Oslo, Norway, 27 February 2018
Vistin Pharma had a revenue of NOK 41.6 million in the fourth quarter 2017, compared to NOK 32.5 million in the fourth quarter 2016. Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations came to negative NOK 1.6 million for the fourth quarter, compared to negative NOK 1.0 million for the same quarter last year.
The demand for metformin is still increasing. Diabetes is one of the largest global health emergencies of the 21st century, and the metformin business is expected continue to grow as it remains the gold-standard treatment of type 2 diabetes for the foreseeable future.
"Our objective is to ensure that Vistin Pharma can meet the increasing demand from existing customers and secure volumes from new customers. This will allow us to re-start the 3,000MT metformin expansion project," says Kjell-Erik Nordby, CEO.
The construction of the new NOK 120 million production line was postponed earlier this year, to reduce the financial risk related to the expansion. When sufficient volumes are secured to continue the expansion work, the Company will be able to have the 3,000MT production capacity installed within approximately 18 months.
The Company's financial position remains strong, with a cash position of NOK 85.3 million as of 31 December. The Board will propose a dividend of NOK 1 per share (NOK 17.1 million) for 2017. Vistin Pharma holds no interest-bearing debt.
Vistin Pharma will hold a presentation today at 08:30 CET at Carnegie AS, Fjordalleen 16, Oslo. CEO Kjell-Erik Nordby and CFO Gunnar Manum will represent the Company.
Please find the report and presentation for the fourth quarter 2017 enclosed. The report and presentation will also be made available on www.vistin.com.
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For further information, please contact:
Kjell-Erik Nordby
CEO
+47 91 36 42 80
kjell-erik.nordby@vistin.com
Gunnar Manum
CFO
+47 95 17 91 90
gunnar.manum@vistin.com
About Vistin Pharma
Vistin Pharma is a Norwegian pharmaceutical company producing Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) for the global pharmaceutical industry. The Group was established in 2015 when Vistin Pharma AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vistin Pharma ASA, acquired the metformin and opioids business and tablet production assets from Weifa AS.
On 2 October 2017, Vistin Pharma sold its opioids and CMO business to TPI Enterprises Limited. Following the sale, Vistin Pharma is now a pure play metformin producer, with a strong position in the global metformin market and clear ambitions for growth. Metformin is used as the first-line treatment of diabetes 2, a disease which is expected to grow by 50 per cent toward 2030, affecting more than 500 million people. The global market for metformin is expected to grow by four to five per cent per annum, and Vistin Pharma is attractively positioned to capture part of this growth.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
