Hikma Pharmaceuticals Regulatory News (HIK)

14 May 2009 07:00



AGM and Interim Management Statement

LONDON, 14 May 2009 - Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC ("Hikma") (LSE: HIK) (DIFX: HIK), the fast growing multinational pharmaceutical group focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of generic and in-licensed patented pharmaceutical products, will hold its Annual General Meeting today where the following statement will be made regarding its current trading and financial position. This constitutes its Interim Management Statement relating to the period from 1 January 2009 to 13 May 2009 as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

We maintain our guidance on delivering Group revenue growth for the full year of 10-15% and gross margin improvement of 1-2%. As we stated in March, this will be driven by organic growth and supported by the acquisitions and investments that we have made over the past two years. 

Our Branded business is performing well.  In most of our major markets we are seeing strong demand for our leading products and in the largest markets of Saudi Arabia, Algeria and Egypt we are gaining market share. Overall we are on track to deliver Branded sales growth in line with our expectations for the full year. As in previous years (and excluding $8 million of non-recurring sales from order backlogs at APM in the first half of 2008), we expect Branded sales in the first half of 2009 to reflect the continuing seasonality of this business, which is traditionally stronger in the first six months of the year.  

In our global Injectables business, the MENA region continues to offer excellent growth opportunities. We expect growth to accelerate over the course of the year, as we increase sales of existing products and launch new products, including our first oncology products. Our business in Europe is steady, despite the tough competitive environment, as we benefit from new product launches. In the US, we expect Injectables sales will be lower in the first half compared to the same period last year, but this will be compensated for in the second half by significant new business already awarded. Overall, we continue to see excellent prospects for this business.

Our Generics business is performing ahead of our expectations. Our strengthened management team and focused operational improvements continue to have a positive effect. We have substantially improved service levels and a number of our leading products our gaining market share. Our strong regulatory track record and changes in the competitive environment are also creating opportunities for us.

We remain comfortable with our financing position. We continue to improve our cash generation and have increased our unutilized debt facilities by $50 million through a new long-term loan. This will enhance our flexibility to pursue our strategic objectives.

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About Hikma

Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC is a fast growing multinational group focused on developing, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of both branded and non-branded generic and in-licensed products. Hikma operates through three businesses: "Branded", "Injectables" and "Generics", based principally in the Middle East and North Africa ("MENA"), where it is a market leader, the United States and Europe. In 2008, Hikma achieved revenues of $581 million and profit attributable to shareholders of $67 million. At 31 December 2008, the Group had over 4,600 employees. For news and other information, please visit www.hikma.com.