Last close As at 05/08/2026
NZD4.75
▲ −0.03 (−0.63%)
Market capitalisation
NZD499m
Research: Healthcare
AFT recently announced an agreement with Baxter Healthcare to divest to Baxter some of its non-core and low-margin hospital products in New Zealand. An agreement for similar products is expected in Australia in the coming weeks. Once both are complete, the company expects the divestments to represent approximately 7.5% of operating revenue (likely between NZ$5m and NZ$6m). The divestments are expected to generate NZ$5m in cash and make a positive contribution of “several million dollars” to EBITDA. Whatever is lost in revenues is likely to be made up in higher overall gross margin, and lower sales and marketing expenses.
Written by
AFT Pharmaceuticals |
Improving profitability |
Business update |
Pharma & biotech |
28 March 2018 |
Share price performance
Business description
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Analysts
AFT Pharmaceuticals is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited |
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AFT recently announced an agreement with Baxter Healthcare to divest to Baxter some of its non-core and low-margin hospital products in New Zealand. An agreement for similar products is expected in Australia in the coming weeks. Once both are complete, the company expects the divestments to represent approximately 7.5% of operating revenue (likely between NZ$5m and NZ$6m). The divestments are expected to generate NZ$5m in cash and make a positive contribution of “several million dollars” to EBITDA. Whatever is lost in revenues is likely to be made up in higher overall gross margin, and lower sales and marketing expenses.
Year end |
Revenue (NZ$m) |
PBT* |
EPS* |
DPS |
P/E |
Yield |
03/16 |
64.0 |
(10.8) |
(0.11) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
03/17 |
69.2 |
(18.5) |
(0.19) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
03/18e |
80.6 |
(12.2) |
(0.13) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
03/19e |
98.0 |
(0.5) |
(0.01) |
0.0 |
N/A |
N/A |
Note: *PBT and EPS are normalised, excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and share-based payments.
Increasing focus on Maxigesic
With the divestment of some of its hospital products in Australia and New Zealand, AFT will be achieving two things: it will improve its overall profitability and generate cash to fund its plans for Maxigesic across the globe which, if successful, would be transformative for the company.
Codeine rescheduling in Australia paying dividends
The company recently announced that the rate of Maxigesic sales has roughly doubled since the beginning of the year, thanks to the 1 February 2018 rescheduling of codeine. As a reminder, market research conducted by the company suggests that 40-47% of current consumers who buy 710 million OTC codeine analgesics each year in Australia would switch to another OTC analgesic, suggesting an enormous opportunity for AFT.
New Zealand set to follow Australia’s lead on codeine
In January, the New Zealand Medicines Classification Committee announced a recommendation that all codeine combination medicines be up-scheduled from over the counter to prescription-only status from 2020. This should boost Maxigesic sales in AFT’s home market considerably once enacted.
Valuation: NZ$460m or NZ$4.73 per share
We are maintaining our valuation of NZ$460m or NZ$4.73 per share. We will update our valuation after the closure of the hospital product divestments (New Zealand by the end of March and Australia in the May/June time frame) and following the FY18 annual results in May, which will provide us with an update on the company’s base business and the status of Maxigesic’s international launches.
Continuing to transform itself
AFT recently announced an agreement with Baxter Healthcare to divest some of its non-core and low-margin hospital products in New Zealand. An agreement for similar products is expected in Australia in the coming weeks. Once both are complete, the company expects the divestments to represent approximately 7.5% of operating revenue (likely between NZ$5m and NZ$6m). Based on results from the first half of FY18, AFT’s hospital products represent 20% of its New Zealand business and 33.6% of its Australia business (see Exhibit 1), which means that around one-third is likely to be divested. The divestments are expected to generate NZ$5m in cash and make a positive contribution of “several million dollars” to EBITDA. The company expects the New Zealand divestment to close by the end of March and the one in Australia to close in the May/June time frame.
Exhibit 1: AFT geographic and product type diversification
Region |
Number of products launched |
% of operating revenue |
% growth from H117 to H118 |
Sales channel mix |
Australia |
102 |
55.3% |
38% |
OTC: 55.6%, hospital: 33.6%, prescription: 10.8% |
New Zealand |
55 |
38.6% |
5% |
OTC: 41.2%, hospital: 20%, prescription: 38.8% |
South-East Asia |
8 |
1.7% |
14% |
OTC: 33.3%, hospital: 65.2%, prescription: 1.5% |
Rest of World |
4 |
4.4% |
38% |
OTC: 95.9%, hospital: 4.1%, prescription: 0% |
Total |
>130 |
100% |
23% |
OTC: 51.5%, hospital: 27.6%, prescription: 21% |
Source: AFT Pharmaceuticals. Note: Number of products launched is as of 31 March 2017.
