Figures are a tonic at drug maker

PET drugs company Dechra Pharmaceuticals said it has made solid progress despite a slowdown in its rate of sales growth.

Dechra, which has its Dales Pharmaceuticals manufacturing plant in Skipton, said sales for the year to the end of June were about 5.3 per cent better than the previous year. That compared with revenue growth of 6.7 per cent at the half-year stage and 6.3 per cent at nine months.

In a statement, the group said: "Although our markets have experienced slower rates of growth than historical levels, we have demonstrated solid progress compared with last year.

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"The group continues to perform robustly and in line with management expectations; we remain confident about our future growth prospects."

Dales employs more than 200 people, making drugs for animals and humans, and hopes to soon achieve FDA approval to make drugs for the US market.

Dechra said Dales performed well over the year because of the improved efficiency and increased production of both its own and third-party products.

Sales from its European pharmaceuticals business, of which Dales is a part, increased by about nine per cent with both specialist pet food and pharmaceuticals showing solid growth. Dechra added currency fluctuations did not materially impact these numbers.

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Dechra launched its flagship Vetoryl drug in the US in early 2009. The drug, which treats Cushings disease in dogs, helped US sales grow 36.6 per cent and US revenues from Vetoryl were $6.6m (4.3m).

Its services division grew revenues by about 3.3 per cent .

Analyst Robert Corden, at Charles Stanley, said that while Dechra's sales growth has slowed, the core growth rate in its veterinary services division was 4.3 per cent compared with the reported 3.3 per cent because of a partial withdrawal from low-margin sales to agricultural merchants.

"This has marginally affected sales, but has not impacted on overall profits," he said. "So the underlying performance is better than it would appear."

He added that Dechra's cash generation has been strong, with year end net borrowings estimated to be less than 10m.

"The outlook for profits looks strong for both of the next two years and should be helped by new product launches," he added.