Hikma given shot in the arm by ‘excellent’ double-digit growth
Pharmaceutical firm Hikma has hiked its dividend and raised its guidance having hailed an “excellent” first half of the year.
The Jordanian-founded FTSE 100 pharma firm, which in June bolstered its injectables offering with the purchase of Danish rival Xellia, posted a double-digit revenue rise of 10 per cent, raking in $1.6bn (£1.3bn) in the six months to June 30.
Operating profit nudged up three per cent to $402m (£316m), leading to a strong earnings before investment, tax, debt and amortisation margin of 28.9 per cent.
Shares in the London-headquartered firm, which was founded in 1978 and became the first Arab company to export pharmaceutical products to the US, jumped over seven per cent in morning trading.
The firm’s three divisions – injectables, branded and generics – all grew by between four and 15 per cent, with its generics arm, which makes common drugs like amoxicillin and cephalexin, the best performer.
The bumper performance led it to hike its dividend 28 per cent to 32 cents (25p) a share, and raise its revenue and profit guidance for the year.
Hikma top brass now expect revenue to grow between six and eight per cent in its full year, up from previous guidance of four to six per cent.
The firm anticipates profit to come in between $700m and $730m (£552m to £575m).
Riad Mashlawi, Hikma’s chief executive, said: “We had an excellent first half of the year. All of our businesses contributed to our strong performance, delivering 10 per cent group revenue growth.
“We launched new products across all regions, entered new markets in Europe, and further strengthened our leadership team… The outlook for 2024 remains strong and we are pleased to upgrade group revenue and profit guidance.”