Galen, the Northern Ireland pharmaceutical group, will focus its acquisition ambitions in the immediate future in the US in a bid to grow its range of women's healthcare products, according to its chairman.
Dr John King said Galen's strategy was to increase its presence in the US by expanding its product range and targeting complimentary acquisitions.
The Portadown, Co Armagh-based group yesterday posted a record 113 per cent jump in revenue to £44 million sterling (€70.6 million) for the second quarter of this year.
Galen currently manufactures and supplies pharmaceutical products for prescription use in Ireland and the UK. It also operates a pharmaceutical services division which provides clinical trials supplies.
Last year the group acquired the US prescription drugs giant, Warner Chilcott, in a £308 million sterling deal, giving Galen a strong entry into the US prescription drug market and a Nasdaq listing to add to its London and Dublin listings.
The group's financial results for the quarter to the end of March 2001 reflected a strong performance from the Warner Chilcott operation. Galen's share price had suffered in recent months from speculation surrounding the departure from the group of Mr Paul Herendeen, the former chief executive of Warner Chilcott.
Dr King believes the strong performance of the Warner Chilcott operation in the second quarter should now quash market speculation about its performance.
The latest figures show pharmaceutical product revenue increased by 186 per cent largely due to the contribution of Warner Chilcott. The group's gross profits rose to £29.1 million from £10.4 million in the year-ago period, while earnings per share increased to 5.5p, up 34 per cent.
Dr King said: "Warner Chilcott has enabled Galen to achieve a new platform for growth. I would not want to downgrade any other market but the US is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical markets."
He said the group would not concentrate exclusively on the US and maintained that the UK and Irish markets remained fundamental to Galen's growth.
