Company Data
| Last traded |
R101.90 |
| Change |
R1.30 |
| % Change |
1.29% |
| Cumulative volume |
342,983 |
| Market cap |
R44.48bn |
Related Articles
Top Stories
Feb 13 2012 12:15
Miner Xstrata says it has brought forward maintenance on two furnaces to assist Eskom to save power.
Feb 13 2012 10:43
Although jobs were created, the economy is still 420 000 jobs short of the peak employment level before the 2009 global financial crisis, says Adcorp.
Feb 13 2012 07:58
Greek lawmakers have approved a new round of drastic austerity measures after a long day of street battles between police and protesters left dozens injured.
Johannesburg - Aspen Pharmacare [JSE:APN], Africa's largest pharmaceutical group, said it would retain market share through organic growth and by developing its relationship with British counterpart GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). It was also seeking acquisitions.
"We're always on the look out for value-adding opportunities for our shareholders," said Gus Attridge, Aspen deputy CEO, in an interview. Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa were the group's target areas of growth, he added.
"The GSK partnership will allow Aspen expand its ambition in the region [Africa]. We think it's the ideal vehicle to optimise that."
In December, Aspen bought the rights to distribute some of GSK's products in Africa as well as its German-based manufacturing facility in return for 68.5 million shares.
On Wednesday, Aspen reported a 31% rise in interim after-tax profit to R889m. Revenue grew 10% to R4.6bn.
This was underpinned by robust performance in its South African operations. Headline share earnings from continuing operations grew 27% to 242.3c over the period.
Aspen's South African business grew revenue by nearly a quarter to R2.5bn, but its offshore operations reported slower revenue growth totalling R1.8bn.
This was owing to a revenue fall in Aspen's Brazilian business, the group's biggest operation in Latin America held through a joint venture with Strides, a local enterprise.
Attridge said the Brazilian business was undergoing restructuring, with some operations being disposed and new products being introduced.
"We've made some quite dramatic changes to the business," said Attridge. "We want to shift it from being a tender-focused business and put it in the private sector.
"We're confident that a very good performance will be achieved by the end of the 2010 financial year," he said.
Over the period, Aspen managed to reduce its R4bn debt to R3.5bn through strong cash flows and favourable exchange rate movements.
Looking ahead, Attridge said he was confident the group's offshore operations would perform optimally.
- Fin24.com