A&D Pharma, 11% lower turnover as a result of RON decline

A&D Pharma, the biggest Romanian pharmaceutical company, in the first three months of this year reached 113.2m-euro turnover, down 11% from the 126.7m-euro level reported in the same period of 2008. This is the first quarterly turnover drop A&D Pharma has seen in the past four years.

“A&D Pharma’s sales in RON rose by around 4%, in line with the market trend, given that drug prices were adjusted in February and the fact that the RON plummeted in the first three months of the year,” said Robert Popescu, who took over the CEO position at the company this year. The new management team that started its term last summer launched a reorganisation programme in the wake of which the number of employees was cut by over 200 and the focus shifted from sales growth to boosting activity efficiency. According to some previous statements by the company’s representatives, the company’s target this year is to turn a profit. Last year, A&D Pharma had losses of almost 2.3m euros, from 8.4m euros in 2007. A&D Pharma did not disclose the net first quarter figure. In the first three months of this year, the units that witnessed falling figures were wholesale (Mediplus) and the marketing & sales line. According to the group’s report, this trend was triggered by a “reclassification of processes between the wholesale and marketing & sales units”. In April 2009, A&D Pharma signed a partnership with Antibiotice Iasi drug maker to promote the OTC drug portfolio. On the other hand, Sensiblu drugstore network, the group’s retail unit, reached turnover worth 43.8m euros, up 27% from the first three months of 2008. Sensiblu operates 217 drugstores, from 221 at the end of last year. The company is also in advanced talks to refinance the 100m-euro loan contracted in 2006 from a syndicate led by Citibank London and made up of 11 banks. Also, the company is likely to buy shares from the London stock exchange, in the wake of a decision shareholders have recently approved. On the London Stock Exchange, 34% of A&D Pharma shares are traded, with the majority stake being held by Sograno BV, an entity registered in the Netherlands. On the pharmaceutical market, put at almost 2bn euros last year, A&D Pharma competes with firms such as Relad, Farmexpert, Farmexim, Polisano, Fildas in wholesale, or Help Net, City Pharma, Dona, Catena, Centrofarm in retail.