eBusiness Weekly
JOHANNESBURG – South African drugmaker Adcock Ingram posted a 26 percent increase in full-year profit on Tuesday, boosted by cost cuts and higher demand for antiretroviral drugs used to treat HIV.
A man runs past the Adcock Ingram offices in Johannesburg, file. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Headline earnings per share — the main profit measure in South Africa that strips out certain one-off items — for the year ended June 30 of 387.7 cents versus 308.9 cents in the same period a year ago.
Sales increased 10.2 percent to 6.5 billion rand ($444.1 million), helped by an acquisition and strong showing in Zimbabwe and Kenya.
Adcock, which competes with larger rival Aspen Pharmacare, declared a dividend of 172 cents per share, up 24 percent.
“The Board expects trading conditions to remain difficult with constrained consumer spend and high levels of unemployment. The recent decline in the value of the rand is of concern and against this background cost-control will be a focus in the year ahead,” – Reuters Africa
