Interim Results for the year ended 30 June 2021
Strong growth from Consumer Healthcare brands and integration of Amberen complete
Full year outlook in line with market expectations
Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH), the international healthcare group, announces its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2021 (the “Period”).
Highlights
- The Group traded strongly in the Period with an excellent performance from Kelo-cote™, an uplift in revenue from Prescription Medicines and a significant contribution from recently acquired Amberen™
- See-through revenue in total up 24% (+28% on a constant currency basis (“CCY”)) to £80.9m; like-for-like (“LFL”) see-through revenue, which excludes Amberen, up 9% (+12% CCY); statutory revenue up 27% to £78.6m (H1 2020 £61.7m)
- Strong performance from Consumer Healthcare brands, with see-through revenue up 30% overall (+35% CCY)
- Kelo-cote revenue up 54% (+62% CCY)
- LFL Consumer Healthcare revenue up 8% (+12% CCY)
- Prescription Medicines revenue up 12% (+12% CCY)
- Strong performance from Consumer Healthcare brands, with see-through revenue up 30% overall (+35% CCY)
- Underlying gross margin up 4.7% to 63.8% of see-through revenue (H1 2020: 59.1%), reflecting favourable changes in product mix; statutory gross margin up 3.1% to 65.6% (H1 2020: 62.5%)
- Underlying profit before tax up 24% to £20.1m (H1 2020: £16.3m); reported profit before tax £16.5m (H1 2020: £0.6m)
- Free cash flow £6.5m (H1 2020: £10.5m), reflecting the expected reversal of favourable working capital movements in Q4 2020 and the timing of sales within the Period
- Leverage reduced to 2.21 times from 2.43 times at December 2020 and expected to fall below 2.0 times by the end of the year
- Amberen integration complete and trading in line with management expectations
- Interim dividend payment of 0.563p, up 5% (interim dividend 2020: 0.536p)
Revenue summary
| Unaudited six months ended 30 June | H1 2021 £m | H1 2020 | Growth | CCY growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelo-cote | 21.9 | 14.2 | +54% | +62% |
| Amberen | 9.5 | - | - | - |
| Nizoral* | 9.0 | 9.8 | -8% | -7% |
| Other consumer brands | 16.4 | 19.8 | -17% | |
| Consumer Healthcare | 56.8 | 43.8 | +30% | +35% |
| Prescription Medicines | 24.1 | 21.5 | +12% | +12% |
| See-through Medicines* | 80.9 | 65.3 | +24% | +28% |
| LFL Consumer Healthcare revenue, excluding Amberen | 47.3 | 43.8 | +8% | +12% |
| LFL see-through revenue, excluding Amberen | 71.4 | 65.3 | +9% | +12% |
Financial summary
| Unaudited six months ended 30 June | H1 2021 £m | H1 2020 | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| See-through Revenue* | 80.9 | 65.3 | +24% |
| Statutory Revenue | 78.6 | 61.7 | +27% |
| Gross profit | 51.6 | 38.6 | +34% |
| Underlying EBITDA* | 22.8 | 18.1 | +26% |
| Underlying profit before taxation | 20.1 | 16.3 | +24% |
| Reported profit before taxation | 16.5 | 0.6 | |
| Underlying basic earnings per share | 2.99p | 2.45p | +22% |
| Reported basic earnings per share | 1.54p | (0.33)p | |
| Free cash flow* | 6.5 | 10.5 | -38% |
| Leverage | 2.21x | 2.34x (31 Dec) | |
| Net debt* | 105.4 | 109.4 (31 Dec) | |
| Interim dividend per share | 0.563p | 0.536p | +5% |
* The performance of the Group is assessed using Alternative Performance Measures (“APMs”), which are measures that are not defined under IFRS, but are used by management to monitor ongoing business performance against both shorter term budgets and forecasts and against the Group’s longer term strategic plans. APMs are defined in note 17.
Specifically, see-through revenue includes sales from Nizoral™ as if they had been invoiced by Alliance. Under the terms of the transitional services agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Alliance receives the benefit of the net profit on sales of Nizoral from the date of acquisition up until the product licences in each of the Asia-Pacific territories transfer from J&J to Alliance. For statutory accounting purposes the product margin on Nizoral sales is included within Revenue, in line with IFRS 15.
Commenting on the interim results, Peter Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance, said:
“The Group has delivered another strong performance in the first half of 2021, with the uplift in revenue from our enlarged Consumer Healthcare business flowing through to pre-tax profits. We expect this core part of our business to continue to grow strongly during the remainder of the year, led by Kelo-cote and Amberen.
“We were very pleased with the first half performance from Amberen, which was acquired in December 2020 and has traded in line with our expectations. With the integration of the brand into our US-based operations now complete, we can focus on maximising the value of this key brand.
“Trading for the remainder of the financial year remains in line with market expectations. We expect the combination of positive trading and working capital movements to result in Group leverage falling below 2.0x by the end of the year.”
Webcast & Analyst Q&A Call
A pre-recorded presentation of the half year results, by Peter Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer, and Andrew Franklin, Chief Financial Officer, will be available at 7.05am today at the investor section of Alliance’s website, https://www.alliancepharmaceuticals.com/investors/
and at https://webcasting.buchanan.uk.com/broadcast/6127786112f0cb436ea67ef8
A Q&A call for analysts will be held at 10.00am today; analysts who require joining details should contact Buchanan at alliancepharma@buchanan.uk.com.
For further information:
Alliance Pharma plc
Peter Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Franklin, Chief Financial Officer
+ 44 (0)1249 466966
Buchanan
Mark Court / Sophie Wills / Hannah Ratcliff
+ 44 (0)20 7466 5000
Numis Securities Limited
Nominated Adviser: Freddie Barnfield / Duncan Monteith
Corporate Broking: James Black
+ 44 (0)20 7260 1000
Investec Bank plc
Corporate Finance: Daniel Adams
Corporate Broking: Patrick Robb
+ 44 (0) 20 7597 5970
About Alliance
Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH) is an international healthcare group. Our purpose is to improve the lives of consumers and patients through making available a range of clinically valuable healthcare products.
Our core focus is on the marketing of Consumer Healthcare brands, complemented by a smaller Prescription Medicines business. In total, we hold marketing rights to around 80 brands, with revenues generated from a mix of direct, distributor and e-commerce sales.
Headquartered in the UK, the Group employs around 250 people based in locations across Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific region. By outsourcing our manufacturing and logistics operations, we remain asset-light and focused on maximising the value of our brands.
For more information on Alliance, please visit our website: www.alliancepharmaceuticals.com