Higher royalty income pushed total revenues up by a fifth at Vectura (VEC), helping the developer of drugs for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease make its first cash profit. The launch of three new products, as well as a full twelve months of income from the 'Seebri Breezhaler', which is sold via Swiss giant Novartis, pushed royalty revenues up by 25 per cent to £16.3m.
The balance sheet also finished the year in robust health. It was boosted by a placing of 34m new shares in early March, which netted Vectura an extra £52m. Of that, £38m went towards paying for Activaero, a private German company that chief executive Chris Blackwell coveted mainly for its unique technology platform and its ability to develop targeted respiratory treatments.
Vectura currently has eight products marketed by big-pharma partners such as Novartis (CH:NOVN), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Baxter International (US:BAX). Next on the agenda will be taking some of its lower-profile, cheaper respiratory medicines into China via its joint venture Kinnovata.
Peel Hunt expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £2.5m for the current financial year, giving EPS of 0.9p - down from £3.4m and 1.7p.
VECTURA (VEC) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 131p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 524m | |
| TOUCH: | 130p-131p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 172p | LOW: 76p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | NIL | PE RATIO: | NA | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 57p* | NET CASH: | £82m | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 40.1 | -13.8 | -3.2 | nil |
| 2011 | 42.9 | -13.3 | -2.7 | nil |
| 2012 | 33.0 | -13.2 | -1.3 | nil |
| 2013 | 30.5 | -10.4 | -1.8 | nil |
| 2014 | 36.5 | -4.8 | -0.7 | nil |
| % change | +20 | - | - | - |
Ex-div:n/a Payment:n/a *Includes intangible assets of £196m or 49p a share | ||||
