Monday, 25 February 2008

Sihuan FY2007 Results

PRESS RELEASE
Sihuan’s FY07 Net Profit Soars 98% on Strong Demand
> Driven mainly by CV drugs sold via a strong and more focusednetwork of more than 2,500 distributors
> Expect increased product offering to help drive earnings
> Proposes maiden final ordinary dividend of RMB13cents/share
Singapore, 25 February 2008 – Mainboard-listed Sihuan PharmaceuticalHoldings Group Ltd (四环医药控股集团有限公司or “Sihuan” or “the Group”), aleading manufacturer of cardiocerebral vascular (CV) drugs in the PRC, achievedsterling results for the financial year ended 31 December 2007 (FY07).
This robust performance was mainly due to better profitability and stronger demand for its CV drugs, especially top-selling Kelinao.This, coupled with a leap up in its sales force from 1,050 in FY2006 to over 2,500distributors in FY2007, drove Group net attributable profit (PATMI) up 98% yearon-year (yoy) to RMB179.3million on a 77% higher revenue of RMB286.3 million.Shenzhen Sihuan, acquired last October contributed RMB26.4 million in revenue and RMB4.6million in PATMI for FY2007.
In view of its strong performance, Sihuan has proposed a final dividend ofRMB13 cents per share which represents a 34% payout ratio. Sihuan’s Executive Chairman and CEO Dr Che Fengsheng said: “Continuing efforts to expand our sales and marketing network have paid off handsomely, extending our reach by nearly 900 hospitals to 3,770. This larger network has also increased the depth of our distribution, helping us generate an even stronger demand for our drugs. We are encouraged by the growing acceptance of our products and will continue to scout for promising new drugs to add to ourportfolio.”
Dr Che added: “The push by the PRC Government to consolidate the pharmaceutical industry will create a conducive growth environment. Moreover, the approval process for pharmaceutical drugs, which resumed last October, will facilitate our efforts to bring more drugs to the market and contribute to growth. Therefore, we are confident of doing better this year.” Prudent cost management measures enabled Sihuan to more than double its net cash generated from operations to RMB183.8million in FY07. The improved performance also helped to add RMB224.6 million to the Group’s net cash position of RMB250.4 million as at end December 2007, placing Sihuan in a good position to invest further in new drug research and acquire product rights.

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