ASCENDIS SHARES ON THE RISE

ASCENDIS Health share price jumped more than 14 percent on the JSE despite the company issuing a cautionary note regarding its business in Cyprus. The group said yesterday that it had received an unsolicited offer in respect of its Remedica business unit based in Cyprus and was currently involved in negotiations. The share price responded positively to the cautionary note as it surged to R6.40 a share, up from Friday’s closing price of R5.51. It closed 12.52 percent up at R6.20 on the JSE yesterday. Ascendis Health acquired the pharmaceutical manufacturer Remedica in August 2016 for €260 million (R4.11 billion). The acquisition of Remedica as well as Europe’s leading sports nutrition company Scitec for €170m in 2016 was expected to propel Ascendis Health’s market capitalisation to about R11bn. The expectation has not translated to an increase in market capitalisation as it continues to be just more than R3bn. In the year to end June results, Remedica contributed positively to the Ascendis Health international revenue growth. The group said its international revenue increased by 35 percent to R3.7bn, benefiting from the acquisitions of Remedica and Sun Wave Pharma (Romania). The overall revenue was up by 21 percent to R7.7bn. International revenue accounts for 48 percent of the group’s total sales. Ascendis Health is a health and care brands company. It operates through health care areas like consumer brands, Pharma-Med and Phyto-Vet. Consumer brands consists of health and personal care products sold to the public, primarily at the retail store level. |