With regard to Maxigesic, the company announced in March that the rate of Maxigesic sales has roughly doubled since the beginning of the year, thanks to the 1 February 2018 rescheduling of codeine to prescription-only by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). This is especially impressive as it is on top of the 133% growth seen in FY17 for Maxigesic in Australia.
Market research conducted by the company suggests that 40-47% of current consumers who buy 710 million OTC codeine analgesics each year in Australia would switch to another OTC analgesic rather than get a doctor’s prescription. As AFT sold 13m Maxigesic tablets in Australia in FY17, this represents a significant opportunity for the company; we estimate it could be worth NZ$20-30m annually (although we do not include this in our valuation yet).
Following the TGA decision, pressure built up for New Zealand to do the same and the country is on the road to doing just that. In January, the New Zealand Medicines Classification Committee announced a recommendation to the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority (Medsafe) that all codeine combination medicines be up-scheduled from over the counter to prescription-only status from 31 January 2020. This should help provide AFT with a tailwind in its home market.
On the licensing front, AFT announced in December that it had licensed Maxigesic in its first North American market (it is now licensed in 125 overall), Mexico, to Expanscience Mexico, a wholly owned subsidiary of Laboratories Expanscience, which licensed the product in France. According to IMS, the market for paracetamol and ibuprofen tablets in Mexico is almost US$200m.
Valuation
We are maintaining our valuation of NZ$460m or NZ$4.73 per share. Our DCF-based valuation is based on a WACC of 10%. We assume a 22% CAGR for revenues over the next five years, from FY18 through FY22, fading to 2% terminal growth post 2026 and a terminal EBIT margin of 34%. With these assumptions, the terminal value represents 68% of the calculated DCF value of the company. The growth rate and margin expansion are highly dependent on high growth in royalties from distribution relationships outside Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, driven in large part by Maxigesic.
Exhibit 2: DCF sensitivity table (NZ$/share)
Terminal EBIT margin |
|||||
Terminal revenue growth |
15% |
25% |
34% |
38% |
42% |
-2% |
2.26 |
2.98 |
3.62 |
3.90 |
4.19 |
-1% |
2.34 |
3.12 |
3.82 |
4.13 |
4.44 |
0% |
2.44 |
3.29 |
4.06 |
4.41 |
4.75 |
1% |
2.55 |
3.50 |
4.36 |
4.74 |
5.12 |
2% |
2.70 |
3.77 |
4.73 |
5.16 |
5.58 |
3% |
2.88 |
4.10 |
5.20 |
5.69 |
6.18 |
4% |
3.13 |
4.55 |
5.84 |
6.41 |
6.98 |
5% |
3.48 |
5.18 |
6.72 |
7.41 |
8.09 |
Source: Edison Investment Research
We will update our valuation after the closure of the hospital product divestments (New Zealand by the end of March and Australia in the May/June time frame) and following the FY18 annual results in May, which will provide us with an update on the company’s base business and the status of Maxigesic’s international launches.
Financials
AFT’s FY18 results (through 31 March 2018) are expected in late-May. As of 30 September 2017, AFT had NZ$7.2m in cash and NZ$23.2m in debt that matures at the end of FY20. In September, the company entered into a new loan facility of US$10m and should net another NZ$5m from the divestitures. Based on current estimates, we do not believe the company will require additional financing.
