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Research: Healthcare
Laboratorios Farmacéuticos ROVI reported H120 operating revenue of €191.1m (+8% y-o-y), driven by strong growth in heparins (+23% to €104.0m) and in toll manufacturing (+31% to €34.8m), which offset a decrease in sales of low-margin, mature specialty pharmaceuticals. EBITDA increased by 60% to €42.4m in H120, which reflects operational leverage plus a significant benefit from improved gross margin, and reduction in R&D and SG&A. For FY20, ROVI has maintained guidance of mid-single-digit growth in total operating revenues. Despite the overall strength of heparins and toll manufacturing revenues, the company remains prudent given the COVID-19 related uncertainties. During Q220 ROVI signed a collaboration agreement with US-based biotech Moderna to provide fill-finish manufacturing for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate outside of the US, which could provide upside if successful depending on the undisclosed terms of the deal. The US NDA filing for DORIA remains on track for H220. We value ROVI at €1.64bn.
Written by
Laboratorios Farmacéuticos ROVI |
Top-line growth, significant margin expansion |
Interim results |
Pharma & biotech |
29 July 2020 |
Share price performance
Business description
Next events
Analysts
Laboratorios Farmacéuticos ROVI is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited |
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Laboratorios Farmacéuticos ROVI reported H120 operating revenue of €191.1m (+8% y-o-y), driven by strong growth in heparins (+23% to €104.0m) and in toll manufacturing (+31% to €34.8m), which offset a decrease in sales of low-margin, mature specialty pharmaceuticals. EBITDA increased by 60% to €42.4m in H120, which reflects operational leverage plus a significant benefit from improved gross margin, and reduction in R&D and SG&A. For FY20, ROVI has maintained guidance of mid-single-digit growth in total operating revenues. Despite the overall strength of heparins and toll manufacturing revenues, the company remains prudent given the COVID-19 related uncertainties. During Q220 ROVI signed a collaboration agreement with US-based biotech Moderna to provide fill-finish manufacturing for Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate outside of the US, which could provide upside if successful depending on the undisclosed terms of the deal. The US NDA filing for DORIA remains on track for H220. We value ROVI at €1.64bn.
Year end |
Revenue* |
PBT** |
EPS** |
DPS |
P/E |
Yield |
12/18 |
304.8 |
19.2 |
0.38 |
0.08 |
77.9 |
0.3 |
12/19 |
382.5 |
45.6 |
0.77 |
0.18 |
38.4 |
0.6 |
12/20e |
394.5 |
54.3 |
0.88 |
0.20 |
33.6 |
0.7 |
12/21e |
449.2 |
60.8 |
0.98 |
0.23 |
30.2 |
0.8 |
Note: *Total revenue includes government grants. **PBT and EPS are normalised, excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and share-based payments.
Significant growth in sales and operating profit
The H120 numbers highlight strength in sales across key franchises, and importantly margin expansion as costs reduced significantly. Sales of low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) products (Becat and Hibor) increased by 23% to €104.0m; sales have benefited from increased heparin use for hospitalised COVID-19 patients offset by fewer elective surgical procedures. Becat continues to benefit from the ongoing roll-out in Europe by ROVI and its partners (it is now available in 13 countries); we have increased our Becat forecast to c €100m in FY20.
Moderna deal benefits toll manufacturing
ROVI’s toll manufacturing division has benefited from consolidation and the redirection of its strategy toward high-value products. ROVI will provide vial filling and packaging capacity to support production of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate to supply markets outside of the US starting in early 2021. ROVI expects the toll manufacturing business to post high double-digit growth in FY20; we forecast 18% growth in 2020 in this division given better visibility on contracts.
Valuation: €1.64bn or €29.2/share
Our revised valuation is €1.64bn or €29.2/share, vs €1.53bn or €27.2/share previously. We have adjusted our sales forecasts with a small increase in heparins and toll manufacturing offsetting declines in mature areas. The faster growth of higher-margin products and reduced opex for 2020 have positively affected future margin forecasts despite DORIA launch cost assumptions. Our valuation is underpinned by Becat’s strong growth potential, while the opportunity for DORIA in the US and EU is key, contributing 15.9% and 12.9% to our valuation, respectively.
