https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/123...ceutical-sales
Covid-19 has sparked a surge in demand for products that help boost immunity, AFT Pharmaceuticals says.
In the first seven months of this year, sales of its high-potency vitamin C products were already more than double the amount sold in the whole of last year.
Sales of the drug company’s high-dose vitamin C Lipo-Sachets, which claim to have 80 per cent higher absorption than standard vitamin C, have reached $2.5 million since the start of its financial year on April 1, compared with just $1.1m of sales for the previous 12 months, said founder and managing director Hartley Atkinson. He expects the sales to reach around $2.8m for the full year to March 31, 2021.
“There's been quite a big uplift in people taking more of these type of products,” Atkinson said. “People are worried about their immune systems and trying to be as healthy as possible, and that has driven people to taking additional vitamins.
“Normally people have taken them during winter to ward off colds and flu but obviously this year with pandemics and the like around, people have been much more cautious, and much more aware, and therefore have taken more of these vitamins to really make sure that they are in the best shape possible.”
immunity during Covid rose to prominence earlier this year when Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the United States said he supplemented his diet with vitamins C and D.
AFT began selling vitamin D Lipo-Sachets to bolster immunity a few months ago and has sold $200,000 worth so far, Atkinson said. It’s also expanded its vitamin C range this year to include new flavours and a children’s version which had been popular.
The company anticipated increased demand ahead of lockdown and stocked up on its supplies, although it did have to air freight some product from Europe which was expensive, he said.
In contrast, sales of the company’s products to treat cold and flu such as Maxigesic PE had been lower as social distancing, hand-washing and mask-wearing curbed the spread of illness, he said.
AFT has been investing in growing its product range and expanding its global markets since listing in 2015. In 2019, chairman David Flacks said it had reached a pivotal point in its development, turning to an operating profit of $6.1m from a $10.1m loss the year earlier.
Atkinson on Wednesday reiterated that the company expects to post an operating profit of between $14m and $18m this year, up from an operating profit of $11.8m last year.
He expected the company to start paying a dividend in the year ending March 31, 2022.
“We do want to be able to look at paying a dividend as soon as we can,” he said. “Provided we are getting the results we are planning on, and we are getting our net debt down to about $25m then we would look to try and pay a dividend next financial year.”
AFT is focused on growing its largest market, Australia, to $100m in revenue in the next four to five years, from $61.4m last year. New Zealand sales last year were $30.1m.
Still, the biggest potential is the wider international market where AFT is progressively launching products like Maxigesic, Atkinson said.
“As we roll that out then that will really drive the international sales and drive the overall sales of our business,” he said.
The company launched Maxigesic in Germany a month ago and is soon to launch in Canada, he said. The product is licensed in more than 100 countries.
AFT shares increased 0.4 per cent to $4.90 in afternoon trading on Wednesday, and have gained 40 per cent this year.
Originally Posted by trader_jackson
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