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| Year to 31st March | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 £ million |
2009 £ million |
% change |
% at constant rates |
|
| Revenue | 221 | 220 | +1 | -4 |
| Sales excluding precious metals | 219 | 215 | +2 | -2 |
| Underlying operating profit | 55.8 | 49.5 | +13 | +9 |
Description of the Business
Fine Chemicals Division is a global supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients, fine chemicals and other speciality chemical products and services to a wide range of chemical and pharmaceutical industry customers and industrial and academic research organisations.
Macfarlan Smith
Macfarlan Smith manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediate products for the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. The business is the world’s leading manufacturer of opiate alkaloids which are used for pain management and other pharmaceutical applications. It is headquartered in Edinburgh, UK.
Pharmaceutical Materials and Services
The Pharmaceutical Materials and Services business manufactures APIs and provides services to the pharmaceutical industry. The business specialises in the manufacture of APIs for controlled drugs and for platinum based anticancer treatments. It provides a full range of commercial scale manufacturing services for APIs to both generic and branded pharmaceutical companies. The business has operations in the USA.
Research Chemicals
The Research Chemicals business is a globally integrated catalogue based supplier of speciality inorganic and organic chemicals. It operates under the Alfa Aesar brand name and is based in the UK, USA, Germany, China and India.
Performance in 2009/10
Fine Chemicals Division achieved modest growth in the year in the face of challenging market conditions. The division’s revenue increased by 1% to £221 million and sales excluding precious metals rose by 2% to £219 million. Operating profit was 13% ahead at £55.8 million. The division received a one-off benefit to sales and operating profit of US $12 million from the launch of the generic version of ADDERALL XR® in April 2009. However it also incurred £1.6 million in redundancy and other costs at its Pharmaceutical Materials and Services business in the USA. Excluding these items, the division’s operating profit was 1% ahead at £49.9 million. On a constant currency basis sales excluding precious metals were 2% below and operating profit, excluding these items, was also 2% down.
Macfarlan Smith
Macfarlan Smith’s sales of specialist opiate products, particularly buprenorphine, naloxone and naltrexone, continued to grow in 2009/10. However, its sales of bulk opiates, such as codeine phosphate, were impacted by reduced availability of raw material, and overall, sales of opiate based APIs were down on last year. As a result, sales excluding precious metals declined by 8% to £80 million. While the business took swift action to control costs and sales of non-opiate products, such as fentanyl and methylphenidate, saw continued growth, Macfarlan Smith’s profit was a little down on last year.
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