H120 financials
ROVI’s H120 results highlight ongoing momentum in the speciality pharmaceuticals business within a challenging COVID-19 environment. The strong uptake of Becat (+35% to €49.3m) has grown ROVI’s LMWH franchise significantly; it now represents 54% of operating revenue in H120 (H119: 48%). Hibor (bemiparin) international sales grew 88% to €18.3m (H119: €9.7m), offsetting a 6% decline in sales in Spain to €33.3m (H119: €35.5m), which saw a greater impact from the reduction in the number of elective surgical procedures. This significant increase internationally was related to higher transfer prices to some partners (related to the rise in LMWH raw material prices); ROVI now expects international Hibor sales to increase by a high double-digit percentage in FY20. We note that the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended LMWHs, such as Hibor and Becat, as essential medicines in the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients. This is due to the documented COVID-19 related coagulopathies, which are believed to be a major feature of the underlying pathophysiology of severe COVID-19 that requires treatment. We believe higher sales of ROVI’s overall heparin franchise reflects increased use in COVID-19 patients offset by declines of usage in elective surgical settings (especially Becat in Spain). Exhibit 1 highlights the sales evolution within the heparin franchise. The majority of ROVI’s innovation products treat chronic diseases and therefore sales would be expected to remain stable in the short term. However, due to COVID-19 confinement measures, the company’s salesforce has been unable to promote its products, which may have contributed to the declining sales of mature speciality pharmaceutical products.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, ROVI has negotiated an additional €45m in credit facilities, placing it in a resolute position to meet any short- to medium-term additional cash needs. As of 30 June 2020, these facilities remain unused. The company also recorded €2.5m in personal and other expenses related to implemented COVID-19 measures.
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Exhibit 1: LMWH franchise quarterly performance |
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Source: Laboratorios Farmacéuticos ROVI accounts, Edison Investment Research |
Gross margin rose 1.4% from 57.4% in H119 to 58.8% in H120; the margin was positively affected by: 1) higher toll manufacturing sales’ contribution to improved margin at the group level; 2) an increased Hibor price; and 3) the improvement in Becat margin in Spain offsetting the drop in international Becat margin contribution. This is a significant turnaround as gross margin has been under pressure in recent years, but ROVI has been able to pass through the rising costs of porcine LMWH raw materials due to the backdrop of higher demand for anti-coagulants relating to COVID-19. ROVI expects LMWH raw material prices to stabilise during H220.
Toll manufacturing revenues increased by 31% to €34.8m, driven by a focus on sales of high-value products. EBITDA increased to €42.4m (+60%), reflecting significant operating leverage, improvement in gross margins and a 27% reduction in R&D spend (€10.8m in H120). R&D expenses will fluctuate from quarter to quarter as the reducing requirements for DORIA (lower Phase III costs, but regulatory filing costs and development of a three-monthly injection formulation are ongoing) are offset by increasing investment in Letrozole ISM. We have revised down our forecast €25.8m in R&D expenses for the year; ROVI has now guided to a low double-digit reduction for FY20.
ROVI has provided operating revenue guidance of mid-single-digit growth for 2020; we now forecast 3.1% growth in FY20 from 5.3% previously as increased Becat and toll manufacturing offset older product sales expectations and fewer elective surgical procedures due to the pressures of COVID-19. We have revisited our operating cost assumptions for FY20 and now forecast an operating margin improvement in 2020 to 13.0% (from 11.2% in 2019). We expect the margin to decline slightly in 2021 (to 12.9%), reflecting SG&A investment in international subsidiaries to support the DORIA launch, offset by lower R&D expenses. We expect steady margin growth in 2022 and beyond, mainly due to operational leverage and lower R&D costs offsetting DORIA-related launch costs in 2021.
Valuation
Our revised valuation of ROVI is €1.64bn or €29.2/share, from €1.53bn or €27.2/share previously. Our heparin product forecasts have been revised upwards while forecasts for several mature specialty pharmaceutical products have been brought down for FY20 and we have rolled forward our model and updated for net debt of €38.0m at 30 June 2020. The major source of valuation uplift relates to improved margin assumptions from FY20. We expect SG&A to rise in FY21 reflecting DORIA launch, but have reduced other opex to be in line with lower FY20 expectations. We value DORIA in the US and EU using a standalone NPV calculation (Exhibit 4) and derive value for the rest of the business by using a DCF of our sales and P&L model excluding DORIA (Exhibit 2). Compared to ROVI’s current portfolio of drugs and footprint, the US opportunity for DORIA is large and a key valuation driver, accounting for 15.9% of our valuation (DORIA’s EU opportunity accounts for 12.9%).
