Alliance Pharma PLC - Full Year Trading Update

Strong revenue growth in 2019 with rapid reduction in net debt

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH), the international healthcare group, announces its unaudited trading update for the year ended 31 December 2019 ahead of the announcement of the Group’s audited results on 24 March 2020.

See-through revenue* for 2019 showed strong growth of 16% on the prior year at £144.3m (2018: £124.0m) on both a reported and constant currency basis. Excluding acquisitions, year on year revenue increased 9% in 2019 (up 8% on a constant currency basis). Underlying profit before tax is expected to be in line with expectations.

Revenue growth was underpinned by strong performances across our International Star brands:

• Kelo-cote™ delivered another very strong performance, with revenues of £31.0m, an increase of 38% on the prior year (2018: £22.5m), due to continued strong demand from the Asia Pacific region
• Nizoral™ (under Johnson & Johnson management in 2019) performed in line with expectations generating see-through revenues* of £20.2m, compared with £10.9m in the second half of 2018
• MacuShield™ saw strong growth in 2019, with revenues up 18% at £8.2m (2018: £7.0m)
• Vamousse™ delivered another strong performance, achieving revenues of £6.5m, up 14% on the previous year (2018: £5.8m), and up 10% on a constant currency basis, reflecting continued out-performance against the general market in the US, its main sales territory

Local brands delivered a stable performance with revenues for 2019 slightly ahead of the prior year at £78.4m (2018: £77.8m).

Free cash flow for the year was very strong at £29.1m (2018: £16.1m) and continues the first half trend. Net debt reduced to £59.2m at 31 December 2019 compared with £74.1m at 30 June 2019 and £85.8m at 31 December 2018. Leverage (adjusted net debt/EBITDA) was just below 1.5 times as at 31 December 2019 (31 December 2018: 2.3 times).

Peter Butterfield, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Pharma, commented: “2019 continues the strong momentum of recent years with good organic growth led by our consumer brands.   We are also pleased to report very healthy cash generation in 2019, which has resulted in a significant reduction in net debt and leaves us well placed to selectively add to our portfolio with a continued focus on augmenting our consumer brands in international markets.  We look forward to 2020 and beyond with confidence.”

* See-through revenue includes sales from Nizoral™ as if they had been invoiced by Alliance. Under the terms of the transitional services agreement with Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Alliance receives the benefit of the net profit on sales of Nizoral from the date of acquisition up until the product licences in the Asia-Pacific territories transfer from J&J to Alliance. Revenue for 2019, on a statutory-reported basis, is expected to be £135.6m, an increase of 15% on the prior year.

About Alliance

Alliance Pharma plc (AIM: APH) is an international healthcare group, headquartered in the UK with subsidiaries in Europe, the Far East and the US and wide international reach through an extensive network of distributors, generating revenues in more than 100 countries.

We currently own or license the rights to around 90 consumer healthcare products and pharmaceuticals, which are managed on a portfolio basis according to their growth potential. Promotional investment is focused on a small number of brands with significant international or multi-territory reach. The remainder of the portfolio comprises products which are sold in a limited number of local markets and require little or no promotional investment.

Our strategy allows us to deliver good organic growth and to enhance our growth rate through carefully selected acquisitions.

For more information on Alliance, please visit our website:  www.alliancepharmaceuticals.com