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YEAR-END REPORT 2018 | ||||
By: PR Newswire Association LLC. - 14 Feb 2019 | Back to overview list |
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HUDDINGE, Sweden, Feb. 14, 2019 FULL YEAR AND THE FOURTH QUARTER
IMPORTANT EVENTS AFTER PERIOD END
AUDIOCAST TODAY AT 11.00 A.M. CET A presentation of the report (in Swedish) will take place today at 11 a.m. The presentation can be attended through the corporate website www.karopharma.se or by telephone +46 8 505 564 74. Questions may be submitted over the internet or by the telephone. LETTER FROM THE CEO We follow our plan and the fourth quarter provided strong growth, increased profits and improved margins. In the report for the third quarter, we forecasted sales and EBITDA for the full year. The outcome was within the indicated intervals. During the year, the business developed positively with almost tripled sales and profit. Sales increased 146% and EBITDA by 273%. The organic growth of 7.0% (proforma) is gratifying for a year with a strong focus on integration. We have worked intensively to first fully integrate Weifa into our business and now we have a very strong organization and profitability development in Norway. On March 1, the acquisition of the LEO portfolio was announced, and the products were taken over on April 4, where ten well-established pharmaceuticals with strong brands were acquired. The products are characterized by stable sales and profitability and have improved the company's total gross margin by 5.6%. Through the acquisition of the LEO portfolio, we were also able to report a significant tax revenue by recording a value on our previous tax loss carry-forwards in the balance sheet. In 2018, we have succeeded in significantly expanding Karo Pharma's portfolio of interesting products. Karo Pharma has established distribution in many new markets in Europe and the rest of the world. The acquisition of the LEO portfolio complements our product portfolio and geography well. Our new product Viruseptin® for the treatment of colds and flu-like symptoms was successfully launched during the fourth quarter in Sweden. We have gained market share as well as created growth in the cold category at pharmacy chains. In 2019, Viruseptin® will launch in other Nordic markets. We enter the new year with products that will be launched in the Nordic market. An example of this is Dolerin®, which is a combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen for the treatment of severe pain. The drug is medically approved in all Nordic markets and will be launched in 2019 2018 was also a year of great sorrow. In December, we received the tragic message that the company's chairman, Anders Lönner, had died. Anders spirit, who has greatly contributed to Karo Pharma's change and success in the last four years, will continue to "aim higher than you think is possible to reach, work harder, more efficient and without bureaucracy, and success will come". Together with the organization, I will do everything possible to maintain and implement Anders' winning business ideas. Today, Karo Pharma is an attractive Specialty Pharma company with well-established brands and an interesting pipeline of new products. We see opportunities to continue our business consolidation and reap synergies that improve our profitability and growth, and combining it with making interesting acquisitions in a controlled manner. Lastly, I would like to thank all employees for truly good work efforts. We are looking forward, towards new exciting challenges, our priorities are continued expansion with good profitability. Peter Blom FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Peter Blom, CEO +46-70-655-56-98, peter.blom@karopharma.se Mats-Olof Wallin, CFO +46-760-026-010, mats-olof.wallin@karopharma.se ABOUT KARO PHARMA Karo Pharma is a specialty pharma company that develops and markets products to pharmacies and directly to healthcare providers. The share is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm in the Mid Cap segment. The information in this report is such that Karo Pharma is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on February 14, 2019 at 8.30 a.m. CET. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com http://news.cision.com/karo-pharma/r/year-end-report-2018,c2740694 The following files are available for download:
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Copyright 2019 PR Newswire Association LLC. | Back to overview list |