Vectura has had something of a bumpy ride of late after news from Novartis indicated that a US regulatory assessment of chronic pulmonary disorder drug, NVA237 - that's being jointly developed with Novartis - will be delayed. But investors can at least take comfort from Vectura's basic financial stability as lower-than-expected research & development spending - down to £13.8m from £17.5m a year earlier - helped the group to make a small half-year profit.
Vectura confirmed that the US Food and Drug Administration has requested more information on the dosing regime for NVA237. Unfortunately, this has implications for Vectura's combination product, QVA149 - also developed with Novartis - as both products share the same active ingredient. That contrasts with the filing in Europe where NVA237 is already with the European Medicines Agency. Still, Vectura does at least have other sources of potentially lucrative income. Two formulated compounds which it licensed to GlaxoSmithKline, for instance, are on course to earn £20m for the company by the time they're launched, along with a potential £13m a year in milestone payments.
Collins Stewart expects a full-year pre-tax loss of £12.6m, giving a loss per share of 2.6p (2011: £13.3m loss/4.4p loss per share).
VECTURA (VEC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 67p | MARKET VALUE: | £222m | |
| TOUCH: | 66-67p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 107p | LOW: 58p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 44p* | NET CASH: | £80.2m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 26.3 | -0.6 | -0.1 | nil |
| 2011 | 21.1 | 1.1 | 0.8 | nil |
| % change | -20 | - | - | - |
Ex-div:- Payment:- *Includes intangible assets of £77.1m, or 23p a share | ||||
