UAE - Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar), amid the current political headwinds and currency devaluation in Egypt, posted stable revenue of AED1.25 billion ($340 million) at constant currency in the first nine months (9M) of 2023.

In the GCC countries Julphar achieved double digit revenue growth and further expanded its strong market position, which helped to compensate the unfavourable market development in Sudan, Egypt and Iraq.

In particular, sales to Saudi Arabia showed a very strong +17% growth, highlighting the positive advancement and increasing market share of Julphar in one of the core markets in the region.

Planet Pharmacies

This quarter saw subsidiary Planet Pharmacies continue its growth momentum in the retail and distribution business, delivering +5% growth in sales in comparison to the same period last year.

In the third quarter revenues were at AED366 million, a 12% dip compared with last year.

Julphar reported an improved net loss of AED37.8 million in Q3 compared to the net loss of AED40.4 million in the previous quarter, as a result of continued cost savings and efficiency initiatives.

The gross margin in Q3 2023 has seen an improvement compared to the previous quarter reaching 27.7%, supported by the operational improvement initiatives implemented in recent months, but still remains below previous year level.

EBITDA margin 7.1pc

EBITDA from continuing operations reached AED21.2 million in Q3 2023 and achieved a 5.8% EBITDA margin as percentage of net sales, in comparison to AED8.3 million in Q2 2023. For the nine-month period the EBITDA adjusted by one-time events reached AED87.6 million (7.1% EBITDA margin).

Sheikh Saqer Bin Humaid Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Board, Julphar, said: “Julphar remains committed in its pursuit of driving excellence and executing our strategic priorities. Ensuring that patients have access to high quality medicines is of paramount importance to us and will continue being a priority for Julphar as we bolster our efforts and provide innovative solutions across the region.”

Basel Ziyadeh, Chief Executive Officer, Julphar, said: “With projected economic growth on the horizon, Julphar will maintain its razor-sharp focus on increasing its market share in core markets across the region and ensuring the highest levels of manufacturing excellence to drive our efficiencies and performance forward. With new product launches enriching our existing pipeline, we are confident in our capabilities of boosting our underlying revenues in the coming years.”

Innovative products

Looking ahead, Julphar aims to maintain the development of new innovative products and therapies, following the approval of 32 products across different markets in the Mena region in the first nine months of 2023, which will be launched in the future.

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