Interim report, January-September 2013

January-September 2013

• Group net sales reached SEK 9,664 million (9,796), corresponding to organic growth[1] of 2% compared to last year.
• EBITDA amounted to SEK 2,719 million (3,050), corresponding to a 28.1% margin (31.1).
• Operating profit totaled SEK 1,087 million (1,449).
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 547 million (818).
• Earnings per share reached SEK 1.82 (2.77).
• Cash earnings per share amounted to SEK 6.48 (6.18).
• Forecast for full-year 2013

“The Meda Group expects to achieve sales of around SEK 13 billion and an EBITDA margin of around 28 percent for full-year 2013.”

Third quarter 2013

• Group net sales reached SEK 3,186 million (3,038), corresponding to organic growth[1] of 5% compared to last year.
• EBITDA totaled SEK 874 million (870), corresponding to a 27.4% margin (28.6).
• Operating profit totaled SEK 322 million (340).
• Profit after tax amounted to SEK 147 million (167).
• Earnings per share reached SEK 0.48 (0.58).
• Cash earnings per share amounted to SEK 2.67 (1.73).

CEO statement

Meda is still a young company which from a Swedish base has grown into an international company via a strong belief in our business model and our vision for the future. As the new CEO, it is my ambition to work with our motivated and experienced employees to continue to develop what is, today, the world’s 48th largest pharmaceutical company.

With our increased selective investments in marketing, we saw improved results during 2013. The organic sales performance of +5% in the third quarter was significantly stronger than previous periods. Continued growth for Dymista and good performance in Emerging Markets (+21 %) were the largest contributors during this quarter. We recorded particularly strong performances in China and Russia. Due to the nature of the business in Emerging markets, primarily as a result of wholesalers’ buying patterns, sales will fluctuate quarterly. I am also glad to see that our businesses in southern Europe showed better development than in previous quarters.

The Dymista launch continued, and the product has now been introduced in more than 10 European countries. According to our strategy, we are mainly targeting specialist doctors during the first phase so sales will develop gradually in this region. In the US, Dymista continued its growth trend and Dymista was also the main contributor to the US organic growth rate jumping to 13% during the third quarter. Dymista has now enhanced its position as the 2nd largest brand within its category in the US.

We will continue to take steps that strengthen our current position within the prioritized Respiratory area. One example is our recent acquisition of Aerospan, a unique product for treating asthma. I believe we can generate significant marketing synergies between Dymista and Aerospan, and we look forward to giving patients in the US access to this new medicine next year. Also, our second focus therapy area, Dermatology, contributed well to the organic growth in the third quarter, especially Elidel that increased by 40%.

Our growth initiatives cost money. Despite this, we had a positive development of free cash flow each quarter so far this year. Today, we also clarify our earlier guidance for 2013. We expect sales to reach around SEK 13 billion and our EBITDA margin to reach around 28%. The projected sales figure is equivalent to an organic growth in excess of 3% for all of 2013.

Jörg-Thomas Dierks CEO

1) Organic growth is defined as sales growth adjusted for currency effects, acquisitions, disposed operations, and revenues from the cooperation agreement with Valeant.

Webcasted presentation of the report on November 8 at 10:30 AM
The presentation can be reached at www.meda.se/financial-information. A recorded version will also be available until the next interim report is presented.

For further inquiries, please contact:
Anders Larnholt, VP Corporate Development and Investor Relations, anders.larnholt@meda.se, 46 709‑458 878.
Paula Treutiger, Investor Relations, paula.treutiger@meda.se, 46 733-666 599.

The company’s auditors did not review this interim report.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This report is not an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy shares in Meda. This report also contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to certain future events and Meda’s potential financial performance. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate only to historical or current facts and may sometimes include words such as “may”, “will”, “seek”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “plan”, “forecast”, “believe”, or other words of similar meaning. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations on future events of the management at the time such statements are made, but are made subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. In the event such risks or uncertainties materialize, Meda’s results could be materially affected. The risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the inherent uncertainty of pharmaceutical research and product development, manufacturing and commercialization, the impact of competitive products, patents, legal challenges, government regulation and approval, Meda’s ability to secure new products for commercialization and/or development, and other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Meda AB’s interim or annual reports, prospectuses, or press releases. Listeners and readers are cautioned that no forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statement. Meda does not intend or undertake to update any such forward-looking statements.

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