29th Jul 2014 09:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Hutchinson China MediTech Ltd said Tuesday that that it expects to continue adding shareholder value in its second-half and beyond, as it saw pretax profit rise in the half-year to the end of June.
The company posted a pretax profit of USD7.3 million, up from USD6.7 million, as revenue rose to USD30.3 million from USD17.6 million, although this was offset by higher cost of sales and a USD700,000 loss from the temporary weakness of the Chinese yuan against the US dollar.
Revenue growth was driven by continued collaboration and milestone payments from its partnerships with AstraZeneca PLC, Nestlé SA's Health Science business, and Janssen Ltd in its drug research and development division, the establishment of its joint venture Hutchinson Sinopharm, and strong growth in its consumer products division, it said.
The company said that it had progressed 10 clinical trials during the period, including a Phase III registration study of its HMPL-004 compound for ulcerative colitis, and Phase II proof of concept studies for AZD6094 in papillary renal cell carcinoma and fruquintinib in third-line colorectal and non-small cell lung cancer.
Hutchinson China said that the prospects for each of its businesses remain promising. In its healthcare division, it said it would continue to benefit from declining raw material prices, synergies from its new commercial structure and China's low-price drug policy.
In its drug research and development division, it expects progress in its pipeline to lead to "step-change" value creation, and expects to continue profitability in consumer products.
Shares in Hutchinson were trading down 3.6% at 959.00 pence Tuesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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