Pharmacovigilance drives growth at Ergomed

Pharmaceutical services company Ergomed reported a 26.5% increase in revenue in its full-year results on Tuesday, to £86.4m.

The AIM-traded firm said revenue in its pharmacovigilance division was up 55.6% to £55.1m in the year ended 31 December, and up 30% to £46m on a like-for-like basis, excluding the acquisition of Ashfield Pharmacovigilance.

Revenue in clinical research services was flat at £31.3m despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with service fee revenue returning to growth in the second half, rising 13.5% over the first half.

Ergomed’s gross profit rose 34.6% to £39.7m, while its adjusted EBITDA was ahead 55.2% at £19.4m.

Basic adjusted earnings per share came in at 25.8p, up 29.6% over 2019.

Cash and cash equivalents were 32.9% higher year-on-year at £19m on 31 December, with operating cash flow also totalling £19m.

Ergomed said its order book stood at £193m of future contracted revenue at year-end, which was 55.5% higher than at the end of 2019.

“Ergomed made exceptional progress in delivering its strategy in 2020, despite the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic,” said executive chairman Dr Miroslav Reljanović.

“The resilience and robustness of our global services business was demonstrated by our continued strong organic growth whilst completing key strategic acquisitions in the US in both our pharmacovigilance and clinical research service businesses.

“We have started 2021 in a strong position, focused on our vision to achieve global leadership in specialised pharmaceutical services addressing unmet medical needs and patient safety.”

At 1219 GMT, shares in Ergomed were up 2.17% at 1,226p.