Pharmaniaga to focus on its key growth catalysts

PETALING JAYA: Pharmaniaga Bhd’s operations in Indonesia, business portfolio in the private market and concession business will remain the group’s growth catalysts moving forward.

For the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2022 (3Q22), the pharmaceutical company’s revenue fell by 56.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rm925mil due to lower sales from its concession segment as a result of the timing of orders from the Health Ministry.

Net profit was also down by 82.7% y-o-y to Rm8.6mil, given rising finance costs that come with higher borrowings.

Basic earnings per share declined to 66 sen from 3.81 sen previously.

The group declared a third interim dividend of 0.6 sen per share in the quarter under review.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Pharmaniaga said the loss in revenue in the quarter was partly offset by higher revenue from other segments like non-concession and Indonesia businesses.

Leveraging on better operational efficiency that include stock optimisation, aggressive collection efforts, and digitalisation, Pharmaniaga’s Indonesia segment continues to see stable growth in earnings.

As of the end of 3Q22, the division has reached 8% revenue growth and the number is targeted to go up to 15% before the end of the year.

The group also recorded higher contributions from the private sector by nearly 55% y-o-y.

The results were not only driven by the launch of new products in the market but also due to the group’s aggressive sales efforts. Pharmaniaga expects to achieve more than Rm120mil of revenue with a 60% growth from this sector by the end of 2022.

Meanwhile, the group estimates for its concession business to post an 8% growth this year, as more products have been added by the Health Ministry into the approved products purchase list.

The counter closed at 55 sen yesterday.