A&D Pharma: There are question marks about the utility of listing on the LSE

A&D Pharma, the biggest domestic pharmaceutical group, in the first half of this year saw its income rise by 90% to 17.5m euros and its turnover go up by 30% to 303.2m euros. The figures are among the best companies in the economy have so far reported, in the context where Romania is now in recession and most businesses are struggling to survive. “In 2008 we carried out extensive restructuring and we embarked upon an ongoing process to boost efficiency. We more strongly integrated distribution with pharmacies, but part of the income increase is also linked to turnover growth,” said Robert Popescu, A&D Pharma CEO. Turnover growth also came amid pharmaceutical market expansion by 19% in H1, in line with A&D Pharma, quoting Cegedim data. “We managed to generate profit, but there are some major risks of not cashing in money from the market because of which part of this income may remain on paper. (…),” Robert Popescu also said. The company’s stock is traded on the LSE. Since listing, in 2006, the stock has posted a downward trend. “There are question marks about the utility of listing”. “We are the biggest Romanian pharmaceutical company, but we are probably not big enough in London to attract interest. Floatation in itself was a success,” said Popescu.