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It is simply not feasible for a Pharmaceutical company to sell drugs with single figure profit margins. I remember reading about a company completely closing down its Generic drug manufacturing plant because it was no longer financially viable. It was only in the last month or so but i can't remember the name of the company. Fortunately, Hikma can ride the storm better than most because they have a strong balance sheet and branded / injectables are helping to subsidise the Generic side of the business. The more companies that abandon Generics the less the price pressures will become and any shortages that result will be eagerly targeted by companies like Hikma. I reckon in two years time the market place will be significantly different to what it is now. Hikma themselves did say in their August statement that they foresee price pressures reducing from 2019 onwards.
Next Wednesday over 300 Healthcare / Pharmaceutical companies will attend the Jefferies Healthcare Conference in London. It involves presentations and also allows companies to arrange individual meetings with each other. Hikma will be attending this event. What better opportunity for takeover discussions to take place - - just saying (and hoping).
Four Brokers forecasts today--talk about being wise after the event. None of them advise selling, three say hold and one buy. Peel Hunt - - Hold (no target), Jefferies Int - - Target 1045, Stiefel - - Hold Target 1000 and finally good old Numis - - Buy Target 1320. Who would have thought three months ago that we would be celebrating if the SP hit 1320.
It's no longer a growth stock. It's a company that is standing still (for the moment). It has a strong balance sheet and good cash flow and therefore it will not be going bankrupt any time soon. It's right that the SP is no longer over 2000p but this current SP is far too low when you consider that it still a company making a profit. Eventually, pharmaceutical companies will stop the self harm and either move out of the Generic sector, merge or raise prices. Thankfully, new products are coming through and that will help the company cope with the pressures in other areas. Unfortunately, this was meant to drive growth but now it's simply keeping the companies sales and profit stable but this is more than can be said for other Pharmaceutical companies.
Motley Fool were saying that the shares were undervalued back in March 2017 when they were sitting at 2300p. Also Barclays had a target figure of 2200p a few months ago. There has been a slight recovery as i write but hopefully the Directors will now buy shares to give the SP a bigger boost.
Hi Ultrashort, if you don't need the money now i would definitely hold as the damage has already been done. You will still get dividends equivalent to a good fixed bond savings rate and there's always the possibility of takeover discussions taking place with another Pharmaceutical company looking to expand into the areas where Hikma has a strong presence. Right now Hikma is one of the biggest bargains on the stock market.
Well, nobody is getting my shares on the cheap. Holding now long term while picking up the dividends (that's right Hikma is profitable) unless the company goes private or taken over - - both of these scenarios much more likely now.
Not a great trading statement but not a disaster either. I can understand a share price slump for the likes of Carillion which really is a basket case. What other company has sales and profit (note profit - - not loss) remaining constant with a good balance sheet and yet the market hammers the share price to the extent that you would think it's just about to go bankrupt. I'm not going to make any predictions about how the market will react because i usually get it completely wrong but hopefully the big players will now start buying at this low price with a view to long term gain.
I didn't take notes so this is from memory. Sales and profit overall should be in line with 2016. Branded and injectable performing well with increased profit margin. Generics revised again and sales should be around 600 million dollars. Balance sheet remains strong with good cash generation. Advair--progress made on this apart from a disagreement with FDA over trial data. This is currently being evaluated via a dispute resolution process--update on this due March /April. It seems to me that the share price has tumbled due to the issues with the Generic part of the business but this is being offset by good performance in branded and injectables. The main point is that overall sales and profit is stable and does not justify the SP falling by over 50%. I hope bad news has already been built into the SP and the SP doesn't suffer too much.
No reply to my email either. Obviously, the title "Investor Relations" means absolutely nothing to them. I am an investor with serious concerns about my investment (not insignificant) and yet i do not even get the courtesy of a response even if just to acknowledge receipt of my email. Absolutely dreadful way to treat shareholders and i will escalate my complaint to a higher level within the company but i will wait until after the statement tomorrow on the off chance that there's a good reason for not replying.
Thank you Mulder for your really insightful posts, it's really appreciated. Only three months ago Hikma stated, and i quote, "Hikma delivers stable profitability and strong cash generation in H1 and maintains a solid balance sheet". What on earth has changed since this last statement..? They have a new partnership with Takeda, brought new products onto the market, oil prices have increased significantly thus helping pharmaceutical sales in the Middle East (more money sloshing about), US supply chains badly affected by the Hurricane in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico) which has resulted in drug shortages that Hikma should be able to capitalise on (Hikma doesn't have manufacturing plants in Puerto Rico). Hikma have also increased prices on selected drugs that they have exclusivity or near exclusivity with. You would think that the statement on Thursday would be pretty positive but the markets have been acting as though they are about to announce that the end of the world is nigh. If Hikma do announce poor figures then obviously information has been leaking out to fund managers and it should be properly investigated. Mulder--i really do hope that the Directors are in serious discussions about taking the company back into private hands or talking to potential buyers. Hikma right now is a gift horse with it's ridiculously low SP.
Just sent an email to them asking why fund managers appear to have information relating to the company that is not being shared with ordinary investors. I have also enquired whether or not the Directors intend to pay themselves bonuses this year given the fact that Hikma has fallen out the Ftse100 and the Share price has more than halved in little over 6 months. I will also report back on this forum when they see fit to respond.
To put things into perspective, BT's recent statement was truly horrendous and yet the SP fell only about 3.5% yesterday. Hikma shares can fall by that amount in a single day if the CEO of Hikma stubs his toe getting out of bed in the morning. I'm going to make a concerted effort now to stop looking at Hikma's SP and get on with more important things in life.
Here is Hikma's forecast for 2018 / 19 2018--Potential Advair approval, acceleration in product launches including two date certain launches. 2019--Market conditions expected to improve. Strong pipeline of products to drive growth. Additional respiratory launch opportunities. Multiple significant PIV opportunities. M&A upside potential. So it's not all doom and gloom.
I also think the Statement will be pretty upbeat. Oil prices are rising (good for Middle East Sales), Puerto Rico supply problems give Hikma an opportunity to increase sales in the US (without pricing pressures) . New products now coming through with many more in the pipeline. If we get an optimistic appraisal of the Advair inhaler then that will also give the SP a major boost. The other thing to consider is the SP has already fallen considerably so bad news is probably already built in. The good thing about a share being shorted is that when things start to recover the SP increases much more than normal. Here's hoping,GLA.