Alliance Pharma, the Chippenham-based speciality pharmaceutical company, expects its annual turnover to leap by around 60 per cent to close to £50m, it said in an upbeat pre-close trading update.
The firm, which will unveil its preliminary results for 2010 on March 23, also said it expected pre-tax profits to be slightly ahead of current market expectations. In the half-year to June 30, Alliance reported profits before tax and exceptional items up 166 per cent at £7.7m on sales up 77 per cent to £23.4m.
The firm has grown in recent years by acquiring the rights to established niche pharmaceutical products and now owns or licences more than 50 prescription products prescribed in areas such as dermatological conditions, oncology, childbirth, the prevention of heart disease, Parkinson’s disease, nutrition and in nasal infections.
Last November it successfully negotiated new bank facilities of up to £44m with Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets to fund acquisitions and reduce borrowing costs.
It benefitted last year from the £16.4m acquisition of Cambridge Laboratories and strong sales of its Deltacortril gastro-resistant tablets and its dermatology products.
Last summer shareholder serial entrepreneur Nigel Wray upped his holding in the business to 12 per cent through the purchase of 1.9 million shares.
