REYKJAVIK, Aug. 10, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Actavis Group ("ACT") (ICEX:ACT), the international generic pharmaceuticals company, announces its results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2006. Sindan, the Romanian oncology business acquired at the end of March, is fully integrated into the Group's accounts from the start of the second quarter.
Highlights -second quarter 2006
Reported revenue in the second quarter trebled to EUR364.1 (2Q 2005: EUR122.0) and more than doubled in the first half to EUR705.9 (H1 2005: EUR223.8). Underlying revenue growth (at constant exchange rates, based on pro forma numbers (see Note 1)) from 2005, and including the growth of the businesses acquired in 2005) was 8% for the second quarter and 12% for the first six months
-- Sales in Central & Eastern Europe and Asia ("CEEA") were EUR139.9 million (Q2 2005: EUR81.2), with pro-forma underlying growth of 14% in the quarter and 16% in first 6 months, performing above expectations.
-- Sales in North America were EUR117.4 million, performing above expectations, with pro-forma underlying growth over 2005 of 20% in the quarter and 17% in the first half.
-- Sales in Western Europe, Middle East and Africa were EUR70.3 million, a drop on a pro-forma basis of 10% in the second quarter and 4% in the first six months, performing below expectations.
-- Third party sales of EUR33.0 million were on par with the second quarter 2005, in line with expectations and were up by 21% in the first half.
EBITDA margin of 21.8% for the second quarter, exceeded management expectations, reflecting better than expected performance in North America and the CEEA division.
Net profit trebled to EUR30.1 million in the second quarter (Q2 2005: EUR11.3million) and earnings per share (fully diluted) was EUR0.00586, representing an increases of 65.5% in the quarter.
The Group had 107 product and market launches (63 molecules) in the quarter and 197 for the year as a whole.
Actavis President & CEO, Robert Wessman, commented: "The Group had an excellent first half of the year with performance across most parts of the business exceeding our internal expectations. The strong underlying growth in revenue and the Group's strong EBITDA margin underpins our strategic rationale of building a global business with operations diversified across multiple geographies.
"The integration of businesses recently acquired has remained a key focal point and the performance of our North American and the CEEA divisions demonstrates our ability to consolidate our operations quickly and bring them under the Actavis umbrella successfully. We will continue to leverage our strong product pipeline and build upon the growth achieved in the first six months to deliver additional benefits for our shareholders."
(1) Footnote: Pro forma underlying growth, includes underlying growth of businesses acquired in 2005 and reflects underlying growth of the Group as it is today.
The full report is available at http://hugin.info/134004/R/1068665/181233.pdf