Snakebite drug drives BTG sales

BTG, a specialist healthcare company, has produced good interims driven partly by sales of its speciality pharmaceuticals, which pushed up sales and profits. It also served notice that it is likely to meet or beat consensus forecasts and is on the hunt for further acquisitions.

Chief Executive, Louise Makin commented: "Over the full year, revenues are expected to be in the range £205m to £215m. The group expects to generate significant cash to enable continued investment in development and acquisition activities, and BTG remains very well placed to continue to execute its growth strategy."

Consensus forecasts for the full year ending 31 March 2013 were for revenues of £208.6m, with pre-tax profits of £36.47m.

InterimsRevenues for the interim period were 30% higher at £143.4m than the same period a year previously, while pre-tax profit rose 42% to £27.7m.

This was partly driven by a strong performance from CroFab, a snakebite antidote (£50.5m in revenues), and DigiFab (£11.4m in revenues), a treatment for poisoning by the heart drug digoxin. It sells these directly into the US market, increasing its margin. In addition, Voraxe was also launched in the US market (£5.4m in revenues).

Revenues were also boosted by the transition to direct sales of LC Bead in the US, which saw revenue shoot up by 54% to £13.7m.

Licencing revenues also increased 28%, driven by £23.4m in royalties from Zytiga, its prostrate cancer treatment, licenced to Johnson & Johnson.

The net cash inflow for the period was £39m, resulting in a closing cash balance of £145.7m.

CM