- Revenue exceeds €1bn for the first time: +69% YOY to €1,082.0m (FY2020: €639.6m)
- EBITDA +86% YOY to €623.9m (FY2020: €335.1m)
- Further increased EBITDA margin (58% vs. 52% in FY2020) and gross profit margin (75% vs. 70% in FY2020) demonstrating continued operational leverage with scale
- Free cash flow grew by +41% to €371.3m (FY2020: €264.0m) and strengthens self-financing ability
CHEPLARPHARM AG (the “Company” and, together with its subsidiaries, CHEPLARPHARM), a leading specialty pharma platform for long-established pharma brands worldwide1, looks back on a successful financial year 2021. With the publication of the 2021 annual financial statements today, the Company reported strong increases in its most important key financial ratios, thereby delivering on its targets and continuing the profitable growth track of the past years.
CHEPLARPHARM increased revenue by +69% year-on-year to €1,082.0m in the financial year 2021 (FY2020: 639.6m). The Company thus achieved a sales level above the €1bn mark for the first time in its history. EBITDA reached €623.9m in the reporting period, corresponding to growth of +86% if compared to the financial year 2020 (FY2020: €335.1m).
At the same time CHEPLARPHARM increased its EBITDA margin2 and gross profit margin3 further to 58% (FY2020: 52%) and 75% (FY2020: 70%), respectively, thereby providing a strong proof of concept for the Company’s business model based on a highly scalable specialty pharma platform and an international buy-and-build strategy.
Furthermore, the Company´s free cash flow4 grew by +41% year-on-year to €371.3m (FY2020: €264.0m) and thus strengthens CHEPLARPHARM’s self-financing ability to continue investing in its highly attractive pipeline of long-established pharma brands. In addition to this pleasing development, the Company is continuing to examine an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as well as other financing options to ensure flexibility and liquidity to further pursue its growth strategy.
CHEPLARPHARM’s strong increase in sales and earnings in the financial year 2021 is primarily based on the investments made in the second half of 2020. In this period the Company acquired a total of 40 products (including one acquisition that closed in early January 2021) for a total purchase price of €1.5bn, marking a record investment volume in its history. Consequently, 2021 has been a period of enhanced focus on the successful integration of these products.
CHEPLARPHARM has continued with its core expansion strategy in the financial year 2021 and successfully acquired several products from companies such as Sanofi, Astellas or Bristol Myers Squibb. The portfolio from Sanofi includes a total of ten products consisting of a combination of corticosteroids and antibiotics, which will be distributed in more than 15 countries, while the five products acquired from Astellas are anti-infective and gastroenterology medicines. From Bristol Myers Squibb the Company acquired three chemotherapeutic drugs, which are mainly sold in Asia.
These recent investments enabled Cheplapharm to further diversify its portfolio. With the three new therapeutic areas gained in the financial year 2021 (metabolic disorders, neurology and dermatology), the Company is highly diversified in terms of therapeutic area, with no single area representing more than 30% of revenue.
In summary, Cheplapharm in 2021 continued to evidence the highly attractive and profitable nature of its asset-light investment focused business model, integrating a record number of acquisitions whilst continuing to deploy capital into new and diversified product portfolios.
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1 Based on total number of publicly reported deals involving off-patent originator products divested by top-30 biopharma companies (from Jan 1, 2014 to May 14, 2021).
2 EBITDA: Result of earnings before income taxes before amortization, depreciation and impairment and net finance expenses; EBITDA margin: EBITDA divided by revenue.
3 Gross profit: revenue less cost of materials and change in inventories; gross profit margin: gross profit divided by revenue.
4 Free Cash Flow: cash flow from operating activities less payments to acquire property, plant and equipment, less payments to acquire financial assets plus proceeds from disposal of financial assets.