How the parent company of Huddersfield-based Thornton & Ross performed in 2019

German firm STADA reported a 12 per cent growth in group sales to £2.37bn with a 24 per cent rise in adjusted earnings before interested tax depreciation and amortisation to £568.1m in its 2019 year-end results.

The business said double digit growth in sales and earnings provides it with the basis for further organic growth and business development activity in the current financial year ending December 2020.

Peter Goldschmidt, CEO of STADA, said: “These outstanding results are enabling us to accelerate our investment not only in our own product development but also broadly into external co-development and product in-licensing.

“This supports our sustainability and long-term growth as we continue to build the best team in the industry.”

Generics sales rose by 11 per cent to £1.39bn and branded product sales increased by 13 per cent to £970,000. Organic sales grew 8 per cent.

As a preferred partner, STADA signed more than 50 licensing deals during 2019, including in prospective high-growth areas such as biosimilars.

“During 2019, we showed agility to gain market share from our competitors in all major European markets“, Mr Goldschmidt said.

He added: “Based on the outstanding results achieved by our industry-leading team, we will be able to continue our entrepreneurial growth journey and position STADA as the go-to partner for generics and consumer healthcare.”

Building on the first-half of last year that included the roll-out of the ready-to-use cancer therapy bortezomib, STADA’s UK affiliate Thornton & Ross introduced the teriparatide biosimilar Movymia as part of a pan-European launch in August.

Roger Scarlett-Smith, executive vice president of STADA, said: “Double-digit sales growth in 2019 is a testament to the dedication and expertise of our UK workforce.

“The UK remains firmly within STADA’s top-five national markets by turnover.”

In the consumer healthcare sector, Thornton & Ross augmented its roster of products by integrating five skincare brands and the paediatric cough remedy Tixylix acquired from GSK.

T&R’s Zoflora disinfectant range continued to enjoy strong double-digit growth, making it the fourth-largest brand by sales within the STADA group.

STADA says it broadly outperformed its competitors and achieved substantial market-share gains in almost all of its core markets during 2019.

It recorded double-digit sales advances in Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the UK.

In Russia, the firm said a newly appointed management team is implementing a turnaround strategy to address a decline in 2019.

While doubling down on its European presence, STADA added that it continued to invest in emerging markets, especially in the Middle East, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Mr Goldschmidt highlighted the importance of welcoming and smoothly integrating around 1,300 new colleagues into STADA’s developing growth culture, as a result of the Takeda, Walmark and Biopharma acquisitions.

Mr Goldschmidt also said he was confident and optimistic about the company’s prospects for 2020 and beyond.

Covonia sales continue to grow at STADA’s Thornton & Ross

Figures published by the international data provider IRI show that sales of Thornton & Ross’ brands Covonia, Care and Allens reached almost 1 million litres in the year to January 25, 2020.

Sales of the Covonia range were driven in part by a ‘Ride the Bull, feel the power’ advertising campaign that included digital, TV and social media.

Kelly Auty, brand manager for Covonia, said: “We are delighted that our three brands now top the table for adult cough mixture sales. This underlines our commitment to providing the very highest quality over-the-counter products.

“Established more than 50 years ago, Covonia continues to grow in popularity, and we look forward to consolidating these outstanding sales figures throughout 2020.”