BRUSSELS, Sept 11 (Reuters) - Belgian health products distributor Omega
Pharma plans a concerted expansion in the coming years beyond its western
European base with its long list of over-the-counter (OTC) brands.
"We want to be part of the worldwide top in OTC," Chief Executive Marc
Coucke told an investor event on Thursday.
Omega, selling non-prescription products to pharmacists, competes with
the OTC arms of pharma giants such as Johnson & Johnson and Bayer and of
consumer product groups from Procter & Gamble to Reckitt Benckiser.
Omega, the only sizeable stand-alone OTC company, ranks itself 13th in
that market with sales last year of 789 million euros ($1.1 billion). Its key
products include wart treatments, mosquito repellents, vitamins, pregnancy tests
and sun tan lotions.
Worldwide OTC sales growth has accelerated from 2-3 percent in 2000-2001
to 6-7 percent now and matches that of pharmaceuticals, whose growth has fallen
from 10-12 percent in the blockbuster boom era at the start of the decade.
Coucke said the western European OTC market was growing at a modest 2
percent a year. Omega wants to tap into markets such as eastern Europe, with
forecast annual growth of 10 percent or southeast Asia, with expansion seen at
some 12 percent a year.
In 2000, Omega was busy expanding from Belgium.
In recent months, Omega has snapped up Aurora, an Australian importer, a
majority stake in Switerland's Interdelta, the whole of Altermed of the Czech
Republic and plans a purchase of an as yet unidentified Hungarian operator --
all for some 20 million euros, with a further possible payment of 5 million
euros.
"We are looking at one acquisition per country, one platform per
country," Coucke said.
He added Omega wanted to push its products into Romania, Bulgaria and
countries of the former Yugoslavia and Soviet Union, as well as establishing a
presence in South America.
It has opened offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok and eyes the
launch of a first product in China in 2009.
In India, a 50-50 joint venture with that country's Modi Mundipharma
should be closed within six months and provide Omega's first experience of
production in a low-cost nation. Coucke said it could be an industry trend in
coming years, mirroring low-cost production practices for generic medicines.
The company, which reported flat first-half sales, eyes growth of between
3 and 7 percent this year, with new products boosting the second half in core
markets Belgium and France.
"From 2009 to 2012 we see ourselves introducing four to seven
blockbusters per year," Coucke said.
The company chief also predicted further consolidation of the fragmented
market, particularly after OTC products in Europe were required to prove their
efficacy claims, similar to pharmaceuticals. Such a move would increase costs of
entry.
Omega has repeatedly disappointed with sales and earnings figures in
recent quarters and demoted its former chief executive in March following 2007
results. However, its second-quarter figures exceeded market expectations.
(Editing by Dale Hudson) ($1=.7180 euro) Keywords: OMEGA/
tf.TFN-Europe_newsdesk@thomson.com
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