Alliance Pharma report continued strong trading, with revenue up more than 40%

In an update ahead of its first half results, Alliance Pharma (LON:APH) told investors it continues to benefit from strong trading with year-on-year revenues up 40%, excluding revenues from recently acquired products. Overall, in the six-months ended 30 June 2010, the company generated revenues of approximately £23.4m, up more than £10m from the first half of 2009.

Alliance highlighted that the sales from Deltacortril/enteric coated prednisolone continued to be strong during the period. 

The new product portfolio, acquired from Cambridge Laboratories in 2010, is performing in line with the company’s expectations. The Cambridge Laboratories deal added 18 new prescription products to Alliance’s portfolio, and it is expected to be significantly earnings enhancing in the current financial year. The portfolio of 18 prescription products covers a broad range of therapeutic areas including oncology, toxicology and others.
The interim results for the six months period are scheduled for release on 8 September 2010.

This latest guidance on the company’s trading performance reflects Alliance Pharma’s continued momentum from a strong FY09 financial year. In late March, Alliance published its results from 2009, in which the pharmaceutical company increased sales by 44% to £31.2 million compared with 21.8 million in the previous financial year. The company achieved a three-fold increase in pre-tax profit before exceptionals to £8.6 million as well as in adjusted earnings per share (EPS) to 3.55 pence.

According to Alliance its record sales performance in 2009, reflected the company’s transition to the new business model, set out in 2007, with the benefits clearly evidenced in the results. Alliance said that the development side of the business is now in abeyance, with no investment of any substance made last year, no further plans to do so.

Through its concentration on the trading side of its business, the company said it has reached a critical mass of human, product and financial resources which enable it to invest confidently in adding more established products to its portfolio.

Wiltshire-based Alliance Pharma was founded in 1998, and since then it has established a strong track record of acquiring the rights to established niche products. The company now owns/or licences over 50 prescription products, across a broad range of therapeutic areas – including ‘Anti Infective’, Cardiovascular, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Toxicology, Oncology, Rheumatology and many others.

Yesterday, the company reported that its second largest shareholder, Nigel Wray bought 1.9 million shares, to increase his holding to 27.9 million shares, taking his stake in the company to approximately 12.03%. Wray remains the company’s second largest shareholder behind Chief Executive John Dawson - who controls 46.6 million shares, or 20.17%.

Wray has been topping up his shareholding in the company over recent months, buying 0.75 million shares in May (for 11.08%) and buying a further 0.8 million in June (for 11.26%).