
been carried out. In total, the measures have had a negative impact of approx.
SEK 138 million on operating profit, with approx. SEK 74 million of this figure
relating to the pharmaceuticals sold to Meda. The sale proceeds will strengthen
the Company's financial position and allow the bank loans of SEK 195 million to
be fully repaid.
The divested OTC portfolio contains eight over-the-counter drugs, including
Novalucol, Novaluzid and C-vimin, which are strong brands in Sweden and its
Nordic neighbours. The transaction also includes the prescription drug
Acetylcystein and certain other trademark rights. Payment was made in cash and
the transaction will be completed in September 2010.
Total sales revenue for the divested products for 2009 was SEK 88 million. This
accounted for approx. 42 percent of the Own products segment's sales and
represented an EBITDA of SEK 29 million, corresponding to 37 percent of the
segment's EBITDA. The sales proceeds mean Biophausia's bank loans of SEK 195
million can be fully repaid, although they do not affect the Company's
debentures and operating loans. Annual cash flow will improve by approx. SEK 85
million as a result of reduced repayments and interest payments, without
considering the impact of the sold portfolio.
"The re-regulation of the pharmacy market has created new conditions for
over-the-counter drugs," says BioPhausia's CEO Maris Hartmanis. "We believe
that future success in OTC requires considerable volumes and large product
portfolios, and Meda already has OTC sales of approx. SEK 1.5 billion. The
transaction with Meda is part of our ongoing streamlining process and allows us
to free up resources for future investments in prescription drugs."
The strategic review of segment operations has given rise to further impairment
losses. For Licensed products these amount to approx. SEK 42 million, while for
the other operations they are approx. 9 million. The impairment losses for
Licensed products are partly due to the impending removal of generic drugs with
unsatisfactory profitability but were also identified during the annual
impairment testing. The number of generic drugs on the market will be reduced
from approx. 30 to approx. 20. Having a smaller number of generic products with
higher profitability is conducive to improved results in this segment. The
Parallel-imported products segment is not affected by the above-mentioned
measures.
The previously communicated disposal of subsidiaries has been completed,
resulting in a net capital loss of approx. SEK 4 million. In addition, the value
of Licensed products inventories will be written down by a further SEK 9
million, as certain pharmaceuticals are being phased out and operations are
focusing on the Nordic region.
The above measures have a total impact of approx. SEK -138 million on operating
profit. At the same time, the Company's financial position is strengthening and
its available cash flow is increasing.
The strategic review and implemented measures are allowing BioPhausia to evolve
into a focused company specialising in prescription drugs.
CEO Maris Hartmanis: "The different measures we have taken in this short time
leave BioPhausia well-equipped to strengthen its operating profit and margins in
a long-term perspective. We are expecting an improved cash flow in the future as
a consequence of these measures and the repayment of the Company's bank loans."
For more information, please contact:
Maris Hartmanis, CEO BioPhausia, tel. +46 (0)8-407 64 30
This information is provided pursuant to the disclosure requirements to which
BioPhausia AB (publ) is subject under the Swedish Securities Market Act and/or
the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act.
[HUG#1446679]
BioPhausia focuses and sells OTC products to Meda for SEK 190 million :
http://hugin.info/130049/R/1446679/389608.pdf
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Source: BioPhausia AB via Thomson Reuters ONE
Unternehmensinformation / Kurzprofil:
Datum: 24.09.2010 - 11:23 Uhr
Sprache: Deutsch
News-ID 43016
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