REG - Alliance Pharma PLC - Full Year Trading Update

Alliance PharmaAnnouncement

29/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 1342B  Alliance Pharma PLC  29 January 2024

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.

 

 For immediate release  29 January 2024

 

 

ALLIANCE PHARMA

("Alliance", "Company" or the "Group")

 

Full Year Trading Update

 

Strong revenues on H2 recovery, leverage reduced

 

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH), the international healthcare group, announces
its trading update for the year ended 31 December 2023 (the "Period"), ahead
of the announcement of the Group's audited results in March 2024, which are
anticipated to be in line with market expectations.

Financial summary

The Group delivered record see-through(1) revenues in the Period of £182.7m
(FY22: £172.0m), up 6% versus the prior period and up 7% at constant exchange
rates ("CER"). Excluding sales from ScarAway and the US rights to Kelo-Cote in
Q1 23, both acquired in March 2022 (the "US Acquisition"), like-for-like
see-through revenues increased 6% CER.

 

Continued strong consumer demand, particularly in China, drove significant
recovery in Kelo-Cote franchise revenues in H2, leading to FY23 revenues of
£63.2m, up 29% CER (FY22: £50.0m). Nizoral revenues increased 3% CER to
£21.7m (FY22: £21.8m) whilst Amberen revenues declined 6% CER on an
underlying basis (excluding the leading discount store account that was lost
in 2022) and decreased 25% CER to £11.2m (FY22: £14.9m) on a reported basis.
With Other Consumer brands up 5% CER to £40.3m (FY22: £38.4m), total
see-through Consumer Healthcare revenues increased 11% CER to £136.4m.
Prescription Medicine revenues were stable at £46.3m (FY22: £46.8m),
reflecting a strong recovery in H2 as expected, as previously out of stock
products became available.

 

Underlying profit for the Period is anticipated to be in-line with market
expectations.

 

Cash and debt

Free cash flow in the Period rose 34% to £21.1m (FY22: £15.8m) and net debt
reduction continued, falling to £92.4m at 31 December 2023 (31 December 2022:
£102.0m). Group leverage(2) (as at 31 December 2023) is expected to be
significantly below that at 30 June 2023 (2.7x), and in-line with previous
guidance.

Outlook

Demand for the Group's brands remains strong. Alliance's clear focus on the
core Consumer Healthcare business, in addition to our well-established,
scalable platform across EMEA, APAC and the US, is expected to deliver
continued strong organic growth over the medium term. In 2024, the Board
anticipates our Consumer Healthcare revenues to continue to grow above that of
the broader Consumer Healthcare market, with stable Prescription Medicine
revenues.

In order to achieve our medium-term objectives, in 2024, the Board anticipates
increased investment in sales and marketing, both directly and through the
Group's distributors. The Company will also continue to deliver innovation in
2024 to further expand the reach of its brands. As a result, the Board
anticipates that profits in 2024 will be in-line with 2023.

 

Peter Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance, commented:

"Our portfolio continues to provide a robust platform from which to grow our
Consumer Healthcare brands. In 2023, we delivered record revenues as we
launched new advertising campaigns to accelerate organic sales growth whilst
bringing new, innovative, products to market. Our global ecommerce business is
building strongly, as we entered several new, high growth geographies in 2023,
and look to enter more this year.

"We remain confident in our long-term performance as we focus our resources on
those market segments in which we already have a strong presence and expertise
in order to drive solid organic revenue growth above that of the broader
Consumer Healthcare market."

(1) See-through revenue includes sales from Nizoral™ as if they had been
invoiced by Alliance as principal. For statutory accounting purposes the
product margin relating to Nizoral sales made on an agency basis is included
within Revenue, in line with IFRS 15.

(2) Adjusted net debt / enlarged Group EBITDA, calculated using pro forma
EBITDA on a trailing 12-month basis.

 

For further information:

 

 Alliance Pharma plc                                                       + 44 (0)1249 466966
 Cora McCallum, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications      + 44 (0)1249 705168
 ir@allianceph.com (mailto:ir@allianceph.com)

 Buchanan                                                                  + 44 (0)20 7466 5000
 Mark Court / Sophie Wills
 alliancepharma@buchanan.uk.com (mailto:alliancepharma@buchanan.uk.com)

 Deutsche Numis (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)                       + 44 (0)20 7260 1000
 Freddie Barnfield / Duncan Monteith / Sher Shah

 Investec Bank plc (Joint Broker)                                          + 44 (0)20 7597 5970
 Patrick Robb / Maria Gomez de Olea

 

About Alliance

 

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH) is a growing consumer healthcare company. Our
purpose is to empower people to make a positive difference to their health and
wellbeing by making our trusted and proven brands available around the world.

We deliver organic growth through investing in our priority brands and
channels, in related innovation, and through selective geographic expansion to
increase the reach of our brands. Periodically, we may look to enhance our
organic growth through selective, complementary acquisitions.

Headquartered in the UK, the Group employs around 285 people based in
locations across Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific region. By
outsourcing our manufacturing and logistics we remain asset-light and focused
on maximising the value we can bring, both to our stakeholders and to our
brands.

For more information on Alliance, please visit our
website: www.alliancepharmaceuticals.com
(http://www.alliancepharmaceuticals.com/)

 

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