Animalcare Grp Regulatory News (ANCR)

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.

Animalcare Group plc

(the "Group" or the "Company")

Trading update & Notice of Results

Animalcare Group plc (AIM: ANCR) provides the following unaudited trading update for the Group's financial period for the six months ended 30th June 2018 (the "Period") ahead of publishing its interim results on 25th September 2018.

The acquisition of Ecuphar NV ("Ecuphar") was completed on 13th July 2017 and treated as a reverse acquisition. Therefore the Group's results for the Period will comprise the consolidated results of the Group with comparatives for the six months ended 30th June 2017 comprising the results of Ecuphar NV only. In order to provide a like-for-like comparison, the unaudited financial information and narrative presented below refer to the Group's results for the Period with pro forma comparatives that reflects trading of the Group for the six-month period to 30th June 2017.

Trading review

Trading in the Period was in line with management expectations. Total Group revenue for the Period increased by c.6.4% at AER (c.4.8% at CER) to c.£47.8m (2017: £44.9m). Pharmaceutical segment revenues increased by c.6.7% at AER (c.5.2% at CER) to £35.4m (2017: £33.1m). This was primarily driven by a stronger product mix with a c.7.0% increase in the Companion Animal Product category offset by a 1% decline in Production Animals. Revenues within the wholesale segment during the Period, increased by c.5.7% at AER (c.3.8% at CER) to c.£12.4m (2017: £11.8m).

Due to an improving product mix over the last six months and focus on costs, gross margin within the Pharmaceutical segment is now stabilising compared to FY17, and the Group remains focussed on this and EBITDA development.

Net debt during the Period was in line with FY17 and the Group has sufficient facilities available to fund its operational and investment requirements. Animalcare continues to focus on improving operating cash generation.

Directorate changes

Animalcare also announced today the appointment of Jenny Winter as Chief Executive Officer, effective from 1st October 2018. Jenny joins Animalcare with over twenty years' experience working in big pharma in various senior management and commercial roles for AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline.

Chris Cardon the current Chief Executive will step down on Jenny's arrival but remain on the Board of the Company as Chief Strategy Officer. As Chief Strategy Officer, Chris will continue to lead the Company's international strategic vision and acquisition strategy and be part of Jenny's leadership team.

Operational update

The Company remains focused on creating a strong platform for future growth and driving long-term shareholder value. Delivering integration and reorganisation to unlock scale benefits and structure the business for future growth remains a core focus, and good progress is being made, most notably during the Period with the restructuring of the UK commercial team, as well as with the Groups upgrade and integration of its IT systems. We continue to expect commercial and efficiency synergies from the merger with Ecuphar to be delivered over the course of late 2018 and full year 2019.

As part of our growth strategy, Animalcare has been focused on expanding markets for our own products in new territories and launching new in-licensed products. Several of these new launches that were due to take place in the first half of 2018 have been subject to delays by distribution partners. We are still confident in the ability to launch these products in the second half of 2018 or early 2019.

Pharmaceutical division product development pipeline

The product pipeline has continued to progress in line with expectations over the first half. In June we received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary European Medicines for a centralised registration for a new product (Cortacare), which will be launched in 2018. During the Period, decentralised procedures for four new products were submitted and a further two are planned in the second half of the year. It is expected that these six new products will be launched across a number of territories in 2019.

Animalcare also announces today that is has agreed the distribution rights in Western Europe for a patented, targeted pulsed electromagnetic field device for treating pain and inflammation, the Assisi Euro Loop 2.0, from Assisi Animal Health LLC. The Euro Loop 2.0 compliments the current Animalcare portfolio, allowing multimodal inflammation and pain treatment for deep tissue conditions in smaller animals, in conjunction with other clinic therapies. The product has been sold in the US since 2014 and will be launched into selected European countries by Animalcare in late 2018.

Summary and Outlook

The Board is pleased with the continued revenue growth of the Group during the Period, and the improving translation through to profit. Our focus remains on our goal of becoming a leading pan-European Animal Health company, in order to deliver maximum future value for our shareholders. The Board remains confident in the Group's ability to deliver revenue growth in the second half, notwithstanding the delays in the launch of certain new products from our distribution partners. The Board continues to expect improved profitability over the second half compared to H2 FY17.

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About Animalcare Group plc

Animalcare is a pan-European sales, marketing and product development company focused on the veterinary and animal health sectors. The Company has operations across Europe with direct sales in seven countries (UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Germany), and exports to approximately 40 markets worldwide through global partnerships. The Company sells over 300 products including pharmaceuticals, vaccines and nutraceuticals. Animalcare has a diverse pipeline of products in development and a strong network of distribution and in-license partnerships. For more information, please visit: www.animalcaregroup.co.uk