Exhibit 3: Financial summary
NZ$000 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018e |
2019e |
||
March |
NZ GAAP |
NZ GAAP |
NZ GAAP |
NZ GAAP |
NZ GAAP |
||
PROFIT & LOSS |
|||||||
Revenue |
|
|
56,241 |
64,014 |
69,205 |
80,580 |
98,023 |
Cost of Sales |
(35,083) |
(40,435) |
(43,207) |
(45,329) |
(51,266) |
||
Gross Profit |
21,158 |
23,579 |
25,998 |
35,251 |
46,757 |
||
EBITDA |
|
|
(9,659) |
(7,821) |
(15,125) |
(9,385) |
1,316 |
Operating Profit (before amort. and except.) |
(9,530) |
(7,667) |
(14,982) |
(9,242) |
1,459 |
||
Intangible Amortisation |
99 |
114 |
183 |
183 |
183 |
||
Exceptionals |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Other |
(546) |
(618) |
2,245 |
2,712 |
1,179 |
||
Operating Profit |
(9,977) |
(8,171) |
(12,554) |
(6,348) |
2,821 |
||
Net Interest |
(1,908) |
(3,145) |
(3,531) |
(3,000) |
(2,000) |
||
Profit Before Tax (norm) |
|
|
(11,438) |
(10,812) |
(18,513) |
(12,242) |
(541) |
Profit Before Tax (reported) |
|
|
(11,885) |
(11,316) |
(16,085) |
(9,348) |
821 |
Tax |
282 |
42 |
(58) |
(300) |
0 |
||
Profit After Tax (norm) |
(11,156) |
(10,770) |
(18,571) |
(12,542) |
(541) |
||
Profit After Tax (reported) |
(11,603) |
(11,274) |
(16,143) |
(9,648) |
821 |
||
Average Number of Shares Outstanding (m) |
1.2 |
96.8 |
97.1 |
97.3 |
97.3 |
||
EPS - normalised (NZ$) |
|
|
(9.46) |
(0.11) |
(0.19) |
(0.13) |
(0.01) |
EPS - normalised fully diluted (c) |
|
|
(945.74) |
(11.12) |
(19.12) |
(12.89) |
(0.56) |
EPS - (reported) (NZ$) |
|
|
(9.84) |
(0.12) |
(0.17) |
(0.10) |
0.01 |
Dividend per share (c) |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
||
Gross Margin (%) |
37.6 |
36.8 |
37.6 |
43.7 |
47.7 |
||
EBITDA Margin (%) |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1.3 |
||
Operating Margin (before GW and except.) (%) |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
1.5 |
||
BALANCE SHEET |
|||||||
Fixed Assets |
|
|
2,488 |
3,249 |
4,171 |
5,268 |
7,236 |
Intangible Assets |
1,669 |
2,111 |
2,548 |
2,744 |
4,516 |
||
Tangible Assets |
411 |
407 |
386 |
374 |
570 |
||
Investments |
408 |
731 |
1,237 |
2,150 |
2,150 |
||
Current Assets |
|
|
30,725 |
62,055 |
54,060 |
46,770 |
52,678 |
Stocks |
14,686 |
17,686 |
18,718 |
21,137 |
23,607 |
||
Debtors |
11,251 |
16,288 |
19,362 |
16,640 |
21,741 |
||
Cash |
4,700 |
28,055 |
15,980 |
8,993 |
7,330 |
||
Other |
88 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Current Liabilities |
|
|
(10,148) |
(13,511) |
(15,019) |
(13,795) |
(17,029) |
Creditors |
(10,148) |
(13,511) |
(15,019) |
(13,795) |
(17,029) |
||
Short term borrowings |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Long Term Liabilities |
|
|
(20,739) |
(23,161) |
(23,426) |
(28,244) |
(33,244) |
Long term borrowings |
(20,739) |
(23,161) |
(23,426) |
(28,244) |
(33,244) |
||
Other long term liabilities |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Net Assets |
|
|
2,326 |
28,632 |
19,786 |
9,999 |
9,641 |
CASH FLOW |
|||||||
Operating Cash Flow |
|
|
(11,479) |
(11,326) |
(15,473) |
(7,519) |
(2,368) |
Net Interest |
(1,908) |
(3,145) |
(3,531) |
(3,000) |
(2,000) |
||
Tax |
282 |
42 |
(58) |
(300) |
0 |
||
Capex |
(483) |
(694) |
(1,598) |
(2,179) |
(2,294) |
||
Acquisitions/disposals |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Financing |
12,859 |
38,357 |
9,042 |
877 |
0 |
||
Dividends |
(763) |
(1,652) |
0 |
(132) |
0 |
||
Net Cash Flow |
(1,492) |
21,582 |
(11,618) |
(12,253) |
(6,662) |
||
Opening net debt/(cash) |
|
|
11,889 |
16,039 |
(4,894) |
7,446 |
19,251 |
HP finance leases initiated |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
||
Other |
(2,658) |
(649) |
(722) |
448 |
0 |
||
Closing net debt/(cash) |
|
|
16,039 |
(4,894) |
7,446 |
19,251 |
25,914 |
Source: AFT Pharmaceuticals accounts, Edison Investment Research
|
|
Research: TMT
EMIS has confirmed that the current GPSoC contract has been extended until 31 December 2019. Its GP business in England can therefore continue to supply software on the same basis until the new IT Futures framework is announced. This supports our forecasts for FY18 and FY19.