Exhibit 2: Three-stage DCF valuation of base business (excludes DORIA cash flows)
€m |
|
Sum of for DCF for forecast period to 2026 |
393.5 |
Sum of DCF for growth 2027 to 2031 (transition period) |
250.6 |
Terminal value |
557.8 |
Enterprise value |
1,201.9 |
Net debt at 30 June 2020 |
38.0 |
Value of equity of base business |
1,163.9 |
Value per share of base business (€) |
20.76 |
Discount rate |
10% |
Terminal growth rate |
2% |
Number of shares outstanding (m) |
56.07 |
Sum of for DCF for forecast period to 2026 |
Sum of DCF for growth 2027 to 2031 (transition period) |
Terminal value |
Enterprise value |
Net debt at 30 June 2020 |
Value of equity of base business |
Value per share of base business (€) |
Discount rate |
Terminal growth rate |
Number of shares outstanding (m) |
€m |
393.5 |
250.6 |
557.8 |
1,201.9 |
38.0 |
1,163.9 |
20.76 |
10% |
2% |
56.07 |
Source: Edison Investment Research
Exhibit 3 ROVI sum-of-the-parts valuation
Value (€m) |
Value per share (€) |
|
DCF of base business |
1,201.9 |
21.44 |
rNPV of DORIA |
471.1 |
8.40 |
Net debt at 30 June 2020 |
(38.0) |
(0.68) |
SOTP valuation |
1,635.0 |
29.16 |
Source: Edison Investment Research
Exhibit 4: DORIA net present value
Indication |
Launch |
Peak sales ($m) |
Value |
Probability |
rNPV |
rNPV per share (€) |
|
NPV DORIA US |
Schizophrenia |
2022 |
236 |
353.1 |
75% |
260.4 |
4.64 |
NPV DORIA Europe |
Schizophrenia |
2021 |
176 |
284.4 |
75% |
210.7 |
3.76 |
Source: Edison Investment Research
Exhibit 5: Financial summary
Accounts: IFRS; year-end 31 December; €m |
|
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020e |
2021e |
PROFIT & LOSS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hibor revenue |
|
79.7 |
83.9 |
91.3 |
96.8 |
102.8 |
101.1 |
Enoxaparin revenue |
|
0.0 |
1.5 |
30.2 |
80.9 |
99.5 |
124.3 |
Other (Pharma & Manufacturing) |
|
185.5 |
192.1 |
183.3 |
204.8 |
192.2 |
223.8 |
Total revenues |
|
265.2 |
277.4 |
304.8 |
382.5 |
394.5 |
449.2 |
Cost of sales |
|
(112.0) |
(110.2) |
(128.6) |
(166.6) |
(169.6) |
(197.2) |
Gross profit |
|
153.1 |
167.2 |
176.2 |
215.9 |
224.9 |
252.0 |
Gross margin % |
|
57.8% |
60.3% |
57.8% |
56.4% |
57.0% |
56.1% |
SG&A (expenses) |
|
(101.9) |
(108.5) |
(113.2) |
(125.5) |
(128.2) |
(156.8) |
R&D costs |
|
(17.5) |
(28.3) |
(32.4) |
(29.3) |
(25.8) |
(17.0) |
Other income/(expense) |
|
5.6 |
(0.6) |
(1.1) |
(0.2) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
EBITDA (reported) |
|
39.3 |
29.9 |
29.5 |
60.9 |
70.9 |
78.2 |
Depreciation and amortisation |
|
(11.0) |
(11.5) |
(12.0) |
(18.2) |
(19.4) |
(20.1) |
Normalised Operating Income |
|
30.7 |
21.2 |
20.0 |
46.5 |
55.8 |
62.5 |
Reported Operating Income |
|
28.3 |
18.4 |
17.5 |
42.6 |
51.5 |
58.1 |
Operating Margin % |
|
10.7% |
6.6% |
5.7% |
11.2% |
13.0% |
12.9% |
Finance income/(expense) |
|
(0.5) |
(0.9) |
(0.7) |
(0.9) |
(1.5) |
(1.7) |
Exceptionals and adjustments |
|
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Normalised PBT |
|
30.3 |
20.3 |
19.2 |
45.6 |
54.3 |
60.8 |
Reported PBT |
|
27.9 |
17.5 |
16.7 |
41.9 |
50.0 |
56.4 |
Income tax expense (includes exceptionals) |
|
(1.8) |
(0.3) |
1.2 |
(2.6) |
(5.0) |
(5.9) |
Normalised net income |
|
28.5 |
20.0 |
20.4 |
43.0 |
49.4 |
55.0 |
Reported net income |
|
26.1 |
17.2 |
17.9 |
39.3 |
45.1 |
50.6 |
Basic average number of shares, m |
|
49.0 |
50.0 |
53.0 |
56.1 |
56.1 |
56.1 |
Basic EPS (€) |
|
0.53 |
0.34 |
0.34 |
0.70 |
0.80 |
0.90 |
Normalised EPS (€) |
|
0.58 |
0.40 |
0.38 |
0.77 |
0.88 |
0.98 |
Dividend per share (€) |
|
0.18 |
0.12 |
0.08 |
0.18 |
0.20 |
0.23 |
BALANCE SHEET |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property, plant and equipment |
