Local pharma giant Ferozsons has ended FY16 with unprecedented growth. For the full-year ended June 2016, the company's top line and gross profit saw triple-digit growth. The bottom line growth was an awesome 181 percent year-on-year, and investors were rewarded with a dividend of Rs12 per share.
Ferozsons' unstoppable journey is being propelled by its portfolio of imported products, particularly its franchise from Gilead Sciences Inc., Sovaldi. The breakthrough Hepatitis C drug was made available during the year at a special access price, and Ferozsons is its licensed distributor in Pakistan.
However, since these products carry lower margins, the gross profit margin has shown a decline. Nevertheless, the net margin actually expanded by 380 bps, as the according increase in SG&A expenses wasnt nearly enough to catch up with the voluminous gross profit. Higher other income in the period also helped to prop up the net margins nicely.
As per the company's last annual report, Pakistan has one of the highest burdens of Hepatitis C, with around 10 million patients infected with the disease. Recently, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan granted registration to several generics of the drug, and Ferozsons became the first Pakistani manufacturer to obtain a license and the technology from Gilead to produce an authorized generic, named Savera.
There's more to expect going forward; as per the last Director's Report, the company has been working with Gilead Sciences for registration for Harvoni, another innovative treatment for patients of Genotype I Hepatitis C - estimated to prevail in over one Million HCV patients in Pakistan. Moreover, the company entered an agreement with GE Healthcare to market the latter's medical equipment in Pakistan.
Comments
Comments are closed.