FOR LEGAL REASONS, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS INTENDED EXCLUSIVELY FOR SWISS RESIDENTS WHO ARE PHYSICALLY LOCATED IN SWITZERLAND.
Decision to spin off Cosmo Derma business under new name Cassiopea
Confident outlook for 2015
Luxembourg – 25 March 2015 – Cosmo Pharmaceuticals S.A. (SIX: COPN) today announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2014.
Financial highlights
- Operating revenues increased by 41.2% to €79.6 million.
- Last part of financial investment in Santarus sold for a gain of €65.1 million, resulting in a pre tax profit of €108.9 million, an increase of 51.9%. Tax expenses increased substantially to €35.5 million driven by one time exit tax in conjunction with change of seat to Luxembourg (€25.3 million) causing profit after tax to increase by 6.7% to €73.3 million.
- Cost of goods sold moved to €21.5 million, with an increase far less than that of operating revenues.
- Research and development costs increased by 9.2% to €19.2 million, primarily due to the costs of the phase III of CB-17-01 Methylene Blue MMX® and the development of CB-03-01.
- Selling, general and administrative costs increased to €16.7 million primarily due to the new ESOP and management incentive scheme.
- 576’760 shares cancelled in December 2014 decreasing outstanding shares by 3.8%.
- Cash, cash equivalents and financial assets moved to €180.3 million.
- The equity ratio declined from 90.6% to 67.5% because of the payment of the dividend and the cancellation of shares.
- Share price increased from CHF 84.85 at 30.12.2013 to CHF 146.80 at 31.12.2014.
Key strategic events
- Cortiment® approved in 27 additional European countries.
- SIC 8000 for excision of polyps and lesions developed and filing in preparation.
- CB-17-01 Methylene Blue MMX® Phase III trial progressing.
- CB-03-01 phase II for Acne completed, license recovered from Valeant and end of phase II FDA meeting completed with successful outcome.
- Rifamycin SV MMX® phase III clinical trial relocated to Latin America.
- Lialda® royalty cap reached in June 2014.
- Reverse merger of Salix into Cosmo Technologies cancelled by Salix against payment of a break-up fee of $ 25 million.
- Commercial milestones of total $ 22.5 million received when Uceris net sales exceeded US$ 150 million for the first time.
Key consolidated financial figures
| In € million (with the exception of the share data in €) | 2014 | 2013 |
| Revenues | 79.6 | 56.4 |
| Cost of sales | (21.5) | (19.2) |
| Research and development costs | (19.2) | (17.6) |
| Selling, general and administrative costs | (16.7) | (7.7) |
| Profit before taxes | 108.9 | 71.7 |
| Net profit | 73.3 | 68.7 |
| Profit per share | 5.11 | 4.81 |
| 31.12.2014 | 31.12.2013 | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 34.1 | 46.3 |
| Current and Non current financial assets available for sale | 146.1 | 137.3 |
| Equity attributable to owners of the company | 152.3 | 220.1 |
| Total assets | 225.6 | 243.0 |
The Annual Report 2014 is available on the Company’s web site here.
Alessandro Della Cha, CEO, said: “2014 was an exciting year with strong growth in revenues, profits, strong advancement in the product pipeline and further improvement in the strategic positioning of the Company. Uceris® greatly improved its market penetration and we again had a substantial cash inflow from the sale of the last part of our Santarus shares. We advanced on all our clinical trials and increased our product pipeline with the promising new product SIC 8000. The Salix deal, although subsequently mutually terminated, gave significant insight on the value of our GI pipeline. By regaining the rights to CB-03-01 we vastly improved our strategic options for our derma activities which we would now like to bring to the stock market. I continue being very optimistic for the future.”
Post closing events
In conjunction with the change of seat provisions as per Italian law, 104’031 shares were put to the Company at a price of CHF 156.03. Subsequently the other shareholders made use of their right to purchase these shares purchasing 2’867 shares at the same price. These transactions will be executed on April 20, 2015.
Confident outlook
From an operating perspective Cosmo is looking to another very good year in royalty and manufacturing income driven by continued strong growth in revenues of Uceris®/Cortiment® and Lialda®. Cosmo plans to float the Cosmo Derma business under the new name of Cassiopea as a separate company on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SIX) during the course of 2015 and believes this transaction will generate substantial financial income. On the product development side Cosmo expects the approval of the SIC and positive phase III results for CB-17-01 Methylene Blue MMX® and Rifamycin SV MMX®.
A strong emphasis will remain on cost control. Neither cost of goods nor SG&A are expected to increase materially. Overall, while there are some timing uncertainties, Cosmo expects to post another excellent year in 2015.
FY14 results presentation and conference call at 10am CET on 25 March 2014
Mauro Ajani, Chairman, Alessandro della Cha, CEO, Luigi Moro, CSO, and Chris Tanner, CFO and Head of Investor Relations, will present the full year results and discuss the outlook for 2015 at a media and analyst conference to be held March 25 at 10 am CET in the Hotel Widder (Rennweg 7, 8001 Zurich).
Participation is also possible via conference call. The dial-in numbers:
| +41 (0) 58 310 50 00 | Continental Europe |
| +44 (0) 203 0595 862 | UK |
| +1 613 570 56 13 | USA |
The presentation will then be available for download here.
About Cosmo Pharmaceuticals
Cosmo is a specialty pharmaceutical company that aims to become a global leader in the field of optimized therapies for selected Gastrointestinal and topically treated Skin Disorders. The company’s proprietary clinical development pipeline specifically addresses innovative treatments for IBD, such as Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease, and Colon Infections. In addition, the Company is developing a diagnostic for the detection of colon cancer and a medical device for polyp excision as well as a new chemical entity for the topical skin treatment. Cosmo’s MMX® products that have reached the market are Lialda®/Mezavant®/Mesavancol®, a treatment for IBD that is licensed globally to Nogra and Shire Limited and Uceris®, the first glucocorticosteroid indicated for the induction of remission in active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis, licensed in US to Salix and in the Rest of the World except for Japan to Ferring. Cosmo’s proprietary MMX® technology is at the core of the Company’s product pipeline and was developed from its expertise in formulating and manufacturing gastrointestinal drugs for international clients at its GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) facilities in Lainate, Italy. The technology is designed to deliver active ingredients in a targeted manner in the colon. For further information on Cosmo, please visit the Company’s website: www.cosmopharma.com
Next events
Half-year results 2015 30 July 2015
Contact
Dr. Chris Tanner, CFO and Head of Investor Relations
Cosmo Pharmaceuticals S.A
Tel: +352 27848749
Some of the information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Cosmo undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.
This communication is not an offer of securities of any issuer. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirement of the US Securities Act of 1933.
This press release constitutes neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation to buy securities and it does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of article 652a and/or 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or a listing prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange or any similar document. The offer will be made solely by means of, and on the basis of, a securities prospectus to be published. An investment decision regarding the securities to be publicly offered should only be made on the basis of the securities prospectus.
This press release is made to and directed only at (i) persons outside the United Kingdom, (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”), and (iii) high net worth individuals, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this press release or any of its contents.
This press release does not constitute an “offer of securities to the public” within the meaning of Directive 2003/71/EC of the European Union (the “Prospectus Directive”) of the securities referred to in it (the “Securities”) in any member state of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”). Any offers of the Securities to persons in the EEA will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive, as implemented in member states of the EEA, from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of the Securities.