Third Quarter 2006 Results
Madrid, Spain (ots/PRNewswire)
- Zeltia Revenues up 10% and R&D Expenditure Rises 19%
- Net Revenues Amounted To 64.3 Million Euro - Research and Development Expenditure Amounted to 36.8 Million Euro
Zeltia S.A. (ZEL SM; ZEL MC) reported 64.3 million euro in net revenues in the first nine months of 2006, a 10% increase on the same period of 2005 (58.3 million euro). Research and development expenditure increased by 19% year-on-year to 36.8 million euro.
Group revenue growth was due mainly to good performance by the consumer chemical subsidiaries, whose revenues increased by 16% to 59.5 million euro. The acquisition by Zelnova of Copyr, S.p.A. contributed notably to these results: Zelnova, which produces air fresheners and insecticides, attained 42.1 million euro in revenues, a 38% increase year-on-year. Xylazel performed as expected: revenues in the period totalled 17.3 million euro, a decline of 16% due to the process of replacing licensed brands with the company's own brands launched early in 2006.
The biotechnology subsidiaries, PharmaMar and Genómica, generated 4.9 million euro in revenues.
The Group's expenditure on research and development increased by 19% year-on-year to 36.8 million euro, of which 28.1 million euro were spent by PharmaMar and 7.6 million euro by NeuroPharma.
The 5.9 million euro increase in R&D expenditure (treated as an expense under IFRS) plus the 5.5 million euro increase in marketing expenditure to promote new brands and product lines at the consumer chemical subsidiaries (up 36% to 19.4 million euro), led to a net loss at Group level of 32.6 million euro (20.9 million euro in the first nine months of 2005).
The Group has a net cash position (cash + cash equivalents + current financial assets - short-term borrowings) amounting to 45 million euro.
Significant events
The following significant events were reported in the third quarter:
- An application was filed with the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for authorisation to market Yondelis (trabectedin) for soft tissue sarcoma.
- Zeltia created a new subsidiary, Sylentis, to research the field of gene silencing (RNAi).
- The IDMC (Independent Data Monitoring Committee) reported a positive futility analysis of the Phase III trial of Yondelis in ovarian cancer and recommended pursuing the trial without any changes.
- Due to the low level of anti-tumour activity observed in Phase I trials, the clinical development of ES-285 was discontinued.
- The Board of Neuropharma approved a capital increase.
About Zeltia:
Zeltia, S.A. is a pioneering biotechnology company ranked first in Spain and sixth in Europe, with a market capitalisation of 1.2 billion euro. The Zeltia Group comprises the following companies: PharmaMar, the world-leading biotechnology company in cancer treatment through the discovery and development of innovative marine-derived medicines. NeuroPharma, a biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing new drugs against Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Genómica, Spain's leading molecular diagnostics company. Sylentis, a newly formed company to investigate therapeutic uses of gene silencing (RNAi), Zelnova and Xylazel, two long-standing, highly-profitable chemical companies that are leaders in their respective markets.
For more information:
Victoria Bartolomé
Tel. +34-91-563-77-22Contact:
Victoria Bartolomé Tel. +34-91-563-77-22