ADM Farm targets 150m-euro business

ADM Farm, a leading distributor of pharmaceuticals on the domestic market, targets turnover worth 150 million euros this year, up 50% against 2007.
“We ended 2007 as expected, with turnover worth 100 million euros. As we announced midway through last year, we revised our budget, and altered our forecast from 80 to 100 million euros,” said Dragos Pop, general manager of ADM Farm.
Last year was difficult for players in the pharmaceutical industry, after overall market growth stood at just 11.2%, given the RON’s depreciation and changes in legislation, which both had an impact on the sector. ” Last year’s results were affected by the massive devaluation which occurred in the last quarter of the year. We don’t have any definitive data yet, but financial losses caused a significant decline in the company’s profit. I don’t know what surprises the 2008 exchange rate will have in store for us, especially since this factor is tightly connected with the (Health) Ministry, which dictates the price at which drugs are sold in RON,” explained Pop.
The continuing RON’s depreciation, correlated with the a freeze on pharmaceuticals’ prices in the first quarter of this year, is causing a dramatic decline in distributors’ margins, to 1-2%, and even cancels them altogether.
“Under the circumstances, it is very difficult to forecast a result, although we plan to register a profit increase of at least 3%,” specified the ADM representative.
ADM Farm currently operates eight logistic centres, with an overall volume of almost 20,000 cubic metres. This year, the company plans to increase its storage capacity by 30%, mainly by expanding the central platform in Bucharest, as well as by opening a new subsidiary.
ADM Farm ended 2007 with an approximately 5% market share, while this year’s target stands at 6.5%.