New products drive growth at Animalcare

The York-based group said the pipeline is progressing well with a number of new drugs expected to launch from 2016 onwards.

In the first quarter, Animalcare launched a new version of Phenoleptil, which prevents epileptic seizures in dogs.

Animalcare’s chief executive Iain Menneer said the new version, which can be split into four parts, allows vets to treat tiny dogs like chihuahuas and enormous dogs like St Bernards.

“Unlike humans, it isn’t one tablet fits all. We are now selling a four-way split tablet that means the vet just needs one product on the shelf instead of four.

“You want to be as accurate with the dose as you can,” said Mr Menneer.

The group also launched Marbocare, an antibiotic for dogs and cats to treat skin, respiratory and urinary tract infections. The launch was the result of a co-development project with one of the group’s European partners. Animalcare said the divisible tablets offer improved accuracy of dosing.

The third drug was Thiafeline, which is licensed for the management of hyperthyroidism in cats, a common condition believed to affect 12 per cent of the 2.9 million UK cats over the age of nine years, which is around 350,000 cats. Symptoms include weight loss and vomiting.

The group is now looking at launching a number of new products this year and said it has a strong pipeline.

The company’s pet ID division returned to growth with an increase in sales of both microchips and database services.

The firm is preparing for new laws that will make it compulsory for all dogs to be tagged from April 2016 and said it is well placed to benefit from the new legislation.

Following the news that the Dogs Trust charity is to reimburse vet practices with £5 for every chip they insert, Animalcare is gearing up for further growth.

“The downside is that there’s competition out there and we’re seeing that nibbling away at margins, but we’re well placed,” said Mr Menneer.

The group has 3.8 million animals on its database, including four elephants, three lions, one monkey, two deer, five otters, 39 foxes, five badgers and 12 wolves.

While the UK licensed veterinary medicines market showed growth of 7.6 per cent, Animalcare said that its sales are “comfortably ahead” of the wider market with revenues rising by 10.7 per cent.

The firm said that trading in its first six months to December 31 was in line with management expectations with revenues for the first half of the year up by 5.9 per cent to £6.5m.

Pre-tax profits rose 3.5 per cent to £1.4m.

The group said that rationalisation of the older, lower margin Animal Welfare division resulted in a reduction in revenue, but the revamp improved gross profits.

“We’ve seen a solid performance in all areas of the business,” said Mr Menneer.

“Licensed medicines are trading ahead of the market and in the companion animal division, we’ve reversed a decline which is excellent, even before we see compulsory micro-chipping.

“Animal Welfare revenues are down, but gross profit is up. We’ve pulled out of less profitable products.”

Analyst Savvas Neophytou, at Panmure Gordon, said: “The group is at the start of its journey in changing its focus towards branded veterinary products which should add significant operating leverage in due course.”

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