TIDMAPH

RNS Number : 7794U

Alliance Pharma PLC

23 January 2017

 
 For immediate release   23 January 2017

ALLIANCE PHARMA PLC

("Alliance" or the "Company")

Pre-Close Trading Update

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH), the specialty pharmaceutical company, announces its pre-close trading update ahead of its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2016.

Group revenue for 2016 is expected to be more than double the prior year at GBP97.5m (2015: GBP48.3m). This has been driven by the transformational acquisition of the ex-Sinclair products in December 2015 and the continued strong performance of the original Alliance portfolio. Trading profit before tax is expected to be in line with the Board's expectations.

The ex-Sinclair products delivered sales of approximately GBP43.8m and represented 45% of total sales, which is in line with the Board's expectations. The remaining Alliance portfolio performed strongly and delivered a sales increase of 13% to approximately GBP53.7m for the year (2015: GBP47.5m).

Group sales were enhanced by approximately GBP4.2m due to the weakening of Sterling, primarily against the Euro and US Dollar. However the effect on profits was much smaller due to the increases in cost of goods and operating costs denominated in these currencies.

Our key brands delivered a strong performance in 2016. Kelo-Cote(TM), our scar reduction product, recorded sales of GBP10.1m, exceeding GBP10m for the first time. MacuShield(TM), our nutritional supplement product for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), also performed strongly with sales of GBP5.3m for the year compared with sales of GBP3.5m in the prior eleven months following its acquisition in February 2015. On an annualised basis this would equate to a growth rate of 40%. Hydromol(TM), our emollient range, grew 6% with sales of GBP7.0m in a competitive market. We were also pleased with the sales performance of our UK Consumer Health products, including Ashton & Parsons(R) Infants' Powders whose sales grew from GBP1.5m in 2015 to GBP1.9m.

Full year free cash flow was approximately double last year at over GBP12m (2015: GBP6.3m). Cash conversion was particularly good in the second half of the year with the generation of more than GBP10m of free cash flow. The first half was affected by the normalisation of working capital movements following the acquisition of the ex-Sinclair products. The integration of operations and systems from Sinclair has progressed well and the transfer of the cash-generating activities is now complete.

Net debt decreased from GBP79.0m at 30 June 2016 to approximately GBP76.1m as at 31 December 2016, despite adverse foreign exchange movements following the weakening of Sterling. Expressed at 30 June 2016 currency rates, net debt would have been GBP73.8m. We expect net debt to progressively reduce during 2017, driven by the Group's strong underlying cash generation.

The UK registration for Diclectin, a product undergoing approval for the treatment for nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, is progressing to plan. We expect UK registration mid-year, which will enable us to begin sales in the second half of 2017 with European territories following from late 2018.

The Group expects to announce its preliminary results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2016 on Wednesday 29 March 2017.

For further information:

 
 Alliance Pharma plc                             + 44 (0) 1249 466966 
 John Dawson, Chief Executive 
  Andrew Franklin, Chief Financial 
  Officer 
 www.alliancepharma.co.uk 
                                                     + 44 (0) 20 7466 
  Buchanan                                                       5000 
 Mark Court / Sophie Cowles 
  / Jane Glover 
 
                                                     + 44 (0) 20 7260 
 Numis Securities Limited                                        1000 
 Nominated Adviser: Michael 
  Meade / Freddie Barnfield 
 Corporate Broking: James 
  Black / Toby Adcock

Notes to editors:

About Alliance Pharma

Alliance, founded in 1998, is an international speciality pharmaceutical company based in Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK. The Company has sales in more than 100 countries worldwide via direct sales, joint ventures and a network of distributors. Alliance has a strong track record of acquiring the rights to established niche products and it currently owns or licenses the rights to approximately 90 pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare products. The Company continues to explore opportunities to expand its product portfolio.

Alliance joined the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in December 2003 and trades under the symbol APH.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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