Drugmaker Terapia Cluj-Napoca will distribute to its shareholders a gross dividend of 244 ROL/share from last year's $7.24 million profit (239bn ROL).
Terapia shares last traded for 4,450 ROL on the Stock Exchange. The dividend was endorsed by the General Meeting of Shareholders at the end of last month, during which the company management pledged to attain a 12.3% higher 2003 turnover, below the estimated inflation, and net profit 16.5% higher than last year's level.
Terapia posted net profit of 239.89bn ROL ($7.24 million) in 2002 and sold 1,049.77bn ROL's ($31.76 million) worth.
Terapia is therefore joining the other pharmaceutical companies in Romania in making reserved forecasts, as it anticipated 2003 to be one of the most difficult years after 1990 due to the financial crisis in the healthcare system. Nearly all the major companies on the market have set the same or slightly higher sales figures in real terms for 2003 as their goal, since their primary target is to collect the overdue bills from the hospitals and drugstores.
After all, Terapia's Q1 turnover was 272.5bn ROL, up 9.5% from the same time in 2002. The increase is lower than inflation registered in the same time frame, 17.1%.
The Romanian drug market totalled 611 million euros last year, according to the data provided by the market research company Cegedim. The top players on the market are GlaxoSmithKline (the leader), Sicomed Bucharest, Pfizer (US), Lek (Slovenia), Terapia and Antibiotice Iasi.
The Cluj-based company is also planning to invest 205.3bn ROL (approximately $6 million) in 2003, half of which will be used for upgrading the injectable drugs producing section in view of GMP certification.
It invested 75.3bn ROL in 2002, half of which went to the upgrade of the injectable drug section, as well.
Terapia is controlled by investment funds that began talks for selling it last year; the deal is estimated at $50 million. Sources on the market say the negotiations are close to an end.
If calculated at the 4,450 ROL/share price, Terapia's market capitalisation reaches $41 million.
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