Monday 7 May 2018

Moberg Pharma AB Interim Report January - March 2018

STOCKHOLM, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SIGNIFICANT GROWTH FOR ALL KEY BRANDS

FIRST QUARTER (JAN-MAR 2018)

  • Net revenue SEK 91.5 million (104.6)
  • EBITDA SEK 21.9 million (16.7)
  • EBITDA margin 24% (16)
  • EBITDA for current product portfolio SEK 27.1 million (21.0)
  • Operating profit (EBIT) SEK 12.5 million (6.9)
  • Net profit after tax SEK 2.0 million (-3.0)
  • Diluted earnings per share SEK 0.12 (-0.17)
  • Operating cash flow per share SEK 0.66 (-0.17)

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE FIRST QUARTER

  • A favorable outcome was received from the National Advertising Division (NAD) in a challenge filed against the largest US
  • competitor to Kerasal Nail®. The competitor will discontinue its misleading packaging design and advertising
  • In February, an agreement was signed with Randob Labs to divest the brand Balmex® for a total consideration of USD 4.25
  • million (SEK 34.6 million) plus the inventory value at closing, generating a capital gain of approximately USD 0.5 million
  • (SEK 4.4 million)
  • The Nomination Committee proposes Anna Malm Bernsten as a new member of the Board of Directors

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS AFTER THE END OF THE QUARTER

  • The divestment of the brand Balmex® was finalized in April
  • Kjell Rensfeldt, VP R&D, will be retiring on October 1, 2018 but remains with the company part-time as Senior Adviser
  • Patent granted for BUPI in the USA to 2032

STATEMENT FROM THE CEO

The year has begun with strong profitability and significant growth for all our key brands, and the Phase 3  studies for MOB015 are progressing according to the November 2017 plan. For the first quarter, the company generated revenue growth of 5% adjusted for divested brands, despite currency headwind. In local currency, net revenue for our key brands grew by 12-17%. EBITDA increased by 31% to SEK 21.9 million and the EBITDA margin improved from 16% to 24%

Strong lead-up to high seasonKerasal Nail® continues to develop positively in the US. The launch of a new campaign in March made an immediate impactand is driving year-over-year growth with increased profitability as marketing expenses remained unchanged. After therelaunch in early 2016, this is the ninth consecutive quarter of consumption growth. Further, the decision by the NationalAdvertising Division (NAD) in the US has recently forced our main competitor to modify misleading advertising and packagingdesign.Distributor sales developed positively both in Europe and the rest of the world. To stabilize sales outside the U.S., pendingMOB-015, our next-generation nail fungus product, we recently launched stronger claims in Europe, and hope to do so inadditional markets outside the US.New Skin® (+30.7%1) and Dermoplast® (+14.4%1) also started the year with great momentum, which we attribute to a positivehalo effect from advertising and distribution gains. Enhanced marketing campaigns for New Skin® and Dermoplast® will soonbe launched including new digital and social media activities. The inventory effects from the acquisition of Dermoplast® havenow been fully worked through, leading to net revenue growth of 12% in local currency for the brand. Hospital and retail salesare both trending according to plan, and we look forward to the imminent launch of this year's growth plan.

Pipeline

The Phase 3 studies for MOB-015 are progressing in line with the plan from last November, with recruitment in North America expected to be completed this summer and in Europe in the second half of the year. A widely referenced paper in Nature Biotechnology2 demonstrates that, for proven molecules such as in MOB-015, the probability of Phase 3 success is 79%, across all disease areas. For infectious diseases, the probability of success was shown to be higher than for the average disease area. For BUPI, an important milestone was reached when a U.S. patent was granted to 2032, complementing the patents in Europe and Canada. We continue the dialogue with our partner Cadila Pharmaceuticals regarding the Phase 3 study for BUPI, where we have prepared a comprehensive safety data package to address the Indian regulator's concerns about potential overdosing.

Focus going forwardWe are entering the peak season with strong momentum and marketing activities are now ramping up for Kerasal Nail® andNew Skin®. The divestment of Balmex® streamlines the portfolio further and supports our strategy of focusing resources onour larger brands which are significantly more profitable. We are excited about the growth prospects for our key brands,andcontinue to progress the MOB-015 studies and preparations for commercialization.

Peter Wolpert, CEO Moberg Pharma

[1] Symphony IRI, MULO, 12 weeks through March 25, 2018. Note that approximately 60% of sales of Dermoplast® are through hospitals,

which means that that retail sales data does not provide as complete a picture as for other brands.

[2] Clinical development success rates for investigational drugs, Hay et al, Nature Biotechnology, januari 2014

CONFERENCE CALL

CEO Peter Wolpert will present the report at a telephone conference today, May 8, 2018, at 3:00 p.m.

Telephone: SE +46-8-566 426 96, US +1 646 502 51 18

ABOUT THIS INFORMATION

Moberg Pharma AB is obliged to make this information public pursuant to the Securities Market Act and/or the Financial Instruments Trading Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:00 a.m. (CET) on May 8th, 2018.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Peter Wolpert
CEO
Phone: +1-908-432-22-03 (US), +46-70-735-71-35
e-mail: peter.wolpert@mobergpharma.se 

Anna Ljung
CFO
Phone: +46-70-766-60-30
e-mail: anna.ljung@mobergpharma.se

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/moberg-pharma/r/moberg-pharma-ab-interim-report-january---march-2018,c2514913

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/1662/2514913/837065.pdf

Moberg Pharma AB Interim report January - March 2018

SOURCE Moberg Pharma


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