Year-end report 2008
January – December 2008
– Net sales amounted to SEK 30.1 million (0)
– EBITDA totalled SEK -14.8 million (-11.3), including a negative impact from currencies of SEK 3.0 million
– Net loss amounted to SEK 18.1 million (-12.2)
– Earnings per share totaled SEK -0.73 (-0.90) before dilution
– Cash flow from ongoing operations, before changes in working capital, totalled SEK -11.8 million (-11.4)
October – December 2008
– Net sales amounted to SEK 6.0 million (0)
– EBITDA totalled SEK -8.7 million (-5.0), including a negative impact from currencies of SEK 2.6 million
– Net loss amounted to SEK 9.5 million (-4.9)
– Cash flow from ongoing operations, before changes in working capital, totalled SEK -5.6 million (-4.6)
Highlights
– Established proof of concept for Bluefish business model
• Strong revenue development since launch in April 2008
• Significant contribution to cash flow from gross profits
– Strong expansion of the Bluefish organisation
• 23 new people joined the company during 2008
• Total number of employees now 32 (8)
– Growth strategy continues according to plan
• Continued rollout of the product portfolio in 2009
• Strong focus on product investments to secure long-term growth
Business update
Since the company was founded in early 2005, a significant amount of work has been done in terms of acquiring licenses, applying for marketing authorisations and building an organisation to be able to market and sell generic pharmaceuticals under the Bluefish brand. During 2008, the company for the first time started realising the initial returns on these investments.
Bluefish launched its first products in April, and has shown strong revenue development since then. During 2008, the company introduced a number of products on the market, including Omeprazol and Lansoprazole (gastrointestinal drugs), Amlodipine within the cardiovascular therapeutic area, Metformin (diabetes) and Sertraline, Gabapentin, and Mirtazapine all within the CNS (central nervous system) therapeutic area.
During 2008, Bluefish has worked extensively to prepare the organisation for an expansion of the business model into the rest of Europe. Key competences within regulatory, QA, supply and IP research have been recruited to the company’s Technology Centre in Bangalore, India, which is an integral part of Bluefish’ operations. Today, the company has the right competence and resources to successfully expand the business model by growing the product portfolio, launch additional products and enter new markets.
The expansion of the marketing organisation continued in 2008. The German market for generic pharmaceuticals is the largest in Europe and is one of Bluefish’ key target markets. During 2008, four sales people joined the company’s wholly owned subsidiary in Germany. During 2008, the trend of allowing for generic substitution continued in most of the European countries. In many markets, the payer has become the key decision maker, thereby gaining control over the cost situation. Government interventions through public healthcare insurance companies are increasing the number of drugs covered by discount contracts, which effectively introduces a greater element of pricing pressure. It also removes the need for a large sales force. Hence, companies that have a competitive sourcing of products and that can run a low-cost infrastructure, like Bluefish, will benefit from these ongoing trends.
Bluefish sees significant opportunities for growth in 2009. So far this year, an additional three products in the company’s portfolio have been launched, and another nine (9) are expected to reach the market during 2009. Today, the company has products available in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. In the near term, product launches are also planned for Austria, Spain, Italy and the UK.