Jacobson Pharma Announces FY2019 Annual Results

Profit Attributable to Shareholders Increased by 23.9% to a Record High of HK$250.6 Million; Total Dividend Up 18.4% to HK4.5 Cents per Share

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HONG KONG, CHINA - Media
OutReach - 25 June 2019 –
Jacobson Pharma Corporation Limited
(“Jacobson Pharma” or the “Company”; Stock Code: 2633), a leading company
engaged in the research, development, production, marketing and sale of generic
drugs and proprietary medicines, today announced its annual results of the
Company and its subsidiaries (collectively the “Group”) for the year ended 31 March
2019 (the “FY2019“).

 

Financial Review

During the reporting period, the Group’s revenue increased by 10.1% to HK$1,704.6
million (FY2018: HK$1,548.7 million). Profit attributable
to the shareholders of the Company rose by 23.9% to HK$250.6
million (FY2018: HK$202.3 million). Profit from operations was reported at HK$376.6
million (FY2018: HK$297.2 million), up by 26.7%
on a year-on-year basis. The growth was mainly attributed to consistent sales performance
along with operating leverages and financial savings derived from cost control
measures.  

 

The Board recommends
a payment of a final dividend of HK3.0 cents per share for the year ended 31 March 2019
(FY2018: HK2.9 cents per share). Together with the
interim dividend of HK1.5 cents per share, the
total dividend for FY2019 amounts to HK4.5 cents per
share, representing an increase of 18.4%. The Group maintains a
strong financial position with cash and cash equivalents of HK$629.8 million at
the end of FY2019.

 

The Group
has cemented its predominant position in the generic drugs market in Hong Kong
with a steady growth momentum boosted by an expanded product portfolio and a broadened market coverage. With
a host of consumer-preferred heritage brands in its portfolio, the Group’s proprietary medicines business
also delivered a notable growth driven by its persistent brand management efforts.

 

Mr. Derek Sum, Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer of
Jacobson Pharma, said, “It was a productive year for execution of our growth strategies
and realisation of our operational excellence. I am delighted that Jacobson Pharma continued to deliver a sound performance,
thanks to the team’s concerted efforts in implementing the growth strategies across our core and new businesses. And we are
pleased to share such promising results with our shareholders through the declaration of a steady dividend payout.”

Generic Drugs

For the reporting period ended 31 March
2019, the Generic Drugs business of the Group registered a growth of 6.3% in
sales revenue, accounting for HK$1,253.0 million (FY2018: HK$1,178.8 million). The
growth in therapeutic class products remained robust due to the rising healthcare
demands from an aging population and increased prevalence of chronic diseases.
Besides, the Group has launched a number of new products during the reporting
period, including Celecoxib Capsule, Etoricoxib Tablet, Valsartan Tablet,
Irbesartan Tablet, and Levocetirizine Tablet. The Group has also secured
registration approvals for a handful of new products which are ready to be launched into the market adding strength to its portfolio.

 

In view of the government’s attempt to alleviate the strains in public
healthcare system by integrating
certain primary healthcare services with private practices,
the demand from the private sector for cost-effective generic drugs is likely to be enhanced. As a major provider
of generic drugs in Hong Kong, the Group is well-positioned to exploit the emerging market trends and
opportunities.

 

Proprietary Medicines

The sales performance of the Group’s
proprietary medicines business during the reporting period witnessed an
encouraging uptrend. Total revenue of the propriety medicines segment of the
Group presented a strong growth of 17.1% over last year, amounting to HK$225.1
million
(FY2018: HK$192.2 million).

 

Po Chai Pills, the most recognised household
brand for Chinese gastro-intestinal medicine in Hong Kong with a strong
presence in overseas markets, achieved a notable growth of 15.6% in total sales
over the same period of last year, underpinned by the Group’s persistent and effective
efforts in marketing, brand building and promotional activities across the
trade, retail and chain store channels. Ho Chai Kung contributed a sales growth of 8.3%
during the reporting period.

 

The business of medicated oils of the Group
also showed remarkable growth during the reporting period. Sales revenue of
Flying Eagle Woodlok Oil and Shiling Oil both delivered significant growth as a
result of coordinated sales and distribution strategies and a revival of sales
coverage in certain markets.

 

Tapping New Market Potentials

The Group has successfully forged a number
of strategic collaborations with multinational partners including leading
pharmaceutical manufacturers in Spain, Korea, Taiwan and other countries. It
has signed agreements for the in-licensing of a total of 52 high-performing
specialised drugs in the cardiovascular, central nervous system,
anti-infective, oncology, gastrointestinal and other therapeutic areas during
the reporting period, among which a number of items are eligible for tender
bidding in the coming year including some injectable generic drugs.

 

Backed by its
underlying market expertise, the Group will continue to enrich its portfolio
through in-house development or in-licensing of high value-added products
covering sterile injections, oncology products, combination drugs, specialty medicines, as well as orphan
drugs and biosimilars. In this way the Group is
poised to
strengthen its resilient position to seize the emerging market
opportunities
in Asia.

 

Making Good Headway on Regional Expansion

In line with
its growth
strategy, the Group has continued to orchestrate its advance into strategically
selected markets in Asia. The expansion plan has gained traction, currently operating five business
offices established in China, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore and Cambodia. The
Group has thereby built a regional market platform with strong commercial
capabilities to collaborate strategically with reputable partners globally through in-licensing, technology transfer or
product representation to tap the high growing market potential in the Asia
Pacific and Greater China regions.

 

Further Business Cooperation with Yunnan Baiyao
Group

Jacobson
Pharma has previously entered into a letter of intent with Baiyao Holdings for conducting feasibility studies on possible
business cooperation and other collaborations. Subsequent to Baiyao Holdings being
merged into Yunnan Baiyao Group, 200,000,000 shares of Jacobson Pharma, representing
approximately 9.92% of the total number of the Group’s issued shares, are to be
held by Yunnan Baiyao Group as the merged entity. In the future, the Group will
accelerate exploring potential business cooperation and further possibilities of strategic collaboration with Baiyao
Holdings to broaden and deepen its market coverage in China and Asia Pacific in
forging a competitive regional commercial platform.

 

Mr. Sum remarked, “As we continue to build momentum on the accomplishments
that we achieved in 2018, we will safeguard the unique balance of our
expertise, ingenuity and deliberation. 2019 is off to a good start and I am
optimistic about the year ahead. We have in place a clear and
strategically-aligned growth plan and will contemplate a refinement of our strategies to
ensure that we can withstand the competitive pressure with a fortified position to deliver sustainable
growth over the long term.“

 

“We
remain well-positioned with a balanced product portfolio, and an array of established core competences as well as a robust financial profile. These propositions enable us to be more agile
in seizing new opportunities and maximising returns
to our shareholders”

About Jacobson Pharma Corporation Limited (????????????Stock Code: 2633)

Jacobson Pharma is the largest generic drug company in
Hong Kong with over 30% share of the total generic drug market for each year
since 2012. The Group’s proprietary medicines, notably being Po Chai Pills (?????), Tong Tai Chung
Woodlok Oil (????????), Ho Chai Kung Tji Thung San
(??????????), Contractubex Scar Gel
(???????) Doan’s Ointment (???????), Flying Eagle Woodlok
Oil (???????), Saplingtan (?????), Shiling Oil (?????) and Col-gan Tablet (?????) have been widely
recognised by the market. Jacobson Pharma has been a constituent
stock of MSCI Hong Kong Micro Cap Index since 1 June 2017. For more details
about Jacobson Pharma, please visit the Group’s website: http://www.jacobsonpharma.com