Gedeon Richter Media Richter reports record-high Pharma revenues and Clean EBIT for 2023, expects further growth in 2024
Richter reports record-high Pharma revenues and Clean EBIT for 2023, expects further growth in 2024
29/02/2024
  • Pharma revenues reached HUF 747bn (EUR 1.96bn), up 14% YoY and Clean EBIT grew by 15% to HUF 235bn (EUR 616mn), both record high levels, despite material FX headwind
  • Slight decline in net profit to HUF 159bn reflects windfall tax payment and significant financial losses on the back of the adverse currency movements
  • Growth was driven by rising volumes in all four business units in 2023, allowing a record high number of patients to receive Richter medicines and treatment globally
  • Richter expects Pharma revenues to grow further to EUR 2.15-2.25bn in 2024, while Clean EBIT to reach EUR 725-750mn

 

Gedeon Richter Plc. (“Richter”) announced today its Q4 and full-year 2023 financial results. Total revenues (including 5 months of Romanian wholesale/retail) came in at HUF 805bn (EUR 2.11bn). Pharma revenues were at HUF 747bn (EUR 1.96bn), up 14% YoY. FX-adjusted sales surged by nearly 22% YoY in 2023, significantly exceeding initial guidance, implying a substantial FX headwind (nearly -8ppt) due to the RUB weakness (which depreciated 26% on average in 2023) and the stronger HUF (vs most currencies).

All four business units contributed to the impressive growth performance in 2023 with double-digit volume/mix increase, while the production, sales and R&D platforms acted as crucial enablers to the businesses.

  • CNS remained an outstanding performer in 2023, as Vraylar sales by Abbvie increased by 35% in 2023. Richter’s own cariprazine performance was also robust, as its own network boosted revenues by ~40%, while other partners also increased Reagila® sales dynamically.
  • Women’s Healthcare continued to post significant volume growth in 2023 of more than 20%, as new products (like Drovelis® and Ryeqo®) keep on doing particularly well
  • GenMed reliably operated the value chain throughout the year, and successful product launches provided higher (ex-FX) revenues
  • Both Terrosa® sales volumes and CDMO activities grew to new highs in 2023 to boost BIO revenues
  • To support increasing business activity, production rose substantially in 2023 to 304.5mn units of packaged boxes, 17.7% higher than a year ago, as much-improved productivity was coupled with sustained high level of on-time delivery to our customers
  • The R&D pipeline strenghtened further during the year and we have now 4 CNS compounds in Phase 1 clinical trials (of which two were added in Q4) and 1 in Phase 2 trials, while both the Women’s Healthcare and GenMed pipeline expanded significantly.

Gross profit (pharma) grew by 15% to HUF 514bn and gross margin improved by 0.6ppt to 68.8% in 2023 despite adverse FX wiping out bulk of the underlying improvement driven by volumes growth.  

Clean EBIT was at HUF 235bn (including the Romanian wholesale/retail for the first 5 months), while Clean EBIT (pharma) reached HUF 236bn (EUR 619mn), up 15% and beating the latest guidance. If adjusting for FX, Clean EBIT growth would have been 29%, an outstanding performance. CNS was responsible for the increase in Clean EBIT as jumping Vraylar sales translated into higher royalty income for Richter. WHC and GenMed saw their Clean EBIT declining slightly, as the adverse FX and the cost of efficiency improvement projects temporarily affected profitability.

Reported EBIT included around HUF 28bn windfall tax payment as well as some smaller other non-recurring items, and came in at HUF 189bn.

Net profit (attributable to the owners of the parent) amounted to HUF 159bn in 2023, 6% lower YoY, as significant FX losses (as opposed to FX gain in 2022) burdened the P&L and offset the growth in the underlying profitability.

Free cash flow (before M&A) amounted to HUF 87bn in 2023, declining materially YoY due to the timing of the windfall tax payments, the high amount of realized FX losses and an increase in net working capital on the back of rising business activity. Smaller-scale M&A activity, primarily aimed at further boosing the women healthcare franchise and a material increase in shareholder distribution led to a decline in cash reserves by the end of 2023.

Gábor Orbán, CEO commented the results:

“2023 was a strong year financially as we managed to outperform our initial targets, in some cases by a wide margin. Pharmaceutical revenues reached nearly EUR 2bn and our clean EBIT jumped to EUR 616mn despite significant headwinds from adverse currency changes. All four business units achieved double-digit volume growth in 2023 propelling sales to all-time high levels, while business development transactions further strengthen our women healthcare and biological franchises.  

In line with the ultimate mission of the company, we were also able to reach a growing number of patients with our medicines and treatments across the world and across all our business units. Seeing the strength of the underlying business, we look forward to 2024 with a high level of energy, commitment and enthusiasm.”

 

About Gedeon Richter Plc.

Gedeon Richter Plc. (www.gedeonrichter.com), headquartered in Budapest/Hungary, is a major pharmaceutical company in Central Eastern Europe, with an expanding direct presence in Western Europe, China, Latin America, and Australia. Having reached a market capitalization of EUR 4.3bn (USD 4.7bn) by the end of 2023, Richter's consolidated sales were approximately EUR 2.1bn (USD 2.3bn) during the same year. The product portfolio of Richter covers many important therapeutic areas, including Women's Healthcare, Central Nervous System, and Cardiovascular areas. Having the largest R&D unit in Central Eastern Europe, Richter's original research activity focuses on CNS disorders. With its widely acknowledged steroid chemistry expertise, Richter is a significant player in the Women's Healthcare field worldwide. Richter is also active in biosimilar product development.

 

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