|
82.8 |
89.1 |
95.8 |
131.6 |
137.8 |
143.7 |
Goodwill |
|
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Intangible assets |
|
24.9 |
27.1 |
34.7 |
45.1 |
50.7 |
51.3 |
Other non-current assets |
|
13.1 |
14.1 |
18.2 |
16.6 |
16.6 |
16.6 |
Total non-current assets |
|
120.8 |
130.2 |
148.7 |
193.3 |
205.2 |
211.7 |
Cash and equivalents |
|
41.4 |
40.7 |
95.5 |
67.4 |
12.6 |
13.4 |
Inventories |
|
67.4 |
75.5 |
94.9 |
158.8 |
218.4 |
243.1 |
Trade and other receivables |
|
53.8 |
49.7 |
60.2 |
81.5 |
86.5 |
92.3 |
Other current assets |
|
4.5 |
2.2 |
3.5 |
10.1 |
10.1 |
10.1 |
Total current assets |
|
167.1 |
168.2 |
254.0 |
317.9 |
327.6 |
358.9 |
Non-current loans and borrowings |
|
20.8 |
27.0 |
16.6 |
72.1 |
68.2 |
66.5 |
Other non-current liabilities |
|
7.2 |
6.4 |
11.1 |
4.2 |
3.7 |
3.2 |
Total non-current liabilities |
|
28.0 |
33.5 |
27.7 |
82.1 |
77.7 |
75.5 |
Trade and other payables |
|
59.9 |
52.9 |
68.2 |
91.9 |
92.9 |
97.3 |
Current loans and borrowings |
|
13.0 |
16.2 |
17.6 |
12.7 |
3.9 |
1.7 |
Other current liabilities |
|
3.6 |
4.1 |
1.7 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
2.1 |
Total current liabilities |
|
76.4 |
73.2 |
87.5 |
106.7 |
98.9 |
101.0 |
Equity attributable to company |
|
183.4 |
191.7 |
287.5 |
322.4 |
356.2 |
394.1 |
CASH FLOW STATEMENT |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Profit before tax |
|
27.9 |
17.5 |
16.7 |
41.9 |
50.0 |
56.4 |
Depreciation and amortisation |
|
11.0 |
11.5 |
12.0 |
18.2 |
19.4 |
20.1 |
Share based payments |
|
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Other adjustments |
|
(2.7) |
(1.2) |
7.4 |
(0.4) |
1.5 |
1.7 |
Movements in working capital |
|
12.7 |
(9.8) |
(24.4) |
(63.7) |
(64.0) |
(26.8) |
Interest paid / received |
|
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
(0.1) |
(2.1) |
(1.8) |
Income taxes paid |
|
(3.4) |
0.1 |
(3.1) |
(8.1) |
(5.0) |
(5.9) |
Cash from operations (CFO) |
|
45.5 |
18.0 |
8.5 |
(9.0) |
(0.3) |
43.7 |
Capex |
|
(18.1) |
(19.9) |
(26.5) |
(40.5) |
(31.2) |
(26.6) |
Acquisitions & disposals net |
|
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Other investing activities |
|
1.7 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
0.1 |
Cash used in investing activities (CFIA) |
|
(16.3) |
(19.2) |
(26.2) |
(40.5) |
(30.6) |
(26.4) |
Net proceeds from issue of shares |
|
(0.5) |
0.5 |
88.0 |
0.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
Movements in debt |
|
(9.7) |
9.0 |
(9.2) |
25.8 |
(12.7) |
(3.9) |
Other financing activities |
|
(6.9) |
(9.0) |
(6.3) |
(4.5) |
(11.3) |
(12.6) |
Cash from financing activities (CFF) |
|
(17.1) |
0.5 |
72.5 |
21.4 |
(24.0) |
(16.5) |
Cash and equivalents at beginning of period |
|
29.3 |
41.4 |
40.7 |
95.5 |
67.4 |
12.6 |
Increase/(decrease) in cash and equivalents |
|
12.1 |
(0.7) |
54.8 |
(28.1) |
(54.8) |
0.8 |
Cash and equivalents at end of period |
|
41.4 |
40.7 |
95.5 |
67.4 |
12.6 |
13.4 |
Net (debt) cash |
|
7.6 |
(2.5) |
61.3 |
(17.4) |
(59.5) |
(54.8) |
Source: Laboratorios Farmacéuticos ROVI accounts, Edison Investment Research
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Research: Healthcare
Pixium Vision recently reported H120 results that were broadly in line with our forecasts. The operating loss of €3.27m was mildly above our €2.77m forecast, with the difference primarily due to R&D costs (€2.86m) coming in €0.26m higher than anticipated. Free cash outflow was €2.81m compared to our estimate of €2.83m. Gross cash at 30 June was €5.0m and given that gross debt (excluding €1.2m in lease liabilities) was €5.86m, we calculate net debt of €0.86m.