Last year's high milestone payments meant first-half revenues dipped at generic asthma drug specialist Vectura (VEC), but progress has nevertheless been impressive. And the royalty payments from the first European and Japanese sales of Seebri (NVA237) for chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) are now set to start coming through. The treatment was recently approved for sale by regulators in both territories and milestone payments totalled £7.7m in the half and more are expected as Seebri is launched in additional territories.
It isn't just the combination therapy for COPD that is bringing in cash. Vectura's other programmes are also earning the company significant milestones. For example, VR315, another combination treatment for asthma, earned a milestone of $3m (£1.8m) during the period. The agreement could earn up to another $32m for Vectura by the time VR315 is ready for filing with US regulators towards the end of next year. The company's cash position looks solid at £72m, with analysts forecasting that this will be further boosted by up to $15m of milestone payments due in the second half. Meanwhile, there was a small fall in research and development (R&D) spending in the half - down 4 per cent to £13.3m - and management expects R&D spending to be 5 per cent lower than last year's £32.8m total.
Broker Canaccord Genuity forecasts a pre-tax loss for 2013 of £11.7, giving a loss per share of 2.7p and for 2014 expects a pre-tax loss of £7.2m and a loss per share of 1.5p.
VECTURA (VEC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 79p | MARKET VALUE: | £262m | |
| TOUCH: | 78-79p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 92p | LOW: 50p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 42p* | NET CASH: | £72.1m | |
| Half-year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 21.1 | 1.10 | 0.80 | nil |
| 2012 | 17.0 | -1.10 | 0.30 | nil |
| % change | -19 | - | -63 | - |
Ex-div: - Payment: - *Includes intangible assets of £70m, or 21p a share | ||||
