Alliance Pharma confident despite weak results

International healthcare company Alliance Pharma reported a trading performance that fell short of its initial expectations in its preliminary results on Tuesday.

The AIM-traded firm did, however, achieve a significant milestone by acquiring ‘ScarAway’ and the US rights to ‘Kelo-Cote’ in March last year.

Its board said the strategic acquisition was expected to bolster its growth in the coming year, with robust mitigation plans in place to support a rebound in 2023.

The company’s financial figures for 2022, on an underlying basis, showed mixed results, with revenue on a see-through basis rising 1% to £172m, while statutory revenue increased 3% to £167.4m.

However, gross profit experienced a downturn, declining 7% to £101.7m.

Profit before tax also saw a substantial decrease, dropping 28% to £30.3m, with basic earnings per share falling 33% to 4.28p.

Reported cash from operations plummeted 45% to £24.9m, and net debt widened 17% to £102m.

Despite the challenges, Alliance Pharma remained optimistic about its prospects, proposing a total dividend per share of 1.776p, making for a 5% increase from the prior year.

“Our portfolio continues to provide a robust platform from which to grow our consumer healthcare brands,” said chief financial officer Andrew Franklin.

“In 2022, we successfully leveraged our existing infrastructure, acquiring ScarAway and the US rights to Kelo-Cote to create our first truly global brand and bringing additional growth opportunities into the business.

“We also started to realise the benefits of our investment in innovation and development with the launch of Kelo-Cote Kids gel.”

Franklin said the company remained confident in its long-term performance, having “refreshed” its strategy in 2022 to better align the business with the “evolving dynamics” of the consumer healthcare market.

“Going forward, our efforts will be focused on those market segments in which we already have a strong presence and expertise in order to drive solid organic revenue growth above that of the broader consumer healthcare market.”

At 1439 GMT, shares in Alliance Pharma were up 1.91% at 58.7p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.